Author: John Bass

NXT star out for several months with torn pectoral

NXT star

NXT star Tino Sabbatelli recently underwent surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle according to a new report by Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline on Friday. Sabbatelli suffered the injury during the NXT live event in Largo, Florida on April 28 against The Velveteen Dream. Sabbatelli will be out of action for several months following the surgery.

Sabbatelli had been featured on NXT TV for several months in a tag-team with Riddick Moss and had recently turned on Moss, presumably beginning a push as a singles competitor before the injury.

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE Backlash 5/6/18

Image result for WWE Backlash 2018

WWE Championship No DQ: (C) AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

RAW Women’s Championship: (C) Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss

SmackDown Women’s Championship: (C) Carmella vs. Charlotte Flair

Intercontinental Championship: (C) Seth Rollins vs. The Miz

Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe

Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass

United States Championship: (C) Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton

Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn

(Kickoff) Bayley vs. Ruby Riott

Hulk Hogan Reportedly Closing In On A WWE Deal, WWE Issues New Statement On Hulk Hogan’s Status

Image result for Hulk Hogan

The rumors of Hulk Hogan returning to WWE have been swirling for some time now, but TMZ Sports is reporting Hogan and WWE have been in contact and the talks have been “positive.” Thanks to the Greatest Royal Rumble, Hogan was apparently one of the talents requested to appear at the event. Hogan didn’t make the trip, but it got the two sides talking for a potential reunion.

TMZ was told WWE wants to bring him back and Hogan is ready, but they want to make sure it’s done “the right way” and be sensitive to those who were offended by his past rant that initially cost him his WWE gig. Hogan hasn’t appeared for WWE since being fired by the company in 2015 shortly before a tape containing him making racist remarks was made public. Hogan, who was upset with his daughter Brooke dating a black man, used the n-word several times in the tape and said, “I guess we’re all a little racist.”

In March, Hogan made an appearance at the HBO/WWE Andre the Giant documentary premiere in Los Angeles, California. At the time, WWE wanted to make it clear Hogan was not in the fold by putting out the following statement:

“Hulk Hogan is an important part of Andre the Giant’s history, however his appearance at tonight’s HBO premiere of the documentary and his plans to help others learn from his mistakes does not mean WWE is rehiring him. Hogan is not scheduled to be at any upcoming WWE events.”

WWE has been paying close attention to how Hogan’s speech went yesterday after he was inducted into the Boys & Girls Club Hall of Fame. He mentioned wanting to help educate kids to not use language like he did, which received an ovation from the crowd.

https://twitter.com/BoysGirlsClubGA/status/991919889727111168

In March, Mark Henry spoke about Hogan’s potential return and said he wasn’t sure he’s ready for that return. Hogan was asked about Henry’s comment and responded:

“I just heard [Henry] made a comment on TMZ about it and that I should apologize,” Hogan responded. “I totally agree, but not to black wrestlers, to all the wrestlers. Yeah, what I said was way out of line, I’m forever sorry for that, but I never heard Mark Henry say that, he’s my boy, man.”

WWE issued the following statement in response to the report this afternoon:

“WWE applauds the work Hulk Hogan is doing with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to turn what was a negative into a positive by helping young people learn from his mistake. While he has taken many steps in the right direction since we parted ways, Hogan is not currently under contract to WWE.”

Source: WrestlingINC

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2018 (Night 2) Results: Chris Jericho Attacks Naito

Image result for wrestling dontaku 2018 logo

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku (Night 2) took place earlier today with IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi in the main event. In his most current title run, Okada now has a record 12 title defenses to his name. Chris Jericho also made a return to NJPW by initially posing as a fan and then attacking Tetsuya Naito, Jericho would use a ring bell to bust open Naito, which you can see in the video below.

It was also teased Bullet Club member, Bone Soldier, would be returning to NJPW, typically wearing a mask, he would take it off and reveal himself as Taiji Ishimori. In the U.S., Ishimori has spent much of his time in Impact Wrestling. Bone Soldier was previously played by Captain New Japan / Hideo Saito.

Bellow are the full results:

* Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, and Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Ren Narita, Shota Umino, and Yuya Uemura
* Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens defeated Yuji Nagata and Tomoyuki Oka
* Roppongi 3K defeated Taichi, Taka Michinoku and Takashi Iizuka
* Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano defeated Togi Makabe and Henare
* Hirooki Goto, Jay White, and YOSHI-HASHI defeated Juice Robinson, David Finlay, and Michael Elgin
* Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi, and BUSHI defeated Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Desperado
* Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Bad Luck Fale, and Guerrillas of Destiny defeated Cody, The Young Bucks, Hangman Page, and Marty Scurll
* Will Ospreay (c) defeated KUSHIDA (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship)
* Kazuchika Okada (c) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi (IWGP Heavyweight Championship)

Source: WrestlingINC

Impact Wrestling Preview 5/3/18

* Eli Drake set to kick off Impact

* Rosemary vs. Su Yung

* X-Division championship: (C) Matt Sydal vs. Taiji Ishimori

* Drago, Fantasma & Areostar vs. DJZ, Dezmond Xavier & Andrew Everett

* Brian Cage World Tour

*  Taya Valkyrie vs. Kiera Hogan

* Interview with Tessa Blanchard

Backstage News On Sami Zayn Missing WWE Greatest Royal Rumble

Image result for sami zayn raw 2018

Sami Zayn likely was not included in last Friday’s Greatest Royal Rumble main event from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia because he is of Syrian descent. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Syria cut relations in 2012. WWE filmed a segment at the GRR go-home RAW that saw Sami mention the 50-man match to Kevin Owens but another segment was later filmed that had Sami say he wasn’t feeling well, hinting that he wouldn’t be able to make the trip to Saudi Arabia for the event.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports this week that the Sami situation was kept secret before and during the GRR event. Sami had known he wouldn’t be appearing for about a week as he was told that he would be doing an injury angle on the April 23rd RAW to explain why he would not be appearing, despite being advertised for the 50-man match. Sami was not told why he was off the show and it looks like he still has not been told, based on what he’s said to people privately since then. The Observer adds that Sami is claiming he has no explanation on why he was pulled from the show.

There was also a directive handed down, that no one could speak on the Sami issue until after the show, to avoid any potential controversy over WWE being told that one of their talents could not work a show because of his ethnicity, according to The Observer. We noted before how the whole WWE crew was given a list of cultural miscues to avoid while in the Kingdom, such as to never blow off a handshake to anyone because it would be taken as an insult and you don’t want to insult the wrong person. One of the items on this list was to never mention anything about Sami.

WWE issued this statement on Sami missing the big event in Saudi Arabia last week:

“WWE is committed to embracing individuals from all backgrounds while respecting local customs and cultural differences around the world.”

Source: WrestlingINC

Former WWE Star Danielle Moinet (Summer Rae) Returning To Ring After Nearly Two Years

Image result for Former WWE Star Danielle Moinet (Summer Rae) Returning To Ring After Nearly Two Years

Former WWE Superstar Danielle Moinet, f.k.a. Summer Rae in WWE, will be returning to the ring for Battle Championship Wrestling in Melbourne, Australia on Friday, May 25th. She will face Ivelisse in the second half of the first round of the BCW Women’s Championship Tournament at the Whitehorse Function and Convention Centre. Moinet, who was released by WWE last October, hasn’t wrestled since August of 2016 after she suffered neck and back injuries. She was cleared to return to action by WWE in May of 2017, but was never used.

Source: WrestlingINC

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2018 (Night 1) Results

Image result for wrestling dontaku 2018 logo

NJPW Wrestling Dontaku (Night 1) took place with Kenny Omega defeating Adam Page in the main event. Also featured, Cody beat Kota Ibushi in a rematch from when they met at Wrestle Kingdom 12. In tag team action, The Young Bucks / Marty Scurll won the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Titles away from Tanga Loa, Tama Tanga, and Bad Luck Fale.

Below are the full results:

* Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi defeated Yota Tsuji and Shota Umino
* Ryusuke Taguchi, Jushin Liger, and Tiger Mask defeated Ren Narita, Tomoyuki Oka, and Yuji Nagata
* Sho, Yoh, and Rocky Romero defeated Iizuka, Lance Archer, and Davey Boy Smith Jr.
* YOSHI-HASHI, Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, Jay White, and Hirooki Goto defeated Toa Henare, Michael Elgin, Togi Makabe, David Finlay, and Juice Robinson
* Marty Scurll and the Young Bucks defeated Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga, and Bad Luck Fale (c) (NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Championship)
* Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI, EVIL, SANADA, and Tetsuya Naito defeated Desperado, Kanemaru, Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr, and Minoru Suzuki
* Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada defeated KUSHIDA and Hiroshi Tanahashi
* Cody defeated Kota Ibushi
* Kenny Omega defeated Adam Page

 

NJPW next’s show is Wrestling Dontaku (Night 2), which takes place early tomorrow at 4am ET / 1am PT on NJPW World. Below is the full card:

* Jushin Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Tiger Mask IV vs. Ren Narita, Shota Umino, and Tomoyuki Oka
* Bullet Club (Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Tetsuhiro Yagi and Yuji Nagata
* Roppongi 3K (Rocky Romero, SHO, and YOH) vs. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, TAKA Michinoku, and Takashi Iizuka)
* Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano) vs. Toa Henare and Togi Makabe
* Chaos (Hirooki Goto, “Switchblade” Jay White, and YOSHI-HASHI) vs. David Finlay, Juice Robinson, and Michael Elgin
* Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, EVIL, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA, and Tetsuya Naito) vs. Suzuki-gun (Davey Boy Smith, Jr., El Desperado, Lance Archer, Minoru Suzuki, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
* Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga, and Tanga Loa) and Golden Lovers (Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi) vs. Bullet Club (Cody Rhodes, Hangman Page, Marty Scurll, Matt Jackson, and Nick Jackson)
* Will Ospreay (c) vs. KUSHIDA (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship)
* Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (IWGP Heavyweight Championship)

Chris Jericho Scheduled To Make His Return To New Japan Pro Wrestling This Week

Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho, who just appeared for WWE at the Greatest Royal Rumble event last Friday in Saudi Arabia, is scheduled to make his return to New Japan Pro Wrestling this week at the company’s Wrestling Dontaku event in Fukuoka, Japan.

According to a report by Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, Jericho’s appearance this week will setup a storyline for another appearance for New Japan at next month’s Dominion event in Osaka, likely with IWGP Intercontinental champion Tetsuya Naito.

Jericho became involved with New Japan earlier this year at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in a highly touted match against Kenny Omega. He then showed up at New Japan’s New Year’s Dash event attacking Naito. The angle never ended up leading to anything long-term. However, it would appear they will be picking back up where they left off this week.

Source: WrestleView

XFL Pursuing Team In Orlando

xfl orlando pursuing team

Despite competition from another upstart football league, a WWE executive has reached out to officials in Orlando hoping to put an XFL team in their city.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, WWE’s senior vice president of special events John Saboor contacted Orlando’s executive director of venues about the prospect of putting a team in Camping World Stadium.

It’s worth noting that Vince McMahon initially claimed WWE and XFL would be separate entities, but clearly that’s not the case if WWE employees are working on the new league.

The article also mentions that the XFL’s attempt might be difficult to pull off though, because Charlie Ebersol’s Alliance of American football — which kicks off one year before the XFL does — has already announced that they will have a team in Orlando.

WWE is confident, however, that both league’s can co-exist there.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet