Author: John Bass

Ronda Rousey To Be Inducted Into International Sports Hall of Fame

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Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion and current WWE Superstar Ronda Rousey, can add yet another accolade to her illustrious combat sports career, which already boasts a mixed martial arts (MMA) world title, as well as a bronze medal in Olympic Judo.

The International Sports Hall of Fame, class of 2018.

The ceremony takes place March 3, 2018, as part of the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, a 501(c) Non Profit Foundation “established to honor the world’s greatest athlete legends in all sports.”

Joining “Rowdy” at this year’s induction ceremony is WWE wrestler and movie star David Bautista, former UFC champion Bas Rutten, New Zealand television personality Phil Keoghan, and Dr. Terry and Jan Todd, who did a bunch of stuff that I’m sure was important.

WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle announced on Instagram that he will be appearing at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, OH on March 3rd from 12-3pm. Angle will be appearing at the Barndad Nutrition Booth.

Rousey will also be receiving her 6th degree black belt in Judo that weekend while her mother, AnnMaria De Mars, will receive her 7th degree black belt.

Sources: MMA Mania and WrestlingINC

Brock Lesnar’s Chances Of UFC Return ‘Very, Very, Very Good’ According To UFC President Dana White

Brock Lesnar met up with UFC President Dana White over the weekend while in Las Vegas. Rumors on a potential UFC return for Lesnar have been ramping up as of late because Lesnar’s current WWE contract expires after WrestleMania 34, where he will defend the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns. White posted a photo of the two together, but has yet to elaborate on what they discussed.

Yesterday, Dana White appeared on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and at one point was asked about the chances of Lesnar returning to the UFC. White kept his answer positive, but brief.

“They’re very, very, very good.”

Lesnar’s last UFC fight was at UFC 200 back in July of 2016 where Lesnar defeated Mark Hunt by unanimous decision, which was later overturned. Failing a post-fight drug test for clomiphene, Lesnar was suspended for a year and fined $250k. In February of last year, Lesnar said he would be retiring from MMA. If he did decide to return, there’s still just over six months of his suspension that he would still have to fulfill.

Lesnar was scheduled to be at Monday’s Raw for a face-off with Roman Reigns, but that segment didn’t take place. He was featured in multiple Raw scripts that were done and his absence was acknowledged by Reigns during a segment he did by himself.

Lesnar is scheduled to defend against Kane at Saturday’s WWE live event in Chicago and is scheduled to return to WWE TV on the March 12 Raw from Detroit.

Source: WrestlingINC

Rey Mysterio Reportedly Finalizing Deal For Huge WrestleMania 34 Match With Top WWE Star

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It looks like Rey Mysterio may be returning to the ring for WWE at WrestleMania 34 in a huge match against a top WWE Star. That top star is speculated to be John Cena.

There had been a lot speculation of Cena facing The Undertaker at WrestleMania 34 but it appears that is not happening and Cena may be facing Mysterio.

Mysterio was backstage visiting at Monday’s SmackDown live event in San Diego, his hometown. Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated reports that Mysterio was also backstage for last night’s SmackDown TV tapings in Los Angeles to finalize details for the deal that will see him work WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans. Barrasso added that Rey’s rumored opponent is Cena.

Barrasso now reports that the Cena vs. Mysterio match was brought to the table after it was ruled that The Undertaker will not be working this year’s WrestleMania event.

Cena vs. The Undertaker had been expected but Cena did note during Monday’s RAW promo that he was told the match with Taker was impossible and not happening.

Last night on SmackDown, Cena returned an defeated AJ Styles to earn a spot in the WWE Championship Match at Fastlane against WWE Champion AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler.

Mysterio made a surprise appearance for WWE at the Royal Rumble back in January and has been rumored to be in talks with the company about a return later this year or in early 2019.

The last Cena vs. Mysterio singles match came on the July 25th, 2011 RAW. That match saw Cena defeat Rey for the WWE Title. The two would then team up at a December 28th, 2013 WWE live event in Newark, NJ. They defeated Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio that night.

 

Backstage News On WWE’s Plans For Roman Reigns Vs. Brock Lesnar Build, More On Monday’s RAW Absence

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As noted, WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar was scheduled to face off with Roman Reigns on Monday’s RAW from Anaheim but that segment never happened. Lesnar, who was in Las Vegas on Sunday to meet with UFC President Dana White but not to attend the WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, was listed in multiple RAW scripts on Monday and was still being advertised by WWE after RAW hit the air.

It’s still not completely clear why Lesnar and Heyman didn’t appear but F4Wonline.com reports that their absence is believed to be due to an 11th hour creative change. The goal of the build to Reigns vs. Lesnar at WrestleMania 34 is to get Reigns cheered by fans, leading to a positive reaction when he wins the title in New Orleans. WWE officials also want the build to Reigns vs. Lesnar to come across like a shoot as much as possible, and the RAW segment helped with that goal.

We also noted before that the RAW segment with Reigns, Lesnar and Paul Heyman was scheduled to be lengthy and would air in the second hour. PWInsider adds that the segment was scripted to have Lesnar call Reigns a “b—h” at one point. Regarding the promo that Reigns did by himself, word is that the promo was not in the script but most of the verbiage was approved, likely by Vince McMahon.

Lesnar is scheduled to defend his title against Kane at Saturday’s WWE live event in Chicago. He’s scheduled to return to TV at the March 12th RAW in Detroit.

Source: WrestlingINC

Former Colts Punter Pat McAfee To Guest Ring Announce At NXT Event

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NXT‘s live event in Indianapolis this weekend will be getting a special treat in the form of guest ring announcing from former Colts punter Pat McAfee.

McAfee will get behind the microphone before Undisputed Era take on Street Profits and Kassius Ohno to introduce the competitors as they walk to the ring.

The current host of Barstool Sports‘ Pat McAfee Show tweeted:

Tickets are still available at WWE.com.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

CM Punk And Stu Bennett Among New Hosts Announced For “Ultimate Beastmaster”

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“Ultimate Beastmaster” on Netflix has announced that ex-WWE stars CM Punk and Stu Bennett(aka Wade Barrett) will be among the new hosts joining the show for season three.

Deadline first reported that a new season will air in 2018 and Punk tweeted afterward saying, “The Beast is back and I’ll be your host for Team USA along with the my co-host the awesome ! Don’t miss the most intense obstacle course in the world!!!!!”

For those who haven’t seen Beastmaster, the show is edited to be specific to each region participating — hence the local hosts who anchor their country’s version — however, we’re told there’s lots of interaction between all of them … so you’ll see some banter between the former Nexus leaders.

Bennett posted an announcement on social media as well with the caption, “*BREAKING NEWS* I’ll be hosting Netflix’s  S3 alongside .  .”

Check out his video below:

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

SmackDown Live Preview 2/27/18

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the Staples Center in Los Angeles with more Fastlane hype.

* John Cena comes to SmackDown LIVE looking for a WrestleMania opportunity

* Naomi steps up to answer Ruby Riott’s challenge

* Sami Zayn battles Baron Corbin ahead of WWE Fastlane Fatal 5-Way

* The Usos and The New Day renew their rivalry ahead of WWE Fastlane

WWE Mixed Match Challenge & 205 Live Preview 2/27/18

Tonight’s WWE Mixed Match Challenge and WWE 205 Live will take place from the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

WWE Mixed Match Challenge:

* Asuka & The Miz vs. Sasha Banks & Finn Balor

 

WWE 205 Live:

* The second round begins!

* Kalisto vs. Roderick Strong

* TJP vs. Cedric Alexander

Backstage News On What WWE Had Planned For Brock Lesnar And Roman Reigns At RAW

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WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar was scheduled to be at Monday’s RAW for a face off with Roman Reigns but that segment did not happen. Lesnar was featured in multiple RAW scripts that were done and his absence was acknowledged by Reigns during a segment he did by himself.

The script for last night’s show included a lengthy back and forth promo between Reigns, Paul Heyman and Lesnar, according to PWInsider. The segment was set to take place in the second hour of the show, reportedly with Lesnar calling Reigns a “b–ch.” A source added that there was no sign of Heyman or Lesnar in Anaheim, CA on Monday but as noted, we know that Lesnar was in Las Vegas on Sunday to meet with UFC President Dana White as White tweeted out a photo of the two. Lesnar did not visit the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view that was going on nearby.

PWInsider adds that Lesnar may have skipped RAW as a hardline way of negotiating with WWE as his contract is due to expire after WrestleMania 34, or it could be that WWE was upset with Lesnar and told him not to come to the show due to the photo with White. It should be noted that these two theories are pure speculation at this point.

Lesnar is scheduled to defend against Kane at Saturday’s WWE live event in Chicago and he’s scheduled to return to TV on the March 12th RAW from Detroit.

We noted before that the WWE website covered Lesnar’s absence and noted that they reached out to Heyman for comments but he offered none. Heyman did tweet the following in response to a botched link to the article that WWE tweeted:

Source: WrestlingINC

Stephanie McMahon Talks Cyberbullying, “I Read My Own Twitter Feed” And It’s Awful

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Cyberbullying is an increasingly common issue that many people deal with on a weekly basis, including Stephanie McMahon … who says she reads her own feed sometimes and it’s awful.

Stephanie talked about the subject on this week’s episode of Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia and said social media is “supposed to this platform for bringing people up and sometimes, unfortunately, it does the opposite.”

“I read my own Twitter feed … of course, I’m a heel, so I understand that … but MAN … sometimes the comments are just awful.” Adding, “And as hard as I try not to let them affect me, they do. And I think it’s ok to acknowledge the fact that you’re human. Right? And when people say mean things it’s gonna hurt, but you just have to go back to that ‘looking yourself in the eyes in the mirror’ and know that you’re a good person and believe in yourself.”

The full interview features Stephanie talking about Vince McMahon almost firing her, his reaction to the women’s revolution, why her book has been delayed and more.

Listen to this week’s Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia Podcast here.