As quick as it was announced, it was deleted. WWE’s UK Twitter account briefly announced that Bobby Roode would be part of next month’s NXT’s tour of the UK. NXT will be invading the UK’s Download Festival starting June 10th before hitting the read in the UK and Ireland.
Roode was reportedly backstage at the most recent NXT TV taping but did not appear on camera.
Here’s a screen cap of the Bobby Roode announcement, courtesy of Twitter user @BBladem83:
Dolph Ziggler’s younger brother Donald Nemeth was charged with aggravated murder. Police obtained a warrant for the 29-year old on Tuesday in connection with the death of 34-year-old Joseph Mascol, who was shot on January 23 at the University Hotel and Suites in Cleveland, OH.
Donald Nemeth allegedly tried robbing Mascol before the shooting. Mascol was found in a seventh-floor hallway, where he was pronounced dead by paramedics.
Nemeth is currently not in custody and anyone who may know his whereabouts are encouraged to call homicide detectives at 216-623-5464.
As reported earlier, UK promotion PROGRESS will feature two qualifying matches for the Global Cruiserweight Series. WWE.com just broke the news that on Saturday, May 7, in Queens, N.Y., EVOLVE Wrestling will also have two qualifying matches.
Facing off will be the EVOLVE Tag Team Champions Drew Gulak and Tracy Williams, will compete for a spot on the Global Cruiserweight Series. The other qualifying match will see Fred Yehi vs TJ Perkins.
Like the PROGRESS winners, the two superstars that qualify will have a chance to compete with:
Rich Swann
Johnny Gargano
Tommaso Ciampa
Noam Dar
Akira Tozawa
Ho Ho Lun
Lince Dorado
The Global Cruiserweight Series qualifying matches take place at EVOLVE 61 on Saturday, May 7 at 6:30 p.m. ET, at La Boom in Queens, N.Y. For complete ticket information, visit EVOLVEWrestling.com.
WWE.com announced today, that on Sunday, April 24 in Camden Town, London, PROGRESS will have two matches with the opportunity to compete in the Global Cruiserweight Series.
In the first qualifying match, internet favorite Zack Sabre Jr. will compete against Flash Morgan Webster.
Jack Gallagher will compete against “Bruiserweight” Pete Dunn in the second qualifying match up.
The winners of these two matches will join the field of 32, along with the already announced competitors:
Rich Swann
Johnny Gargano
Tommaso Ciampa
Noam Dar
Akira Tozawa
Ho Ho Lun
Lince Dorado
These matches take place at PROGRESS Chapter 29: Practically PROGRESS in Every Way on Sunday, April 24 at 8 p.m. local time at the sold-out Electric Ballroom in Camden Town, London, England.
Update: WWE.com has confirmed Bray Wyatt suffered a right calf injury.
Earlier: It appears that Bray Wyatt injured his ankle at Wednesday night’s WWE Live event from Milan, Italy. Bray was wrestling WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns. Based on live reports from fans who were in attendance, they were brawling in the corner and the ref began counting for them to break it up. As Bray was walking away from Reigns, he slipped. When it became clear he could not put any pressure on one of his legs, the ref stopped the match. Bray was helped backstage by WWE officials.
Roman was standing in the ring unsure of how to proceed when Erik Rowan and Braun Strowman ran to the ring. The Usos and the Dudley Boyz quickly followed. There was a big brawl, with Reigns clearing house. Sheamus ran down and got speared.
Afterwards, Reigns gave a speech apologizing to the crowd that the match ended abruptly.
Here is video that picks up right after Bray slipped:
In 2009, McMahon announced his resignation from WWE that went into effect January 1, 2010. He went on to become CEO of multi-platform entertainment service company You On Demand in late 2010. On July 12, 2013, McMahon voluntarily stepped down as CEO of YOU On Demand and appointed Weikang Liu as his successor, while remaining the company’s principal executive officer and Vice Chairman of the Board. He returned to WWE as an on-screen character in February 2016.
WWE Fastlane was the least-purchased PPV in company history, according to the Wrestling Observer.
Fastlane did 18,000 PPV buys in North America and 25,000 ppv buys outside of North America with a total of 43,000 PPV Buys. In comparison, last years Fastlane did a total of 56,00 PPV Buys.
Fastlane 2016 was headlined with Roman Reigns defeating both Dean Ambrose and Brock Lesnar for the right to face Triple H at Wrestlemania 32.
Its worth noting that WWE is primarily focused on getting people signed up for the WWE Network, which would reflect the poor buy-rate numbers, but WWE still makes PPV available to fans. In a press release on Monday, WWE revealed the WWE Network now boasts 1.82 million subscribers, which is a 39 percent increase from a year ago.
WWE sent in the following press release on Thursday announcing even more records set this past weekend at WrestleMania 32. Not only did WWE shatter their all-time attendance record and live gate – but they also posted record-setting numbers for digital/social media, merchandise sales and WWE Network viewership.
WRESTLEMANIA®BREAKS MORE RECORDS
STAMFORD, CONN. – April 7, 2016 – In addition to setting a new attendance record of 101,763 fans, which led to the highest-grossing live event in WWE history at $17.3 million, WrestleMania also broke records for digital and social media engagement and merchandise sales.
Digital/Social Media
WrestleMania 32 was the most social event in WWE history, according to Nielsen Social with 2.5 million mentions on Twitter throughout the day and 1.3 million mentions during the broadcast alone, an increase of 50 percent and 18 percent year-over-year, respectively.
WWE-related content saw more than 250 million video views across WWE.com, WWE App and social media during WrestleMania Week, an increase of 122 percent year-over-year.
WrestleMania set data usage records, totaling 8.6TB on the AT&T network. This set a new record for data traffic at AT&T Stadium, an increase of 36 percent over the data traffic during the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in 2015.
WWE Network
WrestleMania reached 1.82 million global households on WWE Network alone, making it the most-watched WrestleMania in history, with pay-per-view data still forthcoming.
WWE Network subscribers viewed 21.7 million hours during WrestleMania Week or 12 hours per subscriber during the week. This compares to 15 million hours last year, a year-over-year increase of 45 percent.
Merchandise Sales
WWE generated a record-breaking $4.55 million in WrestleMania merchandise revenue, an increase of 37 percent or $1.2 million, from last year’s previous record at WrestleMania 31.
It’s no secret that the WrestleMania 32 card underwent several rounds of changes as a result of the injuries that have plagued WWE’s roster over the past 6 months.
In the latest Wrestling Observer, it was revealed that original plans called for Dean Ambrose to work a feud against Chris Jericho at the show. The proposed angle would have been Jericho teaming with Ambrose for a while before turning him, similar to what played out with AJ Styles.
When AJ signed with the company back in January, WWE changed gears and went with the Y2AJ storyline. Say what you want about Jericho getting the win at WrestleMania to cap off that rivalry, but AJ is now the #1 contender to WWE World Heavyweight champion Roman Reigns in a match that is scheduled for Payback.
In a minor spoiler for this week’s SmackDown, the seeds are planted for an eventual match between Ambrose and Jericho, so it appears WWE is now going in this direction.
Hall of Fame Diva Tammy Sytch (aka Sunny) — has finally checked into a rehab center after being arrested for DUI three times in 2015.
Sources have told TMZ Sports that Sytch has reached out to friends in the last month or two, letting them know she was finally going to get sober. Although before she checked in to the rehab center, sources say Tammy was telling friends and family that she was hopeful her rehab stay would help avoid or “offset” possible jail time for the 3 DUI cases. Sytch’s will be sentenced for the DUI’s in May.
ProWrestlingSheet.com spoke with Tammy’s sister about the rehab center. She described the center as a “retreat that focuses on the body and mind while using holistic approach offering, yoga, music therapy, art and holistic supplements to help the body heal.”
Tammy Lynn Sytch has been in the news quite a bit recently, when it was reported that she had struck a deal with Vivid Entertainment for an adult film. Sytch entered the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2011
Bret Hart, WWE Hall of Famer and current host of the Sharpshooter Show Podcast, gave his opinions on Wrestlemania 32 yesterday on his show. As he has shown in the past, Hart is not afraid to tell people what he really thinks. Here are some of the more interesting highlights:
Disappointed with WrestleMania booking. Says “logic didn’t prevail” and the booking “wasn’t up to snuff”
Says he was the man who brought ladder matches to the WWE and can’t believe what a “piece of shit match” it’s turned into
Disappointed in the IC Title ladder match. “A lot of bullshit, a lot of wasted moves, too much laying around”. Calls it a prop match. “Stupid spots that make no sense”. Still calls the match the best match on the card
Says he’d line all the bookers up against the wall and shoot them
“Real wrestling is almost dead. CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Bret Hart, that kind of wrestling is almost dead”
Says he hates the Styles Clash. “Looks like you just gently brush someone’s stomach on the ground”. However, he calls it the Calf Crusher (got the two moves confused)
Really likes Barrett. Says he’s done the best with the lame gimmicks he’s been given. Thinks Japan may be “his cup of tea”. Compares Barrett to Drew Mcintyre. Both really good talents that were never used correctly
Nakamura vs Zayn was the best match of the whole WrestleMania weekend. Asuka vs Bayley was better than any match on the WrestleMania card
NXT is bringing “real wrestling” to the surface. RAW and WM is “a bunch of morons that sit around creating wrestling. Just writers from Hollywood who don’t know anything about the business. Just Vince Russo’s in a different uniform”
Everything about Nakamura vs Zayn (from entrances to handshake) was “beautiful wrestling”. Made Bret stand and salute. Said the finish to Asuka vs Bayley was also beautiful
Thought Sasha Banks should have won the title. It was her night and it was another bad booking decision
Regarding The Rock’s segment: “For me it was just another example of dweebs sitting around a table writing wrestling”. Called the whole segment “overly scripted bullshit”
To get every episode as it is released, subscribe to Wrestlezone Radio on iTunes, Soundcloud or Stitcher.
Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker were both advertised to appear on Monday’s episode of RAW, but neither of them appeared on the show.
According to Dave Meltzer, Lesnar actually went home after WrestleMania because the company had nothing for him, and they didn’t want to waste a date. Recently Lesnar admitted in an interview that the limited amount of dates he had signed for have been used:
“Vince (McMahon) got his checkbook out and he’s writing more checks,” Lesnar said. “But I have a limit and we’re at that limit right now.”
Regarding the Undertaker, F4WOnline.com reported yesterday that The Undertaker was telling people backstage at WrestleMania that his match with Shane McMahon was his last, although Undertaker has said this in the past and would continue wrestling. As noted, Taker is advertised to wrestle on the upcoming WWE European tour.
In typical Shane-O-Mac fashion, Shane McMahon took a 20 foot plunge of the top of the cell to land on a table (and still lost the match). Despite looking like he was “broken in half” as Jim Ross would say, PW Insider is reporting that Shane avoided injury and was walking around backstage. Of course WWE.COM updated his medical condition:
“Following his Hell in a Cell showdown against The Undertaker at WrestleMania, Shane McMahon was taken to a medical facility in the Dallas area, WWE.com has confirmed”
If you missed the leap of faith, check it out here:
While the announced figure of 101,763 for Wrestlemania 32 was always believed to be an inflated number, Bryan Alvarez of F4WOnline.com commented on Wrestlemania’s actual attendance number based on information he got from Dave Meltzer:
Dave got the actual number from the building, legit did just under 94,000 and $17 million gate. Legit broke fake record! #WrestleMania
In an interview with Complex.com, John Cena confirmed recent speculation that he has already cleared to start wrestling again.
Another newsworthy topic discussed is why Roma Reigns isn’t connecting with fans the way WWE brass have been hoping for. Cena says he studies the landscape differently then a lot of his competitors. “To say Roman Reigns isn’t connecting with an audience means you’re not listening,” Cena said. “I’ve watched a lot of Roman Reigns and every single time I see him, I hear noise. He connects very well with our audience.”
The interviewer asked Cena about adding new offensive moves to his arsenal in recent years, but Cena took the conversation back to Reigns – who he says, “is on the cusp of getting that heart truly beating.”
People know he is very gifted. His in-ring ability is not in question. I don’t care what any critic says. They are just being stupid. He can go. He is an athlete. I don’t really know who he is. Like I said, John Cena is easy: goody-two shoes Superman. Easy. A four-year old kid can tell you that. I don’t necessarily know the heartbeat of Roman Reigns. As soon as that first heartbeat happens, it’s going to challenge me. I’m looking forward to it.”
It has been speculated that Cena will have some sort of involvement at mania, even Cena himself has twitted cryptic tweets about WWE’s biggest event of the year. While its unknown what Cena has in store for the Wrestlemania, Roman is set to square off against HHH this Sunday Live at Wrestlemania 32.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Since the TMZ story broke about Sting retiring, he has on multiple occasions, since then, denied the report. Sting is set to enter the WWE Hall Of Fame this Saturday on The WWE Network.
It looks like Shinsuke Nakamura will just be known as Nakamura to the WWE/NXT universe. The King Of Strong Style is listed by his last name only in the Wrestlemania 32 program being sold at the WWE Superstore and considering Chad Gable, Jason Jordan and Apollo Crews are on the same page with their full names — it seems like the name drop will happen.
It’s interesting to note that Nakamura is listed with NXT talent in the program, leading many to think he will spend more time than most believed on NXT programming. There is not much known about Nakamura’s direction with NXT/WWE, but this could be a good indication. Or it simply could just be they have him in the NXT section because he is debuting with NXT.
Nakamura is set to debut at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in a match against Sami Zayn . It has been one of the most talked about and highly anticipated matches on both NXT and WWE’s weekend events. The event is live on the WWE Network, Friday April 1.
NEW YORK AND STAMFORD, CONN. –(April 1, 2016) – Tapout®, a global hard-body fitness and training brand recently re-launched by WWE® and Authentic Brands Group, today announced that its performance apparel line for men is now available in nearly 300 JCPenney stores and at jcp.com, with plans to launch a women’s collection this summer.
The Tapout performance apparel collection for men includes a range of training and compression tees, tank tops, pants and shorts featuring Tapout’s new, contemporary branding. At JCPenney, sale prices range from $12.99 for graphic tees to $32.99 for compression shorts. The line ensures comfort and performance with the use of stretch and moisture-managing fabrics that allow optimal function. The Tapout women’s line will boast similar performance features, offering sports bras, tank tops, tees, shorts and capris.
A fully integrated marketing program will support the launch of Tapout. As the official fitness and training partner of WWE, Tapout is promoted across WWE’s global platforms including TV programming, WWE Network, pay-per-view broadcasts, live events, digital and social media. WWE Superstars and Divas wear Tapout apparel during their fitness and training activities and WWE Superstar John Cena® serves as a Tapout brand ambassador.
“Fitness is my life, and it is important for me to use the high quality and comfortable performance apparel that Tapout offers,” said John Cena. “The Tapout brand stands for motivation, discipline and determination, three core values that are key to my active lifestyle.”
“From working out to hanging out, Tapout offers a stylish collection of performance sportswear that’s versatile enough to wear in and out of the gym,” said James Starke, senior vice president of men’s apparel at JCPenney. “Tapout has a strong fan base and JCPenney is excited to add this brand to our great assortment of high quality activewear for young men.”
“We are thrilled to reintroduce Tapout performance apparel into the retail space with JCPenney,” said Jamie Salter, Chairman and CEO, ABG. “The next generation of Tapout preserves elements of the original brand essence while tapping into current consumer needs for apparel that suits their active lifestyle.”
John Cena is a lot closer to being medically cleared than previously expected. Cena, who has been intensely rehabbing his shoulder following rotator cuff surgery back in January, is expected to be cleared very soon. PWInsider reports:
“John Cena is just about ready to return to the ring and is expected to be cleared anytime, if he hasn’t been cleared already.”
Cena was very public about his efforts to return in time for WrestleMania, but it wasn’t meant to be. He’s been doing plenty of media appearances on WWE’s behalf to promote WrestleMania and was backstage at Monday’s RAW from Brooklyn.
During an interview with FOX News conducted earlier this week, Cena explained the procedure that was performed, his grueling rehabilitation schedule and “sweet talking” doctors so they’ll give him the green light to return.
“I had a rotator cuff reattachment. I had an AC joint reconstruction and I had a giant arterial defect on the bone that goes into the ball in the socket in the shoulder. Basically, the round space was not round, it was cut in half. So all that had to regenerate and grow, but after over 400 hours of physical therapy, I feel pretty darn good.”
“The people who said conservatively nine months have now said well maybe I’ll reevaluate myself,” Cena said. “So I’m looking okay. I just got a little bit more sweet talking to do to the doctors so they can give me the green light.”
Surprisingly, WWE isn’t even advertising that he’ll be at WrestleMania, but he certainly will be backstage. Join us here all weekend for our non-stop coverage of everything Wrestlemania live from Dallas, Texas.
Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows are scheduled to be at this week’s WWE TV tapings, as first reported by PWInsider. They will be backstage at WrestleMania on Sunday and are scheduled to debut on the main roster within the next week.
Karl Anderson was training at the WWE Performance Center earlier this week. NXT head trainer Jason Albert tweeted a photo of Anderson in Orlando, so they’re not keeping it a huge secret.
It remains to be seen if they will be aligned with Finn Balor from the get go. Rumored names for the faction include Balor Club and Bulletproof.
Balor defends the NXT Championship against Samoa Joe tomorrow night at NXT Takeover: Dallas.
– Lucha Underground star King Cuerno was reportedly offered a spot in WWE’s Global Cruiserweight Series tournament. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Cuerno was all about it, but AAA and Lucha Underground blocked him from accepting. Cuerno is signed to a seven-season deal, but wasn’t at the first round of Season 3 tapings and hasn’t wrestled for AAA since March 4th.
– The next WWE NXT Takeover event after “Takeover: Dallas” this Friday is scheduled for Wednesday, June 8th.
– WWE has moved the Andre Memorial Battle Royal match from the WrestleMaia 32 Kickout Pre-show to the main card for the show. The Kickoff Pre-show still remains at two hours long, with two hours on social media, Youtube and the WWE Network, and one hour programming on the USA Network.
Roman Reigns putting life and limb on the line – right before fans began chanting, “You Still Suck”
WWE World Heavyweight Champion Triple H spoke with CBSSports.com this week to promote this Sunday’s WrestleMania 32 event at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Topics discussed include his WrestleMania XII debut against The Ultimate Warrior, staying in shape with Joe DeFranco and more. Perhaps the most newsworthy quotes came when Triple H addressed his challenger this Sunday, Roman Reigns.
“He’s a great kid, and I’m really happy for his success and how well he’s done,” Triple H said. said. “But it’s a tough road and a long road. That success has come fast. Sometimes that can be a blessing and sometimes it can be a curse. So I think he’s done the best that he can with it.”
Despite the fact that Reigns has been pushed as the “new face of the company” for well over a year, fans just aren’t buying it. WWE is not blind to this reality and Triple H shared his insight about why Reigns isn’t catching on.
“You know, the hardest thing in this business to do now is, as a character, to either make everyone love you or everyone hate you,” he said with a laugh. “The world is a divided place in politics, in music and everything. Choices now, and people’s opinions, are front and center more than ever. The Internet makes that readily available to everybody. They know all of the machinations of everything and the behind-the-scenes of everything, you know.
“It used to be that the good guy was the guy that didn’t cheat, you know what I mean? It was just very simple. The world has changed. I think [Reigns has] done a phenomenal job. He’s, you know, from a behind-the-scenes standpoint, a great human being. I’m really happy for his success, as I am for all of them.”
Comment on this article and tell us if you agree with Triple H’s explanation.
Fans of Smackdown announcer Mauro Ranallo will want to pay close attention to the Kick Off show for Wrestlemania this year. Mauro confirmed today on twitter that he will be calling the action, which will be aired on the USA Network as well as the WWE Network this year. The tweet is below:
This week AJ Styles sat down for an interview with Digital Spy to promote WrestleMania 32. Here are some highlights of what he said about:
The WWE Title picture & WrestleMania main event:
“I think that Roman Reigns is the guy for the job right now. I think him and Triple H are going to tear it up at WrestleMania. It’s a very exciting match that I think a lot of people wanna see.”
Not going to NXT:
“I wasn’t able to make that decision. But I’m very happy to be on the main roster…(Finn Balor) the perfect guy [to be holding the belt]. And he’s doing a wonderful job. He’s not the only reason NXT is doing so well but he’s definitely a big part of it.”
Facing Kevin Owens again:
“Then I go after a title and if it’s around Owens’s waist then I’m going to go after it. Kevin and I have wrestled before so we know each other very well, so it’s easy for us to get in the ring and do great things.”
AJ will be making his Wrestlemania debut against Christ Jericho this Sunday.
