It looks like SmackDown Live’s Women’s Division will be short one talent due to an injury. Tamina Snuka has reportedly suffered a torn rotator cuff and underwent surgery to repair the issue. Her last appearance came in the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match where she wrestled through the injury. Two days later she underwent surgery to fix the issue.
Snuka’s appearance in the Women’s Rumble was up-in-the-air prior to the match as she was removed from promotional material for the bout at one point, before being added back again. She entered the match at the number seven spot but didn’t stay in the match longer than a few minutes as she was eliminated by WWE Hall Of Famer Lita. Snuka’s injury is the same as former RAW Tag Team Champion Jeff Hardy’s.
Hardy has been out-of-action since October and was given a six to eight month timetable for return. No timeframe has been given for Snuka’s injury return, but we’ll keep you updated as we learn more….
Last week WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T went off on Corey Graves during his Houston Sports Radio 610 show, Heated Conversations, blaming the former NXT Superstar for being the reason he was replaced by Jonathan Coachman on the Monday Night RAW commentary team. Booker followed that up by challenging Graves to a legitimate fist fight. Its since been reported that the feud between the pair is a work and Booker was replaced simply because Coachman was re-signed by WWE.
The former WCW World Heavyweight Champion then took to Twitter to offer for Graves to call into his show tonight and clear the air:
I’m going to address all of the news from this past week on my show tomorrow. There’s been a lot of things said and I’d like to publicly invite @WWEGraves to call in and clear the air.
– The New Day’s Xavier Woods recently took to Instagram and posted a video of himself, Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Renee Young popping balloons on what looks like the set of a game show. The set featured a WWE Network sign and a podium that says “Who Knows?” Check it out here:
– Ex-NFL quarterback Tim Tebow recently did an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Off The Board and was asked about Vince McMahon’s XFL relaunch. During the press conference last month McMahon mentioned that he’d be open to having Tebow play for the league. When asked if he’d consider the opportunity, Tebow said he isn’t sure at the moment as his primary focus is playing baseball with New York Mets:
“That’s very nice of him, but 2020 is a long way from now,” Tebow said. “I’m focused on today, I’m focused on spring training and a lot of things before that. I’m not even close to thinking about that right now.”
When prodded for a “yes or no” answer, Tebow had this to say:
“What if it’s a ‘I have no idea?’ That’s in 2020 and I’m super excited about baseball.”
WWE SmackDown Live Superstar Tyler Breeze recently did an interview with Planeta Wrestling to talk about several professional wrestling topics. You can find the highlights here below:
You’ve had some amazing matches as a solo competitor in NXT, like the one Jushin “Thunder” Liger or Apollo Crews. What happened when you got called to the main roster? Why do you think you didn’t have that amazing run in singles competition?
“It’s all about timing. It was one of those things when I was ready to get out of NXT. I proved my point there and there really wasn’t much more for me to do and it was time to go. Whether it’s coming up here and for doing what I was doing, you have to adapt. It’s a new environment and basically that is what I was doing the first little while. I was kind of comfortable in my NXT role and up here is not like that.
“You can’t make the quick transition over, you have to adapt to new opponents, new environment, new TV shows and I was kind of minding my footing. Even getting paired with Fandango for the first little while, we where struggling to find where our chemistry was and we finally clicked. Being paired with Fandango really helps out. I help him out, he helps me out, and I think we’ve really done something special with that.”
Who came up with the idea of the Fashion Files and how do you create your weekly segments? What is the process of putting all the pieces together?
“It was kind of a mix of opinions. It was one of those thing when we were trying to find where our chemistry was and we just started to throw ideas out there and one of them was to be the Fashion Police. We just started with little ideas, little videos and all of the sudden it took off. We were having fun with it and other people were enjoying it and all of the sudden it became a thing.
“It was on Smackdown every week for about eight months and we are still doing it now, but we are trying to find the transition and try to focus on other stuff. But it was very important to get some momentum behind us.”
How does it feel to be one of the most entertaining duos in WWE and not been able to perform in one of the most funnest [Royal] Rumbles in the last decade?
“Ha ha! It’s one of those things… Everybody has their time, it’s all about patience. I know that is very easy to get frustrated and seated at home asking, ‘Why me?’ It’s all about patience. We have a extremely talented roster and everybody eventually get the chance and you just have to be positive and enjoy the ride.”
– Scott D’Amore, IMPACT Wrestling’s Vice President, was recently a guest on the Sitting Ringside with David Penzer podcast. During the episode Penzer asked D’Amore who he’d like to build IMPACT around if they were available. D’Amore made it very clear that one day he wants to see “The Phenomenal One” back in an IMPACT Wrestling ring:
“God, that’s a tough question!” D’Amore said. “A.J. [Styles] was the face of this company for so long, and I have to think somewhere in the back of my mind, very deep in my heart, there’s one day that A.J. steps back in an Impact ring and has that homecoming moment!”
Listen to D’Amore on Sitting Ringside with David Penzer by clicking here.
– John Cena was again on TODAY this morning and actually officiated a wedding. He also made a joke about his “You Can’t See Me” catchphrase. Watch the segment here:
As WrestleMania 34 approaches there has still been very limited news as to whether or not we’ll actually see the rumored match-up between John Cena and The Undertaker. Several months ago it was being reported that Cena’s plans for WrestleMania were bigger than the title matches on the card.
It was then reported that Cena vs. Taker was penciled in for “The Show Of Shows.” Many fans expected the feud to setup at RAW 25, however, Undertaker’s appearance on the show was arguably the most disappointing segment of the night. Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer reports that, as of a few weeks ago, Cena vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania 34 is still the plan.
Meltzer speculated that if WWE still wants to do it they could set it up after Cena loses the Elimination Chamber match. It should be interesting to see how creative books the feud between these two legends on the road to New Orleans.
Yesterday SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan was removed from the WrestleMania 34 AXXESS VIP Signings on April 8th, the day of the event. Several hours after this was reported, Bryan was added back to the listing by WWE. Bodyslam.net reports that Bryan was initially removed from the listing because tickets sold out.
Someone decided to remove Bryan from the listing, however, after news got around that he would no longer be at the event he was quickly added back. In conclusion, Bryan has not been pulled from the signing and is still scheduled to sign autographs at 8 A.M. Many fans began to speculate that this was a sign Bryan could be wrestling at the event. This does not seem to be the case, however, and he has yet to be cleared by WWE doctors.
WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T was removed from the RAW commentary team and replaced with the recently re-signed Jonathan Coachman. Some fans believed Booker T’s initial claims on his radio show, Heated Conversations, that it was due to his friction with Corey Graves on-air.
A report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter reveals that the real reason the WWE Hall Of Famer was moved to pre-show panels was strictly because of the signing of Coachman. It had absolutely nothing to do with Corey Graves. The WWE Universe has mixed feelings about Booker T’s ability on commentary, but WWE wanted to bring back “The Coach” because he was always loyal to the company before departing for a job with ESPN.
After his time with the sports news juggernaut came to an end the WWE welcomed back the former Executive Assistant to Vince McMahon back with open arms. Unfortunately that meant that Booker needed to be moved off of weekly WWE commentary.
– With some acting experience now under her belt as she co-starred in WWE Studios’ “The Marine 6: Close Quarters” last year, former SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Becky Lynch wants in on the upcoming Disney Channel movie “Kim Possible.” The show was originally an animated series that ended back in 2007, however, Disney is now rebooting it for a live-action movie. Lynch, who looks a lot like the Kim Possible character, volunteered on Twitter for the role:
– WWE Superstar John Cena appeared NBC’s “Today” show yesterday and announced he’ll be crashing one lucky fan’s high school prom to promote his upcoming movie “Blockers.” Below is WWE’s official announcement on the promotion:
Find out how you could get John Cena at your school dance
Your senior prom is about to get an Attitude Adjustment thanks to John Cena.
The 16-time World Champion stopped by “TODAY” with Kathie Lee and Hoda Kotb to talk about his upcoming movie, “Blockers,” and revealed his wild plan to crash the school dance of a lucky high school senior.
Cena didn’t attend his senior prom, but he wants a second chance — and it could happen at your school dance.
If you are a high school senior, older than 17 and have a dance coming up, visit the Kathie Lee and Hoda Facebook page and submit a creative video inviting Cena to #CrashOurDance.
The submission cutoff is Friday, Feb. 23. “Blockers” premieres Friday, April 6.
Cena also revealed that he officiated a wedding for one lucky couple. Don’t miss the ceremony Friday on “TODAY” during the 10 a.m. hour.
– The ‘Hotel Roman Reigns’ Bed & Breakfast has opened up in Duff Dunbar, India. Booking.com has the following description of the hotel:
“Featuring free WiFi, Hotel Roman Reigns offers accommodations in Duff Dunbar.
“All rooms include a flat-screen TV. Certain rooms have a sitting area to relax in after a busy day. Certain rooms feature views of the mountains or garden. Every room comes with a private bathroom.
“There is a 24-hour front desk at the property.
“The nearest airport is Gaggal Airport, 54 miles from Hotel Roman Reigns.”
– Another WWE 24 special on the WWE Network will focus on The Women’s Evolution. The title of the special is WWE 24: Women’s Evolution 2, and no release date for the special has been announced as of this writing. The WWE’s initial special on the Women’s Evolution came back in August of 2016 entitled WWE 24: Women’s Evolution. It focused on the Women’s Division getting a big spot on WrestleMania 32’s card.
– SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair was asked by a fan on Twitter if she’d face-off against Ronda Rousey ‘if she had to.’ Here’s how she responded:
– A lot of former WWE Superstars and personalities returned to the company for RAW 25. One was former United States Champion MVP. He recently was a guest on Big League Wrestling’s podcast to talk about his return to WWE and indicated that it was a one-time deal and there are no plans as of this writing to have him back:
“By and far and away I was the sharpest dressed poker player in the building. At the end of the day I made a very nice pay day to show up in a suit, play cards, say hi to my friends, no bumps I win. It makes me laugh because people were like congratulations on going to RAW. Congratulations for what? It’s a date. I’m going to work, it’s a one off. Thanks I guess. not that big a deal. For me. With all due respect.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler recently took to his Dinner With The King podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Lawler recently served as a guest commentator for the Men’s Royal Rumble match and discussed the preparations for commentators before the bout:
“Honestly, I think Michael Cole does know. When I said I don’t have to go to production meetings, Michael Cole does. I mean, he has to,” Lawler said. “When you are the main guy you have to be ready for that information so I’m pretty sure who was coming out next from 1-30. I had no list. I went into this thing so unprepared I honestly felt like they may have forgotten they called me to be at the Royal Rumble. I mean, I talked to some people, but nobody in charge. I didn’t speak to anybody in charge all day,” he said.
“I had finished the pre-show and had headed up to the Gorilla position when the Royal Rumble started, because as you know the Men’s Royal Rumble was on the third match, so I went and changed into my old King coat and crown and all of this stuff. I had went up there and started standing around and then the show started. Vince McMahon saw me and got up and shook my hand to ask me how I was and then he went and sat back down. Michael Cole was already out there. I just felt weird because we were getting closer to the time of the Royal Rumble but nobody told me anything.
“Then, I finally had gone to Billy Kidman because he’s the one who kind of runs the time of the show because the Royal Rumble was about to start and then they run a package. I went over to him to ask if I was supposed to be out there already and he looked over at the sheet and said, ‘Oh no; you are going to have your music and entrance.’ I let out a big sigh of relief. Then, little bit after that I went out. I hadn’t talked to anybody; I hadn’t talked to Michael Cole or Corey Graves about what to do or say about the show. I had no clue about anything on the order that was going to happen.”
The King also offered his thoughts on former WWE World Heavyweight Champion and former Royal Rumble match winner Rey Mysterio returning for the bout:
“Rey Mysterio looked amazing. They have John Cena being the spokesperson for Pistachios, Rey Mysterio needs to be the spokesperson for Kapiti. What a tan he had! He’s like Tom Brady. I hope he is back full-time. I wish I had known he was 43 years old, I would have had some one-liners for that.”
Lawler also said that when he ran into Triple H at the Royal Rumble “The Game” joked at him by saying to stay awake for the match. This was in reference to the picture that went viral on social media during RAW 25, making it seem as if Lawler and Jim Ross fell asleep while off-air:
“The first time I saw Triple H at the Royal Rumble, he goes, ‘Hey King.’ I said, ‘Hey Hunter.’ He said, ‘Try to stay awake out there tonight.’ I said, ‘OK.’ So yeah, it’s kind of like a joke.”
You can listen to Dinner With The King by clicking this link here.
– Earlier today SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon announced on Twitter that the Triple Threat match between AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn for the WWE Title at Fastlane will now be a Fatal Four-Way match. Next week’s SmackDown Live match between Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler will determine the fourth entrant. AJ Styles and Dolph Ziggler took to Twitter to react to the news:
– As he was discussing SmackDown Live’s Top 10 list on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer revealed why Tye Dillinger has been kept off WWE TV. Meltzer revealed WWE doesn’t want fans doing the “10” chant anymore:
“Dillinger is just a guy on the brand that works prelims and they put him at number 10 and it makes for a cute minute for people to chant 10, which they don’t even want people to chant anyway. That’s why they keep him off TV so much because they don’t want people chanting 10. So the whole thing is completely stupid.”
The hot topic in the professional wrestling world at the moment is the WWE’s signing of Ronda Rousey to a full-time deal. Rousey made her debut at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV) following the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble. She pointed to the WrestleMania 34 sign, indicating her intentions to wrestle at the event.
Per a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, one “key reason” WWE brought the former UFC women’s bantamweight champion in is to help Stephanie McMahon become a bigger mainstream name. While McMahon is a big name in the world of professional wrestling, she isn’t as well known outside the context of WWE. Meltzer noted that although she didn’t fight in 2017, Rousey was still the most searched female athlete in the U.S last year.
The entire goal for a Rousey-Stephanie program is to help elevate McMahon’s mainstream star status outside of the company. The goal was compared to that of how Vince McMahon’s name was made – through his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin. And Austin’s rise in mainstream media came with the help of his feud with Mike Tyson.
This explains why WWE is planning a Mixed Tag Team match between Rousey and a mystery partner (WWE hopes that can be The Rock) against the team of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania 34.
It turns out that Jason Jordan’s recent injury had some lasting affects on the Elimination Chamber match. Per a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE’s original plans had Jordan and Seth Rollins being a part of the Elimination Chamber match. This was in order to set up an eventual WrestleMania match between the pair in New Orleans.
Due to Jordan’s recent injury neither man is now planned to participate in the match. Jordan underwent successful surgery to help his neck injury earlier this week. As for a possible WrestleMania match between Jordan and Rollins, Meltzer noted that it’s “not a dead issue” at this time. It’s currently unknown how long Jordan’s injury will keep him sidelined.
It should be noted that prior to undergoing surgery Jordan’s wife took to social media and called overexagerations of his injury on the internet ‘fake news.’ She also described the injury as ‘minor’:
“I will address this once…
“Yes, “Jason Jordan” is injured. I assure you everything you have seen online is “Fake News!” He has a minor neck injury and will be back in no time! Although, I am very excited to have him home for a bit, I promise, I will help guide him to a speedy recovery! Thank you to everyone who reached out to check on him! He is very positive and already planning his comeback! In the meantime, just please keep sending Nathan and I good vibes!!”
Ahead of WrestleMania 34, where he’s expected to defend his Universal Title against Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar is scheduled to work four live events next month in March ahead of “The Show Of Shows.” Lesnar is currently scheduled to face off against Kane from the United Center in Chicago on March 3rd. The next week on March 9th from the Target Center in Minneapolis WWE is promoting a Champion vs. Champion match-up between “The Beast” and Intercontinental Champion The Miz.
The week after that Lesnar will again defend his Universal Title in a Triple Threat match against Kane and Braun Strowman from Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday, March 16th. And finally, in his last match before WrestleMania 34, Lesnar is being advertised to perform on Friday, March 30th at the TD Garden in Boston. No opponent has been announced for that match as of this writing.
– WWE has decided to make some major changes backstage at 205 Live. PWInsider reports that the decision was made two weeks ago by Vince McMahon to let Triple H take the helm of the program. Triple H is currently the frontman at NXT and will now take on 205 Live as well.
While McMahon likes to focus on the characters on the program, Triple H has taken a different route – focusing on the in-ring product more instead. McMahon reportedly made the decision as an attempt to reboot and fix the show. People within the company have compared the past two weeks of 205 Live to NXT.
– NJPW has announced that AXS TV will broadcast their Strong Style Evolved event live on Sun. March 25, 2018. It’s NJPW’s second-ever standalone North American event.
NJPW made the following announcement on the matter:
NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING’S BIGGEST STARS RETURN TO AMERICA ON AXS TV’S EXCLUSIVE LIVE BROADCAST OF ‘STRONG STYLE EVOLVED’ ON SUNDAY, MARCH 25 AT 8pE/5pP
The Sold-Out Show Will Feature Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito & More from Long Beach, California
‘STRONG STYLE EVOLVED’ Marks NJPW’s Second U.S. Event as Japan’s Biggest Wrestling Organization Continues to Expand Stateside
Leading up to the Live Broadcast, the Network will Premiere Matches from NJPW’s New Year Dash, New Beginning in Sapporo and More
Los Angeles (Feb. 7, 2018) – AXS TV—the exclusive U.S. television home for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW)—will partner with NJPW and TV ASAHI to broadcast NJPW’s second U.S. event STRONG STYLE EVOLVED live on Sunday, March 25 at 8pE/5pP from California State University Long Beach’s (CSULB) Walter Pyramid.
The cable network’s acclaimed commentary team, Wrestling Hall of Famer Jim Ross and former UFC Heavyweight Champion and NJPW veteran Josh Barnett, will call the live action ringside at STRONG STYLE EVOLVED. The broadcast is expected to feature NJPW’s biggest stars including Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tetsuya Naito among others in matches to be announced.
“New Japan Pro Wrestling’s popularity and ratings in the U.S. are at an all-time high,” said AXS TV FIGHTS CEO Andrew Simon. “The G1 Special last summer sold out in a few hours, while STRONG STYLE EVOLVED, in an arena twice the size, sold out in less than 10 minutes. This second U.S. event is a great opportunity to further our relationship with NJPW and TV Asahi and we are looking forward to growing their strong style brand of wrestling in the states.”
AXS TV previously televised NJPW’s first stateside event—G1 Special in USA—live in July 2017 and also took over production of the Friday night series from distribution partner TV Asahi to air the Japanese events closer to the original air date. Continuing this trend, AXS TV aired a special presentation of NJPW’s biggest annual event—Wrestle Kingdom 12—on Jan. 6, 2018 just two days after it took place in Japan, which became the most watched broadcast in series history.
AXS TV wraps up its final night of Wrestle Kingdom 12 coverage on Feb. 9 at 8pE/5pP. Then, the network will showcase the best matches from NJPW’s winter events including “New Year Dash” (Feb. 16), three hours from “The New Beginning in Sapporo” (Feb. 23-March 9) and more to be announced leading up to STRONG STYLE EVOLVED.
AXS TV’s upcoming NJPW schedule is as follows (subject to change):
Feb. 9 – Wrestle Kingdom 12 Finale – Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito
Feb. 16 – New Year Dash – NJPW’s top wrestlers face off in a series of tag team matches and establish new rivalries for 2018.
Feb. 23 – The New Beginning in Sapporo – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki
March 2 – The New Beginning in Sapporo – The Young Bucks vs. Roppongi 3K
March 9 – The New Beginning in Sapporo – Kenny Omega vs. Jay White
– A fan on Twitter recently asked 2018 WWE Hall Of Fame inductee Bully Ray who he’d like to have induct he and D-Von Dudley into the WWE Hall Of Fame this year. Ray responded by saying that if it were up to him he’d have everyone who was in the ECW Arena in February of 1997 – where he and D-Von hit their first 3D – induct them. However, since it’s a WWE Hall Of Fame he admitted names like Paul Heyman, Edge & Christian, or The Hardy Boyz would also be good options:
If it was totally up to me, I would want something completely different.
I would have every fan who was in the ECW Arena in Feb. ‘97 who saw me and Devon hit our first 3D induct us.
– Rusev has been training Lana hard ahead of their Mixed Match Challenge bout against the team of Elias and Bayley next week. WWE posted the following video of Rusev having Lana break boards in preparation for the match:
– On last night’s episode of SmackDown Live Randy Orton hit the ring and delivered an RKO outta nowhere to United States Champion Bobby Roode. He then proceeded to hit Aiden English and Rusev with one as well. There has been some speculation that this was done to set up a United States Title match between Roode and Orton at Fastlane.
Discussion: How do you feel about a possible Roode vs. Orton match at Fastlane? Would you like to see Orton win the Title from “The Glorious One?”
– Lita recently released a lengthy statement explaining why she wore ‘Times Up’ gear during her appearance in the Women’s Royal Rumble match. Here’s what the former WWE Women’s Champion had to say:
“On January 28, I was fortunate enough to have been included in the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble match. Historically, it was tough to have the women even represented at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, much less have equal representation and be the main event. With only a few days notice between when I was asked to participate and the match itself, I had to wonder: As much as I wanted to be a part of history, could I pull this off?? After all, I hadn’t been in the ring in a decade, and while my full-time tenure at WWE sowed the seeds for the current Women’s Evolution (led by a roster of kick-ass women), I knew this historic event was going to be much bigger than myself and my own contributions to the industry. A big factor in deciding to go for it was the position I was now in to represent women everywhere.
“First, to all the women in professional wrestling. Women who passed away before they were able to their contributions as a rung on this ladder [sic]. I wanted to step in the ring for these performers who came before me and sacrificed so much of their lives for their millions of fans. But this evolution is bigger than even them. I wanted to be an entrant in this match for all women who have felt underrepresented, in all aspects of their lives. That is why, when I stepped through the curtain, I wore my #TimesUp gear. Watching these women step forward, hearing their #MeToo stories, as difficult as they are to share, has brought strength and unity to women who previously felt alone, ashamed or scared.
“This is so much bigger than one match. Everyone has their own journey and their own way to heal. I am still figuring out mine, but am so proud of all of you who have been able to come forward and join together for the sake of the evolution, and the re-education that this is not right. Women should not be discriminated against, and I support you in whatever makes you feel like you are doing the right thing for you. Taking legal action is only one of those ways, but it also happens to be one of the ways where our support can do the most good. Which is why 100% of the proceeds of this auction is being donated to the #TimesUp Legal Defense Fund to honor the strength of ALL women. I support you, and applaud your courage and your healing, in whatever way is best for you.
– After having both Dean Ambrose and Jason Jordan go down with injuries, Seth Rollins has received a new Tag Team partner for upcoming WWE live events. Finn Balor will tag with “The Architect” at upcoming live events against The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro), however, it’s only the events Roman Reigns is unable to tag with his former Shield stablemate. Rollins will tag with Reigns at Friday and Saturday’s live events.
When John Cena joins the RAW live tour on Sunday he will participate in a Triple Threat match against Reigns and The Miz for the Intercontinental Title. On that night Rollins will team with “The Demon King” against The Bar.
– With the hype around HBO Sports’ documentary on Andre The Giant, WWE really wants to push this year’s Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania even harder. The documentary is set to premiere the Tuesday after WrestleMania 34, which will feature the fifth annual Andre Battle Royal.
The first-ever Battle Royal took place at WrestleMania 30 back in 2014 with Cesaro winning. Past winners since then include The Big Show, Baron Corbin, and Mojo Rawley. PWInsider reports that WWE officials understand if the HBO documentary draws good numbers then it could lead to more projects with the network.
– Last night Roderick Strong picked up a win over Hideo Itami on 205 Live in a Cruiserweight Title Tournament match. Following the loss Itami took to Twitter to post a cryptic Tweet that fueled speculation regarding his future with WWE:
– A production company producing an upcoming show in the Los Angeles area are seeking John Cena ‘superfans.’ There are very few details given off by the advertisement, but you can check it out here:
A TV production company is looking for the biggest John Cena superfans in the Los Angeles area for a new series. pic.twitter.com/GPvKI2P6vB
Earlier this morning WWE’s The Big Show appeared on Busted Open Radio to talk about a recent hip surgery, and complications he suffered from it as a result. He revealed he went under the knife in September but got a fever several weeks later. It turns out he contracted a surgical infection:
“I’ve been really quiet with what’s been going on with me. I’ve had a hip resurfacing surgery in September. The surgery went really well. I got home and after 3 and a half weeks I was walking a mile. Things started to feel good, then I got a fever. I found out I had a surgical infection. The more I find out about these metal implants, it’s quite high to get an infection. I just got the unlucky draw.
“The hospital I had it done in New York is one of the top in the world for least amount of surgical infections. They had to open me up again, take it out, clean it, flush it, etc. If the infection had got any worse, they would have to cut the metal pieces out, put in what they call a cement joint for 3 months and then do a full on hip replacement, which would have ended my career.
“Instead, we got a very aggressive cleaning down here in Florida. I got a thing called a PICC line, which is basically an IV line from my left arm to my heart. For 7 weeks, I was walking around with an IV bag, 3 times a day, total of 8 hours a day. It was almost like having a small baby in the house because you only got 3-4 hours of sleep before you had to change the medicine. It was very stressful because I couldn’t go to the gym or do anything. I couldn’t get my blood pressure up, I couldn’t do anything physical. It was pretty difficult. We finally pulled the PICC line out on January 2nd.
“Things right now are touch and go for another 6-8 months. The more I learned about infections, the more I learn that they are very aggressive and adapt to certain medicines. The main thing we tried to do was keep the infection off the metal plate. Once bacteria gets on that metal plate, you can’t get it off. We’ve done everything we could. I dropped 27 pounds since January 2nd and I’m back in the gym feeling right.”
Despite his recent surgery and sitting at 45-years-old, the former WWE and WCW World Heavyweight Champion feels he still has a lot to contribute to the business:
“There’s always something to do in our business. I have a lot to contribute. For the younger talent, simple things like in and out of ring etiquette, treating yourself like a brand. These kids are amazing with social media, but there’s a certain way to carry yourself as a star. Being a WWE superstar is about giving, and I think there’s a few guys who get that. A lot of times talent gets wrapped up in the ‘me me me’ instead of ‘we we we’. There is no I in team. WWE is a team.
“Out of the billions of people on this planet, the 75-80 men and women on the roster have the opportunity to call themselves WWE superstars. That’s a very small percentage of people. They are in a position to be thankful. Thankful that they have the opportunity to be a WWE star, thankful to be working with people who you’ve grown up to idolize. Little things like that are what I still feel like I have to contribute.
“Also, I’m still having fun. It would be different if I wasn’t having fun anymore. I have done everything The Big Show can do personally aside from going out to have fun. I’m not under any pressure other than to go out and have fun. For me, this is the best time of my career. I can go out and interact with my fans.”
Current WWE Champion AJ Styles recently did an interview with India Today to talk about several professional wrestling topics. One such topic was the rumored match that was planned between himself and WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels at last year’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV). It turns out that Michaels shot the idea down:
“He [Michaels] said no. I’m not doing it. But being in the ring with someone like Shawn Michaels or the Undertaker and being able to learn from those guys will be a blessing. I would love to be in the ring with Shawn Michaels. Similar size, similar styles and to be in the ring with someone like that and all the knowledge he has. It would be a classic.”
“The Phenomenal One” was also asked about how he thinks “The Modern Day Maharaja” Jinder Mahal is doing in WWE. Styles said Mahal is doing great and he has all the makings of being the star he already is:
“Jinder is doing great. He has everything that he has got here. Looks like a star, acts like a star. That’s why he is one. He is perfect for the WWE, perfect for India. He is great and to see him be the star and come along is really cool. This business is really tough and Jinder went through some tough times in this business and now to see him where he is after all the hard work he has put in, he deserves everything and he has earned everything in the WWE.”
You can read Styles’ full interview with India Today by clicking this link here.
– Vince McMahon and Alpha Entertainment recently applied to trademark their own and the XFL logo. They also filed to trademark terms related to Alpha and the XFL.
– WWE recently replaced their social media banners with the image of ex-UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey pointing up at the WrestleMania 34 sign. A lot has been made of Rousey’s debut at the Royal Rumble at her pointing at the sign.
In an apparent shot at “The Rowdy One,” Charlotte Tweeted out the following picture of herself and captioned it “Champions don’t need to point.”
Last night’s segment on Monday Night RAW, in which General Manager Kurt Angle told his ‘son’ Jason Jordan to go home until he’s medically cleared to return, was a way to write Jordan off WWE TV while he deals with a legitimate neck injury. PWInsider now reports Jordan has been pulled from traveling on the road with WWE and will not be at upcoming TV tapings or live events.
WWE has been doing their best to work around Jordan’s injury in recent weeks. It was recently reported that if Jordan needs surgery to repair his neck that he could be out for up to a year. It should be noted, however, that Jordan’s wife recently took to social media to confirm the injury. But she did note that recent reports have been greatly exaggerated and called the injury ‘minor’:
“Yes, “Jason Jordan” is injured. I assure you everything you have seen online is “Fake News!” He has a minor neck injury and will be back in no time! Although, I am very excited to have him home for a bit, I promise, I will help guide him to a speedy recovery! Thank you to everyone who reached out to check on him! He is very positive and already planning his comeback! In the meantime, just please keep sending Nathan and I good vibes!! ”
