Category: NXT

WWE Signs Robbie E, Stokely Hathaway And Cal Bloom

WWE has signed three new recruits to the WWE Performance Center – former Impact Wrestling star Robbie E, former ROH star Stokely Hathaway and second generation wrestler Cal Bloom, son of former WWE Superstar Wayne Bloom (Beau Beverly).

All three talents have reported too the WWE Performance Center in Orlando and should be making their WWE NXT debuts soon.

Below is WWE’s full announcement on the signings along with a photo of them at the Performance Center:

Stokely Hathaway, Cal Bloom and Robert Strauss join the WWE Performance CenterWorld-traveled ring veteran Robert Strauss, renowned manager Stokely Hathaway and second-generation wrestler Cal Bloom are the newest recruits to join the WWE Performance Center this week in Orlando, Fla.

Strauss has been a fixture of the independent scene since making his debut in 2001, while still a teenager. Competing under aliases like “Robbie E” and “Rob Eckos,” he has won more than two dozen championships throughout his career, as well as wrestled in 46 states and more than 20 countries. In addition to his exploits in sports-entertainment, the New Jersey native has appeared on reality shows, making it to the finals on the 25th season of CBS’ “Amazing Race” and participating in the trials on “The Titan Games,” the competition series created by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Strauss also starred in Muscle & Fitness’ “Dad Bod Destroyer” video series.

Hathaway comes to the Performance Center after a successful tenure as a manager and a wrestler on the indies. Although trained for the ring, Hathaway gained a reputation in recent years for wheeling and dealing on behalf of other wrestlers. The notoriously outspoken Hathaway has represented clients in several promotions throughout the U.S., from EVOLVE Wrestling to the New England-based Beyond Wrestling. He hails from New York City.

Bloom, meanwhile, brings a sports-entertainment pedigree to the Performance Center. The 6-foot-5, 255-pounder is the son of former WWE Superstar Wayne Bloom, who wrestled as “Beau Beverly” in the early 1990s. The younger Bloom played tight end at the University of Central Florida, making four Bowl Game appearances (including UCF’s Fiesta Bowl win against Baylor University). He also received the team’s Iron Knight Award for strongest player after bench-pressing 500 pounds, a record for UCF tight ends. Although he hasn’t yet had a match, the 25-year-old Bloom has received training from his father Wayne, WWE alumnus Ken Kennedy and famed wrestling coach Brad Rheingans.

https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1105216625110933506

Trevor Lee Debuts In WWE NXT (Photos)

Former Impact Wrestling X-Division Champion Trevor Lee made his WWE NXT in-ring debut tonight in Dade City, Florida when he suffered a loss to NXT UK’s Luke Menzies.

Along with being a three-time X-Division Champion, Lee was also an Impact World Tag Team Champion with partner, Brian Myers. He’s also held titles in AAW, PWG, and was the OMEGA Heavyweight Champion.

Below are some photos from tonight’s NXT live event:

https://twitter.com/WWENXT/status/1104206026734268417

https://twitter.com/FLWrestlingFan/status/1104187882913386497

https://twitter.com/Tarratastic/status/1104188211931373574

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Lars Sullivan Reportedly Doing Much Better After Mental Health Incident

Lars Sullivan is said to be in a “good place” after dealing with personal issues that kept him from making his WWE debut earlier this year.

Sullivan recently sought professional help following a mental health-related incident back in January, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet. As we’ve noted, Sullivan was set to make his debut on the January 7 RAW episode and that was to lead to a WrestleMania 35 feud with John Cena, but Sullivan suffered an anxiety attack outside of the arena, and plans were nixed. WWE had started airing vignettes for Lars’ arrival in November 2018 but he has not been mentioned for a debut since the incident.

Following the incident in January, Sullivan immediately began seeking help from mental health professionals and WWE has been “incredibly accommodating” to him the whole time, according to wrestlers close to Lars and the new report from PWS.

Lars is reportedly feeling much better now after being out of the spotlight. There’s no word yet on if Sullivan will return to WWE but it was noted that he is happy for the other NXT call-ups that he was supposed to debut with – EC3, Lacey Evans, Nikki Cross and Heavy Machinery.

It’s been reported that WWE was being very supportive of Lars while he dealt with his personal issues. Triple H downplayed the reports during a late-January media call and indicated a WWE future for Lars.

“There’s a lot of speculation and stories about everybody at all times, and it’s a funny thing, if there’s any kind of a glitch in a movement for a moment, it leads to everything being speculated about,” Triple H said during the January call. “There’s a lot of talk, but Lars is in a good place. Nothing has really changed, we’re moving forward and you’ll know when you see it. But nothing has changed.”

WWE reportedly wanted Sullivan to be at the January 28 RAW, which was the post-Royal Rumble episode, but he was not there and his status was still unknown.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Announces Neck Surgery For Tommaso Ciampa, Update On A Possible Recovery Time

WWE has confirmed that WWE NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa will undergo neck surgery on today.

WWE noted that Ciampa was evaluated today and it was determined that he needs an anterior cervical fusion. The typical recovery time for that kind of operation looks to be 3-6 months, but they will have a better idea of his return once the surgery has been completed.

As noted earlier, via Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Ciampa was expected to be out of action for a long time, perhaps as long as 6-14 months.

It’s likely that he will have to vacate the NXT Title at next Wednesday’s NXT TV tapings at Full Sail University. Ciampa has been pulled from all WWE events and signings or appearances. Ciampa originally planned to work through the injury to face Johnny Gargano at “Takeover: New York” during WrestleMania 35 weekend, then take time off, but the situation apparently got much worse in the last week and the surgery must be done now.

Below is WWE’s announcement on the surgery:

NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa to undergo neck surgeryNXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa will undergo neck surgery tomorrow, WWE.com has confirmed.

Following a medical evaluation today, Ciampa has been scheduled for an anterior cervical fusion.

Stick with WWE.com for more details as they become available.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 3/6/19

NXT, tonight at 8 ET on WWE Network.

The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic kicks off

* #DIY reunite in NXT against The Undisputed ERA (Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly)

* Moustache Mountain battle The Street Profits

* Aleister Black & Ricochet take on Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel

* Lorcan & Burch collide with The Forgotten Sons

Tommaso Ciampa To Undergo Neck Surgery, Set To Be Out Of Action “For A Long, Long Time”

Last month, reports surfaced of NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa is currently dealing with a neck injury that has forced him out of some appearances outside of WWE and even caused a re-write for RAW two weeks ago. Along with Johnny Gargano, the duo was initially scheduled to be involved in a Fatal 4-Way tag match, but were instead taken off the show completely.

On the latest Wrestling Observer Radio, it’s being reported that Ciampa is going to have neck surgery in the next couple of days. He’s not going to be in the ring for a “long, long time,” but the exact amount of time wasn’t known at this point. Dave Meltzer speculated – based on the history of neck surgeries – that Ciampa could be out anywhere from 6 to 14 months.

Ciampa will have to vacate the title and the expected TakeOver: New York match between him and Gargano obviously won’t happen either. WWE had originally hoped Ciampa could work through the injury to get by WrestleMania weekend, but things have worsened in the past week to change that plan.

Stories leading to TakeOver: New York most likely will be adjusted on next Wednesday’s NXT TV tapings.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage Update On Tommaso Ciampa’s Injury And Status

We noted earlier how WWE NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa is currently dealing with an injury. PWInsider reports that Ciampa is suffering from a neck injury.

The injury forced a re-write of this week’s RAW episode from Atlanta, according to the report. Original plans had Ciampa and Johnny Gargano teaming up for a Fatal 4 Way tag team match against Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins, Aleister Black and Ricochet, and another team that was not revealed. RAW Tag Team Champions The Revival were scheduled to be at ringside for the match. Plans were changed once it was confirmed that Ciampa was not cleared to wrestle. The Revival ended up losing to Black and Ricochet in a non-title match, while Gargano and Ciampa did not appear on the main part of the show. Gargano did appear in a brief backstage segment with WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels, who was there for the 70th birthday celebration for WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair.

DIY did not appear on Tuesday’s SmackDown either. Gargano was scheduled to face Cesaro in singles action but that was changed to Cesaro and Sheamus losing to The Hardys, who were returning to action.

Ciampa has reportedly been dealing with the neck injury for at least 4-5 weeks, possibly longer. Depending on when Ciampa is cleared, WWE may have to change plans for the 2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic and the main event of the “Takeover: New York” event during WrestleMania 35 weekend. It was noted that all creative options are on the table.

There’s no word yet on when Ciampa will be cleared for action but he is not on the road for this weekend’s live events, and was not cleared as of this week.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

NXT Champion Tommaso Ciampa Reportedly Injured (Spoiler Included)

Image result for Tommaso Ciampa raw

It was only ten days ago that the characters of Ricochet, Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano, and NXT World Champion Tommaso Ciampa were introduced to the audiences of WWE RAW for the first time. Since then, the NXT call-up have used their moment in the spotlight to showcase versatile skills to the WWE Universe, and in the process, they have secured victories over the WWE RAW Tag Team Champions The Revival.

Unfortunately, the celebration may have been cut short for the NXT World Champion, Tommaso Ciampa. The latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter is reporting that Ciampa is dealing with an injury.

At this time, the extent and severity of Ciampa’s injury is unknown, but regardless of any pain he’s experiencing, Ciampa has been working through it and he’s apparently under the mindset that he will take care of any setback after his match with Gargano at TakeOver: New York. His injury is also the reason Ciampa was kept from competing on WWE TV this week and has been kept off the list for the weekend NXT shows.

Along with Ciampa, both Ricochet and Gargano didn’t perform on any of this past weekend’s NXTshows. Nevertheless, Aleister Black, Ricochet, and Gargano are still advertised for the touring NXT shows this weekend in Cleveland, Columbus, Pittsburgh and Royal Oak, MI, and they will reportedly continue working NXT house shows for the foreseeable future.

As previously noted, Ciampa, along with on-and-off-again partner, Gargano, didn’t compete on WWE TV this week, while Black & Ricochet joined forces to defeat the team of Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev on SmackDownLive  as well as the WWE RAW Tag Team Champions, Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 2/27/19

NXT, tonight at 8 ET on WWE Network.

* Will The HBIC get The Queen of Spades to put some respect on her name?

* More teams to be announced for 2019 Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic

* What’s next for Johnny Gargano?

* Taynara Conti & Xia Li take on Vanessa Borne & Aliyah

* “Limitless” Keith Lee and Dominik Dijakovic prepare for head-on collision

The Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Is Returning

nxt, dusty classic, dusty rhodes, ciampa, gargano

The annual Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic is returning and a major duo have been confirmed as participants … but for those who don’t want to be spoiled, this is your warning.

According to those in attendance, the return of the Dusty Classic was announced during tonight’s NXT TV tapings in Orlando.

The round of tapings began with a Johnny Gargano promo which was interrupted by his former DIY tag team partner Tommaso Ciampa, who suggested the pair reunite to compete in the tournament.

Gargano accepted the invitation as the two shook on it.

The other teams in the tournament are Street Profits, Fabian Aichner & Marcel Barthel, Moustache Mountain, Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch, Ricochet & Aleister Black, Forgotten Sons and Undisputed Era.

It’s been quite a week for Ciampa and Gargano. DIY not only made surprise appearances on Raw and SmackDown Live, but they were victorious on both shows — defeating The Revival and The Bar.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet