Author: John Bass

Serena Deeb Reveals New WWE Role

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Serena Deeb is back with WWE as a Women’s coach at the WWE Performance Center. Deeb, 31, had worked for WWE from 2009 through 2010. During that time, she was a member of The Straight Edge Society with CM Punk and Luke Gallows. She returned to the company last year in the Mae Young Classic where she defeated Vanessa Borne in the first round before losing to Piper Niven in the second. In an interview with WWE.com, she said that her goal it to be teaching her own class at the Performance Center. She also was asked about her goals specifically as a teacher as someone who’s just starting out as a coach.

“To really step up into this leadership role, which is a new thing for me,” Deeb said. “I’m just looking forward to the set of challenges and rewards that are coming with this responsibility and getting to improve myself personally and professionally. I’m focused on how I can be a better person and a better coach. [I want] to give my best self to them so I can be a reflection of them and receive their best selves back. I think it’s so important for the individual, regardless of the role you’re in, to always be mindful of where you’re at and always take your self-inventory so you can garner the best side of them as well.”

Source: WrestlingINC

Impact Wrestling Preview 2/9/18

* Austin Aeries comments on his return

* The Cult of Lee in action

* Hania vs. Amber Nova

* Knockouts Championship: (C) Laurel Van Ness vs. Keira Hogan

* #1 Contender’s Match: Moose vs. EC3 vs. Alberto El Patron vs. Johnny Impact

Triple H Expected To Have More Control In WWE, Vince McMahon On His WWE Role After XFL Relaunch

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On today’s WWE earnings call, WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon addressed the relaunch of the XFL. He once again noted that his near-$100 million stock sale will not be enough to fund the league, and that the venture will require more investment capital. He also reiterated that the league will not affect his role in WWE, and that there will be a separate management team for it.

Despite Vince’s comments, Dave Meltzer reported in The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the feeling is that Triple H will be given a lot more control in the company, simply because of the realistic demands in running both a pro wrestling company and a football league. Triple H has been putting his own team together, which includes Jeremy Borash, who left recently Impact Wrestling to come on board. Meltzer added that there have been others talked about recently to join his team to eventually fill key roles when he is in charge.

As noted, PWInsider reported this week that Vince recently stepped aside to put Triple H in charge of running 205 Live, which explains the different feel of the show the past couple of weeks. That change, however, was done more to reboot the brand as opposed to a workload issue with Vince. While the original Cruiserweight Classic concept, under Triple H, did very well on the WWE Network, 205 Live usually struggles to make the top 10 episodes of the week on the streaming service. Vince had been trying to make the show more character-driven, while Triple H is now bringing back some of the original aspects of the Cruiserweight Classic, including more of a focus on the in-ring work and the original presentation of the talent.

Source: WrestlingINC

CM Punk Reportedly In Talks To Face Another Winless Fighter At UFC 225 In Chicago

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After competing in his first UFC fight on September 10, 2016, UFC is reportedly in discussions to have CM Punk return after a nearly two-year hiatus. According to MMA Fighting, UFC is planning on returning to Chicago for UFC 225 and have native CM Punk (0-1) fight Mike Jackson (0-1).

UFC announced on February 3rd that they will be returning to Chicago for UFC 225. Just moments later, Punk teased interest in competing on the card.

CM Punk made the decision to quit WWE, and subsequently wrestling altogether, after being involved in a feud with corporate Kane during the time of the 2014 Royal Rumble. Punk was the first entrant, and lasted over 49 minutes before being eliminated by Kane. Despite being scheduled to appear on RAW the following night, Punk never showed up, and decided to leave the company. Punk then set his sights on MMA and locked in a bout with Mickey Gall at UFC 203. Unfortunately, Punk tapped out via a rear naked choke 2:14 in the first round.

Following this fight, Dana White felt that he maybe should not have his next fight in the UFC.

“He probably shouldn’t have his next fight in the UFC,” the UFC President told Fight Network’s John Pollock. “Just like I said with Brock, having your first fight in the UFC is tough and you [saw] tonight, even if it’s against a guy who is 2-0. This is a tough place to learn.”

Now, White looks to be willing to give Punk another chance inside the Octagon.

“I like that guy. He’s a good dude,” White told the Associated Press in January. “He wants to give it another shot. I’m going to give it to him. He’s a completely different case than most normal human beings. So, I’m going to give him another shot.”

CM Punk and Mike Jackson share two glaring similarities. Along with both being 0-1 in the UFC, both lost to Mickey Gall in 2016 via rear naked choke in the first round. While Punk lasted over two minutes against Gall, Jackson submitted in only 45 seconds to a rear-naked choke.

Source: WrestlingINC

Women Of Honor Tournament Begins This Weekend On ROH TV

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The Women of Honor Tournament to determine the division’s inaugural champion will begin on ROH TV this weekend. A couple of first round matches will also take place in Japan on February 24, thanks to a partnership between ROH and Stardom. The first match will be Jenny Rose vs. Kagetsu and the second is “The Icon of Stardom” Mayu Iwatani vs. HZK. The 16-woman tournament will eventually lead to two semi-final matches at ROH’s Festival of Honor, held in New Orleans on April 7. The date for the finals has yet to be announced.

Source: WrestlingINC

Below is a photo of the Women of Honor Championship belt:

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Shelton Benjamin Finds Loaded Gun In Rental Car

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Shelton Benjamin took to Twitter yesterday and called out Budget car rental service after he found a loaded gun in the glove compartment. Benjamin had been traveling with the gun in the car for 4 days. He tweeted:

Hania the Huntress Denies She Was Fired From Impact Wrestling, Says She Quit

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It was recently reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Impact fired Hania the Huntress after she refused to do a 90-second job to newcomer Su Yung at a television taping on Jan. 13 in Orlando, Florida. On Twitter, Hania denied reports that she was fired, saying that she actually quit.

Source: WrestlingINC

Vince McMahon Steps Aside And Puts Triple H In Charge Of ‘WWE 205 Live’

There are major behind-the-scenes changes going on with the WWE 205 Live brand as Vince McMahon has stepped aside and is no longer personally producing the show, according to PWInsider. The changes began with last week’s episode, which featured new 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick and kicked off the 16-man tournament that will end at WrestleMania 34 with the crowning of a new WWE Cruiserweight Champion.

Triple H is now overseeing 205 Live and he has brought back some of the aspects of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic tournament, including the style and presentation of the wrestlers. Vince had personally worked with the 205 Live Superstars to bring out their personalities to present them in a certain way but there has been more focus on the in-ring work under Triple H.

There has been a lot of internal talk over the past few months about why 205 Live wasn’t succeeding like they had hoped. Vince reportedly believed that a character-driven show was the best way to get the brand over, which is why former WWE Superstar Enzo Amore was brought over to be the top star of the brand. Enzo’s arrival helped with viewership and buzz for the show but there were still people in the company that wanted to present the show like the Cruiserweight Classic was presented. Their feeling was that having smaller talents that were just echoing the Superstars from RAW and SmackDown was not going to showcase what made the cruiserweight talents unique, and it wasn’t going to help 205 Live grow into its own brand, more than just a weekly WWE Network TV show.

The product we’ve seen over the last few weeks is said to be very much in line with the original plans for 205 Live before Vince became personally involved with the direction of the show and the development of the cruiserweight talents.

While WWE is still considering non-televised 205 Live live event shows in the future, there are currently no plans to run more cruiserweight-exclusive events as the plan is to focus on re-building the brand by presenting strong athletic characters with strong in-ring competition.

Vince finally made the decision to let Triple H run the show back in mid-January as a way to reboot the brand, or fix it. Triple H is running the show, making all decisions, while Jonathan Baeckstrom is the current lead writer. Baeckstrom has worked on the WWE creative team since August 2013 and has been a lead writer since November 2016. Former WWE Performance Center Coach Adam Pearce is still working as the lead producer for the brand.

Regarding roster changes, there may be more additions in the coming weeks. WWE NXT Superstar Roderick Strong was brought up to help freshen the roster and the show. As noted, Strong defeated Hideo Itami last night to advance in the 16-man tournament.

Source: WrestlingINC

Upcoming NJPW U.S. Event To Air Live On AXS TV

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AXS TV announced that it will live broadcast New Japan Pro Wrestling’s upcoming U.S. event “Strong Style Evolved” on Sunday, March 25 at 8pE/5pP. The press release can be seen below:

NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING’S BIGGEST STARS RETURN TO AMERICA ON AXS TV’S EXCLUSIVE LIVE BROADCAST OF ‘STRONG STYLE EVOLVED’ ON SUNDAY, MARCH 25 AT 8pE/5pP

The Sold-Out Show Will Feature Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito & More from Long Beach, California

‘STRONG STYLE EVOLVED’ Marks NJPW’s Second U.S. Event as Japan’s Biggest Wrestling Organization Continues to Expand Stateside

Leading up to the Live Broadcast, the Network will Premiere Matches from NJPW’s New Year Dash, New Beginning in Sapporo and More

Los Angeles (Feb. 7, 2018) – AXS TV—the exclusive U.S. television home for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW)—will partner with NJPW and TV ASAHI to broadcast NJPW’s second U.S. event STRONG STYLE EVOLVED live on Sunday, March 25 at 8pE/5pP from California State University Long Beach’s (CSULB) Walter Pyramid.

The cable network’s acclaimed commentary team, Wrestling Hall of Famer Jim Ross and former UFC Heavyweight Champion and NJPW veteran Josh Barnett, will call the live action ringside at STRONG STYLE EVOLVED. The broadcast is expected to feature NJPW’s biggest stars including Kazuchika Okada, Kenny Omega, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tetsuya Naito among others in matches to be announced.

“New Japan Pro Wrestling’s popularity and ratings in the U.S. are at an all-time high,” said AXS TV FIGHTS CEO Andrew Simon. “The G1 Special last summer sold out in a few hours, while STRONG STYLE EVOLVED, in an arena twice the size, sold out in less than 10 minutes. This second U.S. event is a great opportunity to further our relationship with NJPW and TV Asahi and we are looking forward to growing their strong style brand of wrestling in the states.”

AXS TV previously televised NJPW’s first stateside event—G1 Special in USA—live in July 2017 and also took over production of the Friday night series from distribution partner TV Asahi to air the Japanese events closer to the original air date. Continuing this trend, AXS TV aired a special presentation of NJPW’s biggest annual event—Wrestle Kingdom 12—on Jan. 6, 2018 just two days after it took place in Japan, which became the most watched broadcast in series history.

AXS TV wraps up its final night of Wrestle Kingdom 12 coverage on Feb. 9 at 8pE/5pP. Then, the network will showcase the best matches from NJPW’s winter events including “New Year Dash” (Feb. 16), three hours from “The New Beginning in Sapporo” (Feb. 23-March 9) and more to be announced leading up to STRONG STYLE EVOLVED.

AXS TV’s upcoming NJPW schedule is as follows (subject to change):

* Feb. 9 – Wrestle Kingdom 12 Finale – Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito

* Feb. 16 – New Year Dash – NJPW’s top wrestlers face off in a series of tag team matches and establish new rivalries for 2018.

* Feb. 23 – The New Beginning in Sapporo – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki

* March 2 – The New Beginning in Sapporo – The Young Bucks vs. Roppongi 3K

* March 9 – The New Beginning in Sapporo – Kenny Omega vs. Jay White

Lita On Wearing ‘Times Up’ Gear For The Women’s WWE Royal Rumble Match

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Lita took to Twitter to discuss why she wore #TimesUp gear during The Royal Rumble match last week. The WWE Hall of Famer said that she paid tribute to the women who are no longer with us that had paved the way for the match to happen. She said that #MeToo and #TimesUp have helped bring strength and unity to men who had previously felt “alone, ashamed or scared” and that she is proud of every woman who has come forward for the movements.

 She also stated that she started an eBay auction fund. Although the link to the auction is in the pinned tweet on her Twitter account, the auction is currently down.

You can check Lita’s full statement below (h/t to Cageside Seats for the transcription):

“On January 28, I was fortunate enough to have been included in the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble match. Historically, it was tough to have the women even represented at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view, much less have equal representation and be the main event. With only a few days notice between when I was asked to participate and the match itself, I had to wonder: As much as I wanted to be a part of history, could I pull this off?? After all, I hadn’t been in the ring in a decade, and while my full-time tenure at WWE sowed the seeds for the current Women’s Evolution (led by a roster of kick-ass women), I knew this historic event was going to be much bigger than myself and my own contributions to the industry. A big factor in deciding to go for it was the position I was now in to represent women everywhere.First, to all the women in professional wrestling. Women who passed away before they were able to their contributions as a rung on this ladder [sic]. I wanted to step in the ring for these performers who came before me and sacrificed so much of their lives for their millions of fans. But this evolution is bigger than even them. I wanted to be an entrant in this match for all women who have felt underrepresented, in all aspects of their lives.

That is why, when I stepped through the curtain, I wore my #TimesUp gear. Watching these women step forward, hearing their #MeToo stories, as difficult as they are to share, has brought strength and unity to women who previously felt alone, ashamed or scared. This is so much bigger than one match. Everyone has their own journey and their own way to heal. I am still figuring out mine, but am so proud of all of you who have been able to come forward and join together for the sake of the evolution, and the re-education that this is not right.

Women should not be discriminated against, and I support you in whatever makes you feel like you are doing the right thing for you. Taking legal action is only one of those ways, but it also happens to be one of the ways where our support can do the most good. Which is why 100% of the proceeds of this auction is being donated to the #TimesUp Legal Defense Fund to honor the strength of ALL women. I support you, and applaud your courage and your healing, in whatever way is best for you.

Thanks for reading,

Amy”

Source: WrestlingINC