Category: NXT

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

Sasha Banks And Bayley Make Surprise Appearance At NXT Tapings (PHOTOS)

Image result for Sasha Banks And Bayley Make Surprise Appearance At NXT Tapings (PHOTOS)

The new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions followed up on their vow to take the belts to every brand … including NXT.

Sasha Banks and Bayley made their NXT homecomings during last night’s NXT TV taping, much to the excitement of the Full Sail Crowd, to show off the new hardware.

They reiterated their promise to defend the belts in NXT, as well as RAW and SmackDown.

https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/1098402425193619461

The Velveteen Dream Wins NXT North American Championship

Image result for The Velveteen Dream Wins NXT North American Championship

On last night’s WWE NXT episode. The Velveteen Dream defeated Johnny Gargano in the main event to become the new NXT North American Champion.

This is Dream’s first title reign since debuting with the brand in 2016. Gargano won the title back at NXT “Takeover: Phoenix” during WWE Royal Rumble weekend on January 26, defeating Ricochet.