Month: February 2016

WWE Suspends Titus O’Neil For Grabbing Vince McMahon On Raw

Source: WhatCulture.com

PWInsider.com are reporting that Titus O’Neil has been suspended by WWE for “unprofessional conduct.”

The former Prime Time Player was reportedly sent home from last night’s Smackdown taping in Portland, Oregon shortly after he arrived.

This relates to an incident that took place after RAW went off the air on Monday Night. Daniel Bryan was saying his goodbyes to the WWE Universe while the rest of the locker room watched on from the top of the stage – this was aired live on the WWE Network.

As Bryan made his way through the crowd of wrestlers to the back, Vince McMahon tried to follow suit but was grabbed by O’Neil on the way in what has been described as a “playful and physical way.”

McMahon responded by shoving O’Neil away, almost knocking into Stephanie McMahon as she tried to get past. This was caught by cameras as the Network show ended.

PWInsider have been told that Vince was angry at being grabbed and that led to the suspension.

The length of Titus’ suspension hasn’t been confirmed but it looks like it could be upwards of 90 days. That would rule him out of WrestleMania 32.

Titus had been making decent process as a singles competitor after his time teaming with Darren Young as the PTPs ended. However, he did lose to Social Outcasts’ Adam Rose on Monday’s RAW.

WWE Looking To Sign Bill Goldberg For WrestleMania 32?

Source: allwrestlingnews.com

While he hasn’t wrestled in over a decade and turned 49-years-old in December, wrestling companies are still vying for the services of Bill Goldberg. Not only is TNA interested in acquiring the two-time world champion, but WWE is as well.

WrestleMania 32 is a little over three months away and WWE wants to feature as many marquee names as possible. The company, however, is running low on options at this point. And by options we mean big names you usually don’t see on WWE television.

Vince McMahon has pretty much given up on convincing Steve Austin on wrestling at the event. It is highly unlikely that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will wrestle since he will be busy filming a movie adaptation of Baywatch, though he could appear live to speak. Ronda Rousey, who WWE hoped would face Stephanie McMahon in a match, will be busy shooting a movie in Indonesia. Sting is facing neck surgery to alleviate injuries sustained at Night of Champions. Hulk Hogan is out of the question after WWE cut all ties with the wrestling legend over the summer, his termination coinciding with the publication by the National Enquirer and Radar Online of a racial rant made by him on a leaked sex tape.

This pretty much leaves Goldberg as the biggest outside name who could actually wrestle at WrestleMania 32. WWE believes Goldberg would be a draw for the show after sales of its 2013 DVD and Blu-ray on him were strong. Sales of the title topped 100,000 units and was among the top five sellers of 2013 and 2014. It greatly outsold WWE’s biography on Triple H, Triple H – Thy Kingdom Come, and in less time.

In June, Goldberg stepped back in the ring for a one-off spot where he attacked Scott Steiner and Doc Gallows at Citi Field in New York. When asked about his performance that night and his desire to get back into the ring, Goldberg spoke candidly.

The itch will always be there because I am always a competitor and my wife and son have never seen me wrestle. Let me be clear though, that itch won’t supersede my ability to be a businessman. The itch is always there, it’s there three times a week when I walk into my Muay Thai gym and put the gloves and shin pads on. It was a very special circumstance at Citi Field and ironically now the Mets are in the World Series. It was something I chose to do and thought was appropriate at the time. It was not me coming out of retirement by any means. I am a part owner of Legends of Wrestling so if I want to go out there and pick and choose my spot to do something interesting, then that’s what I do with no motives behind it. I am a competitor and always have that itch until the day I die, but I won’t let the itch supersede being a businessman.

It is said that Goldberg is really only interested stepping foot inside a WWE ring one time, for a match at WrestleMania 32. WWE higher-ups, however, want to sign him to a one-year deal and wrestle multiple times. They’re looking at Goldberg as a special attraction who can be used sporadically throughout the year to pop WWE Network subscriptions. There is discussion within WWE of offering Goldberg a six-month deal, which would run from Wrestlemania season through the summer or fall.

Goldberg normally doesn’t have much leverage with WWE, but with the company running low on names who can add to the bottom line and TNA willing to spend money on acquiring him, he’s in a better negotiating position than in years past.

Sting Appearing With Lex Luger At Indie Shows

Source: WrestlingINC

Big Time Wrestling announced today that Sting will be making three rare indie appearances at their shows on Friday, March 18th in Altoona, PA, Saturday, March 19th in Danbury, CT and Saturday, April 9th in Webster, MA. Sting, Lex Luger and other stars will be meeting fans before each show. More information is available at btwtickets.com.

TNA Impact Wrestling Preview: 2/9/16

Matt Hardy to kickoff Impact.

X-Division Championship: (C) Trevor Lee w/Shane Helms VS Tigre Uno

Kurt Angle VS Drew Galloway

Lashley VS Bram

Madison Rayne VS Jade

Plus EC3 returns for the first time since losing TNA World Heavyweight Title to Matt Hardy

WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross’ New Project Revealed

Source: WrestlingINC

Flipps Media announced today that WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is working as a celebrity spokesperson, executive advisor and investor for their new FITE TV. They issued the following:

Flipps Media Launches FITE TV with Jim Ross as Spokesperson

Free mobile app delivers live and on demand fighting sports video on TV

San Mateo, CA (February 9, 2016) – Flipps Media, a popular mobile app for entertainment enthusiasts to easily discover and project digital content onto a TV using only a smartphone, launches a new product, FITE TV. FITE is a one-stop shop for viewing all sports within the fighting discipline globally including MMA, professional wrestling, boxing and traditional martial arts.

“The global popularity of fighting sports was a catalyst to our decision to developing this new product, “said Kosta Jordanov, co-founder and CEO of Flipps Media. “Flipps has been downloaded by more than 15 million people and many of them gravitate towards our sports content. With over 300 million fighting sports fans and 150 million practitioners worldwide, FITE plans to leverage the global popularity of the sports by providing seamless TV access to all fighting related content.”

FITE is launching free and pay-per-view programming including live events, shows, movies and documentaries in collaboration with over 20 organizations such as: TNA Wrestling, Tuff-N-Uff MMA, Ring of Honor Wrestling, Legacy Fighting Championships, WWN Live, World Armwrestling Championships, USA Sumo and Xtreme Power TV.

“By leveraging the global popularity of combat sports, Flipps existing audience and their unique TV streaming technology, FITE is set to disrupt this space,” said Tim Draper, investor in Flipps Media. “As an early investor in Justin.TV to become Twitch, I’ve seen the power of niche video focus in establishing an exceptionally strong brand, attracting key partners and delivering an amazing value to viewers,” added the legendary investor Draper, inventor of viral marketing and an investor in numerous great companies including Skype, Hotmail, Tesla, Twitch, and Baidu.

FITE partnered with Jim Ross as the brand’s celebrity spokesperson, executive advisor and investor. Ross is widely known as the “Voice of WWE.” With over 40 years of experience in the professional wrestling, boxing and mixed martial arts world, the 2007 WWE Hall of Famer is one of the most prolific wrestling announcers and renowned wrestling executives at Mid-South Wrestling, Turner Broadcasting’s World Championship Wrestling and more recently for over 20 years at WWE. The two-time New York Times Bestselling Author also hosts a wildly popular weekly podcast, The Ross Report, with over 750,000 weekly listeners on Podcast One and is a main stay in the Twitter Universe with 1.4 million followers. As WWE’s EVP of Talent, Ross was instrumental in attracting and developing such world-renowned personalities as The Rock, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, John Cena, Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar.

“Getting involved with FITE is an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. It is the future of televised fighting sports,” said Jim Ross, executive advisor at FITE TV. “There is no easier way to stream wrestling, MMA and other fighting sports content including special commentaries on those sports by me.”

To learn more about FITE, go to fite.tv or to download the app, log on to Google Play:bit.ly/1QnPolu or iTunes: apple.co/1PxQGKT.

About FITE TV:

FITE TV is a product of Flipps Media and is a free mobile app that is a one-stop shop for viewing all sports within the fighting discipline globally including MMA, professional wrestling, boxing, and traditional martial arts. With only access to a smart TV and a smartphone, with the FITE app, viewers can watch live events, on-demand programming, interviews and fighting sports related movies and documentaries on the big TV screen.

More information can be found at fite.tv.

About Flipps Media:

Flipps delivers on-demand entertainment to any nearby connected TV from your mobile device without any additional hardware. The company has offices in San Mateo, New York and Sofia, Bulgaria and is backed by Tim Draper, Earlybird Venture Capital, Aslanoba Capital and LAUNCHub. Flipps’ patented technology immediately works with over 350+ million connected TVs and is compatible with over 7,000 manufacturer models requiring no set up, no pairing devices, no cables, no dongles and no set top box. The Flipps mobile application is free and available on iTunes and Google Play. More information can be found at flipps.com.

Daniel Bryan Bids Farewell To WWE Universe On RAW (video)

After announcing his retirement from wrestling, Daniel Bryan appeared last night on RAW in Seattle to bid farewell to the WWE fans. Bryan said: “I’m grateful.”

Below is video from his farewell address to the fans:

 

 

AJ Styles On Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho Podcast

AJ Styles appeared on Friday’s episode of Chris Jericho’s podcast Talk Is Jericho.

You can listen to here at this link.

http://podcastone.com/Talk-Is-Jericho

Breaking News: Daniel Bryan To Announce Retirement Tonight On RAW

Daniel Bryan posted on Twitter that he will announcement his retirement tonight on RAW.

RAW Preview: 2/8/16

Source: WWE.com

Last week, after showing defiance in the face of Brock Lesnar, Dean Ambrose’s bravery was met with cruel vengeance when The Beast Incarnate ambushed The Lunatic Fringe with a ring-shaking F-5. The brutal attack sent a chilling message to both Ambrose and Roman Reigns — Lesnar’s opponents at WWE Fastlane.

As outside forces look to turn WWE’s brothers-in-arms against each other in the lead-up to that high-stakes bout, Lesnar will be on the warpath Monday night once again. Will Ambrose get his pound of flesh from The Beast, with The Big Dog by his side, or will the promise of a WWE World Heavyweight Championship Match against Triple H at WrestleMania drive the best friends apart physically and psychologically?

 

What’s Y2J’s endgame?

Ever since AJ Styles scored a huge victory over Chris Jericho in his Raw debut, Y2J has taken an intense interest in The Phenomenal One’s career, going so far as to challenge Styles to a rematch on this Thursday’s SmackDown. It’s clear that Jericho sees some of himself in the ring veteran, and is seeking to push Styles to his limit whenever possible. But is there a part of Jericho that is attempting to derail the WWE newcomer’s career?

The Phenomenal One has approached each of his matchups with pitbull-like tenacity since emerging during this year’s Royal Rumble Match, and it’s that aggression that has captured the imagination and the attention of the WWE Universe. Is Jericho jealous of what Styles might be capable of on The Road to WrestleMania? After all, as history has proven, Y2J isn’t exactly fond of sharing the spotlight. Expect Jericho to pay very close attention to whatever awaits Styles on Raw.

 

As we witnessed on SmackDown, Becky and Sasha are by no means exchanging friendship bracelets at this point, but they have formed a united front against Naomi and Tamina as they separately pursue the Divas Championship. Will this uneasy union pay off on Raw?

 

Will The Wyatt Family cut The Big Guy down to size?

 

Goldust is a lot of things: bizarre, unpredictable and unsettling are a few words that spring to mind. But he’s also persistent, as evidenced by his continued attempts to woo R-Truth into a tag team partnership known as The Golden Truth.

Last Thursday before SmackDown, The Bizarre One disguised himself as a bellhop and ambushed his would-be partner in a hotel lobby. Goldust left disappointed and empty-handed, save for a pair of R-Truth’s underwear that he might or might not have tried on later that night. Yet, something tells us he’ll make another attempt to win Truth over on Raw. Will Goldust find success this week?

 

Possible Undertaker VS Braun Strowman At WrestleMania 32 May Have Already Been Nixed

Source: PWInsider Elite via WrestlingINC

I mentioned over the weekend that the planned Braun Strowman vs. The Undertaker singles match at WrestleMania 32 may have been nixed already. While several ideas for The Wyatt Family have been tossed around lately, Taker vs. Braun was penciled in as Vince McMahon was a big fan of doing the match and has taken an interest in building Strowman.

The online backlash in the first 24 hours after the Braun vs. Taker news broke may have changed WWE’s plans, according to PWInsider. A very well-placed source noted that the bad reaction to the match may have caught on within the company and the match may have been nixed within 24 hours of the news getting out. It should be noted that Vince is always changing plans and they could go back to Taker vs. Braun.

In regards to what the back-up plan for Taker would be, a source noted that those details had not trickled down to other sources yet and likely only a small circle of people were aware of exactly what those plans are. It was noted that Taker’s opponent at WrestleMania will likely be someone totally unexpected.