Category: Industry News

Kevin Owens injury 

it was reported at wrestlinginc.com and various news sites that NXT champion Kevin Owens underwent surgery late last week to prepare a knee injury. The champion tweeted the following regarding his current situation

http://t.co/JH0WB7K5hE Yes, I had knee surgery. No, it won’t slow me down. Why? Because I’m Kevin Owens, silly! #SoonToBeBetterThanEver

— Kevin Owens (@FightOwensFight) March 16, 2015

It was also reported that Owens has already began rehab but there is yet to be a time table for his return.

All of us here wish Owens a speedy recovery.

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)

New talent in NXT 

Australian female wrestler KC Cassidy has signed a developmental deal with WWE and will report to the WWE performance center in April.

Lance Storm said a student of his was signed to a contract on MLW radio a few weeks back and since has been confirmed it was KC Cassidy. She had a tryout with WWE back in August and was awaiting a visa clearance to be able to move to the states.

Cassidy has recently competed in “PWA” She began wrestling in 2009 and is a firmer champion in her own right. I’m sure her presence in NXT will be a greet one thus adding that much more diversity to an already established talented roster.

Follow Cassidy @KCCassidy_ on Twitter

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91

NXT Stars making transition to the main roster?

It is being reported via wrestlinginc.com that word within WWE is that the direction of NXT has changed as of late. HHH loves the praise he gets on NXT and he’s looking to capitalize on that.

Originally NXT was meant for “rookies” to learn and eventually establish themselves as stars to be called up to the big leagues known as Raw and SmackDown. However that tune has changed as of late. Now what HHH wants to do is take well established indie wrestlers (more specifically the ones in ROH) wait till their contracts expire and then call them up to NXT. Right now the feeling is NXT is a brand within itself and if you have experimented wrestlers your bound to get great matches.

Now as far as well known faces of NXT there has been no talks of NXT champion Kevin Owens or former champion Sami Zayn being called up to the main roster just yet. There  has been talks though of calling NXT women’s champion Sasha Banks up to the main roster along with Adrian Neville and possibly Charlotte. Word is that if these calls up happen it’ll be sometime after WrestleMania.

That doesn’t surprise me especially if one of those 3 debut on Raw the next night. The raw after mania is always a highly rated Raw and further more last year when Paige debuted is proof that there’s no better way to do it.

How do you guys feel about these reports? Does it make you excited and hopeful for the future? I know it does for me. Let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)

Women wrestling Matters

Coming off the heels of a 40 sec divas tag team match last night between the Bella Twins vs Paige and Emma, it has sparked displeasure umong the WWE universe. Not only was the live crowd pissed but so were the fans watching at home.  So much so that last night leading into today one of the top trends on Twitter is #GiveDivasAChance. On one hand this makes me extremely happy but on the other hand bothers me to my core. I’m upset because it shouldn’t even be a discussion and displeasure to begin with. Tell me how is it ok that Raw is a 3 hour show and the divas don’t even get a minute of TV time?! Excuse my language here but that’s complete and utter BULLSHIT

These women sacrifice just as much as the guys do. They get inured, wrestle injured, miss out on life events, spend lots of times away from their families all for the sake of our entertainment. They deserve more then a few seconds on our television screens. 

Now on to why this trend makes me happy. It’s about DAMN TIME the WWE universe is waking up and seeing that these women are getting the short end of the stick. We here at WrestlingNewsBlog have been strong advocates of  Women wrestling for years. We would always constantly say they deserved more respect in a male dominated business. We even made a lengthy portion of our then weekly podcast to highlight the happenings of women wrestling. Hell when I signed on as a contributor here nearly 3 years ago my soul purpose was to cover the Divas divison on Raw and Smackdown.

I would go on fellow wrestling news sites and Facebook pages only to see people saying things like “these women can’t even wrestle” blah blah blah blah blah…  It would inferiate me because I would be like “HELLO WHAT DO YOU EXPECT WHEN THEY’RE GIVEN LESS THEN A MINITUE TO PROVE THEMSELVES”. I know you guys know that a lot of work goes into putting on a great match. Everything from the characters involved, the chemistry between opponents, the story being told and of corse the Chorography. Take all of that into consideration and of corse these women are going to produce quote “sloppy” matches.

The problem here isn’t the Divas or what we here like to call them “women wrestlers”. The problem is Vince McMahon and his out dated ideas along with  his soap opera excuse of a writing team. They need to open their eyes and realize that right now more then ever is the perfect time for women to florish in the sports industry. Now not to compare apples to oranges but Vince can learn a lot from Sean Shelby and Lorenzo Feretta of the UFC. This Saturday at UFC184 is a prime example with both headline fights being fights involving WOMEN!! Now I’m not saying ufc is all high and mighty, they still have A LOT of work to do but at least their moving ahead with the times.

What Vince and company need to realize (just like everyone else has) is that women wrestling appeals to a huge portion of fans and further more brings new eyes to the product. After all the inception of Total Divas is proof of that.

I remember in 2004 Raw took place in Cameron North Carolina and the main event that evening was the WWE Womens champion Trish Stratus  defending her title against her greatest rival Lita. That match lasted well over 15 mins and till this day is my favorite match of all time.

I just want to get back to those days. The days were girls had different characters, long lasting and meaningful feuds, and when it was clear that they were a force to be reckon with. 

It’s time that the women of the WWE start kicking ass and taking names. We can help them get there guys. Are voice matters so I ask that you join us and use #GiveDivasAChance its time for a better and brighter day for these women 

-Vanessa (GreatLove91)

Possible GFW Announcements Coming Soon From Jeff Jarrett

Source: WrestlingINC.com

According to PWInsider Jeff Jarrett is reportedly preparing to make Global Force Wrestling announcements next month during WrestleMania week, that’s the same time he made GFW announcement last year. Word is that the announcement will have to do with GFW talents and live events.

PWInsider also reports that there has been discussions of doing another live pay-per-view with New Japan Pro-Wrestling this spring and bringing a AAA live pay-per-view to the United States.

 

Kid Kash Announces Retirement Plans

Former ECW, WWE and TNA star Kid Kash announced on Twitter that he is planning to retire by the end of the year.

UFC announces drug testing changes

In the wake of Anderson Silva’s 3 failed drug test for PED’s followed by a failed drug test by Hector Lombard, the UFC had no choice then to take action.

A press conference was held this afternoon where UFC president Dana White and CEO Lorenzo Feritta discussed the matter.

White had this to say at the press conference. “”What happened was we started spending half a million dollars on out of competition testing,” White said. “And I think when a guy like Anderson Silva gets caught, it definitely sends a message. I think that shocked the entire MMA community and the sports world. It shocked me. We were pretty blown away by it. And now we’re going to dig in.”

Feritta later echoed Dana’s statement by saying this. “We’ve been working on this for a couple of years,” “We’ve been in conversation with third parties for at least six or seven months. We made a lot of progress.

“What the Anderson Silva thing has prompted us to [do is] come out and address these issues, to make sure we’re speeding up the process. We don’t have the luxury of kind of sitting back and being academic and debating all these legal points. We just got to go. And however the cards fall they’re going to fall. But we’re going to make sure that fighters are being tested, and the results will be what the results will be.”

Epstein added that the UFC still supports Silva, who is entitled to his due process with the Nevada Athletic Commission, and that his they would continue to do so as things unfold.

“Regardless of what happens, Anderson Silva has been a great champion and he’s been a great representative of the sport,” Epstein said. “If something bad happened here, the Nevada Athletic Commission will handle that. But, he does have, he had a great career, and we’ll continue to honor that and stand behind him regardless of what happens with the athletic commission.”

It was also said that from this point forward every single fighter on the roster would be tested for PED’s and if it cost extra the UFC wok be willing to cover the cost. Dana also pretty much said “if you’re using PEDs your going to get caught” he went on to say that if you need PEDs to fight then maybe you shouldn’t be here” it was also said that if champions fail test that they would be stripped of their title.

I think this is a positive step for the UFC. Now maybe the sport will start gaining the respect of the naysayers. What do you guys think of this ground breaking announcement? Do you agree or disagree?

The audio from the press conference can be heard here http://youtu.be/I8B6wKg5gT8

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)

The beast vs The Warmaster?

With Brock Lesnar’s contract coming to an end after WrestleMania there is speculation that the beast in carnet will return to the Octagon. After all Dana White has went on record saying that he would welcome Lesnar back.

With the rumors of Lesnar’s return comes the potential of another return. That return could be none other then “the Warmaster” Josh Barnett. The last time we saw Barnett in the octagon was at UFC 168 in December of 2013. He was finished early by Travis Browne which came as a surprise especially after making quick work of Frank Mir with a deviating Knee months prior. Following the lost to Browne Josh underwent successful knee surgery in April of last year.

Since Josh has been MIA from the MMA scene he has went on to capture the Metemoris Heavyweight title by defeating Dean Lister; someone who hasn’t been submitted in 19 years!, He was picked up by NJPW to do English commentary and started his own podcast (which since then has been put on a hiatus.) Before all that though Josh gained a collective number of wins in the UFC, strike force and PRIDE.

Barnett was recently a guest on the MMA hour and he expressed interest in returning to the octagon as soon as possible. His opponent in mind? None other then the current WWE world Heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. Barnett had this to say about the potential match up.

“For me I think of it as the business side of things. Not the business side of oh, I’m going to make so much money, but the business side of two pro wrestlers, the styles, seeing the two of us go out it is because people will find interest in it and the fight will be interesting itself. Not just in ‘Hey, I’m some guy who’s going to bully some other guy who’s got less experience, and then I act like I’m king shit of turd mountain.’”

One thing is Forsure if this bout does indeed happen it is sure to be a good wrestling match up of sorts between two former heavyweight champions. It should be noted the even if Barnett vs Lesnar doesn’t happen Barnett still wants to make a return sometime soon.

Are you excited about the possible match up of the beast vs the Warmaster? If not Lesnar who else would you want to see Barnett face? Further more do you think the 37 year old catch wrestler still has one more ufc world Heavyweight title run in him? If the match up between Lesnar and Barnett happens will the Warmaster be the one to defeat the 1 in 21-1? Or will Lesnar conquer Barnett just like everything else?

All these questions and more will soon be answered. Stay tuned.

-Vanessa (@GreatLove91)

Vince Russo Responds To Latest Episode Of WWE Network Program, Asks For Prayers Before England Trip

Here is a video of that Vince Russo posted to his YouTube account today January 8th. He talks about his Christian faith, sharing it with others to make the world a better place and asks for prayers before he leaves for England tomorrow.  He responds to the most recent episode of the Monday Night Wars on the WWE Network where the WWE pretty much threw him under the bus. He also defends Dixie Carter, saying she’s trying to do the best she can.

Wrestle Kingdom 9 Results

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9 - GFW

IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championship – 4-Way Match: (C) reDRagon (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly) def. Forever Holligans (Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero), Time Splitters (Alex Shelley & Kushida) & The Young Bucks

6-Man Tag: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojimo & Tomoaki Honma def. The Bullet Club (Jeff Jarrett, Bad Luck Fale & Yujiro Takahashi

8-Man Tag: Mikey Nicholls, Naomichi Murufuji, Shane Haste & Toru Yano def. Suzukigun (Shelton X Benjamin, Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Takashi Iizuka

Match Can Only End By KO or Submission: Minoru Suzuki def. Kazushi Sakuraba by technical submission ( rear naked choke)

NEVER Openweight Championship: Togi Makabe def. (C) Tomohiro Ishii: Makabe is new NEVER Openweight Champion

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Kenny Omega def. (C) Ryusuke Taguchi: Omega is new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion

IWGP Tag Team Championship: Meiyu Tag (Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata) def. (C) The Bullet Club (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows): Meiyu Tag are the new IWGP Tag Team Champions

AJ Styles def. Tetsuya Naito

IWGP Intercontinental Championship: (C) Shinsuke Nakamura def. Kota Ibushi

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: (C) Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Kazuchika Okada