XFL commissioner Oliver Luck spoke with NPR over the weekend and noted that his league approached Colin Kaepernick about playing. According to Luck, the two sides were not able to come to a deal due to Kaepernick’s salary demands.
“We gave it some thought,” Luck said. “We have some pretty significant salary restrictions, you know. We’re a start-up league, so we want to make sure that we can be fiscally responsible and fiscally prudent. And the salary requirements that some folks shared with us were, in our case, exorbitant, so we couldn’t go down that path.”
Luck would continue to say that what Kaepernick’s representatives were asking for was outside of the XFL’s range.
“We spoke with his representative and the salary requirements that were broached in that conversation were exorbitant and certainly out of our range,” Luck later added.
Luck would also say that players in the XFL are required to stand for the National Anthem.
“Players have numerous opportunities to express themselves with all the platforms that exist today,” Luck said of the rule. “So, you know, standing for the national anthem we believe is a part of their responsibility as players in our league. But we think it’s important to have that requirement for our players.”
The XFL posted strong ratings for Week 1 of its 2020 season over the weekend.
ABC's XFL opener averaged 3.3 million viewers. Some recent non-football sporting events that drew a similar-size audience:
Dec. 31: Liberty Bowl on ESPN: Navy-Kansas State Dec. 25: Celtics-Raptors on ESPN Dec. 29: Liga MX final Leg 2 on Univision: Chivas-Club America
Triple H signed with WCW in early 1994 but was gone the following year. He signed his first WWF contract in January of 1995 shortly after. Eric Bischoff was asked about his reaction to Triple H’s departure on a recent episode of his 83 Weeks podcast.
“I remember (Triple H gave notice) and I remember I didn’t really care,” Bischoff said. He would continue to say that he never had high aspirations for Triple H in WCW.
“Look, I wasn’t excited about hiring Paul Levesque,” Bischoff said. “I really could have taken or (left) him.”
Bischoff continued to say that Triple H not living near Atlanta was an issue in WCW at the time.
“I was really trying to concentrate our roster and build our roster around people who lived in close proximity to Atlanta,” he continued.
“I wasn’t excited about Paul when he came in and I wasn’t that disappointed when he left,” Bischoff said in contrast to reports Conrad Thompson had read. “Not that I didn’t think that he had talent, not that I didn’t think he was all that valuable.”
Bischoff would continue to say, however, that he feels Triple H saw going to WCW as a way to get noticed by WWE.
“I think he looked at WCW as a transition and a platform and an opportunity to get noticed to go to WWE,” he continued.
Bischoff’s comments can be heard in the player below:
WWE announced yesterday that they have signed the daughter of the Rock, Simone Johnson. The 18-year-old has been spotted at the WWE Performance Center several times over the years but the company made her signing official recently.
The Rock posted the following to his official Instagram account to congratulate Simone:
“It means the world to me,” Simone Johnson said in a statement. “To know that my family has such a personal connection to wrestling is really special to me and I feel grateful to have the opportunity, not only to wrestle, but to carry on that legacy.”
Simone Johnson Signs With WWE
Johnson has not been shy about sharing her pro-wrestling ambitions over the years. She was named Golden Globes Ambassador in 2017 but told the Hollywood Reporter she had aspirations other than a career in film.
“As much as I love and admire the film industry,” she told the Hollywood Reporter. “I don’t see myself pursuing a career in it at the moment. I plan to study business in college — NYU, hopefully — and after graduating, I want to pursue wrestling and eventually transition into talent management.”
Cody Rhodes recently appeared on Wrestling Observer Radio and talked about being in a management role with AEW. During the conversation, he spoke about what metrics the companies use to evaluate how popular some of their stars are.
“Numbers have been on our side and I’m not a big numbers guy, I’m a feeling guy,” Cody said.
One metric that is particularly valuable in helping to evaluate the popularity of a wrestler Cody says, is merchandising.
“Merchandising never steers you wrong,” Cody said about using merchandise sales numbers to determine how popular a wrestler is. “Our top stars at AEW also sell the most shirts.”
Cody was asked about AEW wrestlers who are doing particularly well in this regard.
“Orange is always a safe bet but I’ll also point out Joey Janela, only because Joey’s the type of wrestler that I don’t always understand,” said Cody. “I’m a different type of wrestler, I like old-school Southern wrestling.”
“It’s actually cool to see that he moves the needle in a direction and it’s cool to understand why,” he continued to say about Janela.
Luchasaurus was another wrestler mentioned as someone who does well in this metric. Darby Allin was heavily praised during the conversation as well.
“Everyone who you see represented on the show, they’re doing really well numbers-wise, there’s nobody who’s not,” Cody said. He would continue to say that nobody really knows why Orange Cassidy does so well but he does.
Brandi Rhodes recently appeared on Wrestling Observer Live and talked about the Nightmare Collective angle in AEW. According to Rhodes, she is no longer involved in the angle, though Mel and Luther will still likely continue to be aligned on the show. The other Nightmare Collective member, Awesome Kong, is currently away from the promotion as she films the final season of Netflix’s GLOW.
“It’s a question that has been going on for a while enough that I want to address it,” Rhodes said. “I want to address it one time and then I’m not going to talk about it probably ever again, we’ll see.”
“The Nightmare Collective became the Nightmare Collective,” Brandi said. “There was no original ‘hey, let’s do a Nightmare Collective.'”
“The original thing was supposed to be myself and Awesome Kong, me managing Awesome Kong,” Brandi continued. “Awesome Kong came to me with an idea of wanting to change her look, and kind of her vibe, still being an assassin of sorts.”
Rhodes would continue to say that Kong was not physically feeling great as things moved forward so changes to the angle had to be made and more people were added to the group. She would then say as the Nightmare Collective angle developed, she wasn’t feeling the storyline.
“I started to see that the music was not playing how I liked it,” Brandi said. “I didn’t feel it and I started to notice that audience members are on the same page as me.”
Brandi Rhodes Goes To Therapy, Leaves Nightmare Collective
Rhodes then said it was her decision to change the angle and she put together the video series with the therapist which essentially ended her involvement in the Nightmare Collective.
“I made the decision to do the series that I put out with the therapist, I hired the actress that was the therapist,” she continued.
“That definitely doesn’t mean its dead now that I’m not there,” Rhodes continued, suggesting that Mel and Luther would likely continue the angle.
Matt Hardy came out to confront Randy Orton on RAW last night regarding his attack on Edge. Orton then attacked him as well and may have seemingly provided a storyline explanation for Hardy’s pending departure from WWE.
Hardy posted the following to Twitter after RAW last night:
“Matt Hardy is expected to leave WWE in March,” wrote Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The report would continue to speculate that Hardy is the leading candidate to play the exalted one in AEW’s Dark Order angle.
“Hardy is the leading speculated name for the leader of the Dark Order since they just started teasing a leader and Hardy just started putting out the videos,” Meltzer continued.
According to a report from PW Insider last month, the reason Hardy has not re-signed with WWE is due to concerns over how he would be used in the company.
On the latest episode of his Jim Cornette Experience podcast, Jim Cornette goes into detail regarding his former business with the NWA. During the discussion, Cornette confirmed that the NWA was originally hoping for its programming to land on the WWE Network.
“The NWA show was what they were thinking was going to end up on the (WWE) Network,” said Jim Cornette.
“Then (Lagana) started talking about ‘well, we’re going to do a TV show,” Cornette said. “I said ‘what do you mean, Dave?’ He said ‘well, we’re going to start doing TV.’ I said ‘what would it be on?’ and he said ‘well we’re not sure yet but we think it might be on the WWE Network.”
“He did have meetings unless he was just bald-faced lying to me,” Cornette continued. Cornette then said he was skeptical about this actually happening but
“I said ‘do you honestly believe that the WWF is going to put an NWA television show on their network?'” Cornette said he asked Lagana.
“Finally, he called and said ‘Well, we’re going to do it on YouTube,'” Cornette said of his conversation with Lagana.
“Originally the NWA show was going to be on the WWE Network and then that didn’t work out and they put it on YouTube,” Cornette continued.
Cornette then went into detail about what led to his departure from the organization.
A link to the full podcast can be found here. You can also listen to the episode embedded below. The talk of NWA TV on WWE Network begins around the 13-minute mark.
Simone Johnson, daughter of Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, has officially reported to the WWE Performance Center. WWE announced the news today on its social media platforms.
“It means the world to me,” Simone Johnson said in a statement. “To know that my family has such a personal connection to wrestling is really special to me and I feel grateful to have the opportunity, not only to wrestle, but to carry on that legacy.”
“Simone Johnson’s unbridled passion and incredible drive has earned her a coveted spot training with the elite athletes from around the world at the WWE Performance Center,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, executive vice president of Talent, Live Events & Creative. “Not only does Simone now have an opportunity to cultivate and display her passion for WWE within the Performance Center, but she’ll carry on the tradition of her incredible family lineage while creating her own impact as WWE’s first fourth generation Superstar.”
“Simone knows she has a lot to learn,” NXT coach Matt Bloom said. “She’s hungry to learn and picks the coaches’ minds, and the veteran Superstars’, as well. She’s not going to rest on her laurels. It’s been a short time, but she’s been crushing it.”
“Simone is a wonderful girl,” NXT coach Sara Amato added. “She’s like a sponge, it’s pretty amazing. She knows what it takes to succeed and all the hard work and sacrifice that goes into it. I wouldn’t have expected anything less.”
Simone Johnson Training At The WWE Performance Center
Johnson had been spotted as early as 2018 training at the PC, though she was not officially signed to the company. She spoke to the Hollywood Reporter in 2017 about wanting to pursue a career in pro-wrestling.
“It’s a sport that is unlike anything else in the world,” she said. “There’s just a certain amount of passion that every move and match requires, and that’s so admirable. It’s definitely something I’ve thought about and want to pursue.”
Johnson was named a Golden Globes ambassador but when the Hollywood Reporter pressed her about a career in film, Johnson expressed her desire to be a pro-wrestler.
“As much as I love and admire the film industry,” she continued. “I don’t see myself pursuing a career in it at the moment. I plan to study business in college — NYU, hopefully — and after graduating, I want to pursue wrestling and eventually transition into talent management.”
Major League Wrestling presented an episode of Fusion from Texas on BeIN Sports and YouTube this weekend. The show featured an MLW World Championship match between Contra Unit’s Jacob Fatu defending against Hart Foundation’s Brian Pillman Jr.
MLW Fusion 2/8/20 Quick Results:
Dominic Garrini defeated Zenshi
Richard Holliday defeated Savio Vega
MLW World Championship Jacob Fatu (c) defeated Brian Pillman Jr.
The full episode can be viewed in the player below:
Here are 6 takeaways from MLW Fusion 2/8/20:
Jacob Fatu Retains Over Brian Pillman Jr. Thanks To Injustice
Brian Pillman Jr. had the biggest match of his young career this week on Fusion. He challenged Jacob Fatu for the MLW World Championship. Earlier in the evening, the members of Contra Unit attempted to attack Pillman as he entered the building but Davey Boy Smith Jr. helped him fend the stable off.
Pillman spent much of the early part of the match taking damage from Fatu’s offense but managed to make a comeback late. As he was going for a springboard move from the outside, Josef Samael got up on the apron and distract the referee. The members of Injustice (who have been in a rivalry with Pillman since the Opera Cup) came out to ringside. Pillman turned his attention to them and jumped on top of Jordan Oliver and Kotto Brazil on the outside. Myron Reed then hit Pillman with the loaded chest protector and tossed him back in the ring where the champion was waiting.
After Pillman initially kicked out from a standing moonsault, Fatu then hit a jumping moonsault from the top rope. Fatu then gave him another one for good measure and got the pin.
Cameras cut to the back where Davey Boy Smith Jr. and the Von Erichs were in a backstage brawl with Contra Unit’s Sentai Death Squad.
The Dallas live crowd was not happy to see Tom Lawlor considering Lawlor’s recent actions towards the beloved Von Erich boys. Lawlor opened this week’s show cutting a promo in the middle of the ring while wearing a Von Erichs T-shirt. The Texas crowd chanted for Lawlor to remove the Von Erich shirt. He obliged but then shoved the shirt in his pants before tossing it into the crowd (the crowd tossed it back). Lawlor then introduced Team Filthy member Dominic Garrini for his match against Zenshi.
Zenshi unleashed many high-flying Lucha-inspired moves during the match but Garrini was able to counter with his jiu-jitsu based submission offense. At one point, Zenshi appeared to have been injured and a medic entered the ring to check on him but Garrini wouldn’t let up and continued the attack. He locked in an armbar and the referee called for the bell.
After the match, Lawlor said to Alicia Atout that from here on out, Team Filthy would show no mercy.
Later in the show, Zenshi would be interviewed in the back by Atout and said he wants revenge.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman joined the commentary team as his Dynasty stablemate Richard Holliday took on Savio Vega in single’s competition this week. The Dynasty looks to be in good hands with Gino Medina, Alexander Hammerstone, and Richard Holliday set to run things as MJF exits the territory. MJF still has a little time left in MLW, however.
Holliday picked up the win with his “2008” slam. After the match, MJF and Holliday stole Savio Vega’s Carribean Championship title belt.
The Dynasty To Produce Next Week’s Episode of Fusion
The Dynasty was interviewed in the back by Alicia Atout this week. They noted that Richard Holliday’s lawyer/father had arranged for them to produce next week’s episode. Medina will be taking on Septimo Dragon, Hammerstone will face Aerostar for the National Openweight title and MJF and Holliday will challenge for the MLW tag team championships as they get their rematch against the Von Erichs.
MLW taped Fightland in Philadelphia recently which featured the debut of Killer Kross. While Kross is now signed to WWE, he will appear on future episodes of Fusion taped from the 2300 Arena.
MLW also announced that former Battle Riot winner LA Park is due to return to the promotion soon.
WrestleMania 37 will take place March 28th, 2021 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. The news was announced this morning by the LA Times. A press conference is scheduled for Tuesday morning.
“This is a great way for our city to show how we are going to be hosting these major events in the future with two areas of influence with downtown around L.A. Live and Staples Center as well as SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park in Inglewood,” stated Kathy Schloessman, president of the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission. “Our pitch on all of our events Wrestle Mania 37 will take place at the new stadium in Inglewood in March 2021.”
The schedule of events for WrestleMania 37 week is as follows:
Thursday, March 25, 2021 – WWE Hall Of Fame – Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA
Friday, March 26, 2021 – Friday Night SmackDown – Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA
Saturday, March 27, 2021 – NXT TakeOver – Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA
Sunday, March 28, 2021 – Wrestlemania 37 – SoFi Stadium – Inglewood, CA
Monday, March 29, 2021 – Monday Night RAW – Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA
WWE Spokesperson Comments on WrestleMania 37 in Los Angeles
The stadium holds 70,000 but it is believed seating can be expanded for an event like WrestleMania to hold upwards of 100,000 fans.
“So many of the organizations that came together to attract WrestleMania 37 to Los Angeles were the same ones that worked to bring the Super Bowl to Los Angeles,” said John Saboor, WWE Executive Vice President Of Special events. “We now regularly host WrestleMania at venues that either hosted the Super Bowl a year or so prior or after and it’s a wonderful opportunity for those regions to build blue prints that they can use for hosting major events such as WrestleMania and the Super Bowl.”
The announcement from the LA Times can be read here.
Matt Riddle has once again stated he plans on retiring Brock Lesnar. This time the Original Bro made such comments while performing on an NXT house show in Las Vegas.
"I guarantee you this. The Bro RETIRES Brock Lesnar!"
Nothing is going to stop @SuperKingofBros from trying to get his match with The Beast ??
“This is just the beginning,” Riddle said at the show. “12 years ago, it started and 12 years from now I’ll still be going and I guarantee you this Las Vegas, the Bro retires Brock Lesnar. And you know what? The Broserweights are NXT, DIY is NXT, and everybody in this building is NXT!”
Riddle had previously noted that the venue in Vegas was where he made his UFC debut 12 years ago.
12 years ago I had my first fight with the UFC and now 12 years later at the very same venue (THE PALMS) I wrestle for NXT in front of my friends and family, moments like this make me extremely proud because I never gave up on myself even when this seemed impossible #bropic.twitter.com/my3yDwGJJp
Following SummerSlam weekend, the official YouTube account of the WWE Performance Center published a video of Riddle saying he was going to get his match with Brock Lesnar.
“I really wanted to get my hands on Brock,” Riddle says in the video. “You know, I saw him throwing everybody around. I don’t care what he says or what anybody says, I don’t care if he wants the match or not. I’m going to get it. I don’t care, it’s not up to him.”
The longest-reigning Knockouts Champion in history will face Jordynne Grace for the belt on Impact Wrestling next Tuesday night. The match was taped in Mexico last month. Taya is the only wrestler ever to hold the championship for longer than a year, having initially won it from Tessa Blanchard at Homecoming on January 6th, 2019.
Valkyrie spoke to Steel Chair Magazine recently about what being the longest-reigning Knockouts champion of all-time means to her.
“I’m extremely blessed and also feel extremely proud of myself. Nobody else understands how much work I put into this than myself, the ups, the downs, the heartaches, the heartbreaks, the successes, everything,” Valkyrie said.
“I’m very proud of myself that it is now manifested itself as the longest-reigning Knockouts Champion,” Taya continued. “To have my face and my name in the Impact Wrestling’s history books with that title is just unreal.”
Revival Of Taya Valkyrie vs Tessa Blanchard Rivalry?
During the interview, Taya also discussed her rivalry with Impact World Champion, Tessa Blanchard.
“On Tessa Blanchard, I’ve beaten her over and over again on many, many occasions. I beat her for the Knockouts Championship, I defended my Knockouts Championship in a Street Fight in Mexico City against her and was successful, I then continued to carry the women’s division for an entire year. I then beat her at Madison Square Garden for the AAA Reina de Reinas championship.”
Taya feels she should be next in line for a shot at Blanchard’s title.
“If anybody has the number one contender spot, it’s me, and I know that in 2020, you will see the revival of the Taya versus Tessa Blanchard rivalry and it is going to get pretty messy because both of us are extremely passionate, hard-working, dedicated, mentally and physically strong.”
She concluded the interview by stating that she plans to be the one to make history in 2020.
“I know this year will be another record-breaking year for me. I will be the one who will be making even more history and even more noise in 2020.”
Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson posted the eulogy he gave for his father recently to his social media accounts. Rocky Johnson passed away on January 15th, 2020 at the age of 75.
“I wish I had one more shot just to say goodbye, say I love you, say thank you, say I respect you, but I have the feeling he’s watching, he’s listening,” Rock said.
“I know my Dad would be saying ‘kayfabe the tears,'” he continued.
In the video, the Rock tells the story of learning of his father’s death on the first day of production for a film.
“No, it’s not a dream, my Dad is gone. In that moment, I thought what do I need to do? What’s the next thing that I need to do? And I heard a voice say ‘Well, hey, the show must go on’ and that was my Dad. That was my old man who told me that.”
“The wrestling community is a very tight community, it’s a global business but it’s a very, very tight community and they believe the show must go on.”
“This idea about the show must go on just reminded me of what my Dad was about and what he represented to our business,” Rock continued.
Rock’s eulogy can be viewed in the Instagram post below:
Who better than Kanyon? Was a question Chris Kanyon would often ask WCW crowds that he performed in front of. Kanyon was also once a member of the Jersey Triad with Bam Bam Bigelow and Diamond Dallas Page. Recently on the Jericho Cruise, DDP was asked a question about Kanyon during a panel discussion. DDPs answer was posted to the 83 Weeks podcast YouTube channel.
“He may be the most underrated guys ever,” DDP said of Kanyon.
“Chris was part of the FOP – which was ‘Friends of Page’ – and that helped him and that hurt him in ways too,” DDP said. “I felt like whenever I worked with him, cause he was down in the Power Plant when I was down there, I wanted him to get his body better because back in our generation that was important.”
William Regal is currently the on-screen commissioner of NXT. It’s a role the 51-year-old has played since 2014. Regal also holds the title of WWE’s Director of Talent Development and Head of Global Recruiting. He was interviewed by Inside the Ropes recently about his relationship with WWE’s Executive Vice President of Talent, Triple H.
“The first day I ever met him, I saw a like-minded soul who was a year younger than me,” Regal said of meeting Triple H.
“He went on to do what he did but we’ve always got this kind of bond that we work well together,” Regal continued.
Regal then told the story of when Regal and Triple H were working together in WCW early in Triple H’s career. The two were admiring how they looked in their robes when Arn Anderson pointed out that they both have large noses.
“We’re looking at each other and Arn Anderson walks behind us and in his way went ‘you two look like a pair of woodpeckers,” Regal said.
Regal continued to say that he and Triple H bonded over music as well when they used to travel together.
“We used to travel together and a thing we bonded over as well was metal music,” Regal continued.
He also mentioned that he and Triple H don’t talk much.
“I’m the last person he ever needs to talk to if that makes any sense because we sort of have this thing that we can communicate without talking,” Regal continued.
The video from Inside the Ropes can be viewed in the player below:
Seth Rollins is now referred to as “the Monday Night Messiah” on WWE RAW. He is also flanked by Akam and Rezar, the Authors of Pain, and Buddy Murphy. Rollins spoke to SI.com recently about his heel turn and newly formed alliances.
“The opportunity was presented to me to go in this direction, and the AOP are guys who I’ve watched from afar for a while down in NXT,” Rollins said about aligning with Akam and Rezar. “I was really impressed by some of the tag title matches they had down there, but they came up to Raw and were vastly underutilized right out of the gate and an injury to Rezar that took them out for a period of time.”
Rollins has also aligned with Buddy Murphy, who is now just known as Murphy. The two won the RAW tag team titles from the Viking Raiders recently on WWE RAW.
“Buddy is really self-explanatory. He called himself ‘The Best Kept Secret in WWE’ for a long time, and that’s fairly accurate,” Rollins said about his tag partner. “He’s a guy who was flying under the radar having really great matches on 205 and then on SmackDown, and he’s someone I always thought was very close to being one of the most well-rounded guys we have.”
Seth Rollins On His Recent Heel Turn
Rollins also spoke about his heel turn on RAW during an angle with Kevin Owens.
“I thought the buildup and the lead up to it made a lot of sense. Even though the person sitting in that van may have been kind of predictable, I still felt it was a shock for people to see me in that role again. Whether they were ready for it or not, it was still a jarring visual. I loved it, I thought it was very well executed, and set the ball in motion for what the future of WWE is going to look like, especially in 2020,” Rollins said about the turn.
WWE announced the signing of El Hijo del Fantasma, the former King Cuerno from Lucha Underground, last year. Despite signing the luchador in September, he has yet to wrestle a match for the promotion. In fact, his last match was on August 4th, 2019 in Mexico.
According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Fantasmo has been on the shelf with a knee injury. He is expected back shortly.
“The reason there has been no sighting or mentions of Jorge Alcantar (King Cuerno/El Hijo del Fantasma) since his signing was announced is that he blew out his knee. He’s expected to be cleared imminently,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
The 35-year-old luchador began his career with CMLL in 2008. He would leave the promotion for AAA in 2013.
On an episode of his podcast last spring, Sean Waltman commented on Fantasma.
“He was a guy that I talked to WWE about when they asked me. Canyon Ceman had asked me to take a trip down to Mexico after Alberto Del Rio left the first time.”
He continued, “Fantasma was one of the guys I told them about. He can speak English, he’s got a great look, and he fit most of the criteria they were looking for.”
Rusev hasn’t wrestled on WWE programming since a mixed-tag match on the January 20th, 2020 episode. He teamed with Liv Morgan and they were defeated by Lana and Bobby Lashley on the show. According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Rusev is currently off TV due to a contract dispute with WWE.
“Rusev has been off television due to a contract dispute,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
The report continued to say it’s possible there is no resolution to the Lashley-Rusev rivalry until after the contract dispute between Rusev and WWE has been resolved.
“There should be a Rusev-Lashley blow-off after all that build, but Rusev has been taken off TV so it looks like he never gets his revenge at the end unless his contract situation works out,” Meltzer wrote.
Rusev’s wife Lana signed a new multi-year contract with WWE last November.
Bryan Clark (aka Adam Bomb) has been charged for narcotics-related offenses in Arizona but the former member of Kronik says the facts of the case are being misconstrued.
The 55-year-old Clark and Dennis Miccolis, 73, have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy, illegal control of enterprise, transporting or selling narcotics, drug possession and possessing a weapon during a drug offense. The alleged offenses are believed to have occurred last year.
“The police report contains alleged facts that have been grossly misconstrued and are incorrect,” Clark’s attorney Robbert Jarvis said to the Arizona Republic. “This includes incorrect allegations relating to medication and its use.”
The next court hearing in the case is scheduled for February 19th, 2020.
The report from the Arizona Republic can be found here.
Bryan Clark aka Adam Bomb In Wrestling
Clark started his wrestling career with the AWA under the name the Nightstalker in 1989. He would wrestle for WCW and then Smoky Mountain Wrestling before signing with WWE in 1993. Clark would then begin to portray the Adam Bomb character.
He would join WCW in 1997 and begin competing under the name Wrath. In 2000, he formed Kronik alongside Bryan Adams.
Tony Khan is said to be taking a larger role in the creative side of things backstage in AEW. According to a report from Fightful, Khan’s role has evolved from being the final say to coming up with ideas and developing storylines of his own. He is also said to have been more outspoken concerning the ideas of others as of late.
In addition to Khan’s evolving role on the creative team, Kenny Omega is said to have been pushing for certain storylines behind the scenes as well. The recent Britt Baker heel-turn is said to have been Omega’s idea. The lines blasting Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone are said to have come from Khan, however.
Baker attacked Yuka Sakazaki after their match this week, breaking off one of Sakazaki’s teeth in the process.
Regarding the Hangman Page storyline, it is being reported that AEW management is having fun working on the angle and coming up with ideas for Page. On the most recent episode of Dynamite, Matt Jackson confronted Page in the back about his drinking. Page appeared to be taking Matt’s comments to heart before he then began drinking beer directly from a full pitcher.
The main event of next week’s Dynamite from Atlanta will be the first-ever AEW steel cage match. Cody Rhodes will face Wardlow in the match.
Taynara Conti is reportedly gone from NXT. According to a report from Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful (on their Patreon), Conti had a dispute with the company, likely financial, and she has left the company.
In recent days, Conti has re-tweeted posts critical of NXT for not using her such as the one below:
No @TaynaraContiWWE, this is what happens. They should have learned by now. ???? https://t.co/1BzJ45JXvC
Conti is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and has a background in jiu-jitsu and judo. She also has a background in gymnastics. Prior to signing with WWE, Conti competed in the trials for the Summer Games in 2016 as part of the Brazilian jiu-jitsu team. Conti signed with WWE in October 2016. Pro Wrestling Illustrated rated her the 90th top female single’s wrestler of 2018.
Conti had no pro-wrestling experience prior to signing with WWE in 2016. She has since had 103 matches and holds a record of 23-80. In her last appearance on NXT programming, she dropped a match to Candice LeRae on the December 18th, 2019 episode.
The pop-punk band Bowling for Soup recently released a music video for a song about Alexa Bliss. The former multi-time WWE Women’s Champion stars as herself in the video as well.
Lyrics for the song are as follows:
“She saw me for the first time in Columbus But she was with her friends and?I?was in a?tour bus A few months later she?was wearing my shirt in a photo shoot I didn’t even know that she was famous How could someone so pretty be so dangerous? She’s only 5′ tall but maybe 5’2″ in her wrestling boots”
The video can be viewed in the player below:
Bliss stated the following about the song in a press release:
“This song is amazing :-) filming the video was such a great time I had a blast. It’s definitely a once-in-a- lifetime opportunity when your favorite band in the world makes a song about you. And Jaret is always so fun to work with and be around :-)”
“[Chorus] (Hey!) Why can’t every girl be more like Alexa Bliss? (Hey!) How can a chick on TV make me feel like this? She’s got a finishing move called Twisted Bliss And it’s like my heart is caught in a sleeper hold Woah-oh-oh Why can’t every girl be more like Alexa Bliss?
[Verse 2] She says some really mean stuff to the other wrestlers Some say they hate her but they just don’t get her And if you try to bring her down, she’ll say “Bless your heart” Her favorite song’s “Girl All the Bad Guys Want” Sometimes she cheats but she never gets caught, yeah She’s got a pig named Larry-Steve and he’s so smart”
Bliss had been invited on stage with the band during a show last summer as well.
Amazon could be in a position to purchase WWE says analysts from Needham & Company LLC. Analyst Laura Martin says Amazon would likely be in the best spot to purchase WWE provided they first purchase the streaming rights to WWE content.
“We believe that such a licensing deal would put AMZN in the best spot to purchase all of WWE, whenever the family is ready to exit,” Martin said. “Vince McMahon is currently 74 years old, going on 50.”
During WWE’s recent financial earnings call, Vince McMahon noted that WWE could sell the streaming rights to their PPVs. Martin’s analysis states that the WWE Network would be an attractive property for Amazon to own.
“WWE’s live programming is highly differentiated and its Raw, Smackdown and NXT brands are worth more than being any one of 500 series that have no built-in audience or brand,” Martin continued.
WWE stock has fallen more than 40% so far in 2020. WWE stock fell recently as the company fired its co-Presidents, George Barrios and Michelle Wilson. Martin currently has WWE stock rated as a “buy.”
The full analysis from Laura Martin can be read here.
Minoru Suzuki will face Jon Moxley for the IWGP United States Championship this Sunday from Osaka, Japan. Suzuki spoke with NJPW1972.com about his new rival.
“He’s a guy who stepped in my house and didn’t take his shoes off at the front door,” Suzuki said about Moxley. “The ‘former WWE Superstar Dean Ambrose’. Changed his look up a bit and here he is. Look, I’ve been watching him for a while, yeah. Can he grapple? No. Is he strong? No. Tough? No. He can’t do s**t.”
Suzuki would continue to say, however, that Moxley stands out despite the things he can’t do.
“It’s a bit of a paradox, but it’s because of that he got chances in WWE. There’s nobody else like him, right? Nobody in the majors in America is like him. So he stands out. Nobody gets that,” Suzuki continued. “Look. An absolute all-round perfectionist, the perfect complete player, tens in every category? Not even Tanahashi is that. Naito isn’t that. They don’t exist.”
Suzuki then spoke about what goes into rating how good a pro-wrestler is.
“Everyone in this business is a mark, you included. You fans have this idea of ratings, of skill points. You put all those points in a hexagon graph and calculate an average; ‘oh he’s a good wrestler, over 80 overall’. BS. Who the hell will pay money to buy a ticket, and see a guy who’s a perfect hexagon, 8 out of 10 or above in all areas? The guy with zero overall, the guy who can’t do anything at all, he’s a better draw.”
Suzuki would conclude that even though Moxley might not be the most skilled wrestler, he has an intangible feel to him that makes people take notice.
“He has something very special about him,” Suzuki concluded.
Suzuki also gave his thoughts on WWE’s international expansion.
“They’re going into all these countries, buying up promotions, snatching away talent, and sapping the business there. But the one place they haven’t been able to do that yet? Japan. Japan and Mexico are the only places that have carried a strong sense of wrestling culture that was uniquely theirs. Business is down in Mexico. WWE are getting their claws in there, too. But they haven’t come here yet, because Japanese wrestling has too much presence. Uniquely Japanese wrestling does.”
The full interview with Minoru Suzuki can be read here.
Shayna Baszler was the final elimination in the 2020 women’s Royal Rumble match. The 39-year-old entered the Rumble at the #30 position but was tossed out by Charlotte Flair.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Baszler is set to become a regular member of the RAW brand shortly. Baszler’s last match on NXT was a victory over Shotzi Blackheart on the January 22nd, 2020 episode. Blackheart had eliminated Baszler from a battle royal that saw Bianca Belair earn the next title shot against Rhea Ripley on a previous show.
“She is leaving NXT and this has been planned for a long time, probably close to a year,” wrote Dave Meltzer. “So the thing about not wanting to transfer stars in NXT to the main roster and give the idea NXT is developmental or a stepping stone rather than a third brand doesn’t apply to her.”
The report continued to note that NXT stars will no longer be called up to the “main roster” unless an angle has been planned for a long time.
Shayna Baszler To RAW
Baszler is the only 2x NXT Women’s Champion in the history of the title. She’s also held the title for more combined days than any other champion in the title’s lineage. Her 549 days spent with the title tops Asuka’s 510 days spent all during her one reign with the belt.