Vince and Linda McMahon are putting their Park Tower Stamford penthouse located in downtown Stamford, Connecticut up for sale.
According to The News-Times, the couple appears to have listed the penthouse for $4 million.
Featuring three bedrooms and four bathrooms, the condo is 3,351 square feet and is one of the highest-priced condominiums in Connecticut.
The McMahons’ condo is in the tallest building in Stamford, located at the corner of Broad Street and Washington Boulevard. It was formerly known as Trump Parc Stamford when Donald Trump joined the project but was renamed by the condo board after the 2021 storming of the United States Capitol.
James Wood with JFW Realty/Keller Williams is the listing agent for the property. The penthouse became the third-priciest condominium available in Connecticut as it hit the market. The top two priciest ones are Milbank Avenue units in Greenwich listed for $5 million and $4.5 million.
WWE’s headquarters is also located in Stamford. On March 20, 2019, the company announced that it will sell Titan Towers after using the facility as its global headquarters for more than 30 years. WWE will move to a new location on 677 Washington Boulevard, which is nearby Vince and Linda McMahon’s condo. The company intended to relocate its headquarters to this new location by 2021, but the move was later delayed to late 2022.
Shelton Benjamin is out of action after sustaining an injury.
“The Gold Standard” said that this is only the second time in his 22-year career that he has to be on the shelf because of an injury.
Benjamin assured his fans that he will be back soon and put in the work to recover and be better than he was before.
“For only the second time In my career An injury has put me on the shelf. I’ll be back soon. In the meantime I will be putting in the work to come back better than I was before my little setback. See you guys soon!” he wrote on Twitter.
Benjamin did not say how he sustained the injury or what it even is.
Shelton Benjamin’s last match was a tag team match at WWE Main Event, where he faced The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford) with his The Hurt Business partner Cedric Alexander in a losing effort on the April 25 episode of the show.
As for the main shows, he participated in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the April 1 episode of SmackDown. The Hurt Business suffered a loss at the hands of The Mysterios (Dominik Mysterio & Rey Mysterio) on the March 14 episode of Raw.
We wish Shelton Benjamin a speedy recovery from his injury.
For only the second time In my career An injury has put me on the shelf. I’ll be back soon. In the meantime I will be putting in the work to come back better than I was before my little setback. See you guys soon!
New Japan Pro Wrestling announced the news stating that the card has changed for its Capital Collision event.
Beretta was set to team up with Kazuchika Okada against Jay White and Hikueleo on May 14 in Washington DC.
The company apologized to fans who were looking forward to seeing Beretta wrestle.
Beretta took to Twitter to apologize to fans, writing, “sorry guys. this sucks. I’ve betrayed new Japan all over again. also I feel fine now so use your well wishes on someone else [sic]”.
The company announced that Beretta has been replaced by Rocky Romero. As a result, The DKC will take Romero’s place in the ten-man tag team match where he was set to team up with Yuya Uemura, David Finlay, Tanga Loa, and Fred Rosser to take on the team of WCWC, JR Kratos, Royce Isaacs, and Jorel Nelson.
The DKC was set to face Kevin Knight in a non-televised match. He is replaced by AEW’s Nick Comoroto.
Rhea Ripley joined The Judgment Day at WrestleMania Backlash, which is led by Edge and also includes member Damian Priest.
On May 8, Edge battled AJ Styles in a WrestleMania 38 rematch. Priest was not allowed ringside so that there could be no outside interference in the match.
A hooded person distracted Styles to help Edge win. It was then revealed that this person was Rhea Ripley, and she joined Edge’s The Judgment Day.
Ripley says that she is very excited to work with Edge and he will help her climb the ladder quickly.
Speaking to 99.5 WKDQ, Ripley said she can’t wait to learn under Edge’s guidance (as transcribed by Fightful):
“Edge is such an amazing talent and he’s been through so many different matches and has done so much stuff in this company and I’m going to learn a lot from him over the next few months, if not years. I’m very excited to be working with him and he can definitely help me climb up the ladder really quickly,” Ripley said.
“He knows a lot about this business and I’m very excited to be working with him because I can’t wait to learn all the lessons he’s going to teach me along the way. It’s going to be one massive learning curve for me and I’m very excited.”
Ripley described Damien Priest as the male equivalent of her. Their gear is the same, they have similar views on life, and so on. Their attire is so similar that Ripley wore his pants when she lost her gear.
“Damian and I, we’ve been mates for a long time. We’ve talked about doing intergender tag matches for the longest time since we are pretty much the same human. Our gear is very similar, the way we look at life is pretty similar, we act the same, we have the same likes and dislikes. Even when I lost my gear, lucky he was on the show because I wore his pants out and I wrestled in his gear,” Ripley said.
Ripley was in a team with Liv Morgan and took part in a fatal 4-way tag match where Naomi and Sasha Banks won the Women’s Tag Team Titles after defeating the teams of Ripley & Morgan, Shayna Baszler & Natalya, and Carmella & Zelina Vega.
Ripley then turned on Morgan, breaking up their team and turning heel.
When MJF, who is currently involved in a program with Wardlow, was feuding with CM Punk and it was Spears who was Wardlow’s accounta-bilibuddy, staying by his side and giving him advice.
While everyone’s attention was on the feud between MJF and Punk, Spears believes he was busy making Wardlow a star during that time.
Speaking to Mark Henry on Busted Open, Spears said that he helped Wardlow because he lacked experience but now the rising star bit the hand that fed him and wants to go his own way (as transcribed by Fightful):
“Here’s my problem. Okay. In the midst of Max feuding with CM Punk, arguably the biggest feud of the year, arguably the biggest feud of the past five years, there was an underbelly story taking place, and that was with Wardlow and myself. That guy went on a tear. That guy started to get very over, the crowd started responding to Wardlow in the most positive way possible,” Spears said.
“Why do you think that is? If you look at the common denominator, I was by his side, every single second that that was taking place,” Spears explained. “I was the guy in his ear giving him the advice. One thing Wardlow lacks is experience. The guy is talented, the guy is big, the guy is strong, the guy checks almost every single box in this industry, except one, and they can help right now it’s not his fault. He doesn’t have the experience that I have.”
Spears went further on and said that when a rookie reaches a certain level of popularity, they start thinking they are too big for the industry and are better than everyone else. Spears thinks Wardlow did the same when he started getting popular with fans.
“Wardlow turned around and he bit the hand that fed him. We made him a star and now, he just ups and wants to go on his own way. You want to do your own thing? Go ahead. Go ahead, go do your own thing and see how that works out for you,” Spears stated.
Spears also added that Wardlow has turned his back on him and it’s going to cost Wardlow. He praised MJF, likening him to Cody Rhodes, who according to Spears, understands the business. Spears also clarified that he isn’t fighting for MJF’s admiration.
Shawn Spears will go against Wardlow with MJF present as the referee. This is part of the conditions that MJF made Wardlow agree to if he wants to face him at Double or Nothing. Wardlow has to get whipped by MJF ten times and then has to defeat Spears in a steel cage match. If he wins, Wardlow will get his match against MJF. But if he loses, he can never sign with AEW.
Authors of Pain have resurfaced with their own wrestling promotion.
The former WWE Raw and NXT Tag Team Champions recently said they aren’t done competing in the ring.
Akam and Rezar are going to make a return to the ring, according to a recent report. The report also said that they are going to run a pro-wrestling event in Dubai, and have reached out to talent about working the show.
Now, more details have emerged about their promotion.
Alex McCarthy of talkSPORT shared a statement on Twitter announcing the launch details of Authors of Pain’s promotion Wrestling Entertainment Series (WES).
The statement says that Gzim Selmani (Rezar) and Sunny Dhinsa (Akam), formerly known in WWE as Authors of Pain, are launching a brand-new professional wrestling promotion.
Wrestling Entertainment Series
“Wrestling Entertainment Series (WES) will debut on June 4th live from the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England, and will be available to watch live around the world on FITE.tv,” the statement reads.
The event will feature “some of the biggest names in professional wrestling” the names of which will be announced “very soon.” The June 4 event will be a “celebratory kick-off event.”
Former #WWE tag team AOP have a new promotion launching June 4th, Wrestling Entertainment Series (WES) pic.twitter.com/TRpMK2nvpH
The statement also says that the promotion has an “action-packed schedule” already in place for the rest of the year. It is going to hold shows across Europe and the Middle East. The dates of these events have not been revealed yet.
“WES will also see the in-ring return of the Selmani & Dhinsa with legendary manager Paul Ellering by their side. The duo is set to re-establish themselves as one of the most dominant forces in the tag team wrestling division,” the statement concludes.
In a video posted on the promotion’s social media handles, WES has revealed that they have sent invites to the participants.
The official website of the promotion has a countdown timer with two days and twenty-one hours to go at the time of this writing. Authors Of Pain are likely to make more announcements about their promotion soon.
“Young Rock” has received a third season on NBC. The sitcom is co-created by Dwayne Johnson and Nahnatchka Khan and showcases different periods of Johnson’s life.
The show takes place in different timelines showing Johnson growing up in a family full of professional wrestlers, his struggles in high school, and his time playing football at the University of Miami.
Variety reported that NBC has renewed “Young Rock” for a third season after the two seasons received praise from viewers.
The second season of “Young Rock” is currently airing. The show stars Johnson himself, Joseph Lee Anderson, Stacey Leilua, Ana Tuisila, Adrian Groulx, Bradley Constant, Uli Latukefu, Fasitua Amosa, John Tui, and Matthew Willig.
The series’ plot focuses on how Johnson made it big in the wrestling industry, as well as a future prediction of him running for the President of the United States.
Khan and Jeff Chiang created the show and executive produce along with Johnson, Dany Garcia, Jennifer Carreras, Hiram Garcia, and Brian Gewirtz.
Universal Television, Dwayne Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions, and Nahnatchka Khan’s Fierce Baby Productions are producing the show.
Jimmy Smith serves as a play-by-play commentator on Raw since May 2021. Prior to that, he was a mixed martial arts fighter with a record of 5 wins out of six total matches in his career.
Besides fighting, Smith also provided commentary for Bellator, UFC, and Premier Boxing Champions.
As someone who has been an MMA fighter and is now a commentator at the biggest professional wrestling company in the world, Smith knows a thing or two about the differences between working in the MMA and pro wrestling industries.
On his Unlocking The Cagepodcast, Smith talked about choosing between WWE and UFC as a newcomer in the field. He answered a question that asked for his opinion on what it would be like to sign a contract with either company and where that will take a newcomer.
Smith said that signing with Dana White’s UFC can give you three chances at best to make it, while Vince McMahon’s WWE can do something for your career if they have enough faith in you (as transcribed by WrestlingNews.co):
“If Vince McMahon says, ‘We are going to make a star out of you,’ you will make more money and you will go further than you will anywhere else.
“Dana White can only say, ‘Here’s your chance.’ If you get your ass kicked twice, all that goes away.
“If Vince McMahon says, ‘We think you can be a great character and we can do a lot with you’, they are going to make sure their investment is protected. They are going to give you the right booking, the right opponents, and the right people to get you over.”
Smith then gave the example of Gable Steveson, who made appearances at WrestleMania 38. Smith said that WWE will give Steveson the right training and management so that he can be a “gigantic star” because the company has the ability to make someone’s career.
“The UFC can only go, ‘Here’s three fights.’ If you lose, that’s all over. Once Vince says, ‘You’re our guy. Here you go.’ First of all, that first contract is going to be worth a lot more money than the UFC’s contract,” Smith continued. “Number two, Vince McMahon, because of his faith in you or whatever it is, can give you all the opportunity in the world to fulfill that destiny. Dana White in UFC, because of the nature of it not being predetermined, can’t do that. I would sign with WWE.”
WWE will unveil the second class of “Next In Line” program recruits this June.
The company announced that it will unveil the newest class of Next In Line recruits at the inaugural NIL summit on June 13. The class will consist of 15 athletes.
The NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) program is aimed at recruiting college athletes. Through collaborative partnerships with college athletes of diverse athletic backgrounds, the program aims to enhance the talent development process.
WWE said that the NIL Summit will take place at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
“Four of the 16 initial members of WWE’s ‘Next In Line’ program are nominated for awards including Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson (University of Minnesota) for Male Athlete of the Year, Haley & Hanna Cavinder (University of Miami) for Female Athlete of the Year and Jon Seaton (Elon University) for the Hustle Award,” the statement reads.
“We are excited to unveil our next class of NIL athletes at the inaugural NIL Summit which brings together the brightest minds across this emerging industry for the first time,” Triple H said in the statement. “WWE’s ‘Next In Line’ program has already proven to be transformational for our talent pipeline. We have forged many incredible partnerships with student athletes during the first six months of the program and look forward to ushering in the next wave of talent.”
The first class of college athletes who took part in the program also consisted of 15 members. The program included athletes who had a background in football, basketball, track and field, and wrestling. Gable Steveson was the first member of this inaugural class.
Athletes in the NIL program get access to the WWE Performance Center, as well as education on brand building, media training, live event promotion, and more. Some athletes will also receive a WWE contract after they complete the program.
Cesaro has not popped up anywhere since his release from WWE earlier this year. The wrestling world is wondering when and where we could see him for his career’s next chapter.
There has been a lot of speculation as to where Cesaro could end up after he quietly left SmackDown and WWE when his contract expired on February 24. This ended his 11-year tenure in the company.
Cesaro was one of the most universally liked people in the company, and it reportedly had many on the WWE roster disappointed and dismayed over his departure. The company offered him a new contract but he turned it down.
A recent report from Fightful suggests that several promoters have reached out to Cesaro to book him for wrestling appearances as well as for signing him to their promotions.
The report says that Cesaro has not accepted any offers as of yet. Some promoters have said that “The Swiss Cyborg” has straight up not responded at all.
Recently, Cesaro, now going by Claudio Castagnoli “CSRO”, has posted tweets that suggest something is coming soon. In one of his tweets, Cesaro reminded fans that he’s the same OG.
In another recent social media post, he posted a selfie of himself suggesting that something is in store for fans with the caption, “Soon…”
Wardlow is currently feuding with MJF and is set to meet him for a contract signing at tonight’s AEW Dynamite from Long Island. The contract signing will also reveal when a match will take place. It’s most likely to be set for the Double or Nothing pay-per-view event on May 29.
AEW President Tony Khan discussed Wardlow and his contract while speaking to Barstool Rasslin’. He said that the storyline has evoked a lot of interest from fans (as transcribed by SEScoops):
“It’s the evil genius that is MJF, I think, at work. I mean, you’re seeing what he has done to Wardlow is tormenting the guy, and it’s been very compelling to see. Unfortunately, that’s kinda the evil mastermind at work,” Khan said.
Wardlow makes his entrance with handcuffs and no music and it is something that is different and sets Wardlow and his presentation apart. Tony Khan is pleased with the way everything comes together every week on Dynamite.
Khan said things have shaped up well for the upcoming big match as there is a contract signing tonight. He added that it’s a big night to see how the crowd reacts to Wardlow as he’s going against his boss, MJF, who holds Wardlow’s future in his hands. Khan said it’s gonna be really interesting because of the conditions in the contract.
Khan was asked if he has considered buying Wardlow’s contract from MJF since he can afford to.
“MJF’s family has a lot of money. To be fair, I am making smart business decisions for the company,” said Khan. “Wardlow is still performing for the company right now and it’s on MJF’s dime. We’ve worked with a lot of people through the Forbidden Door so this is no different.”
Elsewhere on the show, matches for The Owen Hart Foundation Men’s and Women’s Tournaments will take place, and FTW Champion Ricky Starks will defend his title against AEW World Tag Team Champion Jungle Boy.
Penta El Zero M is looking jacked in a recently posted photo.
One-half of the Lucha brothers alongside his real-life younger brother Rey Fenix, the former AEW World Tag Team Champion took to Twitter to share a picture on his Twitter account showing off his physical appearance.
“Puro zero miedo……#luchabrothers @AEW @luchalibreaaa,” wrote the 37-year-old as the caption to the mirror selfie in a gym. Check out the photo below:
Penta El Zero M made the rounds on social media recently when he superkicked Tay Conti at AAA’s TripleMania: Monterrey event on April 30 in Monterrey, Mexico.
After the main event which saw the Young Bucks defeating Hijo del Vikingo & Fenix, Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti ran down to the ring to join the Young Bucks. Penta came out to clear the ring and hit a superkick on Conti. Penta’s unconcerned attitude went viral on pro wrestling Twitter. You can check out the video below:
Earlier, Penta El Zero M debuted his new character, Penta Oscuro on the February 23 edition of AEW Dynamite. The character had first appeared in Lucha Underground, and after weeks of teasing, Penta debuted the darker side of his persona on AEW. Known as Pentagon Dark in Lucha Underground, Penta Oscuro has a more aggressive side and goes after his opponent’s limbs with his arm snap.
“The EST of WWE” also made history by becoming the second African-American star after The Rock to win a Royal Rumble Match. She also won the SmackDown Women’s Championship in WrestleMania 37, becoming the first woman to successfully challenge for both titles in consecutive WrestleManias.
Even though Belair has created history in her young career so far, she didn’t plan to be a WWE superstar. In fact, she didn’t even imagine she would ever be one.
In a recent interview with NBC Sports, Belair spoke about being an athlete and transitioning to wrestling for WWE. She said that the biggest transition for her was starting from scratch. She has a lot of experience with different sports, from gymnastics, tumbling, track and field, cheerleading, basketball, and soccer. Belair was an all-American hurdler too.
Belair was able to use something from each sport with every new sport she’s ever done. It wasn’t the same with WWE.
“With every sport that I’ve done — even CrossFit and powerlifting — I’ve been able to pull something from each sport (I did before). But with WWE, I walked in not really knowing anything. I didn’t really grow up watching wrestling. I watched when my brother watched it. I never imagined myself being a WWE superstar. So it was really starting from scratch. The athletic and physical part of it came to me very easily and quickly, but it was the performing part of WWE (that was more challenging),” Belair said.
She continued, “You know, it’s sports entertainment, so you get the best of both worlds. It’s like watching your favorite action-packed, superhero soap opera mixed with an NFL football game. So, for me the most challenging part was just the performance part and learning how to — not just compete — but perform at the same time.”
Belair said that wrestling is the most demanding sport she’s ever done: “It’s very, very demanding physically, probably more demanding than almost any sport that I did. I’m in the gym usually Tuesday through Friday doing cardio training, CrossFit-type of training. And then Saturday through Tuesday is when I’m traveling and having wrestling matches inside the ring. But on those traveling days, I’m still in the gym at eight o’clock in the morning. Then I’m at the show, having a wrestling match at eight o’clock at night, and then I’m driving to the next show until about 2am. And then I’m doing it all over again the next day. So it’s a grind, not just mentally, but physically as well.”
Bianca Belair also spoke about women main-eventing WWE. According to her, not only is seeing women in the limelight important for young girls, but it’s even more important for boys to see.
WarnerMedia and Discovery completed their merger on April 8 as Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc.
There was speculation that this could affect All Elite Wrestling programming as the company may not carry wrestling content as part of its repertoire.
This speculation stemmed from a recent announcement that TBS and TNT will no longer develop new scripted content to cut costs.
Earlier reports suggested that it all depends on how the company views AEW since it is going after major sports leagues. If the company sees the wrestling promotion as a sports property, chances are it will be unaffected.
A new report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter says that according to a key executive from WarnerMedia, “it would take someone who just hates wrestling” for AEW to be no longer part of WarnerMedia.
The report says (as transcribed by WrestlePurists): “Regarding AEW’s status, this is basically from a key executive in WarnerMedia, the feeling is as far as AEW not being canceled, which was and still is a very low percentage chance of happening due to the ratings. It would take someone who just hates wrestling for that to happen.”
Dynamite performs well when it comes to ratings, and is inexpensive to run. The show performs better than other TBS and TNT programming, except for NBA.
Before the merger took place, AEW’s new reality series was already greenlit which will premiere later this year.
AEW’s TV deal with WarnerMedia will expire at the end of 2023. There’s no information about the contract’s future after that, but it wouldn’t be too surprising if AEW continues to be a mainstay in the company.
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door is a supershow that All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling will present together next month. Fans have been waiting for the two promotions to collaborate ever since AEW launched three years ago.
On Thursday, pre-sale tickets went live for purchase which saw 11,000 tickets sold under 40 minutes. The remaining 3,000 tickets available for sale today sold out almost instantly.
Thank you amazing wrestling fans who purchased tickets to@AEW x @njpwworld#ForbiddenDoor ppv! We sold over 11,000 tickets today, with a small allotment still held back for the general sale tomorrow!#AEWRampage is on TNT early tomorrow @ 5:30pm ET/4:30pm CT/3:30pm MT/2:30pm PT!
20,000 people were in the cue when the 11,000 pre-sale tickets went live. A limited amount of tickets, which we now know were 3,000 in number, went for sale and sold out today. This means that Forbidden Door will at least have 14,000 fans in attendance.
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door will take place at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois on June 26. The event will be available live on PPV, the B/R app, and FITE.
During the April 20 episode of Dynamite, Tony Khan and NJPW President Takami Ohbari announced the event together.
“Traveling between Japan and the U.S. is no longer a significant problem,” Ohbari said. “If Japanese fans are invested in this event and the demand is there, then there will absolutely be the impetus for us to take the next step of holding an event in Japan.”
Darius Martin, one-half of the tag team Top Flight, is injured and is sidelined from in-ring action.
He previously missed a year of action when he tore his ACL. Darius returned on AEW Dynamite as part of the AEW World Tag Team Title Number One Contendership Casino Tag Team Royale. The Young Bucks won the match to head into AEW Revolution as Martin was eliminated last.
Martin performed short of a dozen matches since his return, only to suffer another injury. There were reports of him suffering from a leg injury and missing significant ring time. Martin cleared up the air and said that his injury has nothing to do with wrestling by writing on Twitter, “What I’m currently dealing with had NOTHING to do with wrestling but I’m glad everyone else out there seems to know more about my health than I do.”
There was still no other information available about his injury until Malakai Black finally gave us an update about him.
Appearing on The Universal Wrestling Podcast, Black said (as transcribed by SEScoops): “I’ve wrestled Dante Martin, but his brother, unfortunately–I wish him a speedy recovery–he had a really nasty car accident. He’s out for another, like, six to nine months.”
Malakai Black was speaking about working with young talent and when speaking of working with Dante Martin, he gave an update on Darius’ health.
Chyna passed away on April 17, 2016, at the age of 46 due to an accidental drug overdose. Her body was found on April 20 at her home in Redondo Beach, California when her manager got concerned over Chyna’s inactivity on social media and decided to give her a visit.
Now Chyna’s mother, Jan LaQue, has come out and said that she believes there is more to the story regarding her daughter’s final moments.
Posting on Facebook, LaQue revealed that a woman named Dee J Ben (Dee Joy Bendoy) called her after Chyna died and told her that she spent the last Sunday with her. This was the last day that Chyna was in contact with anyone.
LaQue further continued that the woman told her that she and her boyfriend spent the Sunday afternoon drinking with Chyna in her condo. LaQue has been trying to get more details on what happened to her daughter right before she died but the woman refuses to speak to her.
LaQue thinks that the woman is hiding something about Chyna’s death. Right after Chyna’s death, she personally spoke to the LA coroner investigator, Christy McCracken, and the Redondo police detective investigator.
Chyna’s mother says both of them told her there was no evidence of alcohol in her condo. The examiner informed her that two types of alcohol contributed to her death and her blood level was “way over the top.”
Since there was no alcohol found in Chyna’s apartment, LaQue suggests that evidence at the scene was tampered with and someone must have “cleaned up” things. Since the woman was last in contact with her, she must have known about her condition. Her refusal to give more details to Chyna’s mother does not help her case either.
Chyna
Facebook Post
In the post, LaQue urged people to let her know if anyone knows the woman or what happened during that time. You can read the post in its entirety below:
“So many of you have contacted me recently and told me that you hoped that some day I would find the answers to what really happened to Joanie right before her death and how she really died. This woman in these pictures, now going as Dee J Ben on Facebook, (she has been called Dee Joy Bendoy) called me after Joanie died telling me that she spent that last Sunday with Joanie. That was the last day that anyone saw her.
She told me that she and her boyfriend and Joanie spent that afternoon drinking in Joanie’s condo. Since then I’ve tried to contact her several times to learn more, but she keeps ignoring my requests to speak with her. Is she hiding something? It would seem so. I spoke to the LA coroner investigator, Christy McCracken, and the Redondo police detective investigator personally, right after Joanie’s death. Both of them told me that there was no evidence of alcohol in Joanie’s condo. Then the LA medical examiner told me that contributing to her death were two types of alcohol and her blood level was WAY over the top.
So how does that make sense? She was obviously under the influence of massive amounts of alcohol, yet nothing was found in the apartment. What happened? Did this Dee remove all the evidence? And if so, why? She had to have known that Joanie was in terrible shape. Why did she go away and leave her in that condition? And if she didn’t remove any bottles or evidence, then who did? Someone had to have “cleaned up” things.
As more and more time goes by, I’m more and more convinced that this Dee Bendoy knows the truth about what happened. But getting her to come clean with what she knows about that last day is another story. If you know this woman and/or what happened, please please let me know so I can put this mystery to bed. Not knowing what happened is honestly heartbreaking. I promise that I will keep anything you share in confidence.”
John Cena says WWE fans have taught him many lessons that they are not even aware of. He says these lessons have helped him shape into a better person.
John Cena said this when he appeared on an episode of Backstage’s In the Envelope where he talked about his acting career. During the interview, he also thanked WWE fans for teaching him a lot of values and said that he can’t wait to let them know.
“There will come a time where I’ll be able to thank the WWE audience for all that they have taught me. That’s not just from a professional standpoint. They made me into the man I am, straight up, especially in lessons like humility and failure, persistence, countless things that they will never understand,” Cena said (as transcribed by Fightful).
“When I hear something from you like, ‘I watched WrestleMania 21’ or Austin Theory, for example, ‘I watched John Cena as a kid and Never Give Up got me through a lot of stuff and that’s why I’m here now.’ I don’t think he realizes what he did for me,” Cena continued. “It’s not just from a profession. I reference WWE in my daily life, it’s something I’m forever grateful for, because it’s made me into the man that I am.”
Austin Theory has said before that John Cena is his inspiration and the reason why he got into wrestling. Theory suffered bullying growing up and Cena’s way of handling himself have him encouragement to push through the harder times. “For me growing up, I was bullied in school, and I didn’t have my dad in my life, so it kind of helped me, like just his attitude and the way he was and the way he carried himself, no matter what the situation was. John Cena just gave me that encouragement, and even if it sounds cheesy, just to never give up. I mean it’s true, and that’s what’s gotten me here so quick,” Theory has said about Cena.
While it’s no secret that WWE is pushing Theory as the next big thing, some reports are claiming that WWE is trying to make him the next Cena. Theory is even teasing a SummerSlam match with his icon.
Theory recently taunted a fan at ringside who was wearing Cena merch and claimed that he is a better United States Champion than Cena was. Cena responded by giving him some advice along with a warning.
All Elite Wrestling is facing legal action over their AEW Shop website for being inaccessible to visually impaired people.
A plaintiff named Luigi Abreu has brought the class action complaint against the promotion on May 4 in the Southern District of New York. The plaintiff is visually impaired and legally blind who depends on screen reading software to browse the internet. According to the complaint, shopaew.com does not have any features to make it accessible to people with visual impairments.
“Plaintiff LUIGI ABREU (“Plaintiff”) brings this class action both on an individual basis and, on behalf of all others similarly situated, for declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and compensatory damages-including statutory and punitive damages-against defendant named herein, and alleges based upon the personal knowledge of Plaintiff, the investigation of counsel, and upon information and belief,” the complaint reads (via Brandon Thurston).
The complaint argues that AEW’s lack of accessibility features for visually impaired people violates their rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“Plaintiff is a visually-impaired and legally blind person who brings this civil rights class action against defendant ALL ELITE WRESTLING, LLC for its failure, design, construct, maintain, and operate its website to be fully accessible to-and independently used by-Plaintiff and other blind or visually-impaired people who use screen-reading software,” the lawsuit continues.
The lawsuit argues that due to the lack of these features, visually impaired and legally blind people are denied access to the “equal enjoyment of goods/and or services offered on the website during the past three years.”
Abreu is seeking a jury trial and is also asking for their legal costs to be covered.
In 2020, WWE also faced legal action for its WWEShop.com website for not being equally accessible to blind and visually-impaired consumers. WWE reportedly settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount.
Deathmatch wrestling, or hardcore wrestling, has been a staple of the independent wrestling scene since it became successful in America with Extreme Championship Wrestling. Of course, deathmatches certainly made waves in Japan years prior.
While ECW went defunct in 2001, the promotion influenced a number of other wrestling organizations like Combat Zone Wrestling.
Deathmatches remain a controversial aspect of wrestling, due to their bloody and ultra-violent nature. Needless to say, this stuff is not suitable for children due to its destructive content. A UK-based wrestling organization called Colliery Championship Wrestling is inviting wrestling fans’ ire on social media after they decided to hold a show involving a bloody deathmatch with children present in the audience.
On April 29, the promotion held its “CCW Pits Of Punishment” event at the Seaham Conservative Club in Seaham, County Durham in England. The match between Blizzard and Ronnie Thatcher at the event saw the two wrestlers beat each other to a bloody mess in a “3 out of 5 Doors Match”.
Clips from the match are making the rounds on social media, in which children can be seen in the audience as the two bloodied wrestlers use a variety of weapons to inflict as much pain as possible on each other.
In one of the clips, Blizzard is using a string trimmer on Thatcher’s arm as he writhes in pain on the floor outside the ring.
In another, the wrestler is seen whacking a bundle of sticks on his opponent’s wound cavity on his head, as his head is drenched in blood.
A third clip shows Thatcher taking his turn to shatter a tube light on Blizzard’s back and then stabbing the shattered, pointy end on his head.
Expectedly, the promotion is getting flak from fans all around the world for having a deathmatch take place on a show advertized as family-friendly.
The promotion has stated on their Facebook group that their show will be strictly an adults-only affair moving forward:
“There will be no repeat of went down at PITS OF PUNISHMENT like what we saw between Ronnie and Blizzard again. It will only take place in over 18 shows ( yes you can screenshot this for twitter )The match was only supposed to be a doors match, where both men took it upon themselves to take things to another level. We apologise to everyone this may have upset and we will make sure this will never happen again. [sic]”
In another statement, the showrunners have asked people to stop harassing the venue where the show was held and apologized for their blunder. Bizarrely, the statement also mentions that they received a call from someone from North America pretending to be a promoter, threatening to shut down their promotion. As noted, CCW is located in the UK.
Brandi Lauren was signed to WWE NXT from 2020 to 2021 under the ring name Skyler Story, aside from also making a one-off appearance using her current ring name on the former black-and-yellow brand in May 2018 against Lacey Evans.
Though she only appeared for an NXT Women’s Title #1 contendership battle royal while she was signed to WWE, Lauren has been making her name in promotions like Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor, and Warriors of Wrestling after getting her release.
As the 26-year-old is on her journey to make strides in the independent circuit, SEScoops’ correspondent Ella Jay caught up with Lauren during her appearance at WrestleCon in Dallas, Texas. Lauren discussed with us her future in wrestling, who she wants to face in the future, and more.
You can watch our exclusive interview with Brandi Lauren below:
Below are highlights from the interview:
What’s Next For Brandi Lauren’s Career
Brandi Lauren during her time in Shine Wrestling.
Brandi Lauren says she’s someone who lets things happen, rather than try to control them. She was already appearing for multiple promotions in the first few years of taking up wrestling. Lauren says she doesn’t have any specific goals as such for her career and she takes it easy.
“This sounds crazy, but I’ve always just gone with the flow. My first year of wrestling, I didn’t have anything planned or anything like that. I got a lot of really cool opportunities. My first year of wrestling, my goal was to work for Shine on the pre-show and to work for them in one other state. And within my first year of wrestling, I was on the main show of Shine, like, insistently. I had a contract with Impact. I wrestled for Ring of Honor. I just did everything. So then after that, I was like, I don’t even know what goals I have because I’m like, I just want to see what I can do. So it’s more so just I don’t have any particular plans. I just go with the flow and take what happens and just see where it goes.
“I mean, with Impact and stuff like that too, they had messaged me right before one of the taping dates and they were like, ‘Hey, is your non-compete done? Yeah, cool. Are you available on all these dates?’ And I was just like, ‘Yeah sure!’ Because that was just a per-appearance deal. I didn’t sign a contract or anything like that, but it was really cool and it was doing something that I showed up and I didn’t know I was gonna be doing. Like, I did not know at all. I did not know I was going to be murdered [referring to playing one of Su Yung’s undead brides].
Getting Out Of Her Comfort Zone
Brandi Lauren (left) as Su Yung’s Undead Bridesmaid with Kimber Lee.
Lauren played one of Su Yung’s Undead Bridesmaids along with Kimber Lee in Impact Wrestling. As Lauren was unable to claim enough souls for Yung as part of a storyline, she and Lee were struck down by lightning for good. Lauren said playing the supernatural role was out of her comfort zone but it helped her put her best performance forward.
“It was a surprise, but honestly, some of the most fun I’ve had in wrestling was doing a dead character, and creating just a whole new character, something that’s out of my comfort zone. Also, out of my comfort zone was working with Shotzi and that ended up being some of my best matches, you know, and her becoming my best friend, of course, so that’s really cool.
“I feel like getting out of my comfort zone is probably the best scenario for me and where I feel my best work comes from.”
Who’s Next On Lauren’s Radar
After having worked for Evolve Wrestling, Impact Wrestling, WWE, and the indies, Brandi Lauren is open to working everywhere and doing everything she can. Lauren will go wherever the path ahead leads her and will square off against anyone standing in her way.
“I think the main goal is, I just want to work everywhere and do everything, you know? I never thought that when I first started wrestling, I would make it to even Impact. I have contracts with Impact and I have contracts in general. It was insane thinking that.
“So I like seeing what comes and what opportunities come and if there’s an opportunity, I just take it.”
Lauren also discussed what she misses from her hometown of Buffalo, and what her favorites are as a big foodie. You can check out these parts of the interview on our YouTube channel.
Deonna Purrazzo prided herself on being a double champion. She held the ROH and AAA Women’s titles simultaneously and would issue the “Champ Champ Challenge” where she put either her Reina de Reinas title or ROH’s signature gold on the line.
She lost her AAA Reina de Reinas title at Rebellion on April 23 to Taya Valkyrie, which ended her reign at 252 days.
When SESoops’ Ella Jay caught up with “The Virtuosa” at WrestleCon, they discussed this and more.
You can watch our exclusive interview with Deonna Purrazzo below:
Below are some highlights of the interview:
On Chelsea Green
Deonna Purrazzo was asked who she thinks is the biggest surprise to step up to the plate recently. She named Chelsea Green.
“You know, what, I’m gonna have to say Chelsea [Green] was the biggest surprise. When I talked about this, we know her arm wasn’t really broken, whether she and I are in cahoots or not. No one will ever know. But, yeah, it was a surprise to see your best friend come out there. Always. And then, the three-way I think, you know, I put myself in a predicament where I could have lost, but I am The Virtuosa, and I said it on Impact when you mess with the bull you get the goddamn horns!”
Purrazzo also said that she would pick Chelsea Green as her tag team partner if she were to go after the Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championships.
Purrazzo was also asked about her thoughts on the turn of events with Mickie and Chelsea:
“You know what? I know Mickie’s your number one, but I will say that I obviously saw this coming. Mickie is selfish, Mickie wants what Mickie wants and doesn’t want to give to anyone else and that’s just who she is. And you know, what, if she wants to live her life like that. That’s fine. But when people are giving the way Chelsea and I are giving you get fed up really quick. And that’s what happens.”
On Being A Champ Champ Champ
The Champ Champ.
Purrazzo held two championships at the same time – Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide’s Reina de Reinas Championship, and Ring of Honor’s Women’s World Championship. She lost the former to Taya Valkyrie on April 23 at Rebellion. But when she held the two titles, she called herself “The Champ Champ”. Purrazzo is also a two-time Knockouts Champion. She was asked if we will ever see “The Champ Champ Champ” era.
“I’d be the Champ Champ Champ. Yeah. Absolutely. I think there’s just this like an innate thing in all of us Knockouts that you want to be The Knockouts Champion. If you don’t want to be a champion in wrestling, you should not be in wrestling. So, of course, I have my eye on Miss Tasha Steelz. Tasha and I have a long history together. I don’t want to say it’s trainer-trainee, but it’s kind of like that, that dynamic is a little bit like that. So, you know, I was so proud that she won, but at the same time, I want to kick her ass and break her arm and get my Championship back.”
Losing To Mickie James
Mickie James and Deonna Purrazzo at Hard To Kill.
At Hard To Kill, Mickie James defeated Deonna Purrazzo in a Texas Deathmatch to retain the Impact Knockouts Championship. Purrazzo was asked what is her response to James sitting on the chair looking at her, and where she wants to go after this chapter is closed.
“You go on and you win more championships like I did. No, on a serious note, this underlying story that we didn’t really talk too much about of me being The Virtuosa, this evil queen that has the hold on The Knockouts championship for so long. And it was like, who’s finally gonna dethrone her? And I think the symbolism in the table being on me. There are chairs and Mickie sitting on top of me was really the perfect ending to my chapter in that time of my life.”
Thoughts On Texas
WrestleCon took place at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas, Texas. Purrazzo was asked what she liked about the state, and she quickly responded she loved the Texan accent. She also added that she’s had some of the best Mexican food there.
“Ooh, I say y’all all the time. So I love that everyone here and just it feels natural to be it down in Dallas and just be like, ‘sup y’all?’ like everyone is like you lost the Jersey in you, you say y’all? But I said y’all, when I lived in Jersey and where I’m from in Jersey is not the city Jersey. So I love that everyone has an accent and I’ve had the best Mexican food possible for lunch and dinner last night. So, the food is good.”
Purrazzo announced that she is engaged to fellow New Jersey native Steve Maclin in February 2022. She recalled how when wrestling at JCW a few weeks ago, the crowd chanted “Mr. Purrazo” at him.
Ricochet wants to go back to WWE NXT. The former black-and-yellow brand has seen an influx of main roster WWE stars. Names like AJ Styles and Natalya have appeared on the brand and Ricochet says he wants to do the same.
Ricochet signed with WWE in 2018 and would go on to become the NXT North American Champion in the same year. He started appearing on both the main roster brands Raw and SmackDown Live in early 2019. He teamed up with Aleister Black to win the fourth annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic.
After WrestleMania 35, Ricochet moved to the main roster and won the United States and the Intercontinental titles. He is the current IC Champion in his first reign.
In a recent interview with Cultaholic, Ricochet said that he is open to an NXT return. He mentioned AJ Styles and Natalya appearing on the show who seem to be having a great time there. Ricochet also mentioned Carmelo Hayes. They both have heat with each other as they have taken shots at each other on social media.
Answering the question of whether he would like to go back to NXT, Ricochet said, “AJ went back and now Nattie’s down there and all these guys are going back down there and it seems like they’re having a great time. Me and Carmelo [Hayes] had a thing. If Carmelo wants the heat, he can have it but whoever it is I would love to go down there. That’s always been a home of mine so, any time.”
A while ago, Ricochet sent out a friendly reminder for rude fans. He sent a stern message to fans telling them that he would send fans away if they bother him to get multiple things signed at the wrong time, like 4 am in the morning at a hotel, for example.
SEScoops’ Ella Jay caught up with the “HBIC” to discuss a variety of topics, such as her wrestling return, Keith Lee’s AEW debut, gaming, and more.
You can watch our exclusive interview with Mia Yim below:
Here are some highlights of what she said about:
Her Return to Wrestling
Mia went against Athena on her return to wrestling and came out on top. Mia was asked what she thought about returning to the ring and the outcome of that match.
“I am very happy about the match. It’s been years since I’ve wrestled Athena and it’s also been over a year since I had my last match anyway, so it was a lot of mental blocks in my head because, you know, I wasn’t in a good mental space. So, getting into this match with a friend, and having her help me through it, kind of gave me back that confidence that I lost. So, the match was good, you know, I got to win, but aside from that, I feel like I’m slowly becoming myself again.”
It was a very emotional moment for Mia to come back to wrestling and win her first match. She clarified a while back that due to her recent wedding and move, she decided to handle everything at home first.
Mia promised us that we can expect her to see in the ring as much as she can be, and she also told us that she will meet everyone that she missed out on the last few years.
Keith Lee in AEW
Mia Yim’s husband, Keith Lee, was released from his WWE contract in November 2021. He made his debut in All Elite Wrestling on the February 9 episode of AEW Dynamite after radio silence on his next venture. Mia was asked how hard it was for her to keep Keith’s AEW a secret.
“Very hard, because of course, he doesn’t tell anybody anything. So, everyone’s coming to me and it’s like, what? I don’t know what you’re talking about. So, I don’t know. People always think they could get scoops from me and especially with Keith it’s like, that’s his business. Don’t come to me with that.”
Keith Lee made his surprise AEW debut to a massive crowd reaction. Fans in the arena were ecstatic to see “The Limitless” walk down the ramp towards the ring to face Isiah Kassidy. Keith won the match and went on to qualify for the “Face of the Revolution” ladder match at Revolution. Mia said watching this moment made her feel really proud.
“I was so proud. I knew it. I knew the reaction he was going to get was going to be authentic and loud, but just to see it as it was happening gave me the chills. And I was like, this is what he deserves.”
Disney Wedding
After being engaged for a year, Mia Yim and Keith Lee got married in February of this year. The couple tied the knot after spending several years together with a Disney-themed wedding. Mia described her wedding as a perfect day.
“Keith was able to give me my dream wedding of a Disney wedding. It was just having Mickey and Minnie there, having the carriage, it was picture perfect. Just marrying my best friend, the love of my life, that was something years ago that I never—like, I quit dreaming of because I never thought I was gonna get married or find ‘the one’. He came out of nowhere and it was just a perfect day having all of our friends and family under one roof, people I haven’t seen in years. It was just such a perfect day.”
Their wedding also had a Star Wars cake, as according to Mia, Star Wars is the only thing Keith loves about Disney. Mia isn’t a fan, but she described how the cake had a custom topper with the couple dressed as Star Wars characters.
“So, Keith is a big Star Wars person That’s the only Disney thing that he loves. I don’t care about Star Wars, but our cake. I got a custom cake topper that had me and him as—what the hell was I—he was Darth Vader and I was a Stormtrooper or whatever. Shana [Baszler] and the girls love Star Wars so all of their entrance music, like coming out to the ceremony and the reception was all Star Wars soundtrack.”
Gaming & Twitch Streaming
Aside from wrestling, Mia also plays video games on her Twitch and YouTube channel. Mia was asked what is the most difficult video game she has played, like ever. The frustration on Mia’s face was clear as she recalled struggling with Elden Ring and Sifu.
“Oh my God, I think right now, it’s Eldin Ring when I don’t have Jay Duke, helping me—or Sifu. Sifu is a rage-inducing game and I’m pissed off just thinking about it.”
Mia Yim doesn’t quit any game in rage, instead, she decides to not stop until she can beat a frustrating game. Admittedly, Mia did have to stop herself from breaking the controller a few times.
Memories of Wrestling in Texas
WrestleCon took place at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas, Texas. Mia was asked what her favorite memories from the state are.
“I just moved here. So, moving is not a favorite because I miss Orlando and it was a long drive. I haven’t had any—The favorite moment I have here in Dallas, is buying my first house with Keith and actually settling down. That’s a favorite memory thus far but there are going to be plenty more memories to make. We just moved like a month ago, so. [laughs]”
The “Head Baddie In Charge” was asked if she would like to have her own posse, who would she pick to be part of the group with her as the leader. She quickly answered the BRE—which stands for “The Best Roommates Ever” and includes Shayna Baszler, Jessamyn Duke, and Dakota Kai.
Becky Lynch and Ronda Rousey stepping in the ring together for a singles match is something fans have wanted to see for quite some time. It won’t be this year, as Lynch will be busy defending her WWE Raw Women’s Championship against Bianca Belair on night one of WrestleMania 38. On the same night, Rousey is challenging WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair.
Lynch and Rousey were going to face each other in a champion vs. champion match at Survivor Series 2018. The much-anticipated match didn’t take place, unfortunately, due to Lynch pulling out because she sustained an injury. Lynch got a broken nose and concussion during the Raw invasion angle on Raw. Lynch was then replaced with Flair, who faced Rousey, the Raw Women’s Champion at the time, in a non-title match.
WWE is going to southwestern Los Angeles in Inglewood, California at the SoFi Stadium for WrestleMania 39. Lynch said that the match between her and Rousey has been discussed for next year’s WrestleMania.
“I think the idea was, let’s give it even more of a build and possibly do this in Hollywood [at WrestleMania 39] of all places,” Lynch told The New York Post. “I think the idea was to give it a little bit of extra time, and hell, let frickin’ Ronda get her feet wet.”
Since Lynch is involved in a storyline of her own with Belair, she wasn’t surprised that this is what WWE went with. “Big Time Becks” added that the company likely thought Hollywood would be the best place for the much-anticipated match to take place.
“We had to tell this story with Bianca, too,” Lynch said. “So was I surprised? No, not entirely, not really. I think they thought of Hollywood as maybe being the spot for where this match would go down.”
Although the Survivor Series match didn’t take place, Lynch did face Rousey in the ring at the “Grandest Stage Of Them All” with Flair in a triple-threat match in the main event of WrestleMania 35 to make history. Lynch said that her “The Man” character got her to the top and she hasn’t looked back since then.
“My talent, my skill, my ability to communicate has gotten me to the top,” Lynch said. “So I don’t care what your name is, you’re behind me right now. It was that attitude that started this whole thing and then obviously we were supposed to have that Survivor Series match and my face got busted open and we never had that one-on-one match. So maybe, we’ll have it next year. Maybe something else will happen. I’m not worried. I am the name right now.”
