The following WWE NXT Superstars have officially received their new ring names:
* Trevor Lee is now known as Cameron Grimes
* Eric Bugenhagen is now known as Rik Bugez, which had been in the works
* Adrian Jaoude is now known as Arturo Ruas
* Jessie Elaban is now known as Jessie Kamea
* Luke Menzies is now known as Ridge Holland
Finding ways to enhance player safety, the new XFL has launched a health advisory board. The members of the board consist of experts in neurology, mental health and orthopedics and are considered the top minds in the world today.
In a statement, the XFL announced the hiring of Dr. Julian Bailes, who will serve as Chief Medical Advisor. Other members of the board include Dr. Larry Lemak and Dr. Claudia Reardon. Daniel Wright, the former Head Athletic Trainer for the Milwaukee Brewers, will become the Vice President of Health and Safety. There will be room for more members down the line.
“The health and safety of our players is an important focus on our path to reimagine football and deliver a great product to fans when we kick off in February 2020,” XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck stated. “Putting in place the right experts and medical professionals is key. Our health advisory committee will work closely with our football operations department to create protocols and build best practice guidelines that put player health and safety at the forefront of everything we do.”
Dr. Bailes has football experience before; he served as team physician of the Pittsburgh Steelers for over ten years. A member of the NFL Head, Neck and Spine Committee and Chairman of the Pop Warner Football Medical Advisory Committee, Bailes has also worked for the NCAA for fifteen years. The chairman of NorthShore University HealthSystem’s Neurology department, he was featured prominently in Will Smith’s ‘Concussion’ movie in 2015. He was played by Alec Baldwin.
Dr. Lemak founded Lemak Health, an orthopedics and primary care center. He also serves as a member of the Pop Warner Football Medical Advisory Committee. The Medical Director for the NFL’s European League for 15 years, the same league Oliver Luck was a part of, Lemak also served as the Medical Director for Major League Soccer. He also founded the National Center for Sports Safety and the Alabama Sports Foundation.
A sports psychiatrist, Dr. Reardon works as an Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Department of Psychiatry. While no NFL-related experience, Reardon is considered the top consultant when it comes to mental health in sports. As the sole psychiatrist on the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, she also works with the International Olympic Committee, leading a workgroup called Mental Illness in Elite Athletes.
It is expected that Daniel Wright, an athletic trainer since 1985, will be a part of the hiring process, supervising and evaluating new athletic trainers for the XFL. He became the Athletic Trainer for the Brewers in 2011 after a stint as their Assistant Athletic Trainer and Conditioning Coordinator. He also held positions with the Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants. A graduate from the University of Oregon, Wright was the President and co-owner of an athletic injury rehabilitation facility called FitLife Health Systems, Inc.
The relaunched XFL season is expected to start in February of 2020, just a few days after the Super Bowl.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair released another YouTube video yesterday. Flair called out his former agent, Melinda Morris Zanoni of Legacy Talent and Entertainment, accusing her of embezzling money from him.
Flair also accused Zanoni of letting his “Wooooo!” and “Ric Flair” trademarks to expire. WWE ended up registering them for him. He also accused her of grabbing “all the money you could run with” after assuming he was going to die. Flair said he hopes his video gets Zanoni disbarred, noting that he spoke with an attorney before recording it. He also claims Zanoni called his wife Wendy Barlow, using a blocked number, and threatened her.
Flair noted that he was friends with Zanoni for 20 years, and her client for 10 years. He apologized to WWE Hall of Famers Sting, Kurt Angle and Mick Foley for referring them to Zanoni. He also thanked his friends, doctors and WWE for supporting him through his recent heath issues, and noted that Zanoni didn’t visit him while he was hospitalized in Atlanta.
Flair previously parted ways with Zanoni in September 2017 after a health scare, and filed a lawsuit against the agency, claiming they embezzled $46,000 from him. That figure includes a $25,000 payment from the ESPN 30 For 30 producers that they didn’t tell him about, and a $12,000 royalty advance for a endorsement deal with Jake’s Fireworks.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Yesterday an individual tweeted out a story about his experience at a Ring of Honor event this past weekend that picked up traction online. According to the individual, he was booing The Allure (Velvet Sky, Angelina Love and Mandy Leon) and exchanging words with the group. At one point the fan said that he was having words with Velvet Sky, and Mandy Leon allegedly spit on him.
“Velvet and I exchange words along with the rest of the Allure. Nothing crazy. Mandy Leon spits on me from the side. Not preferable but I honestly don’t care. Segment ends,” the fan tweeted, who goes by “xIAMHOLLYWOODx” on Twitter. “Side note. I love and respect like 99% of all wrestlers. I honest to god never try to make the show ABOUT me, get myself over, etc. My rule of thumb is to boo the bad guys and cheer the good guys. It’s rare that I’ll flip the script but I always decide to go along with the show.”
The group would come out again later in the show and another exchange would take place with the fan eventually being brought to the back and spoken to by Bully Ray.
“Suddenly BULLY RAY comes out from a back room. Full on gear since he was in the opening segment of the show and he looks PISSED,” the fan continued on Twitter. “Much bigger than me so I’m kinda taking a step back on this here. Security backs off and it’s just us two,” he wrote. “He said ‘hey. I heard there was incident tonight with you and some of the girls’ ‘Uh… yeah? I guess’ *I’m so lost* ‘So here’s the deal. You’re done talking down to them. You need to treat them with respect. Don’t be saying anything you wouldn’t say to your mom, you got it?!’
“I’m not trying to act tough. I was legit being intimidated with purpose and I wasn’t about to get kicked out during match 3 so I just bit the bullet and said ‘sure… yes sir… yeah, I understand… yup…’ He said ‘End of convo. Go be a fan.'”
ROH General Manager Greg Gilleland provided Wrestling Inc. the following statement:
ROH has always taken fan-first approach, with fan experience being at the forefront of all of our live events. We consider this to be very serious and will be conducting an internal review over the next 48 hours to determine the appropriate actions.
Since then, Bully Ray commented on the situation, below is his full statement.
“And now the truth. I could not have been any nicer to said ‘fan.’ Yes, nice, hard to believe. I never threatened, intimidated or berated said ‘fan.’ I handled the situation the exact opposite way most would assume, with decorum. [The conversation] lasted less than 30 seconds. I even gave the fan a friendly pat on the back and told him to enjoy the show and ‘go be a fan.’ His response, ‘Thanks Bully.’ Fan version of story is embellished to make fan look like a ‘victim.’Many other fans who attended the shows in Kent and Portland have already confirmed on social media how said fan ‘cross the line’ with multiple talents, both men and women.
In retrospect, the ‘fan’ should have been ejected.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t until after ‘fan’ was asked to not be ‘so rude,’ did we find out that severity of the vile comments and lewd sexual gestures made towards the women.
I think we can all agree that in 2019, this type of behavior towards women is unacceptable and goes far beyond the scope of, ‘I paid for my seat, I should be able to do or say whatever I want.’
I live by the motto, ‘Respectful fans always get what they want. Rude fans always get what they deserve.’
At the end of the day, I’m guilty of defending three women that needed a bit of defending. Not by being a bully, by being a man.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
There continues to be talk of WWE NXT Champion Adam Cole and NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler coming to the main roster, according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio. There’s no word yet on when the call-ups might happen, but Meltzer noted that Baszler is “supposed to be geared” for a call-up and has everything they’re looking for, from her age to her look and her aura. Cole won the title from Johnny Gargano at Saturday’s NXT “Takeover: XXV” event, while Baszler retained her title over Io Shirai.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Brock Lesnar was set to cash in his Money In the Bank title shot on WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins during tonight’s RAW, but looks like the cash in will now come at WWE Super ShowDown on Friday in Saudi Arabia.
As seen below, Lesnar came out to destroy Rollins following a beatdown from Baron Corbin, who will challenge Rollins in a singles match at Friday’s pay-per-view. Paul Heyman kept encouraging his client to cash in, but Lesnar yelled at him and said “Friday!” to indicate the cash in will come at Super ShowDown. Lesnar has been advertised for Super ShowDown since it was announced, but his plans were up in the air following the announcement of Corbin vs. Rollins.
Impact World Heavyweight Champion Brian Cage almost worked the recent All Elite Wrestling Double Or Nothing pay-per-view.
Cage was backstage in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Arena for Double Or Nothing and was prepared to wrestle, according to PWInsider. Impact officials found out Cage was there, contacted him and informed him that he could not appear due to his contract with the promotion.
There’s no word yet on what Cage would have done at Double Or Nothing, but it would have been a surprise appearance. Impact creative team member Tommy Dreamer worked the Casino Battle Royale on the Double Or Nothing “Buy In” pre-show, but he’s not under contract to any promotion.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas with RAW’s final hype for WWE Super ShowDown.
* Heyman announces Lesnar will cash in on Rollins tonight on RAW
* Not dead yet: The Undertaker returns
* Roman Reigns to team with The Usos to battle Drew McIntyre & The Revival
* These colors don’t run: the injured Rey Mysterio will be forced to surrender the United States Championship.
* Ladies first: Lacey Evans continues feud with Becky Lynch
A fan recounted a bizarre experience at an ROH event this past weekend, which has been trending online.
According to the fan, he was booing Allure (Velvet Sky, Angelina Love and Mandy Leon) and exchanging words with the group. At one point the fan said that he was having words with Velvet Sky, and Mandy Leon allegedly spit on him.
“Velvet and I exchange words along with the rest of the Allure. Nothing crazy. Mandy Leon spits on me from the side. Not preferable but I honestly don’t care. Segment ends,” the fan tweeted, who goes by “xIAMHOLLYWOODx” on Twitter. “Side note. I love and respect like 99% of all wrestlers. I honest to god never try to make the show ABOUT me, get myself over, etc. My rule of thumb is to boo the bad guys and cheer the good guys. It’s rare that I’ll flip the script but I always decide to go along with the show”
Allure were involved again later in the show and reportedly got into another exchange with the fan.
“Second match occurs and it’s a local v a local. Allure interferes at the end. I’m mouthing off to all the girls for no reason other than THEY’RE THE BAD GUYS,” @xIAMHOLLYWOODx tweeted. “Boo… you’re trash… get lost… no one wants you here… etc
“At some point Velvet Sky seemingly loses her cool & is challenging me to come in the ring. Tells me to suck it, calls me a p—y, etc. No prob. Get your heat. She calls me a virgin. I remind her she has sex with that fat turd Bully Ray. Call them the tramp stamp trio. End segment.”
Things got strange from there. The fan claims that ROH security approached the fan and escorted him backstage. The fan said Bully Ray eventually appeared and security left the room. He then claimed that Bully Ray told him to respect the women on the show before ending the conversation and telling him to “go be a fan.” The fan was then taken back to his seat.
“Suddenly BULLY RAY comes out from a back room. Full on gear since he was in the opening segment of the show and he looks PISSED. Much bigger than me so I’m kinda taking a step back on this here. Security backs off and it’s just us two,” he wrote. “He said ‘hey. I heard there was incident tonight with you and some of the girls’ ‘Uh… yeah? I guess’ *I’m so lost* ‘So here’s the deal. You’re done talking down to them. You need to treat them with respect. Don’t be saying anything you wouldn’t say to your mom, you got it?!’
“I’m not trying to act tough. I was legit being intimidated with purpose and I wasn’t about to get kicked out during match 3 so I just bit the bullet and said ‘sure… yes sir… yeah, I understand… yup…’ He said ‘End of convo. Go be a fan’
“Security led me back to my seat.”
We reached out to ROH regarding the incident. ROH General Manager Greg Gilleland provided Wrestling Inc. the following statement:
ROH has always taken fan-first approach, with fan experience being at the forefront of all of our live events. We consider this to be very serious and will be conducting an internal review over the next 48 hours to determine the appropriate actions.
You can check out the tweets from the fan below:
Source: Wrestling Inc.
While WWE 24/7 Champion R-Truth was relaxing on a golf course with Carmella on Sunday, Jinder Mahal ambushed R-Truth and very briefly won the 24/7 title before R-Truth quickly won it back and made his escape with Carmella in their golf cart.
