Ever since the news of his passing broke out, people related to the wrestling business and fans worldwide have been paying their tribute to Wrestling Legend Vader and Mick Foley is one of them.
Foley first reacted to the news via a tweet and the WWE Hall Of Famer then shared a heart whelming post about the late WWE Star from his Official Facebook page.
In the post, Mick recalled how Vader had called him 2 years ago to tell that he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and he had limited time to live. Foley also discussed how he was honored to be asked to write the forward of his book.
Continuing on the topic, The Hardcore Legend questioned WWE’s decision to keep the former WCW Star out of the Hall Of Fame while others who didn’t contribute to the business as much, fill the spots every year:
“Every year, most of those HOF slots are filled by wrestlers who didn’t draw a fraction of the money or contribute to the wrestling business on nearly the level that Leon White/Vader did. I’m not belittling the importance of the WWE Hall of Fame. But the selection process is more than a little subjective in nature.”
Apart from this, Foley’s post also included a story of how wrestling against Vader helped him gain sympathy from fans. You can check out Mick Foley’s full post below:
It’s no secret that WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events, and Creative Triple H is the apparent successor of Vince McMahon and the Game has also proven his worth by building NXT from a development territory to a global brand.
During a recent interview with Business Insider, legendary commentator Jim Ross discussed Vince McMahon’s retirement, Triple H being his successor and more.
Ross said that even at the age of 72, he does not see Vince going anywhere because the Boss is very healthy and still works out like a crazy man.
Continuing on the topic, he said that his guess to be Vince’s heir is Triple H, and claimed that the former World Champion was different from the other guys from the start:
“the money would be on, probably, Paul Levesque to be Vince’s successor, I think Vince is kind of preparing him for that in a lot of ways. You always knew that he was different from the other guys because he was very studious and very under control.”
Later in the interview, Jim Ross also explained how growing up in the northeast and being trained by Killer Kowalski helped Triple H in this. You can check out his comments in the video below:
While we’re still short on details, Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks confirmed today that their much talked ALL In event in September will be broadcasted in some capacity.
They made the announcement via a tweet from ALL In’s official Twitter account. In the tweet as seen below, the trio revealed that they have decided in favor of licensing the production:
The three have a number of options they can go with and considering the involvement of both Impact Wrestling and ROH, one of the best options would be using the already established on-demand services from either of the promotions. However, there are several other options as well and we’ll have to see which way they decide to go.
Triple H On Vader
Earlier in the day, we reported the unfortunate news of the passing of Wrestling Legend and former WWE Star Vader. Since then people related to the business and the fans have been paying tribute to the late star via various social media posts.
One such post came from WWE Executive Triple H, who made the following tweet saying that Vader entertained audiences all over the world with his size, strength, and agility and he is sad to hear the news:
Leon White entertained (and intimidated) audiences all over the world with his size, strength, and agility. Saddened to hear of his passing and our thoughts are with his family at this time. #RIPVaderpic.twitter.com/5jtryoSvpI
Dakota Kai faced Bianca Belair on this week’s episode of NXT. Kai connected with a boot to the face to start off the match and then went for a roll-up but Belair kicked out at one. Dakota followed it up with a running kick for a two count.
Bianca battled back and launched Kai into the top turnbuckle. Belair lifted Kai up, bounced her off the ropes and planted her with a Suplex. Belair followed it up with a Splash and then posed in the ring. Belair clubbed Kai in the midsection and locked in an Abdominal Stretch in the middle of the ring.
Belair broke the hold and connected with a Backbreaker. Bianca taunted Kai as she tried to get up and then clubbed her across the back. Belair showed off her incredible strength and took Kai on a tour around the ring while holding her up for a Vertical Suplex. Kai escaped the Suplex and then got her knees up when Belair went for a Splash.
Dakota hit an Enziguri that knocked Bianca to the canvas. Kai connected with a few more kicks to Belair’s face and followed it up with two running kicks in the corner for a near fall. Dakota dodged the hair whip but turned around into a forearm from Belair. Bianca then lifted Kai up in the Torture Rack and planted her face-first to the mat for the pinfall victory.
War Raiders (Hanson & Rowe) faced TM61 (Nick Miller & Shane Thorne) tonight on NXT. TM61 attacked War Raiders before the match started. The match started and Rowe leveled Thorne with a Dropkick. Rowe then connected with a Belly to Belly Suplex on Miller.
Hanson tagged in and launched Rowe into Thorne in the corner of the ring. Rowe got back in and Miller shoved Hanson off the ring apron. Thorne booted Rowe in the face and tagged in Nick Miller. Miller raked at Rowe’s eyes and shoulder tackled him out of the ring. Thorne booted Rowe in the chest while he was against the barricade and threw him back into the ring.
Thorne tagged in and planted Rowe with a Neckbreaker for a two count. Shane hit Rowe with a few uppercuts in the corner and followed it up with a Dropkick. Thorne went for a Cannonball but Rowe got out of the way and tagged in Hanson.
Hanson beatdown both Thorne and Miller. Hanson even cartwheeled across the ring and Clotheslined Thorne during the beatdown. Rowe tagged in and launched Thorne in the air. Hanson caught him and planted him for a two count. Rowe launched Miller out of the ring and then kneed Thorne in the face. Hanson sprinted across the ring and dropped Miller with a Suicide Dive. Rowe tagged Hanson in and lifted Thorne in the air. Hanson climbed to the top rope and connected with a Leg Drop for the pinfall victory.
The majority of this week’s episode of NXT was devoted to recapping what went down at NXT TakeOver: Chicago this past Saturday. NXT Champion Aleister Black will be on next week’s episode.
In the latest episode of Something Else To Wrestle With Bruce Prichard on the WWE Network, Conrad Thompson and Bruce discussed current WWE United States Champion Jeff Hardy’s 2003 release from the company. This was Hardy’s first release from the company since starting with them in 1994.
He was released in April of 2003 after a downward spiral of issues. Hardy suffered form drug addiction, erratic behavior, and consistently arrived late to events or even no-showed. Here’s what Prichard had to say on the matter:
“Jeff did have a drug problem, and everything that you just said was taking place. All of the sudden, we had a different human being on our hands, and it wasn’t someone that anyone really liked to work with anymore. if he did show up, he would go on high, and you couldn’t find him all day long, or he’d show up and then leave again.
“It was difficult times being with Jeff Hardy. Jeff had a drug issue—Jeff admitted having a drug issue—but Jeff didn’t want to go to rehab. The condition was ‘Jeff you have to go to rehab or we’ve got to let you go. We’ve got to release you.’ And they released him because he refused to go to rehab. In my opinion, Jeff had a drug problem. Jeff had a lot of issues going on and wasn’t handling them well.”
Prior to his WWE release, former Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore was scheduled to be current RAW Women’s Champion Nia Jax’s Mixed Match Challenge partner. Unfortunately Amore fell ill just before he needed to film a bunch of footage for the Facebook show and was replaced by Apollo Crews.
WWE teased a romantic relationship between Jax and Amore on TV for a few weeks. The conclusion to the angle between Amore and Jax was never brought to light, however, as he was subsequently released by the company. Amore recently appeared on the Store Horseman podcast to discuss this.
The Realest Guy In The Room revealed the conclusion would have resulted in Jax finding out that he was hooking up with Alexa Bliss on the side:
“I was getting so much heat it was awesome that people probably won’t appreciate it until five, ten years from now,” Amore said. “Like a babyface transition that I made and on a marketing level too it was crazy and Vince wanted me in that grey area though. He didn’t want me full-blown. He had plans to make me full-blown that nobody else knew about, not even the other people that were involved in it.
“I mean look at that Nia / Alexa Bliss WrestleMania blow-off. What do you think was gonna happen? How else could I get full-blown heat? Enzo Amore with the grey area trying to get full-blown heel real, real f–king heat. How do you do that? I’m using Nia as a heater to keep my title and I get caught hooking up with her best friend backstage. Bang, that’s how you do it. Nia didn’t know that. Alexa didn’t know it. I knew that because Vince told me […] I was just toying along with her I wanted her to win me matches, I wanted her to be like Chyna.
You can listen to Amore on the Store Horseman podcast by clicking this link here.
There is one UFC star who has offered to help train Alexa Bliss for her pending showdown with Ronda Rousey.
That star is UFC Women’s Featherweight Champion Cris Cyborg, who wanted to fight the former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion when Rousey was still competing as a pro-MMA fighter.
As noted, Rousey beat Nia Jax by DQ in a WWE RAW Women’s Championship match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view event once Bliss attacked Rousey. After the match, Bliss cashed in her MITB contract to win the title from Jax.
Moving along to the opening segment on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Grand Rapids, MI at the Van Andel Arena on the USA Network. Rousey attacked Bliss and was later “suspended” for 30 days as a result of her actions.
Rousey will be back on television next month to start the build for her match at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view event.
WWE has yet to officially announce when Rousey would wrestle Bliss but the expectation is that this match will happen sooner rather than later. Cyborg tweeted out the following:
“Let me know # @AlexaBliss_WWE if you need help training Judo takedown and armbar defense!”
Let me know # @AlexaBliss_WWE if you need help training Judo takedown and armbar defense!
Pro Wrestling Guerilla has announced that top European independent star and wXw Unified Heavyweight Champion Ilja Dragunov will be taking part in the upcoming Battle of Los Angeles tournament.
Dragunov became the wXw Champion during the company’s 16 Carat Gold 2018 event back in March of this year, he defeated then Champion John Klinger and WWE linked star WALTER in an incredible bout that headlined day two of the tournament. This marked the return of Dragunov to the company and he received a thunderous reception from the wXw fanbase.
Dragunov is also scheduled to face WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne as part of PROGRESS’ biggest ever show this September at Wembley Arena. Promoter of Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw) Christian Michael Jakobi appeared during PROGRESS Wrestling’s Super Strong Style 16 event recently and challenged the reigning WWE UK Champion to a bout against the wXw World United Heavyweight Champion.
Other names already announced for the tournament include PCO, Brody King and UK independent wrestling legend Jody Fleisch.
Ilja Dragunov is the fourth entrant in the 2018 Battle of Los Angeles!
Top UK independent star Eddie Dennis has been revealed as one of the new NXT UK roster members. The Welsh Superstar appeared on the entrance ramp during last night’s taping at the Royal Albert Hall to the shock of many eagle-eyed fans of the UK independent scene.
Dennis had not been made official for the NXT UK division however he was one of the names heavily rumored for a move to the new WWE project, he now appears to be set for the upcoming tapings starting at Cambridge in July.
Some of the more prominent promotions that Dennis has appeared for in the past few years include Revolution Pro (Rev Pro), ATTACK!, RIPTIDE and of course PROGRESS. One of the most gripping and talked about feuds in the UK scene right now features Dennis against his longtime tag team partner and 205 Live Superstar Mark Andrews. Eddie has been following Andrews across the world demanding that he face him in the ring and Andrews has refused to accept the challenge and fight his former friend; it is expected that the match will eventually be taking place at PROGRESS’ upcoming show in Wembley Arena (September) however PROGRESS has not yet made this official in any capacity.
July 6th I walked away from the headship of a school chasing a dream
January 13th I ruptured my pectoral chasing said dream
Having put some of his personal troubles (including a recent DWI arrest) behind him, WWE United States Champion Champion Jeff Hardy returned to Smackdown Live on Tuesday night and vowed revenge against Shinske Nakamura.
On the june 12th edition of SmackDown Live, US Champion Hardy won a match against Nakamura via DQ. Hoping to send a message to his Money In The Bank opponent AJ Styles, Nakamura was disqualified when he hit Hardy with a low blow. He then followed it up with a Kinshasa that left Hardy out cold in the middle of the ring.
Taking a cue from his big brother Matt, Jeff Hardy channeled the stranger aspects of his persona and donned the face paint that was popularized during his run in Impact Wrestling. It remains to be seen if Hardy will go full bore with the weirdness and revive other aspects of his Willow persona, but it’s something new for the WWE veteran.
During Smackdown Live, Nakamura responded to the New-Look Hardy’s promo, warning The US Champion not to cross him again.
Nakamura has been Smackdown Live’s #1 heel, and a newly painted Hardy against the artistic and bizarre Nakamura could easily become the main feud on WWE’s blue brand.
David Arquette Returns To The Ring At A Local Event
As we’ve reported, former WCW World Heavyweight Champion David Arquette has announced that he’d be returning to professional wrestling as David “Magic Man” Arquette. He was a part of a Championship Wrestling from Hollywood event last week when he hit the ring for a run-in.
He hit a double stunner on a heel tag team, helping the babyface team win. Check it out here:
The Rock Unveils New Headphones
The Rock is now venturing off into the headphone industry. The Great One is set to release Project Rock Wireless headphones as a part of his Chase Greatness Collection from Under Armour. He posted the following on the matter:
“They’re here
Like you, my gym time is critical.
It’s our time to shut the world out and anchor in.
I prefer training in “over the ear” headphones, but have been consistently disappointed (pissed is a better word) with every pair, from every brand that just couldn’t handle my workouts.
I thought if no one is going to design headphones BUILT FOR TRAINING, then I would.
And I’d make them the best.
Almost 2 years later, they’ve arrived.
Our next @underarmour collection DROPS NEXT WEEK 6/28.
#ProjectRockWireless
#Durability
#Functionality
#HighQuality
#BadAss”
PROGRESS has announced the latest bout for their upcoming Chapter 72 event ‘Got Got Need’ which takes place on June 24th from the Electric Ballroom in Camden, London.
Newly crowned NXT Tag Team Champions Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) will be joining their British Strong Style stablemate and WWE United Kingdom Champion Pete Dunne to take on Josh Alexander and the Besties In The World.
Tyler Bate & Trent Seven won the NXT Tag Team Titles in a bout against the Undisputed Era’s Kyle O’Reilly and Roderick Strong at yesterday’s Royal Albert Hall taping, it was unexpected title change considering the announcement that the NXT UK brand would have their own Tag Team Championships and the crowd reaction was massive.
Other bouts already confirmed for the show include:
ATLAS Championship Match – Doug Williams (c) vs Michael Dante
NPS Final – Chris Ridgeway vs Mark Davis
PROGRESS World Title Match – Travis Banks (c) vs Chuck Mambo
Following Tuesday’s edition of SmackDown Live, it appears that Daniel Bryan’s next program is underway.
Bryan had been feuding with Big Cass, who was released from WWE earlier this week. After a series of victories over the 7-footer, Bryan participated in the #1 Contender’s Gauntlet Match on SmackDown to determine the next challenger to WWE Champion AJ Styles.
During Bryan’s entrance, he had an encounter with reigning Smackdown Live Tag Team Champions, the Bludgeon Brothers. Harper and Rowan would later get involved in the match, assaulting Daniel Bryan and allowing Bryan’s longtime nemesis The Miz to eliminate him from the match.
With the assumption that Bryan will focus his attention on getting revenge against the Bludgeon Brothers in the coming weeks, it seems WWE is in no hurry to return Daniel Bryan to the main event picture. A tag team feud against the Bludgeon Brothers could be interesting, as would Bryan’s selection of a tag team partner to join him in battle.
Discussion: Who would you like to see Daniel Bryan team with against the Bludgeon Brothers?
An AJ Styles vs. Daniel Bryan feud will have to wait for now, as Rusev ultimately prevailed in the Gauntlet Match and earned the championship opportunity against the WWE 2K19 Cover Star.
Members of the group SAnitY have reacted to making their debut on the blue brand.
As seen on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Toledo, OH at the Huntington Center on the USA Network, the group was supposed faced off against The Usos in a tag team match. However, they beat down the former SmackDown Tag Team Champions and there was no match.
Following the show, Eric Young, Killian Dain, and Alexander Wolfe took to their official Twitter accounts to react to their main roster television debut. They wrote the following:
WWE NXT General Manager William Regal is slated to make his return to television, according to Mike Johnson of PWinsider.
Regal, who has missed the last few tapings due to a health issue, is set to work this Thursday’s NXT TV tapings in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University.
What do you think WWE should do with the former NXT stable?
Austin Aries is slated to make his return to ROH at their upcoming Best in the World PPV.
Ring of Honor announced the news on Wednesday (June 20, 2018) through social media. It should be noted that Aries is still under contract with Impact Wrestling as he is slated to defend the Impact Wrestling World Title against Moose at Slammiversary next month.
ROH did not reveal whether he would be wrestling at this event or just making an appearance.
If you recall, Aries returned to Ring of Honor back in March at the 16th Anniversary pay-per-view where he originally challenged Kenny King to a match for the TV title at a later date.
His next appearance came when he attacked Todd Sinclar and King in May on the ROH/NJPW War of the Worlds Tour after issuing another challenge for the strap.
Best in the World takes place on Friday, June 29, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland at the UMBC Event Center. The event will air on traditional PPV outlets and the FITE TV app. You can check out the updated card here.
What do you think of Aries appearing at this event?
EVOLVE returns this weekend with two new shows. EVOLVE 106 is scheduled to take place on Saturday in Brooklyn, NY at the Youth Center and EVOLVE 107 on Sunday in Melrose, MA at the Melrose Memorial Hall. The promotion has stacked the lineups for these upcoming events. The main event for Saturday’s show will see Matt Riddle defend the EVOLVE Title against Shane Strickland while Sunday’s event will have Matt Riddle defending the EVOLVE Title against AR Fox.
EVOLVE 106
EVOLVE Championship Match: Matt Riddle defends vs. Shane Strickland WWN Championship Match: Austin Theory with Priscilla Kelly defends vs. Joey Janela with Penelope Ford WALTER vs. Darby Allin Chris Dickinson, Jaka & Dom Garrini with Stokely Hathaway vs. Tracy Williams, Timothy Thatcher & Anthony Henry
AR Fox with Ayla & The Skulk vs. DJZ
Bad Bones vs. Josh Briggs
The Skulk vs. The Skulk
EVOLVE 107
NXT North American Championship Match: Adam Cole defends vs. WALTER EVOLVE Championship Match (If Riddle Retains At EVOLVE 106): Matt Riddle defends vs. AR Fox with Ayla & The Skulk FIP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Austin Theory with Priscilla Kelly defends vs. DJZ Tracy Williams vs. Chris Dickinson with Stokely Hathaway Darby Allin vs. Jarek 1:20 with Candy Cartwright Dominic Garrini with Stokely Hathaway vs. Josh Briggs
What are your thoughts on this lineup? Do you plan on watching? Sound off in the comment section
The Undertaker joined social media a few weeks ago, launching an Instagram account. Many begun to wonder whether or not it was real. Since its launched, Undertaker’s wife, Michelle McCool has tagged the account in a few photos, and several WWE stars follow the account as well.
McCool finally took to her own Instagram account to confirm that the account is in fact Undertaker’s and it’s his only account:
“YES, y’all….THIS is official! My man @undertaker is officially on IG & this is his ONLY account! Sit back & enjoy the ride…..#myheart #hubs”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkOtiz6BbPk/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkIrNu-gquH/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkOQi2pAEDQ/
Big E On The New Day Breaking Up
One fan recently responded to a WWE Tweet, asking them to break-up The New Day. Big E saw this and responded to the fan in a hilarious manner:
WWE’s Triple H and Shawn Michaels recently did an interview with GiveMeSport to talk about several professional wrestling topics. The podcast has yet to be uploaded but Alex McCarthy has been posting snippets on his Twitter account.
One such note was that Triple H teased a “huge announcement on women’s professional wrestling coming very soon.” The Heartbreak Kid then chimed in and said that “he doesn’t think an all-women’s PPV or even an all-women’s brand is “too far away at all””:
Triple H says there is a “huge announcement on women’s wrestling coming very soon”.
HBK said he doesn’t think an all-women’s PPV or even an all-women’s brand is “too far away at all”. #WWE
There’s currently no news on what the “huge announcement” could be, but it can’t hurt to speculate. An all-women’s brand or PPV is certainly a possibility. Or maybe WWE is finally considering giving the women of WWE Tag Team Titles. Regardless of what it is, hopefully it can live up to The Game’s “huge” claim.
Discussion: What do you think the announcement regarding WWE’s women’s division is going to be?
The United Kingdom crowds in WWE are some of the most entertaining the professional wrestling world has to offer.
They certainly proved that right during the WWE’s UK Championship Tournament taping this week. The chant started off during the WWE UK Championship match between Zack Gibson and Pete Dunne. Those in attendance took off their shoes and chanted,
“If you hate Gibson, shoes off!”.
Interestingly enough, the chant was started by PROGRESS commentator and wrestler Dahlia Black. She was likely in attendance showing support for her South Pacific Power Trip stablemate Travis Banks – who was in the UK Tournament.
Ronda Rousey impressed a lot of people during her in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34 this past April.
The Rowdy One teamed up with WWE Hall Of Famer and Monday Night RAW General Manager Kurt Angle in a Mixed Tag Team match against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Rousey surpassed a lot of fans’ expectations and actually put on one of the more entertaining matches of the night.
In the end, Rousey and Angle emerged victorious. It turns out that Rousey was very ill in the days leading up to her in-ring debut in New Orleans. Triple H recently did an interview with GiveMeSport and revealed Rousey had food poisoning while preparing for the match.
The Game credited Rousey for her determination after she refused to stop training despite how terrible she was feeling. Triple H himself had to stop the training session in order to let Rousey get some rest before the match.
Ring Of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Cody Rhodes recently participated in an AXS TV conference call to promote the G1 Special in San Francisco. The former ROH World Champion commented on wanting to see NJPW run a tour in the United States:
“The next time you come over, if you’re NJPW, you should make a tour of it,” Cody said. “When I say a tour, I mean, let’s hit Los Angeles, let’s hit New York, let’s grow a pair — which they have — and make a run of all the ‘A’ markets and see how you do. That might be the first step into seeing what you can do consistently in the United States. “I think, next time, make a tour of it.
“They won’t, but it’d be really cool if they did. It may take some time, but I think if you hit all the ‘A’ markets you’re going to sell out or come close to it everywhere you go. And I think it’s also real important that you give them New Japan Pro Wrestling, don’t dress it up with something that they might be comfortable with … you don’t have to decorate it with American stars. What’s got them to where they are is the Japanese talent and Japanese stars. “Don’t do enough market research that you change your product.”
Rhodes went on to call 2018 an “era of choice”:
“I don’t consider this an era of competition as much as I consider it an era of choice,” Cody said. “Look at the competition and where it got us. We ran WCW out of business, we destroyed an entire region in the US in terms of their love of wrestling and WWE has had to rebuild it. I’m from Georgia, I felt the fallout of a company losing in a competition before. I don’t think it’s about competition anymore, I think it’s about choice. I hope to see more efforts made to cross those bridges.”
We are saddened to report that wrestling legend Leon White, better known to fans across the world as Vader, passed away on Monday night. He was 63 years old.
A message posted on Vader’s official Twitter account states that he was diagnosed with a severe case of pneumonia last month. He fought hard and was making progress in his recovery, but ultimately his heart gave out.
Vader is widely considered one of the greatest ‘super heavyweight’ atheltes to ever lace up a pair of boots. The former NFL center had a long wrestling career, having made his debut in 1985 and competing as recently as last year.
He had memorable runs in All Japan Pro Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling, WCW, WWE and worked for various independent promotions across the world. He was a 3-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, 2-time All Japan Triple Crown Champion and 3-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion.
In November 2016, Vader announced that he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He underwent heart surgery back in March.
Sadly, has yet to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, despite campaigning for it on social media throughout the years. As Vader would say, it’s time.
SEScoops wishes sincere condolences to the family and friends of Leon White. RIP
It is with a heavy heart to inform everyone that my father, Leon White, passed away on Monday night (6/18/18) at approximately 7:25pm. pic.twitter.com/DYttSj7mk2
Loved working with Leon, loved the friendship I had with him for many years, and especially these last 8 months of his life. He will truly be missed. pic.twitter.com/32cWMdH2yX
It's with sad condolences to hear that my long time friend @itsvadertime has passed away. He was a great person to manage and a great human being. pic.twitter.com/R7itvDEdpe
Maaaaan…Vader was my guy as a child and was a sweetheart when he came down to FCW to help train us. I’m forever grateful for the conversations I was able to share with him. Condolences to Leon’s son, Jesse, and the rest of his family.
R.I.P Big Leon. Did my 1st tour in Japan with you in the big seat . Thanks for showing me the ropes and yes soft shell turtle is delicious. I thought you were ribbing me pic.twitter.com/N6RTSsnCmN
Indie band The Mountain Goats have released a tribute song for WWE Superstar Sasha Banks.
“Song For Sasha Banks” was posted to the bands Bandcamp page by frontman John Darnielle on Monday.
“Last night Sasha Banks wrestled for the Money in the Bank title,” notes Darnielle, “and while she didn’t take it home this time, I’ve learned enough about where she came from and how she got to where she is now to say with confidence: The sky is the limit for you. Your walk is just beginning and the day will come when all your setbacks look like steps on a ladder.”
You can hear “Song For Sasha Banks” by The Mountain Goats Here:
Founded 1991, the Mountain Goats 2015 wrestling-themed concept album, Beat the Champ, brough in positive reviews and prompted Banks to tweet:
— Mercedes Moné Varnado (@MercedesVarnado) May 3, 2015
The band accepted the challenge and have been working on the tune ever since. Darnielle noted on Bandcamp, “As a territories guy I had to learn her story. I said I’d finish the song by the end of the tour; it took a little longer than that.”
Current WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar’s status with the company has been hotly debated for months now. With the reculsive champion rumored to leave the company after Summerslam, speculation has run rampant as to who he will drop the title to, as well as how WWE will handle his departure.
WWE Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events and Creative, Triple H (Paul Levesque), was asked about Lesnar’s status during Monday’s press tour for the upcoming WWE UK Championship Tournament. Triple H quickly brushed off the question,”So I think this was about the UK Tournament?” The 14-time Champion smirked.
“To be honest, I don’t have a comment on Brock, or the UFC, or any of that.”
Wether there is a plan in place or not for Lesnar and the WWE Universal Title remains to be seen, but it would seem WWE isn’t ready to say one way or the other yet.
Smackdown General Manager, Paige, and WWE host, Renee Young, recently decided to play a prank on Becky Lynch. The orange-haired Lass-Kicker arrived backstage at Smackdown but was surprised to learn that wrestlers in the back had tampered with her luggage.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkOvE7nna9H/
Becky Lynch’s Bag Smells Great
Somehow, the moral of this story turned out to be that Becky Lynch’s bag seems to smell great.
The topic of luggage was clearly still on Lynch’s mind when she Tweeted out the following:
Lynch made Billie Kay of the IIconics tap out last night to her armbar submission finish.
Praise for Becky Lynch
Lynch earned some praise recently from WWE Hall-of-Famer, Bubba Ray Dudley.
“Every time she climbed that ladder, those people were on their feet. They’re invested in her, they wanted to see her win. Hopefully, the people in the back are listening.” – Bubba Ray Dudley
Lynch was the inaugural Smackdown Live Women’s Champion, having won the title shortly after the brand extension in 2016. She won a 6-Pack Elimination Challenge at Backlash that year to win the title. She would lose the title that December at the TLC pay-per-view to Alexa Bliss, however. Lynch dropped a tables match and then a steel cage rematch to Bliss due to interference by Mickie James. She then fell out of the title picture altogether.
