32-year-old DJZ is headed to WWE. According to a report from PW Insider, WWE made the former X-Division champion an offer last month and he is expected to be headed to NXT shortly.
Real name Michael Paris, DJZ has wrestled under the names Zema Ion as well.
DJZ Signs With WWE
Considering a serious injury he sustained in Mexico a few years ago, DJZ likely considers himself lucky to still be wrestling. After taking a splash during a match for the Crash promotion, DJZ’s colon ruptured causing internal bleeding. Fortunately, the surgery was a success and he returned to the ring just a few months later.
DJZ had the following to say to Sportskeeda in regards to coming back from such a serious injury.
“People have often asked me why I would come back after suffering such a traumatic injury. Is it worth it? Why am I given this second chance? Is it worth it? I don’t know. But the only thing I can think of that I’ve been given a second chance at life and wrestling is because there must be something more for me to achieve. I’m going to stick around Impact Wrestling and stick around professional wrestling to find out what that prize is, what I’m here for.”
Deonna Purrazzo has a message for people who chant her boyfriend’s name during her matches. She posted her comments through her social media channels recently.
I wrestled 4 yrs before I met my boyfriend. Worked for ROH, Impact, WWE/NXT consistently for years, helped create a women’s division & wrestled across the globe before meeting my boyfriend.
If you chant for him while I’m wrestling, you don’t deserve to see me wrestle.
Purrazzo is believed to be dating ROH’s Marty Scurll at the moment. She is not the first wrestler to voice concerns about fans focussing too much on who they are dating, however.
Similar concerns were raised by fans of AJ Lee and CM Punk when some fans began chanting CM Punk during AJ’s matches in 2014. Aaron Solow once raised concerns about a promotion’s commentators referring to him as “Mr. Bayley”.
Purrazzo trained at the D2W Wrestling Academy in New Jersey. She wrestled just 4 matches for the academy’s promotion before competing on a TNA One Night Only Knockouts PPV. She lost to Brooke Tessmacher on the show.
After training with Rip Rogers, she debuted for Ohio Valley Wrestling in 2015 and also wrestled a couple of dark matches for ROH that year. In 2016, she started to get booked with ROH’s Women of Honor division as well. In 2017, the bookings seemed to really start coming for Purrazzo. She did tours with Stardom in Japan, wrestled matches for Impact and ROH as well. Bookings with promotions such as RISE and Shimmer started happening around then as well.
She was officially signed to NXT in the summer of 2018. Purrazzo made it to the quarter-finals of the 2018 Mae Young Classic before being eliminated by Io Shirai.
Becky Lynch was once at risk of being cut by WWE even before she debuted on NXT television. She had been given an Irish-jig dancing gimmick and lost 12 matches on NXT house shows to start her career.
Lynch then defeated Summer Rae in the summer of 2014 in her NXT TV debut. Lynch took to Twitter recently to comment on her debut match and her position in the company at the time.
In November, Lynch addressed her former gimmick on a media call.
“Let us never talk about that again. You know what, you can’t get worse than that,” Lynch said regarding the gimmick. “Sometimes you’ve just gotta fricking make a fool out of yourself and then you become little bit untouchable. So, I tell ya, it’s gonna make one hell of a biography one day, I hope. That was terrible, and we all know it was terrible. Let nobody else say anything different.”
Lynch would win the inaugural Smackdown women’s championship two years later. She is now a 2x former holder of the title, a Royal Rumble winner, and was awarded the Woman of the Year award by Pro Wrestling Illustrated for 2018. Lynch will face Ronda Rousey and Charlotte Flair for the RAW women’s championship at WrestleMania 35.
Check out footage of this Irish pub reacting to Becky Lynch winning the 2019 Royal Rumble:
Ronda Rousey has been breaking kayfabe through her promos and Tweets recently. Now fans of Rousey can celebrate her 4th-wall busting actions with a new T-shirt.
Rousey is marketing the shirt herself, separate from WWE.
Do you Break Kayfabe and send marks into a tweeting rage?? Then your conduct may be Rated Rowdy! Avoid offending the easily offended by warning them off with one of these @RRouseydotcom limited edition T-shirt’s!!!! https://t.co/8MzPVhYL9wpic.twitter.com/4PATYKXoKD
According to the Wrestling Observer, Rousey’s comments about wrestling being fake is being done in an effort to build heat on her from fans of Becky Lynch. WWE believes the angle has been a big success so far.
“The company believes it’s been a huge success in the sense that people actually buy Rousey being an enemy of the state based on her saying wrestling is a scripted world,” Dave Meltzer said on the matter.
Rousey is scheduled to face Dana Brooke with the RAW Women’s championship on the line this Monday. Assuming she’s victorious on RAW, she’ll meet Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch in a triple threat match.
Kurt Angle was asked about Rousey’s heel turn on Facebook recently. He offered up only praise for how the former UFC champion has been doing.
“It’s great for Ronda. It shows her depth as a persona and her understanding of the business. Ronda will learn very quickly how to be a heel in the ring, which means she will be bumping a lot more than before. I’m looking forward to it.”
17 years ago today, WrestleMania 18 emanated from Toronto’s Skydome, now known as Rogers Center. The main event of the show was Chris Jericho defending the WWE Undisputed championship against Triple H. The match most remember WrestleMania 18 for, however, was Hollywood Hulk Hogan vs the Rock. It marked Hogan’s return to WrestleMania for the first time in almost a decade.
Chris Jericho on WrestleMania 18
Jericho spoke to Inside the Ropes about having to follow such an iconic match at WrestleMania.
“Let’s be honest, [it was] a main event in the fact that it was on last, but the main event of the show was Hogan and Rock and I knew it,” Jericho admitted. “And I was actually most people to be pitching have their match on last. I was pitching [for Triple H and I] not to go on last because I said, ‘How do you follow Hogan and Rock?’ And Triple H, and probably rightfully so, was fighting for the title match to be last but we couldn’t follow it. We just couldn’t and you could just see the air go out of the room. That’s a match, I’ve never watched it back I remember being kind of disappointed in it, main event at WrestleMania?”
The program Jericho was in at the time involved him being the first to win the Undisputed championship. With Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall being brought back into the company at the time, Jericho’s title reign was arguably not the featured storyline on RAW or Smackdown most weeks.
“It was more of a forgotten thing, so, the buildup for the [WrestleMania]match wasn’t great, the positioning of the match wasn’t great, and in my opinion, the match wasn’t great, but, I can say I was in the main event of WrestleMania, so, there you go,” Jericho continued.
Ronda Rousey’s next title defense has been set. She’ll look to defend her RAW women’s championship this Monday on RAW against Dana Brooke.
“Seven days after her bold challenge to Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey was met with a vicious beatdown, Dana Brooke will face The Rowdy One for her title on Raw,” a WWE press release for the title match reads. “On Friday morning, Rousey was fined by WWE for her actions last Monday, which also included striking a WWE official.”
Ronda Rousey vs Dana Brooke – Monday Night RAW 3/18
As of this writing, Rousey is just 13 days behind Alexa Bliss for having the longest reign with the RAW women’s championship. Bliss held the title for 223 days from late August 2017 to WrestleMania 34.
So far, Rousey has defended the title 9x on WWE programming (not including house shows), which is the record. The second most consecutive defenses in the title’s lineage are 4, held by Bliss and Charlotte Flair.
Bliss has 8 total defenses, Flair 7, and then Nia Jax and Bayley have each defended the title twice. Banks has defended the title just once on WWE programming despite 4x reigns with the belt. She wrestled Charlotte Flair to a double-count out in late 2016. She’s never won a title match while defending the title on WWE programming.
Matt & Nick Jackson are the new AAA tag team champions. The brothers won the titles last night in an impromptu match at AAA’s annual Rey de Reyes event. The Lucha Bros had just defeated Rey Escorpion and El Texano Jr. to win the titles when the lights went out in the building. When they came back on, the Young Bucks were in the ring and an impromptu match for the titles began.
Konnan celebrated the victory with the Young Bucks.
Cody was also on the show, though he did not compete. Konnan and several others came out to confront the AEW co-Vice President and a brawl ensued.
Bit of a controversial evening, but it doesn’t change how thrilled I was to be able to attend this show representing AEW. The language of pro-wrestling is international, and nothing should divide us. ???? https://t.co/IGQplzlzFC
The Young Bucks become the 20th team to win AAA’s tag titles. Rey Escorpion and El Texano Jr. had held the titles for nearly a year before losing them to the Lucha Bros last night.
The all-time greatest tag-team in AAA history is Joe Lider and Psychosis who held the titles for 551 consecutive days from 2008 to 2010. Lider is the all-time greatest tag champion in the title’s lineage by far. He’s held the titles 5x for a total of 1490 combined days spent with 1/2 of the titles. Jack Evans is in second place for this statistic with 769 days spent as champion across 4 different reigns.
Impact Wrestling was back inside Sam’s Town live in Las Vegas for their 3/15 episode last night. An Impact World championship match was scheduled to main event the show.
Here are 10 takeaways from Impact Wrestling 3/15:
Johnny Impact Swerved Brian Cage/Fans
Last night, Johnny Impact was once again scheduled to defend his Impact World championship against Brian Cage. Once again, Johnny found a way to walk away still world champion. This time, however, Johnny wouldn’t even allow the match to begin.
Killer Kross walked to the ring before the main event with a seemingly unconscious Johnny draped over his shoulders. It seemed as though Kross had taken out Johnny out of frustration for not being included in the title match.
Cage only got involved when it appeared Kross was going to strike Taya Valkyrie. The Knockouts champion repaid him for this by hitting him with a low blow. Johnny then nipped up as though he’d never been hurt to begin with. The champion then attacked Cage with a cinder block, likely in the hopes his injury will be so sincere that Johnny won’t have to worry about defending his title against him again for a long, long time.
As for Killer Kross, it appears he was able to convince Johnny and Taya that they need him watching their back. Some type of arrangement has clearly been made between Johnny and Kross, at least.
Gail Kim Suspended By Impact Wrestling Management
Gail Kim was suspended by Scott D’Amore last night. Kim got physically involved in attempting to restrain Tessa Blanchard from being up more non-wrestling company employees. The tension between the Hall-of-Famer Kim and the former Knockouts champion continues to build.
Jordynne Grace Earns A Knockouts Championship Match
Jordynne Grace has climbed to the top of the Knockouts division rankings. After defeating Tessa Blanchard in a #1 contenders match last night, Grace has earned a title match. She’s scheduled in one for United We Stand on April 4th, though it is in a fatal 4-way match also featuring Rosemary and Katie Forbes challenged Valkyrie.
As for Tessa Blanchard, it looked like she had the match going the way she wanted but failed to keep her focus. Blanchard took the time to tell fans she “hopes Gail Kim is watching” before climbing the top rope. She was cut off by Grace, however, who then gave her the Grace driver for the win.
Lucha Bros Disrespected Konnan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cWPPwEJUvo
Konnan went to ask the Lucha Bros for yet another match against LAX this week. Pentagon did his hand signal and told Konnan he has “no fear” in response. Konnan took this as a sign of disrespect. Konnan seems more motivated than ever to get LAX back in the ring with the Lucha Bros now.
Moose Has No Chill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwnmS97DHRA
Moose decided to hang out with the guys from the Rascalz this week. At first, he seemed to be having a good time with them but then his mood soured when the Rascalz made fun of “the dude Melissa Santos rejected” the previous week. Moose then beat up all 3 members of the faction in a comedic fashion.
Trey Miguel vs Moose has been scheduled for next week.
Rosemary Attempts To Bring Back Allie
Even though Rosemary’s team won the “Dark War” last week, Allie still hasn’t returned. Rosemary has possession of “Dark Allie” but this Allie isn’t letting Rosemary know where “the rest of Allie” is. Rosemary seems as motivated to get Allie’s soul back as she is to get people to subscribe to Impact Wrestling’s Twitch channel during commercial breaks.
OVE Defeat Rich Swann & Co.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1jzPmJWF3o
After weeks of trying to get Swann to join his faction, Callihan was able to pick up the victory against his team this week. Callihan got the win for his team here after giving Tommy Dreamer a piledriver.
Later it was announced that Callihan will challenge Swann for the X-Division championship next week.
Glenn Gilberti Picks Up 1st Victory In Impact Wrestling Since 2004
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vI7vAaRtQj8
The former Disco Inferno went a cool 15 years between victories for Impact Wrestling. Last night, he defeated a Kikutaro character as he looked to work off the ring rust in preparation for a clash with Scarlett Bordeaux
It was his first victory since he teamed with Johnny Swinger a decade and a half ago for TNA Wrestling. He and Swinger were known as the New York Connection and they defeated El Fuego and Scott Papper on the 21st episode of Impact Wrestling. Gilbertti would later lose a “Loser is Fired” match against David Young.
Eli Drake & Eddie Edwards Working Well As A Team
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvdV7Iqdab0
Despite differing philsophies on wrestling, Eli Drake and Eddie Edwards worked well as a team this week. They defeated the Desi Hit Squad, who just can’t seem to string any wins together. Granted, Edwards did require the use of his kendo stick to get the victory. All the same, Edwards and Drake might decide to stick together for a bit.
KM & Fallah Bah Go 2-0 Against Reno Scum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5vDvPEijEg
Reno Scum is a popular Las Vegas-based team. It seems they have a chance to catch on with Impact Wrestling but a loss to KM and Fallah Bah will likely do them no favors in that regard.
Quick Results:
Sami Callihan & the Crist Brothers (OVE) defeated Tommy Dreamer, Rich Swann, & Willie Mack
As previously reported, there were several interesting wrestling-related trademark applications filed over the past week.
In addition to Cody Rhodes filing applications for the phrases “The American Dream” and “The American Nightmare” and Arn Anderson trademarking his ring name, another application was filed for the legendary “Four Horsemen” stable.
According to the US Patent and Trademark office, the “Four Horsemen” application was filed by a company called Toot Toot LLC. Toot Toot LLC is based out of Huntsville, Alabama and has the same mailing address as 1st Family Mortgage. The President of 1st Family Mortgage is the one and only Conrad Thompson.
Four Horsemen At Starrcast II
Thompson recently revealed that Four Horsemen’s enforcer, Arn Anderson, will take part in the Starrcast II convention.
“We’re proud to have Arn Anderson on stage as one of our marquee events,” Thompson said to SI.com. “We can’t wait for Arn to have a live mic in his hand, and stay tuned for more details.”
Anderson had the following to say regarding his recent release from WWE.
“I was fortunate enough to work with WWE for 18 years,” Anderson said. “Certainly that provided my family and myself with a nice living, and I have no regrets. A lot of my best friends still work there. Everything has a shelf life, and I guess mine ran out.”
After watching what Dave Bautista did to Ric Flair on his 70th birthday, Disney has decided they would rather not get on his bad side. The film company has re-instated James Gunn as director of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise following backlash from Dave Bautista and others.
Gunn was removed as director when old Tweets of his were deemed offensive. Disney issued a statement to media that Gunn’s comments were ““indefensible and inconsistent with our studio’s values.”
This summer, Bautista, Chris Pratt, and others involved with the film made public statements expressing their desire for Gunn to be reinstated.
Bautista posted the following in regards to the matter:
“I will have more to say but for right now all I will say is this.. @JamesGunn is one of the most loving, caring, good natured people I have ever met. He’s gentle and kind and cares deeply for people and animals. He’s made mistakes. We all have. I’m NOT ok with what’s happening to him.”
Bautista did say, however, he would participate in a 3rd film without Gunn if he was legally required.
Ronda Rousey has been fined by WWE for her actions on RAW this week. According to WWE, actual amount of the [storyline] fine Rousey will be forced to pay has not been disclosed due to confidentiality clauses in her contract.
Ronda Rousey has been fined by WWE as a result of her unprofessional actions last Monday night on Raw,” a WWE press release reads. “Due to the confidentiality of Rousey’s contract, the amount of the fine will not be disclosed.”
Dana Brooke confronted Rousey Monday night on RAW. Brooke said Rousey has been insulting pro-wrestling with her comments and went to the ring to confront her. Rousey then proceeded to beat up Brooke even as referees and WWE officials attempted to pry her off.
Rousey continued the attack but stopped short of applying her patented arm-bar on Brooke.
Ronda Rousey Causes Disqualification At Fastlane
Rousey stirred up controversy on Sunday with her actions as well. She attacked Lynch during her match with Charlotte Flair, resulting in a disqualification. With the disqualification victory, Lynch qualified to be in the RAW Women’s championship match at WrestleMania. The match will now take place under triple threat rules.
Arn Anderson and Cody Runnels have each filed for new trademarks recently. Arn Anderson has filed to trademark his on-screen name. AEW’s Cody recently filed to trademark the terms “American Dream” and “American Nightmare” as well.
Arn Anderson Trademark
Real name Marty Lunde filed to trademark his wrestling name Arn Anderson on March 9th, 2019. The purpose of the trademark as listed by documents filed with the US trademark and patents office is as follows:
“Entertainment services, namely, live appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainment personality, Entertainment services, namely, personal appearances by a professional wrestler and sports entertainment personality; Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer.”
Cody Trademark
As AEW builds towards launch, Cody has filed for two new trademarks under his name recently. On March 10th he applied to trademark the term “the American Dream” and “the American Nightmare.”
Four Horsemen Trademark Filed
A company named “Toot Toot LLC” has filed to trademark the term “Four Horsemen” on March 10th as well.
Cody Comments on Arn Anderson’s Release
Not long after news of Anderson’s WWE release broke, Cody made his opinions of his departure public.
“I’m just shocked because the entire current top talent at WWE — Seth Rollins, John Cena, Brock, even, Charlotte — I mean, everybody within the ‘golden circle’ is an Arn guy or girl,” Cody said to Pro Wrestling Sheet. I feel like that blows my mind. […] Arn Anderson is a gift the to the industry,” he said. “He’s not corporate, he’s a wrestler, but you cannot take wrestlers out of the wrestling business.”
After cutting promos on each other recently on Smackdown, AJ Styles and Randy Orton are scheduled for WrestleMania. WWE recently confirmed the two will face each other in single’s competition on the show.
“At WrestleMania, AJ Styles will take on Randy Orton in a battle to see who has the right to call SmackDown LIVE their house,” a WWE press release reads.
Orton and Styles have only wrestled one single’s match on WWE programming previously. Orton defeated Styles on the March 7th, 2017 episode of Smackdown in a match which earned him a future title shot. They’ve since wrestled several times on house shows recently, however.
“WWE.com has since learned that this match will indeed that place on The Showcase of the Immortal, Sunday, April 7 at 7 ET/4 PT on the award-winning WWE Network.”
WrestleMania 35 – April 7th, 2019 – Lineup
Universal Championship
Brock Lesnar (c) vs Seth Rollins
RAW Women’s Championship Triple Threat
Ronda Rousey (c) vs Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch
No Holds Barred
Triple H vs Batista
Kurt Angle’s Farewell Match
Kurt Angle vs TBD
Shane McMahon vs the Miz
AJ Styles vs Randy Orton
WWE Cruiserweight Championship
Buddy Murphy (c) vs Tony Nese/Cedric Alexander winner
The show takes place from Metlife Stadium, April 7th, 2019.
Next week on NXT will feature the finals of the 2019 Dusty Rhodes Classic. Aleister Black & Ricochet will take on Steve Cutler & Wesley Blake of the Forgotten Sons with the winner earning a title shot against the War Raiders.
Ahead of next week’s finals, the 4 competitors spoke to WWE.com about Dusty Rhodes’ legacy in NXT.
Tournament Finalists Discuss Dusty Rhodes’ Legacy
Cutler and Blake both trained under Rhodes before his passing in 2015.
“My relationship with Dusty was simple,” Cutler said. “He got me, he understood from the beginning who I am and what I am capable of. He knew that I am someone who just cuts to the chase and tells it like it is. It’s just a shame that no one else in this system other than Blake and Ryker could see that.”
Blake is the only wrestler in the match to have competed in the tournament previously. Along with current Cruiserweight champion, Buddy Murphy, Blake competed in the inaugural version of the tournament.
Ricochet & Aleister Black Comment On Dusty Rhodes’ Legacy
Aleister Black arrived in NXT after Dusty’s passing. The former NXT champion says that his legacy speaks for itself, however.
“Dusty’s legacy speaks for itself. He’s responsible for the process of NXT. Roman Reigns, Sasha Banks, Finn Bálor, the list goes on,” said Black. “Although I never knew him personally, there is a certain desire to compete to the best of your ability to live up to what he created.”
Ricochet also commented on their opponents in the finals.
“If we win this, it shows we are here to be the best,” Ricochet said. “The Forgotten Sons are dangerous and unpredictable, and they’ve always got a plan. I know Aleister Black and I are a new team, but we aren’t new to each other. I first met Aleister, ironically, while I was competing in a German tournament back in 2012. If we win this and continue dominating on Raw and SmackDown LIVE, we can back up our claim to being the best.”
Roman Reigns is hoping to inject more of his real-life persona into his character. He recently spoke to SI.com about acting more like Joe Anoa’i on-screen.
“I just feel like with me integrating the characters and who I am in real life and who I am on stage, for me to kind of mix them, it allows me to laugh at Roman a little bit and have a little more fun and be a little more loose as opposed to the stoic brawler,” Reigns said. ”
Reigns would continue to say his true persona is much like that of his cousins, Jimmy & Jey Uso.
“If you know me in real life, I’m kinda like my cousins [The Usos], I’m a bit of a clown, I act up, we goof off a lot. We’re silly, we’re big kids, we’re always goofing around, trying to laugh.”
Reigns said something which concerned him recently was fans feeling sad in regards to his battle with Leukaemia.
“I don’t wanna be the guy who comes out there and everybody gets semi-sad or gets super heavy all the time,” Reigns continued. “I want people to have fun, I want to create escapism. It’s like a mini vacation [for the fans] on their couch.”
Earlier this month, it was reported that Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows had turned down multi-million dollar contract offers from WWE. The tag-team’s deals with the promotion expire this September.
According to a recent report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the team is still undecided on what they’ll do when their contracts are up this fall.
“There are a lot of factors in play but what I can say is that they have not decided what their next move is at this point,” wrote Dave Meltzer. “They could stay. They could go.”
Some WWE talent is waiting to see what the free agency landscape is like closer to when their current deals expire. It appears Anderson and Gallows fall into this category.
“Many have not signed because they are waiting to see the lay of the land when their deals are up,” noted Meltzer. “For Gallows & Anderson, they’ll have a far better idea in September about their next five years than now.”
Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows Comment On AEW
Anderson & Gallows were recently interviewed by journalist Chris Van Vliet. During the interview, Gallows & Anderson each indicated they were happy for their former Bullet Club stablemates who are involved in running AEW.
“We’re happy for our friends, we think those guys will do great,” Gallows said. “They’ve done great around the world. We wish we could have them here with us but we wish them the best in their new endeavor.”
“Happy for our friends,” Anderson added. “Happy for the industry and I hope everybody succeeds.”
Madison Rayne recently signed a multi-year deal with Impact Wrestling. It appears Rayne and ROH came to a mutual agreement regarding her release from the company. Rayne signed a 1-year deal with ROH last September. She later came to terms on her release from the promotion and re-signed with Impact at the beginning of the month.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, Rayne was not satisfied with the creative direction of her character. She is also said to have pitched the idea of the Beautiful People faction being brought into ROH.
“She then pitched the return of The Beautiful People and ROH agreed that maybe they would try,” wrote Dave Meltzer. “Different people came up with ideas on introducing The Beautiful People. They pitched her the scenarios and she at first gave an indication she liked them, but a few days later she sent them an email saying she didn’t like any of the ideas. Both sides did leave the process amicably.”
Rayne had apparently pushed for Velvet Sky and Angelina Love be brought in for the Beautiful People gimmick. ROH is said to have wanted Mandy Leon to replace one of Sky or Love, however.
Rayne is a former 5x Knockouts champion and twice held the Knockouts tag team championships. The Beautiful People consisted of Madison Rayne, Velvet Sky, Angelina Love, Lacey Von Erich and at one point, Billy Gunn.
Former WWE writer, Freddie Prinze Jr., says he pitched the idea for Kofi Kingston to run through a gauntlet of challengers over a decade ago. He noted that, at the time, the idea fell on deaf ears.
Prinze Jr. has done two tours of duty as a member of the WWE creative team. The actor first worked for the company from 2008-09 and then again from 2010-2012. Kofi Kingston was called up to the main roster in late 2007. He started off on the ECW brand airing on the SyFy Network at the time.
Prinze Jr. spoke to GQ Magazine in 2016 and described what led to him working for WWE.
“I think it was 2007 or 2008. I don’t remember the exact year, but I went to WrestleMania and I was speaking with a lady who worked for the company. She was asking what I liked about the show, what I didn’t like, and I was just very honest with her. She said, ‘I would love for you to have this conversation with Kevin Dunn or Stephanie McMahon'”
Kofi Kingston’s Path to WrestleMania
The Kofi gauntlet idea Prinze Jr. is referring to will take place next week on Smackdown. Vince McMahon closed this week’s episode by telling Kofi he’ll have the chance to qualify for a WrestleMania title match if he wins a gauntlet match next week.
Stephanie McMahon is in Abu Dhabi for the start of the Special Olympics World Games currently. She spoke to local media about the ongoing women’s evolution in WWE and the potential for an all-female WrestleMania main event this year.
McMahon was careful not to conclusively state the women will be in the main event this year, however.
“It would mean more to me then I could describe for our women to be the main event at WrestleMania,” McMahon said. “Charlotte, Ronda and Becky could do it this year. There is so much momentum behind the story. They are so incredibly talented. I know they would deliver. But what I will say is that I hope it is the first of many.”
Stephanie would continue to say, however, she feels Rousey has taken things too far recently.
“I have loved watching Ronda Rousey’s evolution. As a character and as a performer,” McMahon continued. “She seems to have taken it a bit far lately and I just have to say I feel a bit bad for Becky and Charlotte.”
McMahon would also weigh-in on how Roman Reigns’ recovery from Leukaemia has impacted the company.
“Roman talked about all the support that he got from the WWE Universe and how much it meant to him and now what he wants to do is use the WWE’s platform and use his celebrity to give back to others who are also fighting. It is an amazing story. It is a true story. And I think Roman is going to be able to do amazing things.”
Dash Wilder is currently 1/2 of the RAW tag team champions. The Revival retained their titles Sunday at Fastlane in a triple threat match against Bobby Roode & Chad Gable and Ricochet & Aleister Black.
There have been reports in recent months that the Revival requested their release from WWE. Dash Wilder recently commented on those reports in an interview with the Mirror.
“Hmm, I won’t touch on it too much,” Wilder began. “What I will say is that it was lost in translation. There were some things that got out there that I don’t think people knew the full story about.”
Wilder continued to talk about if the online reports caused any frustration for him or his partner.
“I don’t think it aggravated us,” he continued. “It kind of gave us… again, we like to be angry. We like to be mad at things and have something to fight for. So that gave us more fuel for the fire and we were like… ‘we’ll have fun with the internet over that, as they don’t know what’s what, so we’re not going to tell them otherwise’.”
Dash Wilder Interview Highlights
Wilder also spoke about how he and Dawson aren’t flashy like some of the other NXT call-ups.
“We’re not something that’s immediately going to jump out at you like an Aleister Black, who has this grand entrance, with the candles and the smoke and the mirrors. That’s really cool, and he’s gonna do great, but that’s not us.”
Impact Wrestling will bring 2-nights of tapings inside the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia on May 3rd and 4th. The “ECW Arena” has been a famed pro-wrestling venue for over 20 years.
Impact Wrestling tapes their television once a month over 2 or 3-night periods. So far in 2019, Impact has taped in Nashville and Las Vegas. This month, Impact travels back to Windsor, Ontario for 2 nights of tapings. Following Windsor, Impact presents Rebellion from Toronto’s Rebel nightclub. Although it has yet to be announced, the promotion will likely hold TV tapings from Toronto the next two nights as well.
2300 Arena In Philadelphia
In addition to having been ECW’s Philadelphia home, the 2300 Arena is currently used by both MLW and ROH. Major League Wrestling recently presented “SuperFight” from the venue on February 2nd.
The arena even boats its own Hall of Fame for wrestlers. The following are all inductees:
Rocco Rock
Terry Funk
Johnny Grunge
the Sandman
John Zandig
Eddie Gilbert
Chris Candido
Tod Gordon
Sabu
Trent Acid
Jerry Lynn
Tommy Dreamer
ECW Fans
the Blue Meanie
the Pitbulls
2 Cold Scorpio
Shane Douglas
Dean Malenko
Eddie Guerrero
Impact Wrestling Wrestling – 2300 Arena – Press Release
“This coming May, after United We Stand and after Rebellion, IMPACT Wrestling will be traveling to the World Famous 2300 Arena for 2 nights of IMPACT LIVE!” a company press release for the event reads. “This is your first chance to see your favorite Stars and Knockouts of IMPACT Wrestling in the same arena that made ECW a household name over 20 years ago. Tickets will be available Thursday, March 21st at 10AM ET at 2300Arena.Com.”
Harlem Heat will join Torrie Wilson, Billy Gunn, Sean Waltman, Chyna, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Road Dogg, & the Honkey Tonk Man as this year’s inductees into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Several WWE Superstars and pro-wrestlers have reacted to the news.
Triple H had the following to say regarding the legendary WCW team:
Booker T and Goldust won the WWE tag team championships at Armageddon in 2002. They won a 4-way elimination match which also featured the Dudley Boyz, Lance Storm & William Regal, and Chris Jericho & Christian. They would only hold the titles for 3 weeks, however.
Trish Stratus noted that she and Booker T worked together on Tough Enough:
Few wrestlers are more associated with WCW than Booker T. Diamond Dallas Page might be one of them, however. DDP sent out the following in response to Harlem Heat’s pending Hall of Fame induction:
Becky Lynch showed up at WWE’s house show in Youngstown, OH without crutches or a limp last night. WWE held a house show in the Covelli Center while Monday Night RAW was held in Pittsburgh.
Lynch wrestled Charlotte on the show and those in attendance noted she was walking without a limp or crutch:
Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair vs Ronda Rousey At WrestleMania
Becky Lynch was recently added to the RAW Women’s Championship match expected to main event WrestleMania this year. Lynch won the WWE women’s Royal Rumble this year and intended to challenge Ronda Rousey but was removed from the match by Stephanie McMahon and placed under suspension.
After Rousey threatened to vacate her championship if Becky wasn’t allowed in the match, Lynch was scheduled to face Charlotte Flair at Fastlane. The stipulation at Fastlane was that if Lynch won, she’d be added to the WrestleMania main event. Rousey attacked Lynch during the match, leading to the disqualification. Due to a quirk in the rules, this led to Lynch being declared the victor via DQ and thus being added to the RAW women’s championship match at WrestleMania. The match will now be contested under triple threat rules.
During the segment, Benjamin was named as Brock Lesnar’s “assistant coach.” Heyman also referred to him as Lesnar’s former training partner. Rollins said that the Shelton Benjamin he knew wouldn’t hit and run but rather stay and fight him.
Shelton Benjamin
43-year-old Shelton Benjamin was first brought into Ohio Valley Wrestling nearly 20 years ago. He made his main roster debut alongside Charlie Haas as members of Team Angle in 2002. After his 2010 release, he signed with NJPW in 2012. As a part of Suzuki Gun, he left NJPW with the faction for Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2015.
Benjamin re-signed with WWE in 2017. He’d been on the shelf for about a year following surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff.
Benjamin was an All-American at the University of Minnesota in 1997 and 1998. He and Lesnar won the OVW tag-team championships 3x. Benjamin is a former 3x Intercontinental champion, 2x WWE tag-team champion (along with Charlie Haas), and a former 1x United States champion.
One of the greatest tag-team in WCW history will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame next month. Brothers Booker T & Stevie Ray of Harlem Heat are the next tag-team WWE has chosen to honor in their Hall of Fame.
A press release sent in by WWE touts, “Booker T & Stevie Ray were one of the most dominant tag teams of the 1990s, steamrolling over the competition in WCW to become tag team champions on 10 occasions. Now, the brothers will be immortalized in sports-entertainment history.”
This will make Booker T a 2-time, 2-time, 2-time WWE Hall of Famer. As of this writing, only one man holds that distinction: Ric Flair. The night Booker T gets inducted, Shawn Michaels will also become a 2-time Hall of Famer (as part of DeGeneration X).
Harlem Heat – WWE Hall of Fame
Booker T and Stevie Ray held the WCW tag-team championships on 10 occasions. The team was also honored last year by the Cauliflower Alley Club, winning their Tag Team of the Year award. Only Demolition and the High Flyers (Greg Gane & Jim Brunzell) have ever received the award before from the club. They were named the Tag Team of the Year by Pro Wrestling Illustrated in 1995 & 1996 as well.
WWE Hall of Fame Tag Teams
The brothers join the following inductees as the 11th tag-team (and 13th or 14th group including D-Generation X, also to be inducted this year) to enter the WWE Hall of Fame:
The Valiant Brothers (Jimmy & Johnny Valiant) (1996)
The Blackjacks (Blackjack Mulligan & Blackjack Lanza) (2006)
The Wild Samoans (Afa & Sika) (2007)
The Brisco Brothers (Jack & Gerald Briscoe) (2008)
The Funks (Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr.) (2009)
The Von Erichs (faction) (Fritz, Kevin, Kerry, David, Mike, & Chris) (2009)
The Road Warriors (Animal, Hawk, & Paul Ellering)
The 4 Horsemen (faction) (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, & JJ Dillon) (2012)
The Bushwhackers (Luke & Butch) (2015)
The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy, Buddy Roberts, and Jimmy Garvin) (2016)
The Rock N Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) (2017)
