Author: John Bass

17-Year Old Prodigy Nick Wayne Reportedly Detained In Bomb Threat Investigation

It was set to be a trip that 17-year-old prodigy Nick Wayne would never forget — venturing across the pond for the first time to perform in the United Kingdom. However, after a serious incident took place on his flight home, it will be a jaunt to remember for somewhat less expected reasons.

Wayne, along with his mother, became suspects in a potential bomb threat aboard their flight back to the United States, according to Wrestling Observer Radio. The flight, traveling from Frankfurt, Germany,to Seattle, Washington, was diverted when a bomb threat was written on a bathroom mirror. A decision was made for the plane to be diverted to Keflavik, Iceland, where the entire passenger manifest were detained, with their luggage and personal items being thoroughly searched by local authorities.

According to the Observer report, Wayne’s mother was interrogated for “quite some time” due to the fact that she had an item of make-up that could have been used to write the bomb threat in the bathroom. Wayne’s mother was said to have been “in a panic” by the whole ordeal while being detained.

The airplane, operated by Condor, was passing over Greenland at 36,000 feet, according to FlightRadar24, when the threat was discovered. It was said passengers were allowed to use bathrooms, but were not allowed to charge their phones during the process. It was noted by AirLive that an aircraft was sent later that night for the passengers to resume their journey. As of this writing, it is unclear if the passengers are still being detained, or if they have already been sent on their way across the Atlantic. Notably, Wayne retweeted a tweet this morning, which could suggest that the situation has eased somewhat.

Wayne was in the United Kingdom performing for Progress Wrestling in London, England, where he defeated Robbie X in a one-on-one match. The young upstart, who signed for All Elite Wrestling earlier this year, will also be in action this weekend during Starrcast in Nashville, TN, taking on Alex Zayne at GCW: The People vs. GCW this Friday night.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Triple H Promises More Transparency With Talent Moving Forward

As WWE’s new head of creative, Triple H hopes to make communication easier for talent.

For the last month, the pro wrestling world has been rocked by on major scandal. Vince McMahon was revealed to have paid over $14 million in hush money following sexual misconduct with employees. Last Friday, McMahon announced that he would be retiring from his position as CEO of WWE. In his place are his daughter Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan, WWE’s new co-CEOs.

Paul Levesque, better known by his ring name Triple H, is now leading WWE’s creative team. While it’s yet to be seen how exactly the WWE will look under Triple H’s control, he reportedly already has a vision for how the company will operate in the future.

Ahead of last night’s episode of Monday Night Raw, Triple H held a meeting backstage with the roster. According to Fightful Select, the meeting laid out the groundwork for Triple H’s intentions with the main roster going forward.

Triple H promised talent more transparency in the future, including open lines of communication. This has been an issue for the WWE in recent years; talent would sometimes have to wait for hours outside of Vince McMahon’s office in order to talk with him. Triple H also told talent during the meeting that he wants work to be fun.

According to Fightful’s report, the meeting went smoothly and was well-received. Talent is said to be feeling optimistic now that Triple H is in charge.

If Triple H means what he said to WWE’s talent tonight, then things could be looking up for the company. Hopefully, WWE’s new regime is able to make it through this rough patch and find brighter days ahead.

Source: TheSportster

Vince McMahon Now Being Investigated By SEC, Federal Prosecutors

Vince McMahon’s troubles continue. He’s currently under investigation for hush-money payments.

The world of professional wrestling has been sunk into chaos due to sexual misconduct hush-money allegations against former WWE CEO, Vince McMahon. These allegations have caused Vince McMahon to resign from his position as CEO and step back from the company, though he remains its majority shareholder.

In his place, Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan have been named co-CEOs. Stephanie McMahon’s husband Paul Levesque (better known as pro wrestler Triple H) has been named the new head of WWE’s creative team.

In an article published yesterday by Wall Street Journal, it was revealed that McMahon is now being investigated by the SEC and federal prosecutors.

New federal investigations into the deepening hush-money scandal enveloping World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. hastened the retirement of its chief executive, Vince McMahon, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and federal prosecutors have launched inquiries into payments made by Mr. McMahon to settle allegations of sexual misconduct, the people said. The media company said Monday that it has received “regulatory, investigative and enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or demands” in connection with millions of dollars in hush-money pacts.

-Wall Street Journal

Additionally, Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer Network alluded to even darker clouds on the horizon for McMahon. The following transcription has been provided by Paul Davis of Wrestling News:

I will say that there are rumors that the HBO Real Sports story on Vince is – one person used the term ‘damning’ and that there might be another Wall Street Journal article coming out this week. They may have gotten ahead of things with this resignation on Friday.

-Bryan Alvarez, Wrestling Observer Network

Nothing else is currently known about the alleged upcoming WSJ and HBO Sports stories. However, wrestling fans can expect the business to be even further upended once they are published.

Source: TheSportster

WWE’s Latest SEC Filing Includes Legally Foreboding Language

It may be a new day for the WWE, with Vince McMahon now retired in the wake of numerous scandals and Triple H now assuming the dual role of EVP of Talent Relations and head of WWE creative. But don’t think the dust is anywhere near settled, as new information suggests not only more potential payouts from McMahon regarding other allegations, but perhaps legal ramifications for him and WWE.

On Monday morning, WWE released their latest SEC filing, which revealed that the company had made “a preliminary determination” that payments McMahon made from 2006 to 2022 were not recorded as expenses in the quarters they occurred in, thus making them “Unrecorded Expenses.” As such, WWE announced they are revising previous financial statements to record these “Expenses” for the end of 2019, 2020, 2021 and Q1 of 2022, with the goal of issuing new statements by August 9.

WWE also revealed that the total of “Unrecorded Expenses” was around $14.6 million, and that McMahon had paid or would pay the amount personally. The $14.6 million, which WWE claims “was not material to any individual time period in which the Unrecorded Expenses arose,” has been determined to be an aggregate amount, and WWE is continuing to evaluate “the impact on previously reported on previously reported financial statements.”

It had been previously reported that McMahon had paid $12.5 million to keep quiet numerous potential scandals, with the individual payouts ranging from $7.5 million to $3 million to two $1 million payouts. If those payments are part of the $14.6 million, that would leave approximately $2.1 million unaccounted for. It’s unknown if this will lead to more payouts related to McMahon being revealed going forward.

The WWE closed out this section of their filing with a brief statement that suggested that the actions of McMahon may lead to more controversy for the promotion in the days to come:

“The Company has also received, and may receive in the future, regulatory, investigative and enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or demands arising from, related to, or in connection with these matters.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Announces Triple H As New Head Of Creative

There’s a new head of WWE creative in town and the game could have just changed for pro wrestling. WWE revealed today that Paul Levesque (fka Triple H) will be in charge of all responsibilities when it comes to WWE’s creative process. With Vince McMahon announcing his retirement from all of his WWE duties, Triple H was named the replacement for John Laurinaitis as the head of talent relations, and according to WWE, he’s now in charge of creative, as well. The full announcement, which also reveals that Stephanie McMahon is the new Chairwoman of the Board, can be read below:

STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE® (NYSE: WWE) and its Board of Directors today announced the appointment of Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan as co-Chief Executive Officers. Ms. McMahon has also been appointed Chairwoman of the Board, and Mr. Khan will continue to serve as a member of the Board. These appointments follow Vince McMahon’s retirement announcement on Friday, July 22.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to lead WWE together with our unmatched management team,” said Ms. McMahon and Mr. Khan. “We recognize this is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility, and we look forward to serving the WWE Universe.”

Additionally, WWE executive Paul Levesque will assume all responsibilities related to WWE’s creative, in addition to his regular duties.

Vince McMahon suddenly announced his retirement Friday evening before “WWE SmackDown” took place, and Stephanie McMahon kicked off the show to send a “thank you” to her father.  Vince’s retirement amidst a storm of allegations that he haded out more than $12 million in hush money to female employees regarding sexual misconduct over the course of the last 16 years, allegations that led to an internal investigation by the WWE board and numerous external investigations regarding WWE’s handling of the situation. Laurinaitis, who was allegedly also involved in the sexual misconduct allegations, was put on administrative leave last month and is not expected to return to the company.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Raw Preview 7/25/22

WWE enters a new era on tonight’s “Raw”. It will be the first WWE broadcast with Paul “Triple H” Levesque officially in charge of the company’s creative direction. Rey Mysterio celebrates his WWE 20th Anniversary.

The company announced Monday morning that Levesque “will assume all responsibilities related to WWE’s creative”. This follows Vince McMahon’s resignation/retirement as the company’s CEO, Chairman, and Head of Creative amid an ongoing company investigation into hush money allegations.

Update On Tully Blanchard’s AEW/ROH Status

There is an update on Tully Blanchard’s AEW/ROH status following ROH Death Before Dishonor.

According to Fightful Select, it looks like Blanchard will not be moving forward with AEW or ROH.

There were conflicting reasons behind Blanchard not appearing on Death Before Dishonor. Fightful was told that his prison ministry group was cited as the reason why he wasn’t there.

Talent and staff that inquired about Blanchard’s whereabouts were told that he was “effectively gone” from ROH and isn’t figured into plans moving forward.

During Saturday’s ROH Death Before Dishonor, it was revealed that Prince Nana had purchased Tully Blanchard Enterprises and was renamed The Embassy. The Embassy was Prince Nana’s original group in 2004. The current Embassy includes Gates of Agony (Toa Liona & Kaun), Brian Cage, & Jonathan Gresham.

Tully Blanchard Enterprises was first formed at the ROH Supercard of Honor with Gates of Agony and Cage. Gresham joined the group on the July 8 edition of AEW Rampage after he left Lee Moriarty in the ring with Gates of Agony. Before the group, Blanchard was the manager of the current ROH World Tag Team Champions FTR.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On Jonathan Gresham Requesting ROH/AEW Release

The former Ring of Honor World Champion Jonathan Gresham is seeking to be immediately released from his AEW/ROH contract, according to a new report from “Fightful.” It’s explained that Gresham asked for his release Saturday ahead of the ROH Death Before Dishonor pay-per-view and his ROH World Title defense against Claudio Castagnoli — a bout he ultimately lost.

The report cites “a lack of communication between the company and Gresham leading up to the weekend,” inspiring the technical wrestling specialist to feel “disrespected.” The lack of time given to the World Title match during last night’s show was also a noted “tipping point.”

Gresham reportedly met with Tony before the show began and got heated enough to the point that he was “cussing out” the AEW/ROH President. “Fightful” notes that several people backstage have corroborated this story after what occurred between the two. Gresham has since responded to inquiries about the ordeal and claimed he is “done with wrestling for the foreseeable future after this month.” Part of the reason Gresham came out in his regular entrance attire last night was that he was unsure if that would be his final match before hanging up the boots. Tony Khan has yet to comment, and it remains unclear if Gresham has been granted his requested release from ROH and AEW.

After a successful career in the former ROH, Gresham made his AEW in-ring debut when he competed at their Battle of the Belts II against the flamboyant Dalton Castle. Gresham managed to hold on to his ROH World Title on that occasion when he defeated Castle by submission. His first time working with Tony Khan was at the ROH SuperCard of Honor XV this past April, the first ROH show following Tony Khan’s acquisition of the company.

UPDATE

According to Fightful, Gresham met with Khan before the pay-per-view and was already more heated than usual regarding the direction of his booking and character, but while their dialogue had been expected to stay private, details couldn’t help but spill into the locker room as the conversation increased in volume, with even the building’s security being able to hear it. Fightful’s previous report had stated that Gresham ‘cussed out’ Khan.

Gresham reportedly had contacts within AEW in the form of QT Marshall and Sonjay Dutt had also been a contact for him from within the company. Despite that, Gresham was frustrated with the creative direction of his character — specifically, he had been against the idea of turning heel, and more broadly, he “a vision for his creative direction” that Khan did not share. Gresham had apparently been told that creative changes had to go through Khan, but he was unable to meet with Khan until just a few hours before the event on Saturday. The finish of Gresham’s match with Claudio Castagnoli, which saw him lose the ROH World Championship, is believed to have been hinted to him, but it’s unclear whether he knew before the day of the show itself. Fightful claims that the typical creative process involves talent speaking to AEW coaches, as well as Marshall, Christopher Daniels, Marshall, and Pat Buck, who then act as intermediaries between the talent and Khan. The report also notes that while Khan does try to speak directly to talent, that practice has declined “due to the changing of the world and travel in general.”

The general lack of communication within AEW is not a new complaint, as former talent like Joey Janela, Marko Stunt, and Chavo Guerrero have discussed similar issues in the past. It remains to be seen whether Gresham will have his release granted, as neither Khan nor the company have made an official comment.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Bryan Danielson’s Return To In-Ring Action This Week On AEW Dynamite

One of AEW’s top stars is making his way back to competition after being sidelined due to reported concussion issues. “The American Dragon” Bryan Danielson announced during AEW’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con that he is officially cleared to return to the ring and will be facing Daniel Garcia of The Jericho Appreciation Society on this Wednesday’s Fight for the Fallen edition of “Dynamite.”

Danielson hasn’t wrestled since the Anarchy in the Arena match that took place at the AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view this past May. The reported concussion issues that caused him to take time away from competition have been an ongoing battle throughout his career and were the main reason he announced his retirement in 2016 after multiple concussions led to seizures and a brain lesion. Danielson would later reveal that not only were the health scares responsible for his retirement announcement, but he also had lied to WWE about part of the findings from his doctor visits. The multi-time WWE Champion would make a triumphant return in 2018 and gives us several new memorable characters like the “New” Daniel Bryan, that emphasized environmental issues while deeming the WWE Universe “fickle,” and his more rough, rugged persona since arriving in All Elite Wrestling.

Said injuries would cause Danielson to miss out on the AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door pay-per-view, where he was initially scheduled to face Zack Sabre Jr. one-on-one. He would subsequentially miss the big Blood & Guts match in the same week, forcing Tony Khan to bring the substitute, Claudio Castagnoli, to AEW television earlier than he originally anticipated. Tony noted he didn’t want Danielson back in action until he was “feeling 100% at 100% of the time”, which was the cause for several missed shows.

Bryan was previously entangled in budding feuds with Eddie Kingston and Chris Jericho. It will be interesting to see if that is the same path Tony Khan puts him on upon returning, which one could assume is the case, as his first match back is against a member of the JAS.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

ROH Death Before Dishonor Results 7/23/2022

“ZERO HOUR” PRE-SHOW
Colt Cabana defeated Anthony Henry

“ZERO HOUR” PRE-SHOW
Trustbusters (Ari Daivari & Slim J) defeated Shinobi Shadow Squad (Cheeseburger & Eli Isom)

– Backstage, Prince Nana reveals that he has purchased Tully Blanchard Enterprises

“ZERO HOUR” PRE-SHOW
Brian Cage & Gates of Agony (Toa Liona & Kaun) w/ Prince Nana defeated Tony Deppen, Alex Zayne & Blake Christian

“ZERO HOUR” PRE-SHOW
Willow Nightingale defeated Allysin Kay

ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Claudio Castagnoli defeated Jonathan Gresham (c) w/ Prince Nana (**TITLE CHANGE**)

ROH SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Dalton Castle & The Boys (Brandon Tate & Brent Tate) defeated The Righteous (Vincent, Bateman & Dutch) (c) (**TITLE CHANGE**)

ROH PURE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Wheeler Yuta (c) defeated Daniel Garcia

Rush  w/ Jose the Assistant defeated Dragon Lee

ROH WOMEN’S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Mercedes Martinez (c) defeated Serena Deeb

ROH WORLD TELEVISION CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Samoa Joe (c) defeated Jay Lethal w/ Satnam Singh

– A rundown of this week’s “AEW Dynamite” is shown, including Bryan Danielson’s return to in-ring action.

2 OUT OF 3 FALLS – ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) (c) defeated The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe)

– After the match, FTR invited the Briscoes into the ring to allow them to receive the appreciation from the fans. FTR and the Briscoes shook hands. Harwood got on the microphone and said that he loves professional wrestling and that we’ll see FTR on “AEW Dynamite” on Wednesday. Regal, Castagnoli and Yuta came out to the stage, seemingly stating their intentions to challenge FTR.