WWE tag team champion Darren Young has reacted to Milwaukee Brewers minor league baseball player David Denson coming out as gay over the weekend, making him the first professional baseball player to do so. Young tweeted:
People who say it shouldn't be a big deal that another major league athlete came out clearly have no understanding of what it (cont)1/1
— nodaysoff FRED ROSSER III (@realfredrosser) August 17, 2015
(Cont 1/2) means to live life in secrecy and fear of disapproval. These guys risk losing their personal relationships and livelihood simply
— nodaysoff FRED ROSSER III (@realfredrosser) August 17, 2015
(Cont 1/3) by choosing to live truthfully! Don't undermine the courage of gay athletes just because you have no idea what they have to go
— nodaysoff FRED ROSSER III (@realfredrosser) August 17, 2015
On Monday’s edition of WWE RAW in San Jose, California, a big match was announced for this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown.
In a six-man tag-team match that will be taped on Tuesday night, The New Day — Big E., Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods — will be taking on the trio of Mark Henry and the WWE Tag-Team Champions, The Prime Time Players — Titus O’Neil and Darren Young.
Make sure to visit SEScoops.com on Tuesday night for live WWE SmackDown spoiler play-by-play results coverage.
Jen Yamamoto of The Daily Beast recently questioned whether or not WWE is “too scared to go LGBT,” in the headline of a new story. WWE executive Stephanie McMahon claims WWE is not, yet noted that openly gay wrestler Darren Young’s (Fred Rosser III) character is not gay.
“Darren Young was the first WWE Superstar to really come out as being homosexual, but his character in the show is not,” said McMahon.
“At least, we haven’t done anything with it either way — just yet.”
Stephanie added that WWE is open to the idea of having gay characters.
“It could very well pop up in WWE because we are all about what’s relevant, and what’s pop culture, and what people want to see,” she said. “So if there is an opportunity, we might just take it.”
– In honor of WWE’s new “The List” show on the WWE Network, the official Twitter account for WWE is asking fans to nominate who they feel has the craziest family in WWE. You can check out the tweet below.
In honor of #FathersDay, let's hear who you would nominate as having the craziest family in the @WWE . Best tweets make the show!
WWE has released trailers for the new WWE Network original program “Swerved,” which is the show made by the producer of the popular television and film franchise, “Jackass.” Check out the trailers below.
Speaking of WWE Network programming, a new episode of “Unfiltered With Renee Young” is scheduled to air on Tuesday at 4pm EST. Young’s guest will be WWE Superstar Darren Young. The official description for the show reads as follows: “Renee sits down with Darren Young in this unfiltered and revealing conversation.”
Finally, a new episode of “Culture Shock With Corey Graves” will air on the WWE Network on Wednesday at 4pm EST. In the new episode, Graves visits the X-Games in Austin, Texas. The official description for that show reads: “Corey Graves hits up Austin, Texas for this year’s X Games!”
WWE Superstar Darren Young recently appeared on SIRIUS/XM radio personality Sam Roberts’ podcast to talk about a number of subjects, including the internal reaction in WWE to the news that he was a homosexual, particularly how former WWE Superstar CM Punk handled the news.
“Him and I had like a love/hate relationship,” Young said of Punk. “He was a little rough around the edges, but to be honest with you, one thing about Punk if I could talk about him for just a second, when he had his match with Brock Lesnar in 2013 that was a couple days after I made my announcement to TMZ.”
Young continued, “After this brutal match with Brock Lesnar, he was all iced up and I hadn’t seen him since I made my announcement. So he came up to me in catering and told me to stand up in front of people. I stood up and he gave me a hug. He said, “I’m proud of you and if you ever have any problem with anyone in the locker room, you let me know. I have your back.”
Check out Darren Young’s full appearance on the Sam Roberts podcast above.
WWE taped two matches for this week’s Superstars prior to Monday’s post-Extreme Rules edition of RAW in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Below are quick results of the two matches.
– The Prime Time Players def. Los Matadores in tag-team action. El Torito was at ringside with the Matadores. In the end, Titus O’Neil and Darren Young were too much for the bull fighting duo.
– Lucha Dragons def. The Ascension in another tag-team contest. The Dragons, particularly Kalisto, were flying all over the place en route to a quick victory.
– Tonight after RAW, the WWE Network will air Michael Cole’s interview with Triple H and Arnold Schwarzenegger from the Arnold Classic convention a few weeks ago.
– The 2015 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony will air on the WWE Network this Saturday night from 8-11pm eST. There will will be a 1-hour Red Carpet pre-show that kicks off at 7pm EST.
– Darren Young and Titus O’Neil worked out with NFL star (and former WWE prospect) Shawne Merriman in Los Angeles this morning.
– CM Punk noted on Twitter that he found a few urns in his garage, likely from his WrestleMania 29 feud with The Undertaker.
Found some urns in my garage. Y'all want this shit?
– WWE Hall Of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts is the guest on this week’s edition of Roddy Piper’s “Piper’s Pit” podcast. The show is available for download right now at PodcastOne.com.
– WWE Superstars Titus O’Neil and Darren Young worked out with former NFL star and one-time WWE prospect Shawne Merriman in Los Angeles, California this morning.
– WWE filmed some footage of Roman Reigns with his family this past weekend in Florida. The belief is that the segment was filmed to air as part of the build to Reigns’ match against WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 31 on tonight’s “go-home” edition of WWE RAW.
– Dolph Ziggler is now officially added to the WWE Intercontinental Championship ladder match at WrestleMania 31. Other participants confirmed for the match include Bad News Barrett, Luke Harper, R-Truth and Dean Ambrose.
– WWE has officially announced Big Show and Kane as the newest entrants in this year’s Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 31. With those two added, the following is the updated list of participants, which as noted, is expected to feature 20 competitors in total.
* The Miz
* Curtis Axel
* Ryback
* Fandango
* Adam Rose
* Zack Ryder
* Jack Swagger
* Titus O’Neil
* Darren Young
* Big Show
* Kane
Titus O’Neil recently spoke with Vindy.com to promote the WWE live event in Youngstown, Ohio this coming weekend. Below are highlights from the interview.
On reuniting the Prime Time Players with Darren Young: “Yeah, the band is back together. The Prime Time Players are back together, and we’re focused on taking on what we started and building upon that. We’re the roughest, toughest and most entertaining tag team in the WWE, and we’re dead set on becoming the WWE tag-team champions.”
On his recent #UseYourVoice-themed message on Instagram: “It’s nothing that I haven’t been trying to convey years before I got into the WWE. My story is very powerful in itself. I was the beneficiary of people from all races and all backgrounds investing in me at a young age. I came from a fatherless home. My mother was raped at a very young age, and so, obviously, I came from an impoverished background.
People invested in that place to give me a fair opportunity at winning at life. So for me, I’m fulfilling a purpose in which I’m repaying every single individual that invested in me when they didn’t have to. I look at this world in a completely different manner than most people do. I don’t see it in the eyes of skin color, gender or sexual orientation. The people who have an issue of what I said are the very people that are the ones that are the biggest perpetuators of the problem. But I’m not pushing any agenda on anyone outside of being the best person you can be.”
– The Prime Time Players, Titus O’Neil and Darren Young, have both officially been added to the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal match at WrestleMania 31. WWE is reportedly planning on having 20 Superstars involved in this year’s battle royal, down from the 31 participants who competed in the match last year. With the Prime Time Players now included, the following updated list for the match is as follows:
* Titus O’Neil
* Darren Young
* The Miz
* Curtis Axel
* Ryback
* Fandango
* Adam Rose
* Zack Ryder
* Jack Swagger
– WWE Superstar Xavier Woods recently got a new tattoo, which was inspired by the “Zelda” video game. Below, courtesy of Woods’ official Instagram page, is a photo of him getting the new ink.
– WWE is running a poll on their official website asking fans who they think Bray Wyatt is referring to in his recent promos on television. With over 70-percent of the vote, fans went with The Undertaker. Following him was “A Superstar We Haven’t Seen Yet” and Sting.
– Darren Young rebelled against WWE again, posting the following tweet shortly after WWE posted on their official Twitter account their backing and support of Floyd Mayweather in the boxing super-fight with Manny Pacqiuao:
I guess there's no such thing as an honest opinion these days. I hope Manny handles Money on May 2nd. Period. Pass a long and move on. :)
– Indy wrestlers Mia Yim and Leva Bates (NXT performer “Blue Pants”) worked as Rosebuds on Monday’s RAW.
– John Laurinaitis was backstage a last night’s RAW from Orlando. He was also on WWE’s recent tour of Abu Dhabi.
– After Titus O’Neil reunited with Darren Young on RAW, Heath Slater said he’s going to start focusing on himself, since he’s apparently no longer teaming with Titus.
I'm going to start focusing on ME!!! I'm better on my own… It's about time I get what I deserve… #MyTime
Speaking of Paige, she’ll be making her second appearance on Chris Jericho’s Talk is Jericho podcast this week.
– WWE NXT coaches including Bill DeMott, Norman Smiley and Robbie Brookside were all used in the pull-apart between Daniel Bryan and Roman Reigns at the end of RAW. DeMott and Brookside were holding back Reigns as RAW went off the air.
– Last night on RAW, Titus O’Neil saved Darren Young from a beatdown at the hands of The Ascension, leading many fans to wonder if we were seeing the reformation of the Prime Time Players. With both men’s careers floundering in recent months/years (and the Rhodes Brothers breaking up), this doesn’t sound like a half bad idea. In this RAW Fallout video, Darren Young questioned whether or not he’s ready to team up with Titus again.
– The unidentified wrestler that teamed up with Darren Young on last night’s RAW was independent wrestler Kevin Kross. He’s wrestled for Future Stars of Wrestling out of Las Vegas, Nevada.
– The dark main event after Monday’s RAW from Orlando saw John Cena defeat Bray Wyatt. Wyatt dominated Cena for most of the match, until Cena made a come back and won with the Attitude Adjustment.
During the match, Wyatt got sick in the ring and threw up a “significant amount.” At one point, Wyatt lifted John Cena up, but lost his grip and dropped Cena, who suffered a cut from the botched spot.
Dark match. John Cena got cut on his face and Bray Wyatt is puking his guts out. Seriously. Wtf
WWE has issued a statement in response to Darren Young tweeting about the company touring Abu Dhabi.
Initially, Darren Young tweeted, “Why do we bring the best entertainment into a country like abu dhabi and they look down upon women and gays? I get it! #MillionsofDollars” He later deleted that tweet and ranted about his “freedom of speech is gone” and “I feel like no none has my back and it upsets me. The struggle is real. I’m human.”
WWE sent us the following statement in response:
Fred Rosser Statement
“WWE does not discriminate against individuals regardless of age, race, religion or sexual orientation, and we continue to proudly support Fred Rosser (aka WWE Superstar Darren Young) for being open about his sexuality.
Unfortunately, WWE cannot change cultures and laws around the world, and thus we did not send Fred Rosser to the United Arab Emirates for our upcoming events for his own protection.
WWE also fully supports Fred Rosser’s right to express his views on personal social media accounts rather than WWE’s corporate platforms.”
WWE Superstar Darren Young is speaking out about his displeasure with WWE for touring Abu Dhabi, as it related to human rights issues. Young tweeted on Tuesday:
“Why do we bring the best entertainment into a country like abu dhabi and they look down upon women and gays? I get it! #MillionsofDollars”
The tweet was deleted. He later followed up with:
My freedom of speech is gone. Gone but not forgotten.
WWE personality Lana referenced The Rock being in Philadelphia in a new tweet posted on her official Twitter account.
Lana, who manages Rusev, was part of an angle with The Rock during one of his most recent returns, which took place on the October 6, 2014 edition of WWE RAW.
“The Rock doesn’t scare me or Rusev,” wrote Lana. “He is just another pathetic American too busy stuffing his face with cheesesteaks in Philadelphia!”
You can check out Lana’s tweet below.
.@TheRock doesn't scare me or @RusevBUL! He is just another pathetic American too busy stuffing his face with cheesesteaks in Philadelphia!
– Darren Young made his WWE in-ring return at the live event in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada on Saturday night. Young defeated Justin Gabriel in the opening match of the evening, but was then beaten down by Seth Rollins.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Tully Blanchard reportedly suffered a torn biceps at the Pro Wrestling Syndicate event on Saturday night. The injury took place when Blanchard did a run-in after his daughter, Tessa Blanchard’s match.
– WWE recently applied for trademarks on the following terms — “AWA American Wrestling Association,” “Beyond the Ring,” “Crush Couture”, “Crush Wear”, “NXT,” “Skull King,” MizDow,” “Total Divas” and “Shelton Benjamin.”
– On December 3rd, The Miz, Darren Young, Eva Marie and Cameron all filmed an episode of the FOX television show “Hell’s Kitchen.”
During his recent Kayfabe Commentaries shoot interview, former WWE Superstar Brodus Clay spoke about the reaction in the WWE locker room to Darren Young “coming out of the closet” and publicly admitting that he is gay.
Below is an excerpt from the interview where Clay speaks about this subject.
“Well he got there. Darren is a Superstar and he’s a great worker. His work got him there. To be honest with you, our locker room, we have openly gay guys we work with and it was never a big deal. A lot of of times I was concerned, I’ll leave it up to him if he wants to disclose this himself or whatever, but I was worried about his dating habits. I wanted him to be careful because he does the dating sites and stuff like that. We were talking to him, like how is your dating life and things like that? So it wasn’t really a big thing when he came out.
I think for him probably he just made himself more comfortable. In terms of the locker room, it wasn’t a big deal. One of the greatest teachers and stars in our business, Mr. Pat Patterson. We weren’t like, “oh my what?” We’re past that. Our locker room is very accepting of that. Honestly, we’re probably more angry if someone’s not reading comic books than whether they’re gay or straight.”
You can order the complete interview online for $15.99 at KayfabeCommentaries.com.
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– WWE is reportedly hopeful that Daniel Bryan will be back in time to work the Survivor Series pay-per-view in November. It is said, however, that they do not want to rush him back before he is ready, as they do not want to risk him suffering another injury.
– There is some talk within WWE that the person behind the Bunny costume in Adam Rose’s entourage will be revealed to be Darren Young.
– Former WWE Superstar Sinn Bodhi posted the following update on Jake Roberts’ health condition last night:
“UPDATE on Jake the Snake Roberts: Jake is making progress on his breathing treatments quicker then expected! Hopefully be off ventilator in a couple days… He’s resilient! Today when he was awake I joked with the doctors & asked if they could give him fake boobs or at least a face transplant… Jake smiled & gave me the finger lol Which means he’s feeling better! #?FeelBetterJake”
– Injured WWE Superstar Darren Young re-tweeted the following comments during RAW in reaction to WWE’s invitation to Michael Sam, the first openly gay NFL draftee, to appear on next week’s show.
So @WWE will allow this Michael Sam guy to have an open mic but not their own @DarrenYoungWWE?
