Category: Wrestling News

Dwayne The Rock Johnson’s Production Company Working On Docuseries About Fall Of WCW

In addition to his status as a major movie star, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has his own production company, known as Seven Bucks Productions. In addition to producing movies he stars in, Johnson has endeavored to finance other projects, such as the recent “Tales from the Territories,” the documentary “Stuntman,” and the film “Fighting With My Family.” A new report from Deadline indicates that another wrestling project is on the horizon for Johnson. This time, it’s a docu-series focused on the history of World Championship Wrestling, the once-dominant Turner promotion that folded in the early 2000s and was bought out by WWE. Deadline stated that Seven Bucks is partnering with Vice Media for the series, though it’s not known when it’s planned for release.

The report referred to the end of WCW as “mysterious,” hinting that the upcoming series will focus on the reasons behind the company’s downfall. WCW got its start in 1988 when Ted Turner purchased the assets of Jim Crockett Promotions, turning them into a new brand that would air on his TV networks. Though the company eventually rose to challenge and even briefly surpassed WWE, it wouldn’t last. The last real WCW match took place in March 2001, and the company was bought out several months later.

Appearing on the latest “Wrestling Observer Radio,” co-hosts Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez poked fun at the idea of labeling WCW’s downfall as “mysterious.” Additionally, the two men pointed out that Johnson was likely too busy at the time to be watching WCW’s programming, and if he had watched the company’s shows, the reasons behind WCW’s demise wouldn’t be a mystery. Meltzer also believes he has an idea of how the finished product will come across.

“I presume that they’ll have Bischoff all over it, and once you have Bischoff all over it, you’re just going to have the total ‘full of st’ story,” Meltzer said. “‘All those people [were] out to get us’ as opposed to — you know, you just f*ed up. You drove all your fanbase away. … I don’t want to say it’s just him, but he was part of that deal.”

Meltzer stated that the reasons behind the end of WCW were the falling ratings and loss of profits, making it relatively straightforward to determine why the company went out of business when it did.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Kenny King Granted Release From Impact Wrestling

Veteran wrestler Kenny King has reportedly been granted his release from Impact Wrestling. 

According to “Fightful Select,” King officially became a free agent earlier this week after Impact honored his request to be released from the company. King, a former Impact Digital Media Champion, finished up with the company at Impact’s October tapings, where he and Sheldon Jean challenged ABC (Ace Austin and Chris Bey) for the Impact World Tag Team Championship. 

During his tenure in Impact, King feuded with the likes of Joe Hendry and Mike Bailey, after coming into the company as part of the Honor No More stable along with several other former ROH talents. The heel faction of former ROH wrestlers also included Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Maria Kanellis-Bennett, and Vincent, all of whom are now part of AEW/ROH. As such, fans have been speculating over the possibility of King joining his old friends in AEW/ROH.

Prior to Impact, King spent seven years in ROH between 2015 and 2022 and also had multiple stints with TNA. During his time in TNA, he held the TNA X Division Championship on two occasions and was also a part of The Beatdown Clan stable along with current WWE stars Bobby Lashley and MVP. 

King, 42, also boasts of a lot of acting and reality show experience, appearing on the second season of WWE’s “Tough Enough” in 2002 and also as a contestant on the 13th season of “The Bachelorette” in 2017. Furthermore, King has made cameos on shows such as “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” the dating game show “The Baggage,” and the Nickelodeon series, “My Brother and Me.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Mercedes Mone: “Definitely Expect Me To Be With Some Wrestling Company In 2024”

Mercedes Mone is itching to get back inside the squared circle.

The former WWE Superstar known as Sasha Banks released a Cameo video where she spoke about being ready to get back into the ring, and how she will be with a wrestling company in 2024.

“I cannot wait to return back into the ring,” she said. “So definitely expect me to be with some wrestling company in 2024, for sure.”

Mone continued, “I cannot wait to be in that squared circle. That’s where the most home, it’s where I feel the most alive, and I just can’t wait to be back. I’ve been healing everything, mentally, physically, spiritually, everything. So I’m really excited to get back to what I love and what I do best.”

Check out the complete video from Mercedes Mone below.

https://twitter.com/PuroresuFlow/status/1723832044839456969

Source: Rajah.com

Former WWE Star Harvey Wippleman (Downtown Bruno) Says Young Rock Isn’t Over Despite NBC Cancellation

Earlier this year, many fans were left disappointed when NBC canceled “Young Rock,” the sitcom that saw Dwayne Johnson serving as on-screen narrator looking back on his early years in the wrestling business. In a positive update, Harvey Wippleman, who worked as an executive consultant on the show, has floated the possibility of the show returning for a fourth season on another network.

In an interview with “Developmentally Speaking,” Wippleman noted that the show’s production staff is expected to work on an upcoming season after the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike. “It was a great experience [to work on the show], and it’s not over yet,” Wippleman said. “It’s not on NBC anymore, but once the actors’ strike resolves, stay tuned. ‘Young Rock’ will be back. The story ain’t over yet.” 

Speaking on his role as a consultant, Wippleman revealed he advised the writers on storylines surrounding the Memphis Wrestling aspect of the show and also had several Zoom meetings with Ryan Pinkston — the actor portraying Wippleman on ‘Young Rock’ — to teach him his accent, behaviors, and tendencies. He also praised Chavo Guerrero, the other executive consultant on the show, for expertly training the actors on taking bumps. “The young wrestlers that were portraying other people, he [Chavo] would explain to them what to do,” Wippleman revealed.

As for his well-documented friendship with The Rock, Wippleman praised “The Great One” for inviting him to be a part of ‘Young Rock’ and always looking out for his best interests. “Wonderful person,” Wippleman said of The Rock. “I’ve known him since he was a child. We’re very close — I would literally die for him. I mean, he’s made my life.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Sami Callihan On How Former WWE Star Ronda Rousey Ended Up On Wrestling Revolver

It wasn’t even a month ago that Ronda Rousey hinted towards retiring from pro wrestling, something that seemed pretty apparent following a loss to Shayna Bazler at WWE SummerSlam, which all but ended her WWE career. But things have changed over the last few weeks, with Rousey working a Lucha VaVoom show on October 26, and accepting a booking on November 16 for Sami Callihan’s Wrestling Revolver promotion, which is running their event, UNREAL, in Los Angeles, California.

Appearing on “Busted Open Radio” on Wednesday, Callihan was asked about Rousey’s appearance, which will see her team with AEW star, and long-time friend, Marina Shafir. According to Callihan, Rousey’s appearance on the show almost happened by happenstance and was motivated by Rousey looking to do something for a good cause.

“I fell into that one,” Callihan said. “I’m not going to take credit for that, that it’s some mastermind plan that I went ‘You know what, this is going to be the thing. We’re going to run LA on only two and a half weeks’ notice.’ No, it’s something I fell into, because of my relationships with other people, and people putting myself over [to] Ronda. ‘This is a guy you want to work with. This is a guy we want to do this with.'”

“Ronda wanted to do this for charity. She wants to do something for the Hawaiian relief fun. Her husband is from Hawaii, and this is a charity she holds very near and dear to her heart. As soon as it was brought up to me, I was like, ‘Absolutely. That is something I want to be involved with because that money will actually go to help people.'”

Source: Wrestling Inc. credit “Busted Open Radio”

Ronda Rousey To Team With Marina Shafir At Wrestling Revolver Unreal, AEW Stars Announced

WWE and UFC alumnus Ronda Rousey will be making her Wrestling Revolver debut at the upcoming Unreal event that is scheduled for November 16 at the Homenetmen Glendale Ararat in Los Angeles, California.

Earlier today, Wrestling Revolver announced that Rousey will be teaming with her longtime friend Marina Shafir at the event on November 16.

Rousey made a surprise return to the ring this past Thursday, teaming with Shafir at a Lucha VaVOOM event.

Impact Wrestling World Champion and WR Remix Champion Alex Shelley, AEW stars Jon Moxley, Swerve Strickland, and award-winning actor Paul Walter Hauser are also booked for the Wrestling Revolver Unreal event.

Source: eWn

https://twitter.com/PWRevolver/status/1718702171175219526

Heath Miller’s Impact Wrestling Deal Expires, Now A Free Agent

Heath Miller is currently a free agent as his Impact Wrestling contract has expired.

Fightful Select is reporting that Heath is now accepting bookings for independent events following the expiration of his Impact Wrestling contract.

Heath signed with Impact Wrestling in July 2020 following his release from WWE in April of that year.

During his 3-year run with the Anthem-owned promotion, Heath won the Impact Tag Team Championships with Rhino.

Heath was sidelined for almost an entire year following an injury he sustained at Bound for Glory 2020, where he “won” an Impact Wrestling contract during the Call Your Shot Gauntlet match.

Impact Wrestling added time to Heath’s contract due to the injury period.

Source: eWn

Ronda Rousey Returns To The Ring At Lucha VaVOOM Event

Ronda Rousey lost to Shayna Baszler in an MMA Rules Match at the WWE SummerSlam premium live event, ending her second run with the company.

She surprised everyone by returning to the ring for Lucha VaVOOM at the Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Rousey, sitting in the front row, teamed up with her longtime friend Marina Shafir to face Taya Valkyrie and Brian Kendrick in a tag team match.

The match lasted only five minutes, with Rousey securing the victory for her team by submitting Kendrick with an ankle lock. She shared the full match on Instagram, along with a message.

Source: eWn

The Garcia Twins – ‘We Want One Last Run’

On a recent edition of the “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast, WWE Hall of Famers The Garcia Twins (Nikki and Brie Garcia) stated that they’re hoping for an in-ring return for one last run in pro wrestling.

However, their return completely depends on Nikki getting cleared by her surgeon.

Brie said, “Especially because my husband’s at AEW, but I’m still surrounded a lot by wrestling because he and I, we talk about it all the time. He’s fully in it, and he just had an incredible match this Sunday at their big pay-per-view, All Out. I watch everything, and when I see the women wrestle and all that, I always am like, ‘Ah!’”

Nikki, who suffered a broken neck in 2015, said, “We want one last run. Especially when our sons are a little older and they could sit and watch their mommies kick ass and if my surgeon allows me to.”

Source: eWn

Jerry “The King” Lawler Returns To The Ring As Guest Manager

WWE Hall of Famer and Memphis native and wrestling legend Jerry “The King” Lawler recently appeared for the special Wildfire Wrestling event which took place last Friday before the Memphis Tigers’ game against Tulane.

SportsZone posted footage to their YouTube Channel with Lawler returning to the ring as a guest manager. Lawler’s son Kevin posted a video clip and photos on Facebook.

The 73-year old Lawler has recently started making public appearances again after he suffered a stroke suffering a stroke in February of this year.