Tonight’s WWE 205 Live will take place from the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee.
* Will Kanellis earn a title opportunity?
* Can The Singh Brothers put on their greatest performance yet?
Category: WWE
Jerry Lawler Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Over The 2018 Death Of His Son Brian Christopher
It’s been one year since former WWE star Brian Christopher passed away and now his father Jerry Lawler has taken legal action against the police department where his son was in custody.
According to WMC5 in Memphis, Lawler filed a lawsuit on Friday against the Hardeman County Sheriff in which he’s seeking $3 million in damages.
As we previously reported, Brian Lawler had been arrested prior to his passing and was found hanging in his cell. The official cause of death was ruled a suicide, but Jerry Lawler has continued to raise questions about his son’s death.
In new documents, Lawler explains that he didn’t bail his son out of jail at the time because he was assured by the Sheriff that they’d help with his addiction and personal issues. Instead, however, Jerry claims Brian was placed into solitary confinement after being assaulted by another inmate.
Lawler alleges his son wasn’t assessed for any potential suicide risks afterward — despite suffering from depression, a history of suicide attempts and drug addiction — and instead let him enter a cell with bolts protruding from the walls while wearing tennis shoes that had laces.
The WWE Hall of Famer also believes the supervising officers at the time were negligent in how they dealt with the incident. Lawler claims one officer saw Brian Christopher with a towel over his head and didn’t take action. Instead, he took out the trash first and only took action after finding Brian in the same position when he returned. At that point, he and another officer entered the cell and used children’s scissors to cut the laces.
In addition to the money, “The King” also wants the Hardeman County Sheriff to make changes in order to protect inmates from harm in the future.
Brian was being held in jail after an arrest on charges of DUI, evading arrest, and driving while on a revoked license. Jerry said on Monday that his family wants policies and training in place at the jail, which would protect and provide health cae to those who are in serious medical and mental distress, and those who are an obvious suicide risk.
“It’s just something you have to cope with on a daily basis,” Jerry said. “It never goes away, you think about it every single day. And what makes it worse, like Jeff (Rosenblum) said, is when you feel like it just didn’t have to happen.”
Jerry took to Twitter to remember his son on the one year anniversary of passing, as seen below.
“Today was a very tough day. It’s been exactly one year since my son Brian Christopher died. I want to thank everyone who thought about Brian today. We’ll never forget you, Brian,” Jerry wrote.
https://twitter.com/JerryLawler/status/1156047618553856002
Sources: Pro Wrestling Sheet and Wrestling Inc.
WWE RAW Preview 7/29/19
Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Verizon Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas as the road to SummerSlam continues.
* Rollins seeks retribution against Ziggler
* “Samoan Summit” set for Reigns and Joe
* Becky Lynch set to battle Alexa Bliss
* 24/7 Rules
Trish Stratus To Appear Tomorrow On SmackDown Live
WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus has been announced for a segment on SmackDown Live.
SmackDown Live emanates from Memphis next week and Jerry Lawler announced he’ll be interviewing Trish Stratus in his hometown.
https://twitter.com/JerryLawler/status/1155162992423706624
Multiple sources have confirmed that current SummerSlam plans have Trish Stratus wrestling Charlotte Flair, which takes place in Trish’s hometown of Toronto, Ontario, Canada on August 11th.
Tegan Nox Returns From Injury At WWE NXT Live Event (Photos)
Tegan Nox made her ring return at last night’s WWE NXT live event from Orlando, Florida.
Nox teamed Jessi Kamea with to defeat Aliyah and Vanessa Borne. She got the pin for her team.
Nox signed with WWE back in 2017 and was set to perform in the first-ever Mae Young Classic, but she was pulled before the tournament began due to a torn ACL. She returned to the ring in April 2018 but has been out of action since August after suffering multiple knee-related injuries during the 2018 MYC.
As seen below, the injured Dakota Kai and SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley reacted to Nox’s ring return.
Kai wrote, “.. but most importantly, she bacc. I can’t wait to watch your journey, @TeganNoxWWE_ !! The first (again) of many more”
Bayley added, “Hell yeah welcome back! Let’s wrestle”
You can see those tweets along with photos from last night’s return below:
https://twitter.com/itsBayleyWWE/status/1154545872916701185
https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/1154548373590028294
https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/1154541337552859137
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Maria Kanellis Spent Tuesday In The Emergency Room
Maria Kanellis took to Instagram this week and revealed that she spent Tuesday in the emergency room of the Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Sarasota, Florida.
Kanellis, who appeared on Monday’s WWE RAW Reunion special in a backstage segment, noted on Instagram that she was hospitalized due to complications from her second pregnancy.
This could be why the WWE 205 Live contract signing between Mike Kanellis and 205 LiveGeneral Manager Drake Maverick never happened. Drake did appear in a backstage segment to announce that next week’s match would be Unsanctioned, but they never appeared in front of the live crowd.
Maria wrote on Instagram, “This is where I spent my day yesterday. Baby number 2 is giving me a run for my money. I had acute vomiting, a headache, and I was dehydrated. I threw up from 6am-3pm nonstop. I have never missed a day at WWE that wasn’t planned for in advance. But yesterday I was forced to stay away. It was a wild day! I received fluids, nausea meds, and Tylenol. They think I had a flu bug but I am feeling much better today. The nurses and doctors were fantastic and very caring. This pregnancy is definitely different from the first time. Baby 2 is doing good and that is what matters most. I am blessed to be pregnant and to have a beautiful 15 month old. Plus, women get pregnant all the time, work jobs, have other children, keep house, go to school, travel, have a second job, no paid maternity leave, are single, adopt, and so many other things. So, I keep things in perspective even when I have a tough day or 6 weeks…. I am still incredibly BLESSED!!! #secondpregnancy #12weekspregnant #seeyounextweek”
Maria indicated that she will be back next week.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Jimmy Uso Arrest Update, More Details On What Happened
As noted, WWE Superstar Jimmy Uso was arrested for DUI while driving near Pensacola, FL early yesterday morning, and booked into the Escambia County Jail at 3:04am ET under a $1,000 bond. He reportedly refused DUI tests and was also cited for speeding. He was later bonded out of jail at around 10:45am ET, and is scheduled to be in court on the morning of Thursday, August 15.
The local ABC affiliate has revealed more details on what happened. ABC3 reports that a deputy was dispatched to the area of Pine Forest and Nine Mile Road in Escambia County at 1:30am ET, in reference to a possible DUI complaint. The deputy was advised by an off-duty police officer that a vehicle was traveling westbound on Interstate 10, doing an excess of 100 mph, and drifting from “left to right and going out of its lane.”
Uso’s vehicle then left Pine Forest Road and continued northbound, according to the off-duty officer. The vehicle then pulled into Ticket Sports Bar, but the car was no longer in the parking lot by the time the deputy arrived. The deputy was parked at a nearby Public when he observed a vehicle turn from Pine Forest Road onto Highway 297A, rapidly accelerate, and then travel very close to another car. That’s when the deputy conducted the traffic stop on Uso in the area of Highway 97A and Brockwood Place.
The officer noted that Jimmy appeared to have some issues holding documents in his hands after the officer asked for his license, registration and proof of insurance. The deputy also observed Uso to have bloodshot, watery, droopy eyelids, and dilated pupils, along with slow and slurred speech. The officer said he could smell an alcoholic beverage coming from the driver side window. That’s when he asked Uso to step out of the vehicle to speak with him in front of the patrol car. Jimmy had to be told several times to get out of the car, according to the deputy’s report.
Once Uso finally got out of the car, he appeared to be unsteady on his feet, noted the officer. The deputy asked Uso if he was willing to ride to an adjacent parking lot which was flat, level and well-lit. Uso agreed to take the ride, but then seemed confused and asked what was happening. The deputy explained that he was going to give Uso a ride to the adjacent parking lot to conduct a Field Sobriety task. Uso started asking if he needed a lawyer, and if he was being detained. The officer then informed Uso that he was conducting a DUI investigation, and that it was not possible to have a lawyer present.
The report noted that Uso then took his phone out of his pocket and tried to put the phone towards the officer’s face. The officer then placed Uso in handcuffs and placed him under arrest for the DUI. Uso became uncooperative and had to be told multiple times to have a seat in the patrol car. While in the back of the patrol car, Uso told the officer he was uncomfortable with it and that he wanted to speak with another officer. Then while on the way to the jail, the officer said he had to roll down his back windows due to the overwhelming smell of an alcoholic beverage that was engulfing the vehicle.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Vince McMahon Talks AEW, Says He Can’t See TNT Tolerating “Blood And Guts” Content For Too Long
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon made several references to All Elite Wrestling during today’s Second Quarter 2019 Earnings call from WWE HQ in Stamford, CT.
When discussing the WWE creative content getting a bit more edgier, Vince said they will remain in the PG environment” and they will not go back to the Attitude Era, but they will do some more controversy with better storylines. He then said WWE will not “do blood and guts and things of that nature, such as what is being done on our new potential competitor” – a reference to AEW and what they have been doing on their sows.
Vince later talked more about competition during the Q&A with investors, and said he generally believes that competition is good for everyone. Vince said they are hoping to the extent that they, presumably AEW, remains competition, but that AEW doesn’t continue “the blood and guts and gory things that they have been doing,” which he says are bad things.
Vince added that he can’t speak for TNT, but he can’t imagine that the network “would put up with that” kind of content continuing from AEW.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE Network Rolling Out Updated Version This Week, Aims To Satisfy Fan Feedback With Updated Interface, Free And VIP Tiers On The Way
WWE has announced to Network subscribers that they’ll be rolling out an updated version of the platform this week.
The company sent an email to subscribers which explains:
We are pleased to inform you that WWE Network is being updated this week with a new design, a simpler navigation and smarter search tools. In addition, please be aware of the following:
1) You will need to log in with your email address and password the first time you use the updated WWE Network on each streaming device.2) You will NOT need to set up a new account. You should use your existing WWE Network email address and password.3) The update will occur on different devices at different times during the week.
CLICK HERE for a video on WWE.com showing some of the changes, like Superstar specific pages and the promise of additional features that fans have been asking for.
The WWE Network launched in 2014. This was before every major media company had an over-the-top streaming service, like the current entertainment landscape, and it was huge for wrestling fans. Not only did the platform allow subscribers the ability to watch monthly pay-per-views for a low price, but it also gave access to a massive catalogue of content that’s only grown over the years.
This includes classic content from WWE, WCW and ECW, as well as territories such as AWA, World Class, Mid-South and Smoky Mountain Wrestling. The platform also launched NXT UK, 205 Live, the Mae Young Classic and premiered exclusive documentaries and shows.
WWE began surveying wrestling fans shortly after launching their network. While subtle changes have been implemented over time due to feedback, the interface as a whole has largely remained the same.
That changes beginning today.
Pro Wrestling Sheet got a sneak peak of the platform’s updated look and it features a sleek, new standout design that’s comparable to Netflix or Hulu. Aside from a more visually pleasing look, the platform now provides more viewing options as well.
Pro Wrestling Sheet was told the team spent lots of time taking in the feedback to craft an experience that will allow subscribers to discover content more easily. This note is evident right away.
Past pay-per-view content is featured more prominently on the homepage with bigger versions of the posters showing off what’s available in reverse chronological order. The navigation bar has also moved to the left hand side of the platform with new options — including a Superstars landing page.
This page includes WWE roster specific cards you can click on to see featured matches from the performers, stats and more. Each Superstar page can be favorited to make it easier to find new content from your favorite WWE stars upon return.
Something else users will notice is that finding WWE pay-per-views in that section of the platform has been simplified, as each event is listed at the top of the page. Even better, when you open a PPV, a carousel of thumbnails is shown at the bottom so you can jump to any match or moment in the show. This feature will work with some of the TV shows as well, though not all.
There’s also a skip match button that’s been added which allows users the ability to jump ahead while watching something that isn’t live. This is very handy if you’re not feeling a match or segment.
According to WWE, today’s rollout is only the first phase of the new version of their network. This will open the door to additional tiers and more global localization on the platform.
Beginning today with phase one … fans will see a sleeker design, a better user experience and search functionality that makes it easier to find content.
It’s no secret that the search functionality of the original interface has been criticized by fans since day one. For example, searching “Stone Cold” yields over 139 pages of results and it’s difficult to find something you might want to watch. In the new interface, however, results show notable pay-per-views he was featured on alongside famous moments and matches.
“Over the next few months we plan to launch a free tier with select WWE programming and – a few months after that – a VIP tier with additional programming similar to the EVOLVE 10th anniversary celebration that WWE Network streamed earlier this month,” WWE tells Pro Wrestling Sheet.
WWE’s relationship with EVOLVE got taken to a new level this month after the two companies produced their first joint event on the WWE Network. The event showcased indie talent in matches against NXT Superstars like Matt Riddle, Babatunde, Arturo Ruas and Adam Cole, as well as 205 Live wrestlers Drew Gulak and Akira Tozawa. Paul Heyman was also on the show.
Similar to EVOLVE, WWE has had a relationship for years now with PROGRESS and ICW. WWE didn’t confirm either promotion would be included in the VIP tier, but “programming similar to the EVOLVE 10th Anniversary Celebration” sounds like that’s a possibility.
Additional details on WWE’s free and VIP tiers in the coming months were not made available, nor how the new tiers might affect programming currently available to subscribers.
WWE did confirm, however, that they have a long term goal of localizing WWE Network “by language and currency in key markets around the world.”
The launch video below also promises better scrolling through video content, but we weren’t able to test it out while getting a tour of the new features. Fans will certainly be happy if WWE has been able to fix this part of the app though, as it’s another one of the most criticized parts of the platform.
WWE did not say whether there are plans for shared/custom playlists in the near future. Same for the possibility of downloading content for offline viewing. Hopefully these features aren’t far behind though, as the updated version of WWE Network looks to have addressed almost all of the complaints from subscribers and it makes for a much better experience.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
Jimmy Uso Arrested Again For DUI
WWE RAW Superstar Jimmy Uso was arrested for driving under the influence near Pensacola, Florida early this morning, according to TMZ.
Uso was booked at 3:04am ET and charged with “DUI – driving with an unlawful blood alcohol level.” Uso was still in jail as of press time, with a bond set at $1,000.
Law enforcement has stated that Uso was swerving his vehicle and smelt of alcohol when he was pulled over. He is alleged to have refused a DUI test. Uso was also hit with a citation for speeding.
He was arrested back in February after a drunken altercation with police in Detroit, charged with obstruction and disorderly conduct.
This past Monday night on RAW during a segment with John Cena, Cena rapped and joked about both brothers past arrests.
“Respect for calling me out, but ain’t no way I’m getting bested,” Cena rapped. “Ya’ll look just like your mugshots! How was it getting arrested?”
Below is Jimmy’s mugshot photo from this morning:
UPDATE:
The Escambia County website now shows that Uso was bonded out of jail at 10:15am ET. He is scheduled to be in court at 8:30am ET on Thursday, August 15, according to court records.
WWE issued the following statement to the media this afternoon in response to Jimmy Uso’s latest arrest:
“Jonathan Fatu is responsible for his own personal actions.”
