Author: John Bass

Update On Rich Swann And His Wife After Recent Domestic Arrest

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Rich Swann and his wife, Vannarah Riggs (women’s wrestler Su Yung), had apparently patched things up shortly after Swann’s domestic arrest earlier this month in Gainesville, FL. THE Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that the two were said to be doing well, which was no secret among friends they knew.

Just one week after the arrest, Riggs posted a throwback photo with Swann and noted that she couldn’t wait to see him the next day but it looks like her Facebook account has been deactivated. Her post said, “I can not wait to see my husband tomorrow! After such an awesome weekend of wrestling debuting in two different promotions across America nothing would be better than to see his face [heart emoji] throwback to our too sweets my love”

As noted, Swann was suspended indefinitely by WWE following the arrest and he may be fired if he’s found guilty of the charges – false imprisonment/kidnapping and misdemeanor battery (touching or striking). According to the police report, Swann had been critiquing his wife’s performance at an indie wrestling show during their ride home together. Riggs told police she tried leaving out of fear of the argument escalating due to Swann’s occasional temper. A witness told police that Swann placed Riggs in a headlock and forced her back into the car. Swann claimed he never physically forced Riggs to get back into the car and said she did so on her own. Riggs reportedly attempted to leave the car again while it was moving but Swann chased after her, which caused the car to crash into a telephone pole. Swann told police that he chased her only to get the GPS directions she had on her phone as they were using that to travel with.

Swann’s attorney, Ian M. Pickens of Meldon Law, issued the following statement to SportingNews.com earlier this month:

“At this point, no criminal charges have been filed officially against him so depending on how that process plays out will determine our scope of representation. We’re hopeful for a fair and quick resolution on behalf of Mr. Swann, but ultimately the state attorney will make their decision (on potential charges) when they deem it appropriate. We’re working on the case now and things we may do to assist Mr. Swann. But as far as specifics, I can’t comment on that.”

Source: WrestlingINC

What Did WWE Name As The Top Match Of 2017?,

WWE has named their top 25 matches of 2017 at this link, featuring comments from editors and some of the WWE Superstars involved. The list, which also features matches from WWE NXT, looks like this:

25. Roman Reigns vs. Cesaro — Intercontinental Championship Match (Raw, Dec. 11)

24. Kevin Owens vs. AJ Styles vs. Chris Jericho — Triple Threat United States Championship Match (SmackDown LIVE, July 25)

23. Bobby Roode vs. Shinsuke Nakamura — NXT Championship Match (NXT TakeOver: Orlando)

22. John Cena vs. AJ Styles vs. Bray Wyatt vs. Dean Ambrose vs. The Miz vs. Baron Corbin — WWE Championship Elimination Chamber Match (Elimination Chamber)

21. Charlotte Flair vs. Bayley — Raw Women’s Championship Match (Raw, Feb. 13)

20. Gentleman Jack Gallagher vs. TJP vs. Cedric Alexander vs. Mustafa Ali vs. Noam Dar — Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match (205 Live, Feb. 7)

19. Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns — Universal Championship Match (Royal Rumble)

18. SAnitY vs. The Undisputed ERA vs. The Authors of Pain & Roderick Strong — WarGames Match (NXT TakeOver: WarGames)

17. Finn Bálor vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Seth Rollins vs. Bray Wyatt — Fatal 5-Way Match (Extreme Rules)

16. Aleister Black vs. The Velveteen Dream (NXT TakeOver: WarGames)

15. Goldberg vs. Brock Lesnar — Universal Championship Match (WrestleMania)

14. Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins (Raw, May 29)

13. Dean Ambrose & Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro & Sheamus — Raw Tag Team Championship Match (WWE No Mercy)

12. Shane McMahon vs. AJ Styles (WrestleMania 33)

11. The Usos vs. The New Day — SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match (WWE Battleground)

10. Finn Bálor vs. Seth Rollins vs. The Miz — Triple Threat Match (Raw, May 1)

9. Big Show vs. Braun Strowman (Raw, Feb. 20)

8. The Authors of Pain vs. #DIY vs. The Revival — Triple Threat NXT Tag Team Championship Match (NXT TakeOver: Orlando)

7. “The Demon” Finn Bálor vs. AJ Styles (WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs)

6. Asuka vs. Ember Moon — NXT Women’s Championship Match (NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn)

5. Brock Lesnar vs. AJ Styles — Champion vs. Champion Match (Survivor Series)

4. The New Day vs. The Usos — SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match (SummerSlam Kickoff)

3. Tyler Bate vs. Pete Dunne — WWE United Kingdom Championship Match (NXT TakeOver: Chicago)

2. Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe vs. Braun Strowman — Fatal 4-Way Universal Championship Match (SummerSlam)

1. AJ Styles vs. John Cena — WWE Championship Match (Royal Rumble)

The current WWE Champion commented on the #1 match with Cena:

“That rivalry was something people wanted to see and thought would never happen. People knew what they were in store for: Two guys who bring out the best in each other. If you saw me before this match, you’d see a smile on my face because I knew something great was about to happen.”

Source: WrestlingINC

Potential Location For Young Bucks And Cody Rhodes 10k Venue

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About a month we reported that Cody and The Young Bucks were planning self-financed 10,000 seat event in 2018 and were in talks with multiple venues.

About two weeks ago, Cody Rhodes told ESPN he was close to securing a 10k+ seat venue for a show in 2018 that he would finance with The Young Bucks.

According to PWInsider, the location looks to be in the Chicago area.

Source: WrestlingINC

James Storm On If He Would Be Open To Working In WWE NXT Again

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Former Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion James Storm was a guest on Cerrito Live and addressed a number of pro wrestling topics including being the only non-WWE performer to attend Ric Flair’s 30 For 30 party, what Storm has been doing since leaving Impact, and what the future holds for Storm.

Apparently, Flair invited Storm to the 30 For 30 premiere the day of the event.

“Yeah, it was really cool because I got the text and the phone calls actually the day of, ‘hey, ‘Cowboy’, I want you to come down to Atlanta [Georgia] for ESPN and I want you to walk the red carpet with me’ and all this. The day of. Right, it was 10:30 in the morning here, which is 11:30 in Atlanta. It’s a four-hour drive from here to Atlanta, plus Atlanta traffic, so I had to leave literally as soon as I got off the phone. Like, I grabbed some clothes, threw it in the trunk, and I just hauled ass to Atlanta and I got changed in my truck in the garage. That’s [pro] wrestling style, right there, for you. And then, I pulled my hair back, threw my hat on, and I got there as soon as Flair and his wife, Wendy, were getting out of the limo.”

Interestingly, Storm said nobody drank at the premiere out of respect for Flair.

“No, I mean, he was still Flair. It was super cool just to go to his party. And, like, no one was drinking in respect to Flair. And I think a lot of people walked in to see what Taker was doing also. If Taker wasn’t drinking, no one was drinking, was how it went down. But I do think it is out of respect for Flair that no one was drinking there, especially the boys. They paid their respects to him and as soon as that party, then, all the boys went to a different place for an afterparty.”

When asked how he currently occupies his time, Storm said he is trying to get in good shape in case the right opportunity comes along.

“Right now, I’m just taking it one day at a time. I’m actually at a gym right now. I’m spending most of my time in the gym, just getting into the best shape that I can. Hell, I’m down to 11% body fat right now, which, at the last TVs, I was up to 16, so I’m hitting it hard because you never know what’s around the corner or what could be next for old James Storm.”

Storm indicated that he would not be sorry about his damn luck if he went back to NXT.

“People always say, ‘main roster or bust type of guy,’ but if you look at NXT, it’s one of the hottest things going right now no matter what people say. And it’s one of those things where anybody would be proud to be signed to NXT and have a good run there. I mean, it’s plain and simple. They are doing as much as the people on the main roster is on the road and stuff like that right now. So, I mean, I’d definitely go and work with those guys and help them out as best I can.”

Also during the interview, Storm said he would like his next move to be a surprise to the wrestleverse.

“There are a lot of companies and the funny thing is that I’m now free to talk and negotiate with other companies and actually go work for other companies. But right now, I think I kind of want to keep it under wraps, make it a surprise where old James Storm pops up.”

Storm explained, “I just want to be a surprise because today, especially in our social media world, there [are] not that many surprises anymore. And because everybody wants to be cool and I always say, ‘people are wrestling for the likes and the retweets’ or GIFS, whatever they call those things these days. But to me, I always try to keep stuff kayfabe and keep stuff secret until it happens or whatever, so it’s even cooler when it’s a surprise.”

Credit to Cerrito Live

Source: WrestlingINC 

Vince McMahon Sells $100 Million Of WWE Stock To Fund Alpha Entertainment, New XFL Trademarks Filed

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As we previously reported, Vince McMahon is apparently once again interested in getting into the football business. The news, which was originally broken by freelance writer Brad Shepard, was reported by Deadspin after they reached out to WWE regarding the possible relaunch of the XFL. The response from WWE is that Vince McMahon has started a company separate from WWE, called Alpha Entertainment, and is geared to “explore investment opportunities across the sports and entertainment landscapes, including professional football.” In conjunction with the trademark filing in June, the WWE spokesperson did not confirm or deny the possible resurrection.

Today Vince McMahon sold 3.34 million shares of WWE to fund his Alpha Entertainment, LLC. Here is the full SEC form detailing the sale, which will net McMahon around $100 million:

“On December 21, 2017, Vincent K. McMahon (“Mr. McMahon”), Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (the “Company”), sold 3,340,000 shares of the Company’s Class A common stock in a block trade made in accordance with the provisions of Rule 144 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Mr. McMahon executed the sale primarily to fund a separate entity from the Company, Alpha Entertainment LLC, which Mr. McMahon established to explore investment opportunities across the sports and entertainment landscapes, including professional football. Mr. McMahon has informed the Company that he has no current plan to sell additional shares of the Company’s stock and that he intends to continue in his capacity as the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for the foreseeable future.The shares sold by Mr. McMahon represent approximately 4.3% of the Company’s total outstanding shares of Class A and Class B common stock. After the sale, Mr. McMahon beneficially owns 32,193,375 shares of the Company’s Class B common stock, which represents approximately 82.8% of the Company’s total voting power and approximately 41.8% of the Company’s total outstanding shares of common stock.”

ESPN Sports Business Reporter, Darren Rovell, also noted that Alpha Entertainment filed for five trademarks to “XFL” on December 16 with it showing up in the trademark office filing today. This is in addition to McMahon recently filing additional football trademarks, which included “URFL”, “United Football League”, “UFL”, and “For the love of football.” As noted, WWE filed for XFL trademarks back in June with the foreign filing deadline expiring on December 28.

While the initial hype of the XFL generated a strong audience, die-hard fans of the NFL began to heavily criticize the league, and numbers started to reflect the dissatisfaction. As a result, the XFL lasted only one season in 2001, with it resurfacing earlier this year on the ESPN 30 for 30 This Was the XFL documentary.

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE Announces First Hour Of Christmas Day Raw & Tuesday’s SmackDown Live Will Air Commercial-Free

Image result for Merry Christmas from USA Network and WWE: Commercial-free first hour of Raw and SmackDown LIVE announced

WWE announced that the first hour of RAW on Christmas and SmackDown live on Tuesday Dec. 26th will both air commercial-free.

WWE issued the following:

Celebrate the holidays with WWE as USA Network airs the first hour of both Monday Night Raw and SmackDown LIVE commercial-free this Monday, Dec. 25, at 8/7 C and Tuesday, Dec. 26, at 8/7 C. This also marks the first time that USA Network will air Raw live on Christmas.

Raw and SmackDown LIVE are the No. 1 and No. 2 longest-running weekly episodic programs in U.S. primetime TV history and two of the most-watched, regularly scheduled programs on cable, airing live every Monday and Tuesday night on USA.

Averaging more viewers than any cable network in primetime, WWE programming is among the most socially active shows on TV, trending on Twitter 52 weeks per year. Raw and SmackDown LIVE have aired more original episodes than some of the most popular television series of all time, including The Simpsons, Gunsmoke, Lassie and Monday Night Football.

The 25th anniversary of Raw will emanate from Barclays Center and Manhattan Center in New York City on Monday, Jan. 22, 2018, and will air live on USA Network at 8/7 C. WWE Superstars from both Monday Night Raw and SmackDown LIVE will be at Barclays Center, while the event at Manhattan Center, the site of the first episode of Raw in 1993, will feature WWE Superstars from both brands competing and special appearances by WWE Legends Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Kevin Nash, amongst others.

 

Randy Orton To Work Lighter WWE Schedule In 2018

Randy Orton will be working a lighter schedule for WWE in 2018, at least during the first part of the year, as he is advertised for just a handful of events in January but no shows between February 6th and April 9th. He is expected to be at WrestleMania 34 on April 8th but he is not advertised for the annual WrestleMania Revenge tour of Europe in May. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that people close to Orton note that he is really happy with his life right now because WWE gives him a lot of time off, compared to other Superstars, but he’s still kept near the top of the card and is still making several million dollars per year.

Source: WrestlingINC

Batista Reportedly Considering Another Full Time WWE Run

Batista

According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Batista (Dave Bautista) is considering another run with WWE (6-months to a year) at the age of 49. While it’s not something he needs to do, word is that this is something he wants to do. He’s doing well in Hollywood but the problem is if he signs with WWE, they own your contract and if something comes along in Hollywood, the company wanting him will have to negotiate with WWE which may be a turn off for them and cost Batista roles. Batista reportedly doesn’t want to work a limited or special attraction schedule, and is actually looking at a more of a full-time schedule. In the past he raved about how he loved working live events over TV.

Source: 411Mania

Big Names Advertised For WWE RAW 25th Anniversary

For the Raw 25th Anniversary show, WWE is now advertising John Cena and WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar. The show will take place at both the Barlays Center in Brooklyn, NY and the Manhattan Center Grand Ballroom. Also expected to appear are Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, and Kevin Nash.

Source: WrestlingINC

Dean Ambrose Underwent Successful Surgery

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WWE announced the following update on Dean Ambrose yesterday. As noted, Ambrose went into Monday’s RAW with a right arm injury and the beatdown angle was done with Samoa Joe and RAW Tag Team Champions The Bar (Sheamus & Cesaro)to cover the injury. Ambrose underwent surgery on Tuesday night, but there’s no word yet on when he will be back in the ring.

Dean Ambrose undergoes successful surgery

Dean Ambrose underwent successful surgery Tuesday night to repair a high-grade triceps tendon injury, WWE.com can confirm.

The procedure was performed by Dr. Jeffrey Dugas in Birmingham, Ala., and took around 40 minutes.

“He tore some of the distal triceps tendon where it attaches to the forearm bone, called the olecranon,” Dr. Dugas told WWE.com. “He basically tore about 50 percent of the triceps tendon away from the bone. So yesterday we repaired that back down to the bone where it tore off of. The surgery was very straightforward; we removed all of the extra bursal tissue — all of that extra swollen stuff around his elbow.”

Dugas added that Ambrose has begun physical therapy, starting with light range-of-motion exercises, and is expecting to leave Birmingham later today.

It is unknown at this time how long Ambrose will be out of action.