Month: February 2016

Daniel Bryan Reportedly Tried To Give WWE His Notice,

Source: Wrestling Classics via WrestlingINC

It’s been widely speculated that former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan may be appearing on Raw tonight from Seattle, fresh off of his brand new Tide Pods commercial. However, a new report has surfaced, which says that Bryan tried to leave the WWE, but was blocked from doing so.

Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer posted on the Wrestling Classics forum, saying that “He did give notice and was told he did not have the right to give notice.”

Bryan’s contract has been frozen due to an injury, a provision in Superstar contracts that helps WWE make up lost time when a talent is sidelined. The company was at odds with former WWE Champion Rey Mysterio due to this same clause.

As is pertains to Bryan not having the right to give notice, based on the available talent contracts, that appears to be true. The contract can be pretty much permanently frozen unless Bryan takes the WWE to court.

Bryan has been out of action since last April, when he suffered a concussion in a six-man tag match in the UK. In total Bryan has only been able to wrestle a little under three months over the course of the last 22.

Sin Cara Returned To Action

Source: WrestlingINC

Sin Cara returned to the ring at a WWE live event in San Jose, California last night. He has been out of action with a shoulder injury suffered in his December 28th RAW match against Big E.

Cara teamed with WWE United States Champion Kalisto to defeat Los Matadores. Below are some photos and a message from Cara:

 

Natalya Wrestled 800th Match

Source: WrestlingINC

Natalya hit a milestone on Friday night when she wrestled her 800th WWE match at the live event in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She posted this message about family on Instagram:

A picture can say a 1000 words. Reflecting on this week, I got the chance to spend some time with my family in Calgary, Canada. I stayed with James, a family member who has been battling cancer for the last 14 months. His courage to live is beyond inspiring. It breaks my heart to see what cancer has done to him, but he still smiles and continues to fight with everything he has. What James cares most about is helping others even while he's struggling to stay alive. James has made me appreciate my life in ways he may never know. I also spent some time with @brethitmanhart … Bret's fighting spirit never waivers. He's positive and determined to beat cancer like the true champion he is. Following some invaluable family time, this past Friday, I wrestled a live event in Calgary at the very same arena that my grandfather, Stu Hart, used to promote Stampede Wrestling. And YES, I had my 800th match in #WWE at the CORRAL on Friday night. Before I went out through the curtain, I felt my grandfather Stu, Owen, Davey and my cousin Matt…cheering me on from Heaven. I know what they were telling me: ENJOY THE MOMENT. ❤️ (photo Credit: @koshairby)

A photo posted by natbynature (@natbynature) on

NXT’s womens Champion Bayley cheers up an injured Finn Balor   

 In the age of the Internet we often find footage that can make us smile for hours on end and that’s to the official WWE Facebook page we have one of those videos.

Tonight NXT took place from Indianapolis and women’s champion Bayley had plans to cheer up the NXT Champion Finn Balor

She came out to his music, leather jacket and all mimicking his every move proving that she would be a perfect fit in his club.

She’s meets Finn in the ring who’s smiling from ear to ear although on cruches. They embrace in a hug causing them to tumble over. It seriously is the cutest thing ever. Don’t believe us? Check it out for yourself.

CM Punk’s first UFC opponent has been named 

In late 2014 former WWE superstar CM Punk announced that he would be transitioning from pro wrestling to MMA. The straight edge Chicago native hoped to debut in 2015 but due to legal issues and even an injury his debut kept getting pushed back.

Punk who has an (0-0) record in MMA received tons of mixed reactions when he made the announcement. Some fans were excited while others felt he didn’t deserve a spot on the UFC roster.

Whether you love or hate Punk it’s no secret that the fans have been waiting to find out who his first opponent would be and tonight at UFC Vegas we got our answer. His name is Mickey Gall.

Gall won the fight over Mike Jackson in quick fashion, dropping Jackson with a punch before following him to the ground and locking on a rear naked choke submission. CM Punk was at cageside watching the fight.

Gall was discovered on UFC President Dana White’s Looking For A Fight reality program, where he scouts talent from throughout the country. Highly touted prospect Sage Northcutt was also recruited on the show. After winning a regional bout, Gall told Dana White that he wanted to challenge CM Punk. An impressed White gave Gall the shot.

As for Gall he is now (2-0) in his MMA career and looks to square off against punk later this year.

Sorce: Wrestlinginc.com 

Could Undertaker VS John Cena At WrestleMania 32 Still Happen?

Source: PWSlam.com

There has been speculation on plans for Braun Strowman at WrestleMania 32. One of the rumored matches for the show is Braun Strowman against The Undertaker. In the latest Wrestling Observer newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted that as of this writing, nothing is locked in for The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32.

If John Cena is able to recover in time then the plan is still for him to face Taker at the show. Based on how fast Cena has been able to come back from previous injuries and the fact that this show is going to be their biggest ever, I would not be shocked if Cena was able to come back in time. If Cena is healed enough from his shoulder injury, then they could just have him appear on Raw for 3 to 4 weeks leading up to WrestleMania and just not have him do anything physical until the match happens.

Braun Strowman is being protected so it looks like they do have long-term plans for him. Whether or not it will be against The Undertaker remains to be seen.

Update On Bret Hart’s Prostate Cancer Diagnosis

Source: Wrestlingnews.co

As noted earlier this week, Bret Hart announced that he has prostate cancer. He said that he would be getting surgery to remove the cancer but that was the only thing we knew at the time of his Facebook post. Hart’s announcement came two weeks after his brother Smith announced that he had prostate and bone cancer (in his hip).

“I’ve had a great lifelong dance and I’m a survivor of many hard battles,” Hart said in a Facebook post “I now face my toughest battle. With hesitation and fear, I openly declare myself in my fight against prostate cancer. In the next few days, I will undergo surgery with the hope of defeating this nemesis once and for all.”

If there’s any good news here it’s that prostate cancer is usually a slow-growing cancer and if the cancer is limited to the prostate then it can be removed during surgery and the survival rate is relatively high. In 99 percent of cases, the person lives more than five years.

The good news with Bret is the belief is that the cancer was found in the early stages. His brother’s cancer had already spread to the hip when he discovered it so that is not the best news but Smith is determined to beat the disease.

Samoa Joe Headed To WWE Main Roster, Plans For Sami Zayn & Finn Balor

Source: Wrestlezone.com

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, plans are currently in place to bring Samoa Joe to the WWE main roster following WrestleMania, maybe even as early as the post-Mania episode of Raw. There has also been talk in WWE of having Samoa Joe defeat Finn Balor for the NXT Title, and if that takes place then it’s likely Joe’s main roster debut will be delayed.

In addition to Joe, there has been a lot of consideration lately being given to the idea of bringing Sami Zayn up to the main roster to feud with Kevin Owens.

 Regarding Finn Balor’s main roster status, it appears unlikely he will be called up after WrestleMania, as officials are still looking at him to be the face of the NXT brand past March.

UFC Fighter Tecia Torres Signs First Commercial Deal

UFC  women’s strawweight fighter Tecia Torres announced in a video she posted on Twitter that she has signed her first commercial deal with a Toyota dealership.

Here is her video of her announcement she posted on Twitter:

Bull Dempsey & 4 Others Gone From NXT

NXT star Bull Dempsey announced this morning on Twitter that he’s left the WWE. He thanked Triple H for the opportunity and said he hopes he sees him down the road.

 

In addition to Bull Dempsey, it appears that both Marcus Louis and Sylvester LeFort are gone from NXT as well. The two weren’t on TV much following the split of their tag team, The Legionnaires. but briefly feuded with Enzo and Cass on NXT TV during their run.

According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, two more NXT names have been released. Magno (Oscar Vasquez) and Peter Howard were let go, bringing the total number of NXT cuts today to five.

Magno made an appearance on TNA TV in 2013 as a part of their Gut Check Challenge, taking on current NXT coach Adam Pearce. He’d performed under the name of “Oscar” on a few NXT live events over the past few months.

Howard, a UK-born wrestler, participated in a live event battle royal for NXT last fall, but hadn’t made it to TV.