Zack Ryder suffered a knee injury on Monday night and will be unable to compete in Friday’s 50-man Greatest Royal Rumble event.
Ryder competed against Mike Bennett in a match taped for Main Event (prior to RAW). Ryder announced on Tuesday morning that he suffered a knee injury during the bout. As a result, instead of flying to Saudi Arabia, he’s headed to Orlando, Florida for an MRI.
Ryder tore his ACL back in December 2016 and was out of action for several months after that. The Long Island Broski vows to return soon from this unfortunate setback.
This pic is from last night b4 my match with @RealMikeBennett on #MainEvent. We treated it like we were wrestling on #Raw. Unfortunately, I suffered a knee injury. While the rest of the roster is flying to Saudi Arabia 2day for #WWEGRR, I’m flying back to Orlando to get a MRI. pic.twitter.com/YkW1fwOElR
– WWE announced Saturday that the seven Superstars who will compete in the Men’s Elimination Chamber Match at WWE Elimination Chamber will face off in a Gauntlet Match this Monday night on Raw. Ahead of the Gauntlet Match, Finn Balor proclaimed in this video below that he’s not the underdog. Rather, he’s “over, dawg.”
Bates faced Deonna Purrazzo, Christi Jaynes, and Ryder’s girlfriend, Chelsea Green, in a Fatal 4-Way Match. During the match, Bates kicked Jaynes with the Broski Boot.
– On a recent edition of her podcast, Cigars, Scars And Superstars, former WWE Diva Terri Runnels talked about her appearance on RAW 25 and explained why she was ‘disappointed’ with it. Here’s what she had to say:
“To be honest, I was very disappointed, I really was. We were misused. I wanted for a brief moment some sincerity, and I didn’t like that it went straight to this cartoon crap. I felt like you’ve got a lot of talent and we are just standing there waving. We were misused, is the best way to say it, there is a better way for us to be used. It was disappointing because I loved my WWE/WWF family. It was a letdown.”
Runnels also said that she wasn’t the only one who felt let-down by the segment given to WWE’s women of the past:
We all kind of dropped our jaws and were like ‘you’ve got to be kidding me. I didnt hear anyone express anything different than what I just said to you.”
You can listen to Cigars, Scars And Superstars by clicking this link here.
– Zack Ryder recently took to Twitter to offer his thoughts on being left out of the 30-man Royal Rumble match this pats Sunday. Here’s what he had to say:
I’ve sat & watched a #RoyalRumble from backstage before. The last time it happened I went on to win the IC Title 3 months later at WrestleMania. I don’t complain about it. I don’t quit. I just keep working harder. I overcome. That’s the story of my career…the story of my life.
SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan announced on tonight’s show that he will be the second special referee for Shinsuke Nakamura & Randy Orton vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn at Sunday’s WWE Clash of Champions pay-per-view, along with SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon.
Also official for Sunday’s Clash pay-per-view is Breezango vs. The Bludgeon Brothers and Zack Ryder vs. Mojo Rawley.
Below is the updated card for Sunday’s show from the TD Garden in Boston:
WWE Title Match
Jinder Mahal vs. AJ Styles
Lumberjack Match for the SmackDown Women’s Title
Natalya vs. Charlotte Flair
Triple Threat for the WWE United States Title
Dolph Ziggler vs. Bobby Roode vs. Baron Corbin
Fatal 4 Way for the SmackDown Tag Team Titles
Rusev & Aiden English vs. The New Day vs. Shelton Benjamin & Chad Gable vs. The Usos
Special Referees: SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon & SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan
Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens vs. Randy Orton and Shinsuke Nakamura If Owens & Sami lose the match they will be fired from WWE.
– As noted, tonight’s WWE SmackDown saw WWE Champion AJ Styles defeat The Singh Brothers in a 2-on-1 Handicap Match, despite a pre-match attack from Jinder Mahal. WWE posted this video of the beatdown continuing during the commercial break:
– WWE has confirmed that the Fatal 4 Way on next week’s RAW will feature Drew Gulak, Tony Nese, Mustafa Ali and Cedric Alexander. As noted, the winner of that Fatal 4 Way will face Rich Swann the next week with the winner going on to face WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore the following week.
– Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley took to Twitter tonight and tweeted the following after Mojo turned on Ryder following their loss to Rowan & Harper in a rematch from last week’s loss.
– After months of teasing a break-up, The Hype Bros are officially no more. Tonight’s WWE SmackDown saw Rowan and Harper quickly defeat Mojo Rawley and Zack Ryder in a rematch from last week. As seen in the video below, Mojo attacked Ryder after the match and laid him out.
– The dark match before tonight’s SmackDown in Lexington, KY saw Tye Dillinger defeat Mike Kanellis in singles action.
– It looks like Kalisto will be making his return to WWE 205 Live on tonight’s show after being away last week. He tweeted the following today:
Being down doesn’t make me want to leave. It makes me want to fight. The ring is home. Where I belong. I’m coming back tonight. #205Live Soy el Rey Del Aire..seguiere demonstrando mi #LuchaLuchaLucha
– On Twitter yesterday (Wed. October 18, 2017) WrestleCircus Tweeted at Cody Rhodes indicating that Zack Ryder doesn’t get the credit that he deserves. Rhodes responded to this by recalling how arenas used to chant “we want Ryder” for several months:
– SmackDown Live star AJ Styles is celebrating his 40th birthday today. He was born June 2nd, 1977. Happy Birthday to the Phenomenal one!
– Former WWE Superstar Cameron recently spoke to Extra about her new photo shoot in Icon Magazine. When asked about a possible return to WWE, Cameron said they left on good terms and has no ill will towards anybody there. She’s grateful for her time in WWE and appreciates “all the love and hate” she received over the years from the WWE Universe.
“I would definitely love to come back in the future to show the WWE Universe my full potential,” she said. “I like to say this isn’t goodbye but more like see you later. There will forever be a chip on my shoulder. Maybe one day I will be able to prove myself to the WWE Universe.”
– As seen below, Curt Hawkins recently issued a Twitter poll asking fans if Zack Ryder should team with him or Mojo Rawley when he returns from the knee injury this summer. 60% of fans voted for Hawkins as of this writing. Also below is a reply from Mojo, who says his former “Hype Bros.” partner should team with James Ellsworth instead.
. @ZackRyder is coming back soon… should he be my partner or @MojoRawleyWWE ?
Cruiserweight Ring Changeover Last Night At WWE Payback
Last night at WWE Payback, Neville defended his Cruiserweight Championship against Austin Aries. WWE’s production crew had to change the ring for a Cruiserweight division match and finished just as Neville was at the bottom of the entrance ramp. A reddit user posted a video of the ring changeover and synced it up with the footage from Payback.
Zack Ryder Comments On 10 Years With WWE
WWE Superstar Zack Ryder is currently out of action with a knee injury that he suffered back in December. Ryder is remaining active and working his way towards his return to the ring. Ryder took to Twitter today and stated that he made his debut in WWE 10 years ago today.
– WWE returns to Madison Square Garden with a live event scheduled for Friday, July 7th. Ticketmaster.com has a live pre-sale offering using the code MSGWWE.
– Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is on the cover of the latest National Review, a conservative political magazine. In a cover story titled, “The Celebrity We Need” looks at the possibility of The Rock getting into politics. The Rock has stated on more than one occasion that he might run for President one day and the National Review thinks Johnson has a lot of the characteristics of a candidate with upside.
“The GOP has a celebrity in the White House, he brings in celebrity friends for photo ops, and, outside the White House gates, progressive celebrities spew vitriol at their hated former entertainment-industry colleague. The Rock, however, has followed a different path. Rather than self-seriously viewing his career as secondary to his activism, Johnson clearly aims to entertain. He understands a core truth: that there is nothing wrong — and a lot right — with sheer, unmitigated fun.”
You can find the magazine on newsstands this Friday.
– Lana responded to fans on Twitter questioning her new ‘dancer’ character coming soon to SmackDown. With one fan comparing her to Emmalina and another saying, “I guess if you can’t wrestle, then dance” Lana replied:
Don't you worry. My black belt in Judo, jiu jitsu & Muay Thai will make sure that I CRUSH every female superstar on the roster. #LanaCrush 💔 https://t.co/fZn6ke0f4m
Ryder has been chronicling his recovery in the Z! True Comeback Story Youtube series. Here’s the latest installment looking back at Ryder’s first WWE match 12 years ago.
– WWEShop is selling a new Kurt Angle “It’s Damn True” t-shirt.
– As noted earlier, Kofi Kingston is undergoing ankle surgery and will be out of action for the next several weeks. According to WWE storylines, the injury took place last week on RAW when The Revival attacked Kofi in the ring. In response to the news that Kofi’s injury required surgery, Dash & Dawson sent out these tweets on Monday:
– WWE uploaded a video that follows Zack Ryder as he rehabs his injury. Ryder injured his left knee on December 13th, 2016 during a Tag Team No. 1 Contender’s Battle Royal. Ryder is clearly anxious to get back in the ring and the video shows that.
– Eva Marie celebrated 4 years of sobriety by posting this on Instagram:
– WWE uploaded a new video of Top 10 Superstars getting fired. Stephanie McMahon’s recent firing of Mick Foley happened to make the list. You can check out the rest of the Top 10 in the video below.
The self proclaimed Internet Champion Zack Ryder is back with an all new web series, Z! True Comeback Story.
Ryder launched his Z! True Long Island Story web series back in 2011 and effectively got himself over completely independent from WWE’s television storylines.
Ryder is currently rehabbing his knee after undergoing surgery back in December. Z! True Comeback Story will chronicle his path back to the squared circle.
– Apollo Crews defeated Curt Hawkins in the dark match before last night’s WWE SmackDown in Chicago.
– Who is La Luchadora? There’s lots of speculation but no word yet on who the masked woman that cost Becky Lynch the Women’s Championship last night on SmackDown was. Speculation is that it could be Mickie James or Tamina Snuka, or even Deonna Purrazzo filling in. Below is a photo of the character from last night:
On Tuesday, Zack Ryder provided an update on his health after undergoing surgery last week to repair his patellar tendon. Ryder was injured during the closing moments of the tag team #1 contender’s battle royal last week on SmackDown live.
The Hype Bro noted earlier this week that two doctors had given him estimated return timeframes of 4-6 months and 6-9 months, so it’s unlikely that he’ll be back in time for WrestleMania. In light of the setback, Ryder vows, “I will be back!”
Last week I spent my Tuesday becoming the no. 1 contenders for the #SDLive Tag Team titles…this week I'm spending my Tuesday rehabbing. pic.twitter.com/oNSu82TYHW
Zack Ryder confirmed on Twitter that he is undergoing knee surgery today in Birmingham, Alabama. He wrote the following and is already looking forward to his return:
Getting knee surgery 2day & missing #RogueOne…but everything happens for a reason…I'll be back…WrestleMania 32 was just the beginning!
Ryder suffered the knee injury in the #1 contenders Battle Royal on this week’s SmackDown. The Hype Bros won the match but WWE has not announced what will happen to the #1 contendership or who The Wyatt Family will defend SmackDown Tag Team Championships against next. We will keep you updated on their next opponents and Ryder’s status once WWE makes an announcement.
No word yet on results from Zack Ryder’s MRI that he had on Wednesday but the Wrestling Observer reports that he was using crutches to walk backstage at Tuesday’s SmackDown after suffering the knee injury in the #1 contenders battle royal.
Ryder and partner Mojo Rawley were scheduled to work the Tribute to the Troops tapings after SmackDown, but they were replaced by American Alpha in the six-man match with Dolph Ziggler against The Wyatt Family. He tweeted on Thursday that he is now in Birmingham, Alabama “and not for a vacation” – a sign that the MRI revealed he needs surgery.
Regarding The Usos returning to action, they appeared on Talking Smack this week and confirmed that Jey Uso has been dealing with an ankle injury. The Wrestling Observer reports that they are scheduled back in the ring at the 12/26 WWE house show from Madison Square Garden. The brothers talked about wanting to challenge The Wyatt Family for the SmackDown Tag Team Championships, saying they were the only team that can beat The Wyatts. They also talked about how The Hype Bros shouldn’t be the #1 contenders. It will be interesting to see what WWE does with the #1 contendership if Ryder is out of action for an extended period of time.
Both The Usos and Naomi were brought into this week’s SmackDown but not used. There’s no word yet on when Naomi will be back in action, as she’s also been dealing with an ankle injury, but The Observer reports that she is not scheduled for any of the post-holiday house shows.
– WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair will be appearing with rapper Coolio at the 25th annual Wing Bowl on 2/3 from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. CBS Philadelphia has full details at this link.
– It appears Zack Ryder may be undergoing knee surgery in Birmingham, Alabama today. WWE has not revealed the results of Ryder’s MRI from Wednesday but he tweeted the following this morning, indicating surgery in Alabama:
Flew to Birmingham, Alabama this morning…and not for a vacation.
– WWE announcer JBL wrote the following in response to a fan that asked if Donald Trump would’ve still appointed Linda McMahon as head of the Small Business Administration if it weren’t for the millions of dollars she donated to him:
do you feel she would have been appointed w/o the financial contributions made to PEOTUS?
I think @Linda_McMahon was appointed because she took a small business and turned it into a global conglomerate. This is my choice also. https://t.co/Q0YDbpHb7F
Zack Ryder reportedly injured his left knee on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live during the tag team battle royal. In a statement to WWE.com, WWE doctor Chris Robinson said Ryder may have suffered an injury to the kneecap or patella.
Ryder will be undergoing an MRI to find out if he’ll be cleared to compete in his scheduled Tag Team Title shot against The Wyatt Family on December 27th. Ryder and Mojo Rawley won their shot at the Tag Titles in Tuesday’s battle royal.
Bittersweet night. Won a battle royal on #SDLive for the #HypeBros to become No. 1 contenders…Injured my knee in the process. MRI tomorrow
The Hype Bros have earned a shot against WWE SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Wyatt Family by defeating Breezango, The Vaudevillains, American Alpha, The Ascension and Rhyno & Heath Slater in a Battle Royal on tonight’s show.
WWE has not announced when Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley will get their shot against Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton but we will let you know when it’s confirmed.
– The dark match prior to Tuesday’s SmackDown Live saw The Hype Bros defeat Breezango with The Hype Ryder. As we noted earlier, WWE is now taping Main Event on Mondays and Superstars has been dropped in favor of 205 Live.
– As seen on Tuesday’s WWE 205 Live premiere, Austin Aries has joined Corey Graves and Mauro Ranallo for weekly commentary. Aries is currently out of action from NXT after suffering a broken orbital bone.
– NXT Champion Samoa Joe and MMA star Josh Rafferty had a training session on Tuesday as Joe prepares to head out on an international tour with NXT. The Muscle Madness Youtube page, which has also recently published videos featuring John Cena and Ryback, posted the following on Wednesday morning:
– We recently reported that NXT’s Austin Aries is scheduled for to repair a fractured large orbital bone, and will be on the shelf until the beginning of 2017. According to PWInsider, Aries is scheduled for surgery this Thursday in Birmingham, Alabama. As previously noted, the injury to Aries’ face and eye was the result of a stiff kick to the head by NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura.
– NXT’s Dasha Fuentes has been promoted to the main roster, appearing last night on SmackDown before she was sent packing by Carmella and Alexa Bliss. A clip from the segment can be seen below.
Zack Ryder and Mojo Rawley look to be in action on tonight’s SmackDown as the tournament to crown new Tag Team Champions rolls on. Ryder posted a heartfelt message on social media earlier today looking back at how far his relationship with Mojo Rawly has come.
The Long Island Broski reveals he wasn’t thrilled at first when he heard he’d be getting a tag team partner. at all happy when he learned Mojo would be his new tag team partner. Fast forward a year later and he now considers him like a brother.
– The Four Horsewomen of Wrestling – Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Bayley – were recently profiled by GQ, discussing their role in the recent women’s revolution of wrestling. The full article is at this link. Bayley said the following in regard to her goals in WWE:
“Trying to help mold the next generation, or the next crop of girls that are going to be taking over the division—that is my goal. If the girls in NXT can remember things that they’ve learned from me that helped them, that just keeps building women’s wrestling. We’re fighting to make us all equal.”
– Dolph Ziggler recently appeared on the Fox Business Show, Kennedy Nation, and it looks as though the “Show Off” could become a regular feature. Dolph tweeted the following:
– WWE posted the following clip with former Intercontinental Champion Zack Ryder unboxing Mattel’s new retro SummerSlam figures:
– The following video courtesy of Ringside Collectibles features daughter to RAW General Manager Mick Foley, Noelle Foley, making her predictions for tomorrow night’s SummerSlam. She picks: Cesaro, WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day, WWE Women’s Champion Sasha Banks, WWE United States Champion Rusev, Apollo Crews, Enzo Amore & Big Cass, WWE Champion Dean Ambrose, AJ Styles, Finn Balor and Brock Lesnar.