WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network and emanate from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL.
- The host of WWE Backlash Bad Bunny returns to Raw in search of payback
- Rey Mysterio vs. Damian Priest
- More build up for Backlash
Author: John Bass
Kimber Lee Talks Training At CZW, Accuses Owner DJ Hyde Of Misogynistic Behavior
After decades of shady practices, bad business, and various physical and emotional trauma, professional wrestling has finally started to change for the better. A lot of that has to do with many people adopting the “leaving it better than I found it” mindset. But unfortunately, that wasn’t always the case for female wrestlers, which former WWE and Impact Wrestling star Kimber Lee experienced first-hand during her days in CZW.
While she was known as “The Princess Who Saves Herself,” Lee was fortunate enough to have people to watch her back and save her when she needed it at the very beginning of her career. During an interview with Piers Austin, she recalled her experience as the first female graduate of the Combat Zone Wrestling Academy under the tutelage of Drew Gulak.
The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion — who also trained a number of wrestlers over the years, including “Stone Cold” Steve Austin ahead of his WrestleMania comeback – put the students through the wringer and Lee emerged with a solid foundation of in-ring ability and cherished memories from that period of time.
However, it was after her graduation from the academy that things began to go downhill. That’s when the alleged inappropriate behavior of CZW promoter DJ Hyde started to become more prominent. Lee confirmed that Hyde would frequently say, as chronicled during the Speaking Out movement, that he wouldn’t hire anyone he wouldn’t have sex with.
“It was something that was said to all of us and it’s terrible,” she said. “At the time, I was a 19-year-old girl that didn’t know how to react to that and I was the only girl. There was no one to stand up for me, so I got very protective of some of the girls that came afterwards.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Concern That Thunder Rosa May Need Surgery
Former AEW Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa has been out of action since last year after suffering a back injury.
In an update on Rosa’s status, Fightful Select is reporting that she has still not been cleared to return to the ring. Additionally, there is some fear that she may require back surgery to fix the lingering issues.
Thunder Rosa is currently doing Spanish-language commentary for AEW.
Source: eWrestlingNews
TNT’s ‘Rich & Shameless’ To Feature Hulk Hogan Sex Tape Episode
TNT will be debuting a new season of their sports docuseries Rich & Shameless in May.
One of the episodes planned for season two will look at the infamous Hulk Hogan sex tape video that was leaked to Gawker. A new trailer for the show, which teases the Hogan/Gawker episode, can be seen below.
The new season of Rich & Shameless will debut on May 7 on TNT.
Mercedes Mone Signs Contract Extension With NJPW/STARDOM – UPDATED Information
Mayu Iwatani defeated Mercedes Moné to win the IWGP Women’s Championship in the penultimate match at STARDOM All-Star Grand Queendom.
While Mone isn’t the IWGP Women’s Champion anymore, she will stay with NJPW and STARDOM for the immediate future.
The Wrestling Observer is reporting that Mone signed a contract extension with Bushiroad ahead of her title defense at STARDOM All-Star Grand Queendom. It’s unknown how long the contract extension is.
Following her loss at All-Star Grand Queendom, Mone announced that she will appear at NJPW Resurgence on May 21st in Los Angeles, CA.
Source: eWrestlingNews
UPDATE
New information suggests that Moné’s extension may be short-term instead of long-term.
Fightful Select has learned from people in Mone’s camp that the former IWGP Women’s Champion has no more dates with Stardom, and only one more date with NJPW, scheduled to be the Resurgence event in Long Beach, California on May 21. While future dates for NJPW in Japan weren’t dismissed, it was noted that none were planned as of now, which would effectively make Moné a free agent following her Resurgence appearance.
Despite that, things appear to be rosy between Moné and the Bushiroad promotions, with both sides being open to doing business again in the future. Those in Stardom, in particular, appear to be thrilled with Moné’s recent work with Mayu Iwatani in the promotion and believe Mone helped boost Stardom’s business. Due to that, however, it’s expected that a “bigger renegotiation” would be required to obtain Moné’s services for her to appear in Stardom again.
As has been the case after previous reports of Moné’s contract status with Bushiroad, speculation will now turn to where she could wind up following her Resurgence appearance, with WWE (where she worked as Sasha Banks for over a decade) and AEW serving as the leading candidates. Whether Moné would entertain joining either promotion is unknown, as it was noted she is currently working on TV and film projects, in addition to her wrestling commitments.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Former WWE Wrestler Ted DiBiase Jr. Charged With Theft Of Millions From Mississippi Welfare
Ted DiBiase Jr. has been charged with the theft of millions of dollars that was reserved for needy families in Mississippi.
According to a federal indictment that was unsealed on Thursday, former WWE star Ted DiBiase Jr. (Theodore Marvin DiBiase Jr) is being accused of using fraudulent means to obtain federal money for his own personal use. DiBiase, John Davis, Christi Webb, Nancy New, and others were named as co-conspirators in the case.
DiBiase is charged with “one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, six counts of wire fraud, two counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, and four counts of money laundering.”
If he is convicted, DiBiase faces the following penalties:
- Five years maximum (in prison) for the conspiracy count
- 20 years maximum for each wire fraud count
- 10 years maximum for each count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and for each count of money laundering
Ted DiBiase Sr. and two of his sons, Ted Jr. and Brett, were named in an October 2021 letter from Mississippi State Auditor Shad White’s office that asked them to pay back the money they received through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families fund. The three were required to do a certain amount of work to receive the money but failed to do so. (Former NFL quarterback Brett Favre and former Oklahoma Sooners star Marcus Dupree were also named in that letter.)
White’s office demanded that Ted DiBiase Jr. must return $3.9 million. Ted DiBiase Sr. was not personally indicted in the allegations but White’s office demanded that he pay $722,299 of the monies that his ministry received. It was alleged Brett funneled money through Ted Sr’s Heart Of David Ministries while he served as a senior official at the Mississippi Department of Human Services. Brett was initially asked to pay $225,950 and he later plead guilty for his role in the welfare scheme.
The full statement from the Department Of Justice is below:
A federal indictment was unsealed today in Mississippi charging a former professional wrestler with misappropriating millions of dollars in federal safety-net funds intended for needy families and low-income individuals in Mississippi.
According to court documents, Theodore Marvin DiBiase Jr., 40, of Madison, along with co-conspirators John Davis, Christi Webb, Nancy New, and others, are alleged to have fraudulently obtained federal funds – including from The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program – that they misappropriated for their own personal use and benefit.
Davis was the executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS). As part of the alleged scheme, after federal funds were issued to MDHS, Davis directed MDHS to subgrant the funds to two nonprofit organizations, Family Resource Center of North Mississippi Inc. (FRC) and Mississippi Community Education Center (MCEC), which were operated by Webb and New, respectively. Davis then allegedly directed Webb and New to award sham contracts to various individuals and entities purportedly for the delivery of social services, including at least five sham contracts that were awarded to DiBiase’s companies, Priceless Ventures LLC and Familiae Orientem LLC.
As further alleged in the indictment, under these sham contracts, FRC and MCEC provided millions of dollars in federal funds from MDHS to DiBiase and his companies for social services that DiBiase did not provide and did not intend to provide. DiBiase allegedly used these federal funds to buy a vehicle and a boat, and for the down payment on the purchase of a house, among other expenditures.
DiBiase is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, six counts of wire fraud, two counts of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, and four counts of money laundering. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the conspiracy count, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count, and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count of theft concerning programs receiving federal funds and for each count of money laundering.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca for the Southern District of Mississippi, Special Agent in Charge Jermicha Fomby of the FBI Jackson Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Tamala Miles of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Special Agent in Charge Dax Roberson of the Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General (USDA-OIG), and Special Agent in Charge James E. Dorsey of the IRS Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI) Atlanta Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI, HHS-OIG, USDA-OIG, and IRS-CI are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Adrienne E. Rosen of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Trial Attorney Della Sentilles of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dave Fulcher and John Meynardie for the Southern District of Mississippi are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The post Ted DiBiase Jr. Charged With Theft Of Millions In Mississippi Welfare Funds appeared first on Wrestlezone.
Source: Yahoo
AEW Rampage Preview 4/22/2023
This week’s AEW Rampage will air at a SPECIAL TIME of SATURDAY at 10pm ET/9pm CT.
- AAA Mega Championship: El Hijo del Vikingo (C) vs. Dralistico
- Jon Moxley vs. Christopher Daniels
- Jay Lethal, Jeff Jarrett and FTR vs. Varsity Athletes and Slim J
- We will hear form The Hardy’s, Hook and Isiah Kassidy
- We will hear from TBS Champion Jade Cargill
WWE’s Decision To Change Saudi Arabia PLE Name Will Apparently Become Clear After Backlash
For WWE’s next travels to Saudi Arabia, the King and Queen of the Ring were set to return. That is, until those tournaments weren’t anymore, with the premium live event for late-May rebranded to revive Night of Champions — a show that, in the past, featured every single title in the WWE arsenal being defended. But why? According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, while chalked up to a booking decision, the reasoning behind the change will become less foggy following Backlash and in the weeks leading up to the Saudi show.
Backlash takes place in Puerto Rico three weeks prior and is set to be headlined by Cody Rhodes vs. Brock Lesnar. However, with Roman Reigns not slated to appear then, he may have no choice but to put his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship on the line at Night of Champions. Cody Rhodes has certainly demanded a rematch to their WrestleMania bout. However, it remains to be seen whether he’ll be given that opportunity here. Adding to the intrigue of the situation, Night of Champions happens on May 27, which also happens to be the exact day that Roman Reigns will hit the 1,000-day milestone for his long-running title reign.
As for what that means for the idea of the King and Queen of the Ring returning, it legitimately remains to be seen. Obviously, WWE had ideas about the concepts returning, but with each put on the backburner with this change of plans, there is no telling if anything more will be done with either in the immediate future.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
STARDOM Turned Down Signing Trinity Fatu Due To Financial Reasons
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to ripple to various degrees throughout the professional wrestling industry. While promotions in the United States have largely returned to business as usual, those in Japan have seen things move along a bit more slowly. There were still a number of restrictions in place in recent months, and, as a result, Bushiroad — the parent company of both New Japan Pro-Wrestling and STARDOM — has had to navigate a tough road in recovering from the financial hits taken by the wrestling arm of the company, even as both promotions have grown. Because of the financial strain, both NJPW and STARDOM have been under pressure to keep costs down. That’s led to each passing on some opportunities that may have brought more eyes to the Japanese wrestling product.
Per the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Trinity Fatu — formerly known during her time in WWE as Naomi — was there for the getting. With her former tag team partner Sasha Banks, who now goes by the moniker Mercedes Mone, carving her path to Japan, there was a chance for Fatu to join her. It appears as if feelers were put out to indicate her willingness to head overseas to re-enter the squared circle. However, Bushiroad felt it’d cost too much and, because of their money situation, ultimately passed on making such a deal — at least thus far.
Fatu has been out of action since she and Banks walked out of WWE over creative differences and were indefinitely suspended, never to return to this point. Fatu did make the trip to Wrestle Kingdom 17 in January to support her former partner as she made her NJPW debut and recently she was backstage at Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor over WrestleMania weekend. While doing other things, she has remained within reach of the wrestling business if the right situation presented itself for her to make a return. However, that has yet to materialize yet since she has become a free agent.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE SmackDown Preview 4/21/2023
WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX and emanate from the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.
- WWE Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Xavier Woods
- WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Raquel Rodriguez and Liv Morgan (c) vs. Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green
- Braun Strowman and Ricochet look for retribution against the Viking Raiders
