Author: John Bass

Rusev Was Added Back To Casket Match At Greatest Royal Rumble Against The Undertaker

Image result for Undertaker vs Rusev WWE Greatest Royal Rumble

WWE issued the following on Rusev being added back to the Casket Match at Greatest Royal Rumble against The Undertaker:

In a stunning turn of events, The Undertaker will battle Rusev in a Casket Match at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia on Friday, April 27.

Originally, the Casket Match was set to be between the two Superstars, but Lana asked for The Bulgarian Brute to be removed from the grisly bout, and he was replaced with Chris Jericho, as The Ravishing Russian expressed concern over her husband taking on The Demon of Death Valley. And for good reason.

After all, the Casket Match undoubtedly belongs to The Undertaker, as The Deadman has claimed victory in several of these harrowing contests, wherein a Superstar only wins when he gets his opponent into the casket and closes the lid.

However, now it appears that Lana’s faith in the tremendous ability of her husband has won out, and she has changed her mind. She explained, via tweet, that WWE officials have granted her request to allow Rusev to compete against The Phenom at the Greatest Royal Rumble event, after all.

Rusev is a world-class Superstar, but does he have what it takes to overcome The Undertaker at his own game? Find out which of the two iconic Superstars will walk out and which will be carried out in a casket at the Greatest Royal Rumble event on Friday, April 27, at 7 p.m. AST. The event streams live on the award-winning WWE Network with a tune-in time of 12 p.m. ET/9 a.m. PT, and with a special, one-hour Greatest Royal Rumble Kickoff starting at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT. It will be available on pay-per-view outside of the Middle East with regional broadcast information forthcoming.

Full WWE Superstar Shake-Up Changes From Night 1

Superstar Shake-Up

Below is the full list of changes from the WWE Superstar Shake-Up from night one:

Changes announced on RAW:

* Jinder Mahal (with Sunil Singh) goes from SmackDown to RAW – Mahal lost the United States Championship to Jeff Hardy

* The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan & Sarah Logan) goes from SmackDown to RAW

* Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn goes from SmackDown to RAW (hired by Stephanie McMahon)

* The Miz goes from RAW to SmackDown without The Miztourage (Bo Dallas & Curtis Axel

* Breezango (Tyler Breeze & Fandango) goes from SmackDown to RAW

* Natalya goes from SmackDown to RAW

* Dolph Ziggler goes from SmackDown to RAW

* Drew McIntyre (from NXT) returned from injury to join Ziggler on RAW and beat down Titus O’Neil and Apollo Crews

* Baron Corbin goes from SmackDown to RAW

* Bobby Roode goes from SmackDown to RAW

 

Changes announced after RAW:

* Zack Ryder goes from SmackDown to RAW

* Mojo Rawley goes from SmackDown to RAW

* Mike Kanellis goes from SmackDown to RAW

* Chad Gable goes from SmackDown to RAW

* The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor) goes from SmackDown to RAW

 

RAW to SmackDown Live roster changes will be revealed on tonight’s SmackDown Live.

RAW Preview 4/16/18, WWE Superstar Shake-Up

Image result for Superstar Shake-Up

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the XL Center in Hartford, CT with the first night of the Superstar Shake-Up.

* Both brands get shaken up

* Who will battle Cesaro & Sheamus at WWE Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27?

* Bayley and Sasha Banks settle their differences

* Will Ronda Rousey face repercussions after attacking Stephanie McMahon again?

* Will Roman Reigns get his hands on Samoa Joe?

* What “unfinished business” does Bobby Lashley have in WWE?

Vader Gives Health Update Following Heart Surgery

vader open heart surgery

Former WWE and WCW star “Big Van Vader” Leon White posted the following on Twitter over the weekend, giving fans an update on his health following his recent heart surgery.

Vader also shared a photo of what his chest looks like now after surgery.

https://twitter.com/itsvadertime/status/985673724568440832

Source: WrestleView

Bray Wyatt Tweets Matt Hardy About Report That He’ll Turn On Him

Image result for Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 34

Last week on Raw, Bray Wyatt and Matt Hardy put their newfound alliance to the test against Apollo and Titus O’Neil in the first step toward possibly facing Cesaro and Sheamus for the vacant Raw Tag Team Championship at the Greatest Royal Rumble.

It’s quite possible that their alliance will be short-lived as according to Dave Meltzer in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there is a pitch for Wyatt to turn on Hardy and become the leader of SAnitY.

Wyatt addressed the report in a tweet on Saturday afternoon, tagging both Hardy and Meltzer.

https://twitter.com/WWEBrayWyatt/status/985231604464447491

Hardy responded to Wyatt’s tweet with the following:

At WrestleMania 34, Wyatt returned from “deletion” to help Hardy win the 2018 Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal. The two hugged afterward before celebrating Hardy’s win, thus ending their rivalry, forming a team, and turning Wyatt into a fan favorite. The next night on Raw, Wyatt and Hardy beat Apollo and O’Neil to advance in the Tag Team Eliminator. This coming Monday night on Raw, Wyatt and Hardy will take on The Revival for the right to challenge The Bar at the Greatest Royal Rumble on April 27.

SAnitY doesn’t appear long for NXT as only Killian Dain worked a TV match at Wednesday’s television tapings in Orlando, Florida. After the tapings concluded, there was a dark match where NXT Champion Aleister Black beat Eric Young. Black then took out Dain and Alexander Wolfe.

Source: WrestlingINC

Backstage Update On Rey Mysterio’s WWE Status

Image result for Rey Mysterio WWE Greatest Royal Rumble

Rey Mysterio is set to make his return to the ring for WWE at the April 27th Greatest Royal Rumble event from Saudi Arabia, according to PWInsider. This has not been confirmed but it’s believed that Rey will be working the 50-man Rumble main event.

In an update on Rey’s contractual status, The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Rey has not agreed to terms for a new WWE contract as of Thursday of this week, but both sides are still negotiating a deal. The appearance in Saudi Arabia is a one-shot deal.

It’s still expected that Rey will sign with WWE but if he does, he won’t be immediately returning to TV for a regular role as he’s committed to dates for Arolucha and New Japan Pro Wrestling through late summer at least.

Source: WrestlingINC

John Cena And Nikki Bella Have Ended Their Relationship

john cena nikki bella break up end relationship

Despite getting engaged at WrestleMania 34 last year, John Cena and Nikki Bella have confirmed that they recently ended their relationship.

The couple released a joint statement to Us Weekly saying, “While this decision was a difficult one, we continue to have a great deal of love and respect for one another.

John and Nikki began dating in 2012. They most recently tagged together during a match that took place in Madison Square Garden last month.

The statement concludes, “We ask that you respect our privacy during this time in our lives.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhnOrqinxZW/?taken-by=thenikkibella

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

John Cena took to Twitter and Instagram to give his response to the news.

Alberto El Patron On Why He No-Showed Last Friday’s Impact Wrestling Vs. Lucha Underground Event

Image result for alberto el patron impact

Alberto El Patron was interviewed by Sporting News to promote tonight’s Combate Americas MMA event. Below are a couple of highlights:

No-showing last Friday’s Impact Wrestling vs. Lucha Underground card, which resulted in Impact releasing him:

“I had a family situation that I needed to attend (to). As you know, my family, my kids are my priority. The situation was involving them and that’s why I decided to take care of business and take care of my family situation. And that’s all that happened. And that comes to what I was just saying to you. I know people wanted to know absolutely everything. This only concerns my family: my parents, my sister, myself and my kids. And that’s the way it’s going to stay.”

How he is doing now following the events from last weekend:

“I’m fine. Of course, it’s difficult because it’s never good to go that way. Our relationship wasn’t pretty good or completely good. And this was just something that ended up breaking it. I’m fine, I guess. I’m going to do what I was planning on doing, as everybody knows I planning on leaving the pro wrestling business in the next year. I have said it several times over and over. And it’s because of some of these things where everybody thinks they can get their nose into your business. Is it right to know absolutely everything about you? It’s not.

“I’m just going to continue to do that and doing my stuff here, in Mexico like exactly how I was doing it and sometime next year and say goodbye to the pro wrestling business.”

Source: WrestlingINC

Backstage News On Possible Turn Plans For Bray Wyatt, Is SAnitY Coming To The Main Roster?

Image result for Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 34

There has been a push within WWE for Bray Wyatt to turn on Matt Hardy and then be the leader of SAnitY on the main roster, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. No word yet on if they are moving forward with this idea but it has been pitched.

Wyatt recently joined Hardy and helped him win the fifth annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 34. They are set to team on Monday’s RAW to face The Revival with the winners facing The Bar for the vacant RAW Tag Team Titles at the April 27th Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia.

This week’s dark main event at the WWE NXT TV tapings saw NXT Champion Aleister Black defeat SAnitY leader Eric Young. He then took out SAnitY members Killian Dain and Alexander Wolfe. With SAnitY being off TV for at least the next few weeks, there is some fan speculation on this being their last appearance before being called to the main roster.

Source: WrestlingINC

Backstage Update On When Brock Lesnar’s New WWE Contract Expires

Image result for Brock Lesnar WrestleMania 34

As noted earlier, via Wrestling Observer Radio, the new contract for WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar was made on the Monday before WrestleMania 34 at the go-home RAW in Atlanta and was signed on Sunday before the match in New Orleans. This is a new deal and not an extension of the previous deal. Very few people knew about the new deal and Roman Reigns though the was winning the title until the day of the big event. The original ending to the match had Reigns coming off the ropes and getting caught with the F5, but he was to counter it into a Spear for the pin and the win. They changed that finish and went with Lesnar hitting the F5 for the pin. The match went as planned and no one went off-script.

Regarding the length of the new contract, The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that it is not listed as a one-match deal but it does end before SummerSlam in August. The new deal allows Lesnar to negotiate one UFC fight while under contract with WWE but the fight would take place after the deal expires.

Lesnar’s new deal also includes a significant pay raise. Lesnar is set to defend the title against Roman Reigns in a Steel Cage match at the April 27th Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia and there will likely be other dates between now and August but the two sides will be right back where they started once it expires. It’s always possible that a new deal is signed later this year.

On a related note, while almost no one knew of the finish at WrestleMania, Paul Heyman was aware of who would win. The Observer adds that most talent contracts are handled by Triple H and Talent Relations but Lesnar deals with Vince McMahon. As we’ve noted, Heyman has also just signed a new short-term deal with WWE.

Source: WrestlingINC