Author: John Bass

Ronda Rousey Voices Sonya Blade In Mortal Kombat 11, New Footage Released

mortal kombat 11 ronda rousey sonya blade video game footage

Mortal Kombat 11 will feature the voice of Ronda Rousey as Sonya Blade … and the game footage looks awesome!

The announcement was made during an MK11 event on Thursday in Los Angeles after the below video played and the Raw Women’s Champion arrived on-stage afterward.

When asked how she feels about voicing this character, Ronda said it’s a dream come true.

“I tried to grow up to be Sonya Blade as close as I could,” she explained. “I feel like if Raiden came down right now and had to pick three warriors for Mortal Kombat, I would definitely be that person!”

For additional coverage on today’s MK11 press event, check Collider’s full rundown or the Collider Games YouTube channel for a video on the event.

Watch the game footage and Rousey appearance below:

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Dakota Kai Undergoes Surgery For Torn ACL

dakota kai injury surgery torn acl

NXT wrestler Dakota Kai has confirmed she suffered an ACL injury last month and underwent surgery yesterday to get it fixed.

“On December 7th in Green Bay during the last NXT Road Loop of 2018, I planted my foot awkwardly after a kick and tore my ACL,” Kai explained in a Twitter post about heading into surgery.

Adding, “I put off posting this because I wanted to focus on being home for the holidays and to be honest, I dreaded having to even mention this as I didn’t want to let any of you down. That, over everything, was and is the most heartbreaking feeling in the world.”

Kai says this means she’ll be out “for a bit,” but didn’t specify how long.

Dakota finished her post writing: “I’m surrounded by amazing people, doctors, trainers and you. It helps more than I can explain, especially being so far away from my family. The amount of positivity & support I have received already has been so overwhelming. It’s going to be a tough ride, mentally and physically. I know that. The last thing I want is any sympathy … but hear me when I say this; Within my whole being, I know for sure I will be back stronger than ever.”

“I will hit the ground, running. That’s a promise.”

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Kurt Angle’s Niece Rescued By Police

Image result for Kurt Angle WWE RAW

Police have found the 16 year old niece of WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle. 16 year old Marjani Aquil was reportedly abducted by her ex-boyfriend on Wednesday night. Police later found her around midnight at a home. Officers forced their way inside of the home and rescued Aquil, who was taken to the hospital for the treatment of minor injuries. Angle thanked fans for their support on Facebook.

Angle wrote, “My niece has been found. Just wanted to say thank you to all those who have prayed and have shared posts to help locate her. Thank you to the Pittsburgh Police for your persistence in finding my niece. My family is truly appreciative. Love you all.”

Police found the suspect, 19 year old Jermaine Laquay Rodgers, hiding in the cellar of the same home they found Angle’s niece in. A stand-off with police lasted just over two hours after a SWAT team entered the home and took him into custody. Police found another missing juvenile in the home, as well as a resident. Police say Rodgers broke into Aquil’s home on Wednesday night, assaulted her and forced her into a red sedan. An Amber Alert was issued at 8:14pm and canceled at 1:34am. As noted, this was the second time Rodgers had kidnapped Aquil in the past year as he was on probation for a January 2018 incident.

Below is Angle’s Facebook update with a link to local news coverage:

Source: WrestlingINC

News On Rumors Of Dolph Ziggler Leaving WWE

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After turning down an offer to become a WWE producer, there is speculation that Dolph Ziggler may be moving on from the WWE, according to PWInsider.

Ziggler has completely removed the “Dolph Ziggler” name from his social media accounts and he is scheduled for an upcoming comedy tour. Some sources claim to PWInsider that he remains under WWE contract. While some have denied that he is leaving the company, others are suggesting that he will be done on January 31st.

Ziggler has expressed frustration over the years with his position in the company. During an appearance on Edge & Christian’s podcast in late December, Ziggler discussed his role with being “the gatekeeper” and helping get NXT talent over.

“My job of making somebody that should be ready for a world title picture becomes harder and it’s not as much of a shove and if you see the last six months, a year of TV, basically, I’m a gatekeeper to the guys from NXT coming up that they have high expectations for, but if I lose for eight consecutive months before they show up, they are no longer getting that pat on the back to go up a notch, so I almost feel like it’s taking back from my role,” Ziggler said. “So I don’t know what the change would be, either be to switch things up, disappear here and there, or, I’ve said this to the boss on several occasions, I go, ‘I’ve made a career out of almost never winning, which is awesome,’ but I go, ‘at some point, I have to be seen as someone who can win, not just by pulling a needle out of a haystack or a lottery ball saying tonight is finally going to be the night because then it loses all of that luster.’

“Wins and losses don’t matter unless you’re the guy who loses every single night. And, if you’re that guy, then maybe you should be in the dark match, not fighting to see who becomes world champion each night. And even if you do pull that rabbit out of the hat, people know it’s not long term.”

Ziggler hasn’t appeared on WWE television since late last month when he lost to Drew McIntyre in a steel cage match on RAW and he has reportedly not been on the road with WWE in recent weeks. We’ll keep you updated on any further details that emerge regarding Ziggler’s WWE status.

As we previously reported, The Revival, Maria & Mike Kanellis have recently requested their releases from the company. As of this writing, none of the releases have been granted.

Source: WrestlingINC

The Revival Reportedly Asks For Their Release From WWE

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After their match with Lucha House Party on Monday night’s episode of RAW, “The Revival”, Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder asked for their release from WWE management, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

As you can see in the video below, in storyline, The Revival have recently been outspoken regarding a “conspiracy theory” against them. They claim that, regardless of the effort they’ve shown and no matter what they do, there are numerous controversies that somehow keep them from finally winning tag team gold in the WWE.

The Revival have been on the main roster since April 2017 and have yet to hold any WWE Championship gold. In comparison, fellow NXT alumni and current WWE superstars, Authors of Pain, arrived on the main roster in April of 2018 and became the RAW Tag Team Champions later that same year.

Dawson & Wilder saw much more success in NXT, where they are two-time NXT Tag Team Champions, and won Year-End Awards for Tag Team of the Year and Match of the Year for their match against Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa in a 2-out-of-3 falls match for the NXT Tag Team Championship at NXT TakeOver: Toronto.

While The Revival requested their release, Meltzer added in the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the release has not been granted yet. He noted that no releases are being granted to anyone asking for them “for obvious reasons.”

As previously noted, WWE superstars Maria and Mike Kanellis have also requested a release from WWE.

Source: WrestlingINC

Cody Rhodes Says AEW Won’t Be Hiring Writers Anytime Soon

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Over the last week, we’ve heard many of the names that will comprise All Elite Wrestling’s active roster. From Cody and The Young Bucks to Hangman Page and Chris Jericho, the roster is taking shape and fans can expect a solid product in the ring.

But there hasn’t been as much discussion about the behind-the-scenes personnel involved with AEW. Outside of Billy Gunn being a producer, we haven’t heard much else about the agents, production staff or writers.

There’s a good reason for that as Cody Rhodes said that the promotion isn’t looking to hire writers any time soon. Cody had an interview with sescoops.com where he said the “wrestlers are the writers” and talent doesn’t need to be micro-managed.

“We’re talking bullet points, we’re talking an overall knowledge of the business, and hey, let them go out and play,” said Cody. “Take a look back at the wrestling you and I love. For the most part, they’re all grown men and women doing what they were hired to do. They’ve cut their teeth, they’ve paid their dues and now they’re going to go out there and play their music. I would very much like a presentation that mirrors that. We don’t need to micro-manage and we certainly don’t need to script a great deal of the product we’re planning.”

Cody said he has good relationships with lots of available writers/producers out there including Eric Bischoff, Bruce Prichard and Jim Cornette. But for now, he plans on keeping things in-house and let the talent be the driving forces behind AEW Creative.

“This is probably going to be an unpopular thing to say, but I will say it. There won’t be a writer hired for All Elite Wrestling any time soon,” admitted Cody. “Because wrestlers are the writers. We’re the writers. Like I said with guys going out there and playing their own music, believe me – the day comes that I see ‘this is something we can really benefit from’ – absolutely, but I knew 40 writers in WWE and about four of them actually did anything. The reason I remember them and value them, they helped produce pre-tapes, they were team players, so right now that’s one thing we’ve gotten a lot of questions about. We’re keeping it very in-house for now.”

Some of this could be due to budget concerns or it could be, as Cody said, many writers don’t actually do much to impact the product. As of now All Elite Wrestling has just one event on its schedule with Double or Nothing in May, so there is also not likely a need for a writing team at this time.

Source: WrestlingINC

The Elite Make Surprise Appearance At Bar Wrestling Event (Video)

bar wrestling the elite surprise appearance video

Members of The Elite made a surprise appearance at Bar Wrestling in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.

It all happened at the Bootleg Theater during the main event after SCU laid out an open challenge which was answered by RockNES Monsters and Watts.

Both referees got knocked out at one point in the match and Joey Ryan intervened to stop Watts from hitting Scorpio Sky with a chair. Joey got attacked for doing so and Hangman Page came out to save him. The two rivals then put their differences aside  … by making Watts grab their penises.

RockNES Monsters returned to the ring afterward and attacked Joey/Page from behind, but Cody and Brandi Rhodes came out to make the save. Brandi hit the Bionic Spear and Cody hit an outside dive while wearing his dress clothes.

Watts re-emerged and hit Cody with a big boot … then The Young Bucks hit the ring.

The full match showing SCU end things with a victory will be available soon on Pivot Share.

According to SoCalUncensored.com (where the group’s name came from), Cody told the crowd during a post-match speech that they were all signed to AEW … then Brandi made him fire them.

This appearance is the first for the group after announcing their new promotion All Elite Wrestling.

Watch the video below.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Mike And Maria Kanellis Recently Requested Releases From WWE

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Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that Mike and Maria Kannellis recently asked for WWE officials to release them from their contracts.

According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, the Kanellis’ have been unhappy with the way they’ve been used in WWE for awhile and finally made the decision a few weeks ago to request their releases.

Mike Kanellis has also once again started selling new shirts on Pro Wrestling Tees.

Mike and Maria Kannellis signed with WWE in April of 2017 and debuted in June at Money in the Bank. Months later, Mike revealed he had been battling addiction and Maria announced she was pregnant. The duo weren’t used much on TV after that, until recently resurfacing on 205 Live.

According to CageMatch.net, Mike Kanellis wrestled on SmackDown Live a total of four times since signing with WWE. The rest of his appearances were largely relegated to Main Event and live events.

WWE doesn’t always grant release requests, so it’s possible nothing comes of this and the couple are simply paid to sit at home until the deal expires.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

AJ Styles Impersonates “Stone Cold” Steve Austin

Image result for AJ Styles Impersonates "Stone Cold" Steve Austin

The dark main event after last night’s WWE 205 Live tapings at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama saw WWE Champion Daniel Bryan retain over AJ Styles by disqualification. Bryan reportedly cut a strong heel promo, which poked fun at Alabama for losing to Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Championship earlier this month. AJ came back and laid Bryan out, also stopping to celebrate with a young fan in the crowd. AJ then impersonated WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin, switching out the beer cans for water bottles, after hitting a Phenomenal Forearm on Bryan. You can see video from the segment below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsr0BdOlxD6/

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE NXT Preview 1/16/19

NXT tonight at 8 ET on WWE Network.

* Keith Lee and Kassius Ohno gear up for seismic clash

* Bianca Belair prepares for NXT Women’s Title clash with Shayna Baszler

* Johnny Gargano in action

* The Streets Profits ready 2019 conquest

* Dominik Dijakovic returns