Former ring announcer for Evolve and independent organizations, Heather Lynn, is stating that she dealt with sexual harassment and misconduct while working in the wrestling industry.
This week on Smackdown, Jinder Mahal turned on the Singh brothers after they lost a handicap match to AJ Styles.
PW Insider is reporting that the decision has been made to replace the Singh brothers as Jinder’s run-in buddies. No information is currently available regarding if WWE plans to move the brothers to 205 Live or who will be replacing them on Smackdown.
WWE Tour of India
The timing of the Singh Brothers being written off of Smackdown is interesting considering WWE runs their India Super-Show a week from Saturday. It’s possible an angle involving Jinder and the Singh brothers is furthered on that show.
Anthem Sports and Entertainment have changed their stance on wrestlers using their Impact gimmicks after leaving the promotion.
The company issued the following statement to Sports Illustrated recently:
“We have seen the character development and will be interested to see where they take the concept. Our new talent agreements all incorporate language that allow talent to continue to use their IMPACT persona after they leave the company. We are working with our legal team to amend our existing agreements to extend this to all of our current and former talent.”
“Broken” Matt Hardy
Several theories are going around regarding why Anthem may have changed their tune on this one. The company took a PR hit during negotiations with the Hardyz in the spring and most likely are hoping to repair some of that damage. Matt Hardy also provided new information to the USPTO recently which may have strengthened his case. Hardy also has an Intellectual Property rights lawyer working for him.
Shawn Michaels, the Miz, and Becky Lynch are filming “The Marine 6” at the moment. Miz recently lost the Intercontinental championship and WWE created a storyline injury for Lynch to explain her absence.
The crew is only on their 3rd day of filming but already Lynch has managed to get under Miz and HBK’s skin.
and also has numerous credits for his time in WWE.
Shawn Michaels has been in:
Avengers of Justice: Farce Wars (post-production)
Pure Country Pure Heart
The Resurrection of Gavin Stone
South Beach (TV Series)
Pacific Blue (TV Series)
Baywatch (TV Series)
And numerous credits from his work in WWE
Becky Lynch has been in:
Vikings (TV Series) – stunt work
Becky Lynch graduated with a degree in theatre from the Dublin Institute of Technology and has attended acting classes at the Gaiety School of Acting. She is also said to have been involved with many community theatre projects in Ireland.
Fomer Smackdown women’s champion, Naomi, has suffered a separated shoulder, cervical strain, and facial contusions as a result of her match last night. The storyline injury most likely means she will not be on Smackdown for a period.
During the 6-person match, Sarah Logan gave Naomi a slingshot into the steel steps.
Naomi is the 2nd recent babyface in her division to be taking a sabbatical. Becky Lynch was also recently injured by the Riott Squad to explain her absence while she films the Marine 6.
Posted November 29th, 2017 in News. Tagged: Naomi.
Our book isn’t about butts, but you should still buy it. It’s mostly about turning lemons into lemonade, lemon squares, lemon cough drops, lemon meringue pie, and a whole host of citrus products & shamelessly shilling & profiting off the sale of the aforementioned products. https://t.co/5QBp0ZMbvV
“A fun, full color book for fans of WWE’s The New Day trio with all the silliness, positivity, and tag team triumphs fans can get.
“A source of constant entertainment as duplicitous positive-energy evangelists.”
—Rolling Stone
“New Day—via hard work . . . a splash of comedy, and the power of positivity—are now the most made-for-TV act in WWE since the days of ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and The Rock.”
—TheUndefeated.com”
Posted November 29th, 2017 in News, WWE. Tagged: New Day.
In January, Triple H called 205 Live a “work in progress” but it is unclear how long WWE will let the work progress if fans aren’t watching.
Then in April, it was reported that 205 Live’s ratings were quite low. In October, it was reported that ratings had increased after Enzo Amore debuted for the brand, however.
It has been over a year since Mickey Gall defeated CM Punk at UFC 203. Dana White said Punk should “probably not fight in the UFC again” after the bout but he has never officially released him from his contract.
During a media event for this weekend’s UFC 218, White revealed that Punk will be in town for the show and the two will be meeting.
"CM Punk is coming to Detroit and wants to talk to me. I love the guy. We'll see what he's doing." – Dana White
Punk’s team at Roufus Sport say they have been lobbying for Punk’s next fight since not long after the Mickey Gall bout.
While Punk is under a contract with UFC he is unable to fight for other promotions. If the UFC won’t offer him another fight, Punk could request a release from his contract.
Depending on the terms of his contract, the UFC might be required to offer him a fight within a certain time frame. Punk signed a multi-fight agreement with the promotion in late-2014.
Posted November 29th, 2017 in News. Tagged: CM Punk.
Jennifer Hudson has dropped her restraining order on David Otunga and the courts have granted him custody of the couple’s son. The ruling is only part of a temporary agreement, however.
Hudson had filed a restraining order against David, which prevented him from seeing his son. She has now voluntarily withdrawn the order and the court has granted him custody for the time being. A permanent custody arrangement still needs to be determined, however.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoiSiy21434
David Otunga and Jennifer Hudson Split
Otunga is accusing Hudson of having an affair with one of her producers. Despite having been together nearly a decade, Otunga and Hudson never officially tied the knot. They will have to go through proceedings in regards to a permanent custody agreement and child support for their son, however.
Jennifer Hudson’s net worth is currently estimated at $20 million whereas Otunga’s net worth is estimated at half of that.
Translated into English the phrase means “they called me?” or “Someone’s calling me?”, something along those lines.
Senor Benjamin in the Broken Universe
Senor Benjamin’s role in the original “Broken” universe in Impact Wrestling was significant. After the Hardys left Impact, the family would later claim he was never paid for his services to the company. This became part of their claim that Impact did not own the rights to the Broken family gimmick.
Senor Benjamin also posted the following video 2 months ago, seemingly upset at Bray Wyatt:
Last night on Raw, Matt Hardy began showing signs of his “Broken” character after losing to Bray Wyatt. Hardy began chanting “Delete!” in his Broken character manner, alluding to the gimmick debuting in WWE.
Hardy originally filed for a trademark of the character in March but was denied. Earlier this month, however, he submitted new information based on his claim. According to PW Insider, he sent the United States Patents and Trademarks Office a poster of him as the Broken gimmick from CWF Mid-Atlantic show.
Speculation is that Anthem has had enough of battling the Hardys on this one and will most likely not challenge Hardy’s further claim.
Hardy has hired an Intellectual Property lawyer based out of Nashville, not far from last night’s Raw from Knoxville.
Bullet Club members Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks are looking to self-finance a show to take place in a 10,000 seat arena. Cody has mentioned headlining a show with 10,000 people as a personal goal of his since leaving WWE.
We can't comment officially until we confirm the location, but we are far enough in the process to say it's happening. In 2018. And we are swinging for the damn fences…
While independent wrestling is as hot as its ever been, they will have their work cut out for them to fill a 10,000 seat arena. Ring of Honor shows typically draw a few thousand fans depending on the building.
NJPW’s G1 special in the United States drew 2,300 fans, though some complained they should have run a larger building.
For Cody and the Young Bucks to be successful, they will have to eclipse recent independent wrestling attendance figures. If their show is built-up as a can’t miss spectacle that fans will travel to see, however, they might do exactly that.
Goldberg was also featured in the movie “American Satan” which released on October 13th this year. That film was produced via several artists who have worked on Rob Zombie films in the past.
He also has roles confirmed for “Holly, Jingles, and Clyde” as well as a movie called “Con Man”, both expected to be released in the coming months.
Posted November 27th, 2017 in News. Tagged: Goldberg.
Aro Lucha has signed Rey Mysterio Jr. to headline their show from Nashville on December 10th. The promotion already announced earlier this month that Konnan will serve as Aro Lucha’s head writer.
Co-Founder of Aroluxe, former part-owners of TNA and current owners of Aro Lucha, Don Harris, had this to say about bringing Mysterio in.
“We’ve tried to bring our years of experience in the wrestling industry and tv production to the table, while also marrying that with some of the top talent in the lucha libre world. We’re excited to bring this roster to the fans and families that would not otherwise get a chance to see these stars outside of Mexico.”
Aro Lucha December 10th show lineup:
Rey Mysterio & Pentagon vs Rush & John Morrison
Jack Evans & Hurricane Helms & Maximo vs Garza Jr & La Mascara & Daga
MVP vs Sammy Guevara
Keyra & Lacey Lane vs Vanilla Vargas & Taya
Demus vs Mascarita Dorada
Willie Mack vs Mr. 450
Sienna, Laurel Van Ness, Madison Rayne, and Rosemary are all confirmed for the 6-Knockout tournament to determine a new champion. Impact Wrestling has now released the name of the 5th confirmed participant: KC Spinelli.
The 32-year-old Spinelli is an 8-year veteran out of Toronto, home of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. The most recent set of tapings was Spinelli’s first with Impact. She has also competed for the Smash Promotion in Toronto, Shimmer, and a host of other independent organizations.
Spinelli also represented Canada along with Taya Valkyrie and Allie at the AAA Lucha Libra World Cup last year.
WWE will be in Abu Dhabi, where Lewis will have his final race of the season, on December 7th and 8th. Originally, WWE was only to hold one event in the country but added a 2nd date after canceling their 2nd show in India.
Triple H vs. Roman Reigns has already been announced as the main event of the show on the 8th. The next night WWE will be in India where Triple H is scheduled to take on Jinder Mahal.
Since being released from his job on WWE’s creative team, former ROH and PWG tag-team champion, Jimmy Jacobs, has been keeping busy. The 33-year-old had been with WWE from 2015 until his release last month.
In addition to appearing at Impact Wrestling’s “Bound for Glory” PPV earlier this month, Jacobs has spent the last 3 weeks active on the independent circuit.
The winner of the main event and NEW IWA Midsouth World Champion, “The Zombie Princess” @JimmyJacobsX pic.twitter.com/GGCjDnZBee
Jacobs had his first post-WWE match for Combat Zone Wrestling on November 11th, a winning effort over Sami Callihan. He teamed up with Callihan, AR Fox, and Michael Elgin the next night in a loss to Team Pazuzu for the Beyond Professional promotion.
Last weekend, Jacobs made his debut for IWA Mid-South, dropping a DQ loss to Dale Patricks. Last night Jacobs shockingly defeated Aaron Williams to win the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight championship, a title rich in hardcore wrestling history. Former holders of the title include Ian Rotten, Axl Rotten, Bull Pain, Corporal Robinson, 2 Tuff Tony, and Mad Man Pondo.
This weekend Jacobs, along with Cody, will be wrestling for the A1 promotion in Hamilton, ON, Canada.
A report from LuchaBlog.com recently has detailed another strange story involving Alberto El Patron.
Alberto had scheduled a charity show this weekend but when fans arrived at the building a notice was posted saying the show had been canceled. The note left on the door is said to have resembled the note normally used by the Mexican government when a building is to be shut down.
Alberto is blaming corruption in Mexico as the reason for the cancellation and further stated he’d run the show in San Antonio. Lucha Blog, however, said there is a belief Alberto’s show was denied a permit for the venue due to a lack of security. The venue is normally used for theatre and music performances and not pro-wrestling.
Alberto delivered a speech outside the venue which you can view below:
Charity Show Suspended
Alberto and his team are hoping to announce a new date and venue for the show today.
A Google Translate version of a quote Alberto gave to the local media is as follows:
“We do not have a political or economic interest, because all my friends who are here,” Alberto said “who are standing here came without charge, just for the pleasure of helping children who are they were left homeless after that earthquake.
The Delegation says something different and they say something different, I cannot point fingers or know who is responsible, I only accuse the one that results from tonight.”
It was reported last month that Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens were kicked off WWE’s recent European tour. The reason for them being sent home was the pair not feeding for the New Day at the end of their Smackdown segment.
The most recent edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted that the backstage heat on Kevin Owens is now gone but the same can’t be said for Zayn. Unfortunately, that was all the report said.
“It appears that all the controversy regarding Owens from when he and Zayn were sent home is gone, but the same isn’t the case of Zayn”. – Wrestling Observer (no further comment was made)
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn Backstage Heat
The Observer did not make further comment or provide any reasons for why Zayn might still have heat and not Owens.
Unfortunately, the update from the Observer creates more questions than it answers.
Carmella and Liv Morgan would have spent 2 years training with each other in NXT, so they will have history, we just don’t know what kind exactly. Carmella was in developmental from 2013 until being called up in 2016. Liv Morgan was in developmental from 2014 until debuting on Smackdown this week.
Carmella stating that Liv had her blocked on Twitter implies heat fans were never aware of which would indicate this as a shoot, though that could be exactly why it was said. Perhaps they really do have a beef over borrowed or stolen ring gear from their time in developmental or perhaps they are just working an angle.
They have never had a singles match against one another but tagged together on 3 occasions on NXT live tours. They also were on opposite 6-person teams for matches on the SummerSlam house show tour in August.
This Saturday, WWE returns to the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina for Starrcade. An official Starrcade event hasn’t been held since 2000. That show was main event’ed by Scott Steiner defending the WCW title against Sid Vicious.
Ric Flair has now been confirmed to be in attendance on Saturday, as will a host of other legendary stars. Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat and the Rock N Roll Express are also expected to be in attendance as will both Hardy brothers.
WWE Starrcade Lineup
With the final episode of Smackdown before the event completed, here is the updated card for Saturday:
WWE Championship Steel Cage Match
AJ Styles (c) vs. Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Women’s Championship Steel Cage Match
Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Natalya
SmackDown Tag Team Championship Fatal 4-Way Match
The Usos (c) vs. The New Day vs. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn
United States Championship Match
Baron Corbin (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura