Month: February 2016

John Cena Named Honorary Pace Car Driver for the 58th Annual DAYTONA 500

WWE Superstar John Cena Named Honorary Pace Car Driver for the 58th Annual DAYTONA 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Feb. 11, 2016) – WWE Superstar and actor John Cena will serve as the Honorary Pace Car Driver for the 58th annual DAYTONA 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. at Daytona International Speedway (TV – FOX, FOX Deportes; Radio – MRN Radio, SiriusXM). Cena will pace the 43-car field to the green flag in a Toyota Camry.

Cena, a 15-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, has been at the forefront of WWE’s programming for more than a decade, and most recently starred on the big screen in the Golden Globe-nominated “Trainwreck” as well as “Sisters” with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. He next will host FOX’s upcoming reality competition series AMERICAN GRIT, in which contestants work together to complete a variety of military-grade and survival-themed challenges. The series premieres Thursday, April 14 (9:00 -10:00 pm ET/PT) on FOX.

“John Cena is one of the most iconic WWE Superstars in history, a great actor and philanthropist,” Daytona International Speedway President Joie Chitwood III said. “We welcome him back to the ‘World Center of Racing’ and our new motorsports stadium, this time to pace the field for ‘The Great American Race.’ ”

In addition to his celebrity accolades, Cena is a wish ambassador for Make-A-Wish having granted more than 500 wishes – more than any other celebrity or athlete in the history of the organization. Make-A-Wish has recognized Cena’s unwavering dedication to children with life-threatening medical conditions with their highest honor, the Chris Greicius Award.

Bret Hart Issues Statement After Cancer Surgery

WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart posted the following on Instagram after undergoing surgery for prostate cancer this week:

Scary Moment At WWE NXT Live Event, Wrestler Injured

Source: WrestlingINC

There was a scary moment at Thursday night’s WWE NXT live event in Jacksonville, FL. Wrestling Inc. correspondent Travis Akers noted that during a 6-man tag match between Dawson, Dash & Riddick Moss vs Sami Zayn, Enzo & Cass, Riddick was injured during a 6-man suplex. Riddick immediately went unconscious and the ref gave the “X”, as seen in the video below.

In a very scary moment, he did not respond for over a minute. Paramedics arrived and assisted Riddick out of the ring and to the back after he regained consciousness.

Akers asked Cass about Riddick after the show, who said Riddick hit hard and it was bad. As seen in the photo below, officials helped take Riddick out of the building.

Rey Mysterio Reportedly Done With Lucha Libre AAA, Pay Issues With Talent

Source: WrestlingINC

There are major cash flow and pay issues with many AAA luchadores in Mexico, with the highest profile talent being Rey Mysterio. Mysterio is apparently done with AAA due to the late pay and corporate disorganization. He last appeared for the promotion last December.

Mysterio isn’t the only talent to be frustrated with the company, as there is a lot of disenchantment in AAA right now and several talent have complained about late pay. Many luchadores and office staff have contacted CMLL and ELITE about jumping, and some have reached out to WWE intermediaries. Chris Master also recently took to Twitter and posted a message about not receiving “a cent of help” from AAA after suffering an injury while wrestling for them, but deleted the tweet.

According to sources, the only way Mysterio would return to AAA is if they paid up and offered him guaranteed creative control.

Kevin Randleman, Former UFC Champion & MMA Pioneer, Dead At 44

Former UFC Heavyweight Champion Kevin Randleman died of heart failure at age 44. Randleman was also a 2-time NCAA National Champion at Ohio St. in the early 1990’s.

Source: MMA Mania

In Oct. 1996, a 24-year old former Ohio State University (OSU) standout wrestler, Kevin Randleman, entered a one-night tournament in Brazil.

Randleman defeated Luiz Macial, Geza Kalman and future Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pride FC competitor, Dan Bobish, to win the tournament. Eight months later, “The Monster” would make his UFC debut, picking up a big win over former champion, Maurice Smith, to avenge his training partner and mentor, Mark Coleman. Randleman would lose in the finals of that tournament two months later to Bas Ruten in one of the more controversial decisions of the early mixed martial arts (MMA) era, but avenge Coleman once again by defeating Pete Williams to win UFC’s Heavyweight Championship.

That was the crowning achievement of Randleman’s career, but he would not be without other highlights. His most notable one was an astonishing knockout of kickboxer-turned-MMA practitioner Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic with one of the biggest left hooks you’ll ever see. He nearly defeated Fedor Emelianenko in his very next fight, but “Last Emperor” was unbreakable back then, and Randleman’s astonishing highlight-reel suplex of the great Russian, which normally would send wheelchair salesmen into heart palpitations, was merely shrugged off and turned into a kimura one minute later.

It remains a defining moment for both men:

Sadly, word from nearly all segments of the Internet, specifically Sherdog.com, are that Randleman has passed away at age 44, leaving behind his wife and four children.

Bleacher Report’s Jeremy Botter is reporting that Randleman went to a local hospital with pneumonia and suffered from heart failure while undergoing treatment. A relative of his also made numerous Facebook posts in apparent outside confirmation.

ROH Ring Crew Worker, Former WWE Referee Sent Home After Making Advances At A Female Talent

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter via WrestlingINC

Ring of Honor employee Kevin Keenan, who did some refereeing and worked the ring crew, was fired this past weekend after allegedly making advances at a female member of the roster. Keenan previously worked for WWE as a referee but was released in 2009.

The night before after the TV tapings in Nashville, some of the wrestlers, crew and staff went out for food and drinks. This is when Keenan made the alleged advances, which apparently included spanking her rear end, and it was clear to people there that the un-named female roster member was uncomfortable. People reportedly told Keenan that his behavior was unacceptable and he left the establishment they were at with a few other people.

ROH officials were told later that night and booker Hunter Johnston (Delirious) reprimanded Keenan the next day in front of the ring crew, officials and roster members. Johnston reportedly told Keenan that his actions were not acceptable in the ROH locker room and wouldn’t be accepted in any other locker room. Johnston then told Keenan to gather his belongings, leave and to not come back. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter was told that Keenan will no longer be used by ROH.

 

Possible New WrestleMania 32 Plans For Braun Strowman

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter via WrestlingINC

After lots of talk about Braun Strowman vs. The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32, The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the match is most likely not happening now.

According to The Observer, the current plan is for Strowman to compete in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and go on to get a major push as WWE’s new monster.

The idea is to build him to a feud with future WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns and a potential pay-per-view match with Brock Lesnar. That match could happen at SummerSlam.

We noted before that there was talk of dropping the match due to fan backlash.

Ryback Makes Snide Remark Regarding CM Punk’s Injury

Ryback got a little dig in at CM Punk after it was revealed today that Punk’s UFC debut would be delayed so that he could undergo back surgery. Ryback wrote on Twitter:

During Punk’s now infamous interview on Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast in 2014, Punk accused Ryback of being careless in the ring and said that Ryback had taken “20 years off of his life.” He accused Ryback of injuring him several times, and once confronted him after Ryback press slammed Punk through a table but missed.

“Either you’re doing it on purpose and you suck or you’re dumb as f–k, which is it?,” Punk claimed to have asked Ryback. Punk then said that Ryback replied in a dejected tone, “I’m dumb as f*ck.”

 

CM Punk’s Opponent Responds To Fight Delay, Update On Punk’s Status

Source: WrestlingINC

News broke Wednesday of former WWE Champion CM Punk’s long-awaited UFC debut being delayed due to back surgery. Punk’s scheduled opponent, Mickey Gall, took to Twitter to comment on the injury

“Guys. It’s all good. The fight is still on. Minor surgery. I wish @CMPunk a healthy & speedy recovery. I want you at 100%, check that, #200,” Gall said, indicating that he wanted Punk at July’s UFC 200.

As it turns out, Punk’s surgery is a minor one, and as we’re being told, will likely only sideline Punk for 4-6 weeks. This would give him over three months to prepare for a fight at UFC 200.

SmackDown Preview: 2/11/16

AJ Styles VS Chris Jericho

Immediately following the chaotic Eight-Man Tag Team Tables Match on Raw, The Dudley Boyz stunned the WWE Universe by turning the tables on their partners The Usos and putting both the Samoan brothers through wood. But why would they carry out such an unexpected onslaught? Tonight, Bubba Ray and D-Von will address their fans at SmackDown. Will they explain the reason for their attack? And will Jimmy and Jey be in any condition to respond?

Naomi VS Sasha Banks

In recent weeks, The Wyatt Family has laid waste to the likes of Kane, Big Show and Ryback. Considering that Bray Wyatt and his ominous followers are scheduled to address the WWE Universe tonight, it will be interesting to see whether they will shed some light on what is causing theses recent attacks … or whether they will indicate who will be the next target.

Lucha Dragons & Neville VS The Cosmic Wasteland