Category: WWE

Sasha Banks Reportedly Tried To Quit WWE Due To WrestleMania 35 Title Change Decision

Sasha Banks reportedly tried to quit WWE over WrestleMania 35 Weekend, according to one higher-up source to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

It was noted that Banks felt blindsided when she found out at the last minute that she and Bayley were dropping the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania 35. That Fatal 4 Way saw The IIconics capture the titles by defeating Banks and Bayley, Nia Jax and Tamina Snuka, and Natalya and WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix.

Banks was reportedly under the impression that WWE would be giving them a chance to have a strong run with the titles, to bring credibility to the new belts and to establish them as serious titles. The decision was then made to go with The IIconics as champion, a team that some say will make the titles feel like gimmick comedy belts.

Regarding her WWE status, Banks has been given a few weeks to think things over before making a decision on a choice that WWE officials believe may have been made as a rash decision. Another source noted to The Observer that Banks has been given time to figure out if she wants to leave the company or stay, but that source couldn’t confirm the reason why, and said Banks probably would not have known about the WrestleMania 35 finish until late, and did believe that Banks and Bayley were going to be given a chance to make the titles mean something. It was also noted that it was logical for Banks and Bayley to assume they would have a run of defending the titles on WWE NXT, RAW and SmackDown, just because that storyline was started in the first place.

Another source just said Banks was clearly unhappy, which has been speculated on at various points over the past few years of Banks’ WWE career.

As we’ve noted, Banks’ strange post-WrestleMania 35 week began when WWE had Alexa Bliss call out Banks and Bayley for RAW on Monday night. Bayley would appear for a loss to Bliss, but Banks was nowhere to be soon. Banks did post a cryptic message during RAW that mentioned a line she had used before, about wanting to feel magic again. The cryptic post read like this:

“There is something about the way life happens today that makes it hard to look ahead. There are things that make it difficult to laugh; difficult to live the way you want. There are things that make it almost impossible to trust where you are, or to believe in where you want to be. You look around and life is happening way too fast. Sometimes it feels like the moments are gone. Everything happens all at once and right away. We’re marching towards a destiny we cannot understand, towards the kingdom of convenient. Then one day you look up and you can’t find the meaning. Your crisis of purpose and passion is acting up, but they tell you that that’s suppose to be normal. Well… I don’t want normal, I want magic; cause that’s the place that feels like home to me. That’s the place where I remember what dreams look like, where meaning is effortless, and purpose is simple. That’s the place where love still matters. I want that feeling of coming home again. I want to feel like myself….. I want that magic.”

Banks then pulled out of a Tuesday appearance on The Wendy Williams Show, causing issues with the staff of the show because it was a late cancellation out of nowhere. Banks announced the cancellation on Twitter and cited personal reasons. Sasha added the “#IfYouOnlyKnew” hashtag to the cancellation post, indicating more to the story. She wrote, “Due to personal reasons, I had to pull out of my appearance today on @WendyWilliams . Sorry to everyone who was looking forward to it. Hopefully the opportunity will be there again later. #IfYouOnlyKnew”

Wendy noted on Wednesday’s episode that Banks had a family emergency, which is why she canceled her appearance on the show. Williams wished the best to Banks and her family, indicating they had smoothed over any issues they had with her from the late cancellation. It was also revealed that Banks’ people contacted the show just after midnight the night before filming to cancel. Banks has not commented on the family emergency, but it was revealed that she is currently on a post-WrestleMania vacation to the Dominican Republic with Kalisto and their significant others. Social media posts indicated that they flew out the day that Banks was scheduled for the TV appearance.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Big E Injured In Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown Live Main Event

It looks like Big E is currently dealing with a knee injury.

The big man of The New Day took to Twitter today and indicated a meniscus tear, possibly suffered during the six-man main event of Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown Live, which saw The New Day defeat Drew McIntyre and The Bar. Big E’s cryptic tweet indicates he suffered the injury while doing or taking a crossbody. He ended with a “Bye for a bit” and that could mean time off to heal.

According to our coverage from Tuesday night, Big E did take a crossbody from Cesaro towards the end of the match but he worked for a few minutes after that, even going for a pin right after and a Big Ending attempt.

You can see Big E’s tweet below:

WWE has confirmed that Big E is currently dealing with a knee injury and is not cleared to compete.  There’s no word yet on if he will need surgery or how long he will be out of action.

Below is WWE’s announcement on the injury:

Big E suffers torn meniscusBig E of The New Day has suffered a torn meniscus, according to a tweet from the Superstar posted Thursday afternoon.

He is not currently medically cleared for action.

Stay with all of WWE’s digital platforms for more details on Big E’s status as they become available.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Daniel Bryan Injured At WrestleMania 35?

Daniel Bryan may have suffered an injury during his WWE Title loss to Kofi Kingston at WrestleMania 35 on Sunday, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio. Bryan was waiting to be examined this week, but word coming out of Sunday’s big event was that Bryan may have been injured.

This is why Bryan was sent went home earlier this week and was not backstage for Tuesday’s SmackDown from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Writer Says He Quit At The Hall Of Fame Ceremony

As noted earlier, Robert Evans was released from the WWE creative team during the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony this past Saturday night. The story going around is that Evans was fired because Vince McMahon’s name was mentioned in the speech and segment that Evans helped come up with, Bret Hart’s speech for The Hart Foundation. Vince has strongly stressed over the years that his name not be mentioned or praised during speeches, to the point that it has become a running joke.

In an update, PWInsider reports that the situation was more of a “You can’t fire me, I quit” scenario. Evans reportedly quit the company when it became obvious that WWE was going to fire him.

Furthermore, Evans took to Twitter this morning and issued an “official statement” on his WWE departure. Evans, who worked on the WWE creative team since the fall of 2016, said he quit. You can see his simple statement below:

https://twitter.com/Oh_Robert_Evans/status/1116323690684264449

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Possible New WWE Roles For “Road Dogg” BG James, More Details On WWE Creative Situation,

It was reported earlier that 2019 WWE Hall of Famer “Road Dogg” BG James had stepped down as the co-lead writer of the SmackDown brand, and that he informed officials that he was stepping down on Wednesday as WrestleMania 35 Week was coming to an end in Brooklyn. Word was that James had become increasingly frustrated with changed made to blue brand TV scripts by Vince McMahon, and that he finally “hit a breaking point” at Tuesday’s SmackDown.

It was also noted that James could be transitioning into another role with WWE. There was no role on a possible replacement for James, but the report also stated that the way WWE creative is set up these days the lead writer is more of a formality as opposed to a specific voice that drives the show. Everything pitched for SmackDown TV comes through the writing team to Vince, and is then approved with Vince tweaking the script up until it’s time to go live.

In an update, James is not leaving the company, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet. Word is now that James could fill the behind-the-scenes role once held by WWE Hall of Famer Arn Anderson at live events. There was also talk of James possibly working as a commentator.

Regarding the situation with James, it was described as a mutual decision to change his position with SmackDown moving to Friday nights on Fox in October, not necessarily James “stepping down.” WWE officials reportedly want to keep James’ position flexible at this time, and use him as a “utility player” so they can see where he would fit best moving forward. However, sources made it clear that this was not a contentious decision, and that both sides thought it was best.

James had been working on the SmackDown creative team since 2016. He was quickly promoted to become co-lead writer with Ryan Ward.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

“Road Dogg” BG James Steps Down As WWE SmackDown Co-Lead Writer, Another Writer Fired At WWE Hall Of Fame

2019 WWE Hall of Famer “Road Dogg” BG James has stepped down as the co-lead writer for WWE SmackDown, according to PWInsider. James informed WWE officials that he was stepping down on Wednesday as WrestleMania 35 Week came to an end.

James had been leading SmackDown with Stephen Guerrieri, who has been with the creative team since 2012 and in a head writer position since 2014, with James going on the road with the blue brand while Guerrieri would work out of WWE HQ in Stamford, CT. Word is that James had become increasingly frustrated with changes made to SmackDown scripts by Vince McMahon, and he finally hit a “breaking point” at Tuesday’s post-WrestleMania 35 edition of SmackDown from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

There’s no word yet on who may be replacing James in the co-lead writer role on the blue brand, but sources stated to PWInsider that with the way WWE creative is set up these days the lead writer is more of a formality as opposed to a specific voice that drives the show. Everything pitched for SmackDown comes through the team to Vince, and is then approved with Vince tweaking the script up until it’s time to go on the air. There’s also no word yet on if James will be transitioning into another role with WWE.

James had been working on the SmackDown creative team since 2016. He was quickly promoted to become co-lead writer with Ryan Ward.

While it’s not known if this is directly related, but James posted a tweet about change on Wednesday, writing, “Today I pray that I face the change, that is inevitably coming, head on and with faith and courage. The only constant is change! #HOPE #FAITH #OUDK”

James also defended SmackDown creative on Twitter, as he often does. Responding to criticism over the two six-man matches on this week’s episode, James wrote, “What about either 6 man last night was BS? A lot of the time it gets more talent on tv. I really don’t see what there is to get so angry about!”

In other WWE creative team news coming out of WrestleMania 35 Week, WWE writer Robert Evans was fired this past week. Word is that Evans was fired at the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony after he helped produce the Bret Hart speech for The Hart Foundation’s induction, and it featured a mention of Vince. Vince has strongly stressed for years that he does not want to be mentioned or praised during Hall of Fame speeches, according to PWInsider, to the point that it has become a running joke. When Vince was mentioned in Bret’s speech, Evans reportedly took the blame as the writer and producer of that segment. Evans was reportedly fired backstage in the Gorilla Position as the ceremony was going on.

For those who missed it, Bret’s speech included a story of the first time Vince reacted to The Hart Foundation and praised their in-ring work. DX later joked about Vince’s name being mentioned during their speech that wrapped the ceremony, and these jokes may have been inspired by Vince firing Evans for the earlier mention in Hart’s speech.

Evans was reportedly liked by those who worked with him backstage. The 35 year old previously wrestled on the indies as RD Evans and Archibald Peck before joining the WWE creative team in the fall of 2016.

You can see Road Dogg’s tweet on “change” below along with the exchange defending SmackDown:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

KUSHIDA Makes NXT Debut At TV Tapings

New WWE NXT Superstar KUSHIDA made his in-ring TV debut at this week’s NXT tapings from Full Sail University. He wrestled Kassius Ohno in a match that could air on May 1 or May 8.

As noted, WWE announced that Triple H and NXT General Manager William Regal had signed the 35 year old former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion during WrestleMania 35 Weekend in New York City. He was shown at ringside for Friday’s “Takeover: New York” event.

Below are a few photos from KUSHIDA’s debut at Full Sail:

https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/1116147353248063488

https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/1116147458042675200

https://twitter.com/JJWilliamsWON/status/1116152222511980545

Source: Wrestling Inc.

AJ Styles Reveals When WrestleMania 35 Injury Happened, How Soon He Might Return

AJ Styles confirmed his injury on Wednesday while playing the PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds video game on his Mixer account with fans.

We’ve noted how Styles suffered a hip injury during his WrestleMania 35 win over Randy Orton, one that forced him to miss Monday’s Axxess meet & greet appearance and then Tuesday’s WWE SmackDown Live. Styles confirmed that he was sent home because of the injury and to undergo x-rays on Wednesday. It was previously reported that the belief was Styles suffered the injury while doing the forearm from the ring to the floor, but he said he was injured while taking a superplex.

“When you take a suplex from about 15 feet in the air… You know, I think I hit my left side before my right, just a little bit, and that’s totally on me, totally my fault,” Styles said of the injury. “It kind of knocked my hips out of place and then everything else, all those muscles in your butt and your back, swell up and then those muscles press on your nerve endings, and next thing you know you can’t walk the next day.

“But, got x-rays [on Wednesday] and they were all positive, I didn’t break anything. So, as far as that looks, I should be good to go here soon.”

Styles said the injury came on the superplex that Orton hit towards the end of the match, right after a headbutt and right before a 2 count then uppercut by Orton. The x-rays indicated soft tissue damage and he’s already up and walking around, hoping to return to the ring next week.

There’s no word yet on if Styles will be at the Superstar Shakeup edition of RAW and SmackDown from Montreal next week, but we will keep you updated on his in-ring status.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Becky Lynch Says Ronda Rousey Could Not Handle The WWE Schedule

RAW and SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch spoke with Sports Illustrated this week and said she is resolute in the belief that she was built for this business, unlike Ronda Rousey.

“Only four months after having a part-time schedule, after making her debut at WrestleMania—having been on the cover of everything, just handed everything, she was crying in her kitchen about how she couldn’t make her husband breakfast,” Lynch said. “She couldn’t hack our schedule. Yet we do this every single night, 52 weeks a year, yet she couldn’t handle it for four months.”

Regarding her recent rise to being one of WWE’s most popular Superstars, Lynch said she treats her spot like a political campaign.

“I approach this as a political campaign,” she explained. “Any time I’ve the opportunity to get my voice out there, get myself heard and my message across, I use it. I want to make sure I do the people proud.”

It was noted that Lynch now hopes to headline the grandest stage of them all two years in a row with the WrestleMania 36 main event in Tampa on April 5, 2020.

“This is when the hard work starts. I’ve got two championships to make,” said Lynch.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Why Sasha Banks Canceled Her Appearance On The Wendy Williams Show

As noted, Sasha Banks was scheduled to appear on The Wendy Williams Show yesterday but she backed out of the appearance, citing personal reasons on Twitter. This led to heat from staff of the show as she reportedly pulled out at the last minute.

Sasha added the “#IfYouOnlyKnew” hashtag to the Twitter post, indicating more to the story. She wrote, “Due to personal reasons, I had to pull out of my appearance today on @WendyWilliams . Sorry to everyone who was looking forward to it. Hopefully the opportunity will be there again later. #IfYouOnlyKnew”

In an update, it was noted on today’s edition of The Wendy Williams Show that Banks canceled her appearance because she had a family emergency. It was noted that Sasha’s representative called to cancel the booking after midnight the night before. Williams wished Banks and her family well. There’s no word yet on what the issue is.

It was reported on Tuesday, via Paige Six, that Banks bailed on the show at the last minute and that the unexpected cancellation left everyone on the staff fuming.

“She won’t be booked again,” a show source reported to Page Six. “She didn’t give a real reason for canceling, and she did it only hours before the show tapes, so production was left scrambling to fill her spot. Wendy ended up doing an extra segment of Hot Topics instead.”

Paige Six reached out to Banks’ representative for comment but they were referred to her Twitter statement.

We also noted how Banks posted a cryptic message on Twitter during Monday’s RAW, just hours after she and Bayley dropped the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles to The IIconics at WrestleMania 35. WWE announced on Monday afternoon that Alexa Bliss had challenged Banks and Bayley for RAW. Bayley appeared for the loss to Bliss, but Banks was not on the show.

Below is Banks’ cryptic message from during RAW and the tweet on Tuesday’s show cancellation:

“There is something about the way life happens today that makes it hard to look ahead. There are things that make it difficult to laugh; difficult to live the way you want. There are things that make it almost impossible to trust where you are, or to believe in where you want to be. You look around and life is happening way too fast. Sometimes it feels like the moments are gone. Everything happens all at once and right away. We’re marching towards a destiny we cannot understand, towards the kingdom of convenient. Then one day you look up and you can’t find the meaning. Your crisis of purpose and passion is acting up, but they tell you that that’s suppose to be normal. Well… I don’t want normal, I want magic; cause that’s the place that feels like home to me. That’s the place where I remember what dreams look like, where meaning is effortless, and purpose is simple. That’s the place where love still matters. I want that feeling of coming home again. I want to feel like myself….. I want that magic.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.