Archive for August, 2016

Backstage Note On Eva Marie’s WWE Suspension, Rumors On More Drug Testing

Source: F4Wonline.com

WWE officials originally planned to announce Eva Marie’s suspension for violating the WWE Wellness Policy on the same day as Paige and Alberto Del Rio’s suspensions but for some reason they waited until the next day.

To kill any speculation that remains, none of the recent WWE Wellness Policy suspensions are part of a storyline or any kind of Total Divas angle.

As reported earlier, Eva tested positive for Adderall, the same substance that Roman Reigns failed for earlier this summer. No word yet on what Paige and Del Rio failed for.

There are rumors of more drug testing to come, which could mean more suspensions.

Triple H Reveals NXT Takeover Bookers, Chinese Stars Backstage (Photo), Enzo Amore

– Triple H revealed on Twitter that Matt Bloom, Brian James and Adam Pearce will be the agents for tonight’s NXT Takeover show. He tweeted this photo:

– WWE posted this video of Enzo Amore visiting his barber as he prepares for SummerSlam on Sunday:

– Speaking of Takeover, CWC competitor HoHo Lun has arrived with WWE’s Chinese Superstar Bin Wang, as seen below. Remember to join us for live Takeover coverage tonight.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJV3pN2Btgx/

NXT Stars Brought In For Takeover Tonight, Charlotte’s Royal Proclamation, Dolph Ziggler, SummerSlam

– Besides the stars booked for Takeover, other NXT Superstars brought into NYC, presumably for tonight’s TV tapings, include TM-61, The Authors of Pain, Paul Ellering, Rich Swann, Oney Lorcan, Mandy Rose, Daria, Blake, Hideo Itami and Bin Wang.

– The latest WWE Top 10 looks at the most extreme SummerSlam moments, seen below:

– Below are videos with Charlotte hyping her SummerSlam women’s championship match against Sasha Banks and Dolph Ziggler cutting a promo on his WWE championship match against Dean Ambrose:


Video: Brock Lesnar Rips Conor McGregor, Issues Challenge

Brock Lesnar appeared at the WWE 2K17 event last night and had nothing nice to say about UFC fighter Conor McGregor and his recent comments aimed at WWE and its Superstars. Above is video of Lesnar talking to Sam Roberts about Conor. He said:

“I take shits bigger than that kid. I know you guys all play fucking video games and you live this fucking false sense of reality and shit. I’m two hundred and fucking ninety pounds. This guy is one hundred and forty five pounds, that’s if he’s lucky and gets up and eats his Wheaties. If Conor McGregor wants to say some shit to me and get his name out there more than he already has, by dropping my name, I got fucking about 10 words for him… come here face to face Conor, and say it to my face. Otherwise, leave me and the fucking WWE out of it became I came to your arena and kicked ass. Now if you want, if you’re so fucking tough, come to our arena and try to kick some ass. Get the fuck out of here.”

New ROH World Champion Crowned

As seen below, Adam Cole is the new Ring of Honor World Champion.

Cole became a two-time ROH Champion by defeating Jay Lethal at Death Before Dishonor XIV tonight in Las Vegas.


https://twitter.com/DeathToAllMarks/status/766846760882872325

Why Eva Marie Violated The WWE Wellness Policy, Statement From Eva, Plans To Appeal

TMZ reports that Eva Marie tested positive for Adderall to violate the WWE Wellness Policy and receive a 30-day suspension.

Eva says she has a legit prescription from her doctor and is planning on appealing the suspension. A WWE source told TMZ that her prescription was not approved by the company but Eva insists the prescription is legit.

Eva told TMZ:

“I am disappointed that this suspension has occurred, yet understand and respect that WWE upholds their Wellness Policy to the letter and won’t compromise on its integrity. I violated policy by not turning in portions of required paperwork in the time frame WWE Medical deemed timely. I look forward to my return!”

Roman Reigns also tested positive for Adderall this summer and was suspended for 30 days.

Download The SEScoops Mobile App For All The Latest News During SummerSlam Weekend

app

SummerSlam is almost upon us and the SEScoops Mobile App is the best way to stay up to date with all the developing news throughout the weekend.

After months of development SEScoops App version 1.2 is now available for iOS devices. Based on our analytics, most of our Apple mobile users have already updated. Version 1.2 will be available for Android over the next week or so.

Keep it locked to SEScoops.com all weekend for the latest news headed into SummerSlam and download our mobile app using the buttons below. Thanks!

TNA Impact Viewership For This Week

Last night’s TNA Impact episode drew 355,000 viewers. This is up from last week’s 315,000 viewers for the live episode.

The show featured a Fatal 4 Way Ladder Match and more build for the Bound For Glory PPV.

This week’s show ranked #83 on the Top 150 for the night on cable, up from last week’s #115.

More From Eva Marie’s Husband Following Her WWE Suspension

Eva Marie’s husband Jonathan Coyle has more to say about his wife’s suspension from WWE.

On Thursday, Coyle tweeted that the public will be “absolutely outraged” when the truth is revealed regarding what caused her wellness policy violation. He’s promised evidence and an official statement to clear his wife’s name.

He later followed up with a message on Instagram praising his wife and their strength as a couple.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJRYsJrgbLg/

Goldberg Calls Out Brock Lesnar, Still Ready To “Rip People’s Faces Off”

https://youtu.be/Bc6EIcrKBoU

Bill Goldberg appeared at Gamescom 2016 in Cologne, Germany this week, spoke about a potential WWE return and called out WWE 2K17 cover star Brock Lesnar.

Goldberg said that he should be on the cover because he “killed the guy that’s on the cover” when they met in the ring.

In response to fans chanting, “please come back,” Goldberg said that he’ll see what he can do.

Goldberg confirmed he’s headed to New York City for SummerSlam weekend, but that’s all he can say about it right now. He gave the cliche “never say never” and said even at his age (49), he’d have no problem putting his gear on and “ripping people’s faces off again.”

When asked about Brock Lesnar, Goldberg said that Brock knows how he feels about him. They met in the ring back at WrestleMania 20 and he admitted they didn’t have the best match. But Brock knows his power and Goldberg thinks he could give Brock a better challenge than virtually anybody in WWE. Brock knows where to find him.

Hideo Itami Q&A: Watching Other NXT Stars Have Success, His Return And Injury

Hideo Itami recently spoke with Byron Saxton for the WWE website. Below are highlights:

WWE.COM: How did it feel to finally return to an NXT ring?
ITAMI: I’m so happy to be back. Words cannot explain how much it meant. But my goal is not just to be back in action; I’m also focused on reaching the next level.

WWE.COM: For those who were unfamiliar with your shoulder injury, what exactly happened?
ITAMI: I suffered a dislocated shoulder, which was a very tough injury. I have torn my ACLs in both knees and I’ve broken an ankle, but this is the longest I’ve ever been out of action in my entire career. It was the toughest injury of my life.

WWE.COM: You joined NXT around the same time as Finn Bálor and Kevin Owens as three of the biggest signings the brand had ever seen. Both of those men have gone on to accomplish great things in NXT and WWE since then. Do you feel added pressure to do the same?
ITAMI: I sat in the crowd and watched Finn Bálor become NXT Champion in my home country. I was happy for him, but I was also a little jealous. I saw Kevin Owens defeat John Cena in his first match in WWE. Many people in Japan expected me to do big things when I came to NXT, and now that I’m back, I want to make them proud. I want to show the world how good I am and I want to prove to myself how great I can be.

Check out the full Q&A at this link.

Daniel Bryan Q&A: Getting The Itch To Wrestle, Biggest Challenge With CWC, More

Daniel Bryan did a new Q&A with Yahoo to promote the WWE SummerSlam PPV and SmackDown Live. Below are highlights:

Has traveling on the road again on a weekly basis as GM of “SmackDown” helped or hurt whatever wrestling itch you still might have?
It’s kind of hurt it. It’s not the traveling part of it … I was doing OK, right. I was like, OK, this isn’t my jam anymore, I can’t do this. Until they had me sit out by ringside for a couple of matches and it’s just like, c’mon, I’m ready to go. That’s the hard part. Or when I go out to the arena and get such a great reaction. That’s when I want to wrestle.

What’s been the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far in your short broadcast career calling the “Cruiserweight Classic?”
For me, it’s trying to keep my voice up. So [last] Wednesday, there was an amazing match between Cedric Alexander and Kota Ibushi. We filmed three tapings in a row that day and that was the main event of the first taping. I was so excited calling the match that I lost my voice completely and then I had to do two more hours of calling matches. Mauro [Ranallo] is great because he’s trained to do that. My voice isn’t trained for it. I can only talk for so long before my voice just goes out. That’s been the hard part but the “Cruiserweight Classic” has been a blast.

Do you feel directly responsible for the number of smaller wrestlers in the main event picture?
No, I think it was a natural evolution. I think what’s happened is there’s so many hours of TV that’s put out there that people who are more exciting in the ring are going to be the ones that become more popular. Because of “RAW” being there hours and “SmackDown” two hours, there has to be more matches and longer matches. Smaller wrestlers are built for more exciting matches.

The full Q&A with the SmackDown GM is at this link.

New Paul Heyman Guy, Sunny Avoids Jail Time For Last Year’s 3 DUI’s

– The newest Paul Heyman Guy has been revealed at HeymanHustle.com and was spotted with Heyman in New York City this weekend.

– WWE Hall of Famer Tammy Sytch (Sunny) will not be sentenced to any jail time as a result of her 3 DUI’s from last year, according to TMZ Sports. Each DUI carried a maximum of 90 days in jail. The judge sentenced her to a total of 90 days jail time for the DUI’s, but cut her a huge break by applying the 97-days she spent in rehab earlier this year to the sentence.

Additionally, she’s been sentenced to 5 years parole with bi-weekly alcohol testing, 125 hours of community service and roughly $2,100 in fines. The judge made it clear that there will be zero tolerance moving forward one slip-up will land her in jail.

Sunny says she’s 152 days sober and is committed to staying on a positive path.

Updated Card For Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam 2016

WWE’s annual SummerSlam pay-per-view takes place this Sunday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. We’ll have live coverage and discussion all Sunday night right here on SEScoops.com.

Eva Marie was originally scheduled to join Natalya and Alexa Bliss in a six-woman tag match against Carmella, Becky Lynch & Naomi, but won’t be competing as she received a 30-day suspension on Thursday for violating WWE’s Wellness Policy. There’s no word yet on who will be replacing Eva.

Below is the current card for SummerSlam 2016:

WWE Universal Championship
Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

WWE World Championship
Dean Ambrose (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler

WWE Women’s Championship
Sasha Banks (c) vs. Charlotte

U.S. Championship
Rusev (c) vs. Roman Reigns

WWE Tag Team Championship
The New Day (c) vs. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson

Intercontinental Championship
The Miz (c) vs. Apollo Crews

Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Orton

John Cena vs. AJ Styles

Enzo and Big Cass vs. Chris Jericho and Kevin Owens

Cesaro vs. Sheamus

Carmella, Becky Lynch & Naomi vs. Natalya, Alexa Bliss, and a partner to be announced.

WWE SummerSlam 2016 airs live from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY this Sunday, August 21st. Join us here at SEScoops.com on Sunday for live coverage of the event

Renee Young Injury Update, Sasha Banks Visits Wrestling School, WWE Ride Along Video

– We noted before that Renee Young revealed that she suffered some sort of ankle injury at Tuesday’s SmackDown in Austin, TX. In an update, she went in for x-rays today and noted on Twitter that it looks like she just suffered a sprain.

– WWE Women’s Champion Sasha Banks made a visit to the House of Glory wrestling school in NYC this weekend. Below are photos:

– Tonight’s new episode of WWE Ride Along on the WWE Network will feature Enzo Amore & Big Cass, and The Dudley Boyz. A preview can be seen below:

Randy Orton Dares Brock Lesnar, Enzo & Cass SummerSlam Notes, Gargano & Ciampa

– Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa will be revealing their new tag team name soon. The two will face NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival at Takeover on Saturday night.

– Enzo Amore went sneaker shopping earlier this week in New York City and the WWE cameras were with him. Footage will be released this weekend to promote SummerSlam. On a related note, Enzo and Cass also did a Tapout in Brooklyn today, seen below:

– WWE posted this video with Randy Orton daring Brock Lesnar to test him in their SummerSlam battle on Sunday night. Orton says there’s one problem with Lesnar trying to take him to Suplex City – the RKO.

Eva Marie’s Husband: Public Will “Absolutely Outraged” At Why She Was Suspended

Eva Marie’s husband Jonathan Coyle says the full story about why Eva Marie was suspended by WWE will come out soon and when it does – the public will be “absolutely outraged.”

WWE confirmed on Thursday afternoon that Eva Marie violated the talent wellness policy. On the surface, it appears she tested positive for a substance prohibited by the company. Coyle says there is evidence and a statement forthcoming that will prove Eva Marie was suspended unjustly.

He tweeted on Thursday:

https://twitter.com/Jonathan_Coyle/status/766385612601430017

Mark Henry Talks Retirement, “Father Time” Catching Up With Him

Longtime WWE Superstar Mark Henry recently appeared as a guest on the “Datt’s What She Said” podcast and spoke with host Alexa Datt for an in-depth interview that covered a lot of hot topics from the world of professional sports to his recent trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Of course an interview with “The World’s Strongest Man” wouldn’t be complete without covering his bodybuilding and strongman background, or his lengthy stint with WWE. In fact, Henry spoke about the new trend in WWE, which happens to blend a little bit of both of those worlds.

As Henry explained, Cross-Fit training has become a practice more and more top stars in WWE have adopted as of late.

“I love Cross-Fitting,” Henry told Gatt. “And a lot of our guys … Seth Rollins is a Cross-Fitter, Cesaro is an active Cross-Fitter, John Cena. You’ll see 10 million videos of John doing snatches and cleans.”

Henry also mentioned current WWE SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan as someone who has become more engrained in the weightlifting community, referencing his recent participation in an Olympic weight-lifting competition in Seattle, Washington and joking about how Bryan claimed afterwards that he wouldn’t be doing that again.

“It makes you better,” Henry continued. “Daniel Bryan won a competition in Seattle doing Olympic weight-lifting recently and he said, ‘I’ll never do it again!’ He said, ‘It broke me down. I was so tired!’ I said, ‘Welcome to my world!'”

At age 45, the 20-year WWE veteran has been alluding to the fact that his active wrestling days could soon be over. During the interview, Datt asked if Henry has any kind of specific date in mind that he will officially call it quits.

“No, I have no idea,” said Henry. “People say, ‘Man, you’re not working that much no more!’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m 45! When you’re 45, come holla’ at me! Let me know if you can work 150 days.’ I can’t do that no more.”

Datt followed up by asking Henry if his WWE retirement will play out for him the way they did for MLB star Alex Rodriguez in the sense that it will just be over one day and then he will transition into helping his peers.

“Yeah, but I’m already that guy,” Henry said, noting that if asked, any of his fellow WWE Superstars would confirm that fact.

After sharing his belief that “Father Time is undefeated,” Henry went on to reveal that it was about three years ago that he started to realize things were starting to wind down for him.

“I realized that I’m not the man I used to be about three years ago,” Henry admitted. “And I’ve always tried to help people, but when it came to having my position taken [and] now I’ve got to play second, or I’ve got to be behind somebody … I’m not the take your ball and go home kid, but maybe I’ve got to go to another team where I can play still, where they don’t have the strength at that position, because I don’t want to be second. Where I’m at in my career now is that I want people to make the business better so I can bow out gracefully. I don’t want the business to suffer or have a setback because I left.”

Check out Mark Henry’s complete appearance on the Datt’s What She Said” podcast by clicking here.

Sasha Banks Talks Her Legacy, Stephanie McMahon Being A Role Model, Brand Split

WWE Women’s Champion Sasha Banks says she wants to be remembered as the greatest women’s wrestler of all-time. She recently spoke with The Kingston Whig-Standard to promote SummerSlam and was asked about her legacy. She said:

“I remember writing in my journal when I was 10 that I wanted to be the greatest women’s wrestler of all time, so that’s how I want to be remembered. I just want people to look back and be like, ‘Oh my God, that Sasha Banks, she was amazing,’ or ‘I want to study Sasha Banks so I can be like her,’ or ‘I want to be better than Sasha Banks because she’s the best.’ That’s how I want to be remembered, as the absolute best of all time.”

Regarding the WWE brand split, The Boss believes it’s a good thing and hopes SmackDown gets their own gold.

“I think it’s a good opportunity for women. With all of us on the same roster, it was very hard to fight for time. We were barely given any time. Just on Raw, which is a three-hour show, we were given like two minutes, three minutes. Now that we’re both on separate brands, we saw this week, there was two women’s matches on SmackDown, the week before there were two segments of women’s matches. I think it’s a great opportunity. I’m hoping that they get a women’s title for SmackDown and the women’s division can fight for that. Our division is going to keep on growing and growing. With me as champion, I’m definitely going to show what our division is about. I think it’s a great opportunity for groups of women because both women on both sides are amazing competitors.”

Finally, Sasha had nothing but praise for Stephanie McMahon. She commented:

“She is a huge role model not just for girls outside of WWE, but for us. She is so strong in the way that she carries herself. Any time she’s backstage, she’ll talk to us, she’ll give us advice, she always gives me a huge when I see her. I think little things like that, when a boss — she is a boss, just like me — that she actually cares about what we’re doing and I think that’s so special. She is absolutely incredible. I look up to her because she is so strong and so powerful in the way that she conducts herself. I think that’s how all women should be in the WWE. She’s professional to a tee. I have so many good things to say about her.”

Check out the full interview with Sasha on TheWhig.com at this link.

Updated Card For Saturday’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II

NXT Takeover: Brooklyn II takes place this Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY at 8 PM with results and discussion on SEScoops.com. Before the event begins, they will be taping matches for next week’s episode of NXT.

Below is the updated card for Saturday’s show:

NXT Championship
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Samoa Joe

NXT Women’s Championship
Asuka (c) vs. Bayley

NXT Tag Team Championships
The Revival (c) vs. Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa

Bobby Roode vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas

No Way Jose vs. Austin Aries

Ember Moon vs. Billie Kay

WWE’s first NXT Takeover: Brooklyn event took place back in August of 2015 at the Barclays Center.

Update On James Storm-TNA, Dixie Carter Misses TV Tapings, Godderz Note

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzDy4XL83yU

– Jessie Godderz will be returning to Big Brother on CBS on Friday night. He’ll be taking part in the Big Brother County Fair competition “Dunk the hunk.” This is Godderz’ third appearance on Big Brother this season.

– It sounds like Dixie Carter hasn’t been around much at this month’s Impact tapings. PWInsider reports that Carter was not at the last few TV tapings, after missing the previous set of tapings due to being on a two-week vacation in Africa.

– As previously reported, James Storm may be on the way out of TNA. At one of this week’s Impact tapings, Storm cut a promo about backstage “B.S.” in TNA making him want to go elsewhere. PWInsider.com now reports that Storm did in fact miss most of this week’s Impact tapings, but it was due to a pre-approved vacation and not “contract B.S.” as explained on TV. This further adds to speculation that Storm teasing his departure is just a storyline.

https://twitter.com/JamesStormBrand/status/765338403365879808

Sasha Banks Says Women Will Headline WrestleMania, Talks Snoop Dogg

Sasha Banks sees big things in the future for WWE’s Women’s division. In an interview on ESPN’s Off The Top Rope segment with Jonathan Coachman this week, and predicted that women will eventually main event some of WWE’s biggest pay-per-views. Banks says she plans to steal the show at Sunday’s SummerSlam with Charlotte.

“We are not Divas anymore. We are Superstars. We are equal,” Sasha said. “We are proving every single week that we can do it better than the guys and I prove it every time I go out there. My biggest dream is to main event a WrestleMania and I guarantee you that is going to happen.”

Banks explained that she got emotional when she defeated Charlotte for the Women’s Championship on RAW because her dream was to be in WWE for so long. Banks predicts that the next breakout female star on the roster will be Bayley when she gets called up from NXT.

She also talked about her cousin, Snoop Dogg. Banks says Snoop has supported her dream of joining WWE the whole way, and it was a dream come true for him to perform her entrance song at WrestleMania earlier this year. She noted that Snoop’s nickname with his friends is “The Boss.”

Galloway Speaks On Possibly Returning To WWE, Kurt Angle Asking To Tap Out During Their Match

TNA star Drew Galloway recently sat down with former WWE writer Kevin Eck for an interview on PressBox Online. Galloway, who went under the name Drew McIntyre in WWE and was released by the company back in 2014, talked about the possibility of returning to the biggest wrestling company in the world.

“I can’t possibly say I’ll never go back [to WWE], but I can say that I’m very happy right now doing what I’m doing,” he said of his current career trajectory.

Galloway also talked about Kurt Angle, who he wrestled during Angle’s retirement tour. Galloway revealed that it was Kurt Angle’s idea to tap out to Galloway during their match because Angle wanted to put over Galloway on his way out.

“When he told me about the match and said I was going to tap him out, I tried to argue with him, but he was pretty adamant about really wanting to put me over in that way,” Galloway revealed. “I can never thank him enough for what he’s done for me.”

You can read Galloway’s entire interview here.

Report: Backstage Heat On Dean Ambrose Over Stone Cold Interview

WWE management is reportedly not happy with Dean Ambrose after his recent Stone Cold Podcast appearance on the WWE Network. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the heat has nothing to do with any of the awkward moments during the interview, but rather some of Ambrose’s answers to Steve Austin’s questions.

The first thing that got Ambrose in hot water with company management was his opinion on WWE’s creative direction. Ambrose was negative on WWE creative, which company brass sees as him being negative on Triple H and Vince McMahon.

WWE officials were reportedly also unhappy with Ambrose’s comments about Brock Lesnar, according to the Wrestling Observer. Ambrose said he felt Lesnar was lazy at WrestleMania 32, and that the former UFC Champion didn’t want to do anything with him during their match together.

Veteran Advances In The WWE CWC, Matches For Next Week, Videos

Tonight’s WWE Cruiserweight Classic episode saw the following second round matches: Brian Kendrick over Tony Nese, Akira Tozawa over Jack Gallagher and Noam Dar over HoHo Lun.

Kendrick will face Kota Ibushi in the quarterfinals while Tozawa will face Gran Metalik and Dar will go up against the winner of Drew Gulak vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.

The second round will end on next week’s episode with Sabre vs. Gulak, Rich Swann vs. Lince Dorado and Johnny Gargano vs. TJ Perkins.

Here are videos from tonight: