Category: WWE

NXT star out for several months with torn pectoral

NXT star

NXT star Tino Sabbatelli recently underwent surgery to repair a torn pectoral muscle according to a new report by Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline on Friday. Sabbatelli suffered the injury during the NXT live event in Largo, Florida on April 28 against The Velveteen Dream. Sabbatelli will be out of action for several months following the surgery.

Sabbatelli had been featured on NXT TV for several months in a tag-team with Riddick Moss and had recently turned on Moss, presumably beginning a push as a singles competitor before the injury.

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE Backlash 5/6/18

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WWE Championship No DQ: (C) AJ Styles vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

RAW Women’s Championship: (C) Nia Jax vs. Alexa Bliss

SmackDown Women’s Championship: (C) Carmella vs. Charlotte Flair

Intercontinental Championship: (C) Seth Rollins vs. The Miz

Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe

Daniel Bryan vs. Big Cass

United States Championship: (C) Jeff Hardy vs. Randy Orton

Braun Strowman & Bobby Lashley vs. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn

(Kickoff) Bayley vs. Ruby Riott

Hulk Hogan Reportedly Closing In On A WWE Deal, WWE Issues New Statement On Hulk Hogan’s Status

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The rumors of Hulk Hogan returning to WWE have been swirling for some time now, but TMZ Sports is reporting Hogan and WWE have been in contact and the talks have been “positive.” Thanks to the Greatest Royal Rumble, Hogan was apparently one of the talents requested to appear at the event. Hogan didn’t make the trip, but it got the two sides talking for a potential reunion.

TMZ was told WWE wants to bring him back and Hogan is ready, but they want to make sure it’s done “the right way” and be sensitive to those who were offended by his past rant that initially cost him his WWE gig. Hogan hasn’t appeared for WWE since being fired by the company in 2015 shortly before a tape containing him making racist remarks was made public. Hogan, who was upset with his daughter Brooke dating a black man, used the n-word several times in the tape and said, “I guess we’re all a little racist.”

In March, Hogan made an appearance at the HBO/WWE Andre the Giant documentary premiere in Los Angeles, California. At the time, WWE wanted to make it clear Hogan was not in the fold by putting out the following statement:

“Hulk Hogan is an important part of Andre the Giant’s history, however his appearance at tonight’s HBO premiere of the documentary and his plans to help others learn from his mistakes does not mean WWE is rehiring him. Hogan is not scheduled to be at any upcoming WWE events.”

WWE has been paying close attention to how Hogan’s speech went yesterday after he was inducted into the Boys & Girls Club Hall of Fame. He mentioned wanting to help educate kids to not use language like he did, which received an ovation from the crowd.

https://twitter.com/BoysGirlsClubGA/status/991919889727111168

In March, Mark Henry spoke about Hogan’s potential return and said he wasn’t sure he’s ready for that return. Hogan was asked about Henry’s comment and responded:

“I just heard [Henry] made a comment on TMZ about it and that I should apologize,” Hogan responded. “I totally agree, but not to black wrestlers, to all the wrestlers. Yeah, what I said was way out of line, I’m forever sorry for that, but I never heard Mark Henry say that, he’s my boy, man.”

WWE issued the following statement in response to the report this afternoon:

“WWE applauds the work Hulk Hogan is doing with Boys & Girls Clubs of America to turn what was a negative into a positive by helping young people learn from his mistake. While he has taken many steps in the right direction since we parted ways, Hogan is not currently under contract to WWE.”

Source: WrestlingINC

Backstage News On Sami Zayn Missing WWE Greatest Royal Rumble

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Sami Zayn likely was not included in last Friday’s Greatest Royal Rumble main event from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia because he is of Syrian descent. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Syria cut relations in 2012. WWE filmed a segment at the GRR go-home RAW that saw Sami mention the 50-man match to Kevin Owens but another segment was later filmed that had Sami say he wasn’t feeling well, hinting that he wouldn’t be able to make the trip to Saudi Arabia for the event.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports this week that the Sami situation was kept secret before and during the GRR event. Sami had known he wouldn’t be appearing for about a week as he was told that he would be doing an injury angle on the April 23rd RAW to explain why he would not be appearing, despite being advertised for the 50-man match. Sami was not told why he was off the show and it looks like he still has not been told, based on what he’s said to people privately since then. The Observer adds that Sami is claiming he has no explanation on why he was pulled from the show.

There was also a directive handed down, that no one could speak on the Sami issue until after the show, to avoid any potential controversy over WWE being told that one of their talents could not work a show because of his ethnicity, according to The Observer. We noted before how the whole WWE crew was given a list of cultural miscues to avoid while in the Kingdom, such as to never blow off a handshake to anyone because it would be taken as an insult and you don’t want to insult the wrong person. One of the items on this list was to never mention anything about Sami.

WWE issued this statement on Sami missing the big event in Saudi Arabia last week:

“WWE is committed to embracing individuals from all backgrounds while respecting local customs and cultural differences around the world.”

Source: WrestlingINC

Former WWE Star Danielle Moinet (Summer Rae) Returning To Ring After Nearly Two Years

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Former WWE Superstar Danielle Moinet, f.k.a. Summer Rae in WWE, will be returning to the ring for Battle Championship Wrestling in Melbourne, Australia on Friday, May 25th. She will face Ivelisse in the second half of the first round of the BCW Women’s Championship Tournament at the Whitehorse Function and Convention Centre. Moinet, who was released by WWE last October, hasn’t wrestled since August of 2016 after she suffered neck and back injuries. She was cleared to return to action by WWE in May of 2017, but was never used.

Source: WrestlingINC

Chris Jericho Scheduled To Make His Return To New Japan Pro Wrestling This Week

Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho, who just appeared for WWE at the Greatest Royal Rumble event last Friday in Saudi Arabia, is scheduled to make his return to New Japan Pro Wrestling this week at the company’s Wrestling Dontaku event in Fukuoka, Japan.

According to a report by Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com, Jericho’s appearance this week will setup a storyline for another appearance for New Japan at next month’s Dominion event in Osaka, likely with IWGP Intercontinental champion Tetsuya Naito.

Jericho became involved with New Japan earlier this year at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in a highly touted match against Kenny Omega. He then showed up at New Japan’s New Year’s Dash event attacking Naito. The angle never ended up leading to anything long-term. However, it would appear they will be picking back up where they left off this week.

Source: WrestleView

XFL Pursuing Team In Orlando

xfl orlando pursuing team

Despite competition from another upstart football league, a WWE executive has reached out to officials in Orlando hoping to put an XFL team in their city.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, WWE’s senior vice president of special events John Saboor contacted Orlando’s executive director of venues about the prospect of putting a team in Camping World Stadium.

It’s worth noting that Vince McMahon initially claimed WWE and XFL would be separate entities, but clearly that’s not the case if WWE employees are working on the new league.

The article also mentions that the XFL’s attempt might be difficult to pull off though, because Charlie Ebersol’s Alliance of American football — which kicks off one year before the XFL does — has already announced that they will have a team in Orlando.

WWE is confident, however, that both league’s can co-exist there.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

NXT Preview 5/2/18

* Dunne aims to even the score against Strong

* The Street Profits and “The Mighty” TM61 collide in tag team action

* “NXT’s Finest” Kona Reeves returns

* Will Candice LeRae have her head in the game against Bianca Belair?

WWE Capitalizing On Titus O’Neil Greatest Royal Rumble Ring Slide With New Shirt

titus o'neil slide fall shirt wwe.com shop

WWE is capitalizing on Titus O’Neil’s hilarious epic faceplant slide under the ring during his Greatest Royal Rumble Match entrance with a t-shirt that is now on sale.

The t-shirt says “Rumble, Stumble or Slide” on the front and Titus’ feet are sticking out from underneath the Greatest Royal Rumble-looking logo. “Do It Worldwide” is written on the back.

In case you somehow missed it (which seems impossible at this point), O’Neil was the number 39 entrant in the Rumble and tripped while running to the ring … causing him to slide under the ring.

Watch the video below and get the shirt by CLICKING HERE.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Kane Wins Knox County, Tennessee Mayor Republican Primary

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WWE Superstar, Glenn Jacobs known as Kane, appeared to have won a mayoral primary race in Tennessee on Tuesday.

Jacobs, 51, was leading Brad Anders by 17 votes in the bid to represent the Republican Party in the race for Knox County mayor, Knox News reported. Jacobs was leading 14,633 to 14,616 with 100 percent of the precincts reporting.

The former professional wrestler declared victory in a tweet thanking everyone who helped his campaign win the Republican primary.

“Thanks to everyone who helped win this historic victory!! The people who cast a ballot for me, my great team, my wonderful volunteers,” he wrote. “Looking forward to VICTORY in the general election!”

Jacobs’ campaign is a far cry from his WWE days wrestling under the moniker Kane – “a monstrous abomination that seems to have been extracted directly from your childhood nightmares,” according his WWE bio.

The former champ is running on keeping taxes low, focusing on quality education, job creation, improved infrastructure and limited government.

Jacobs is hardly the first WWE superstar to take a run in politics. Jesse Ventura served as the governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003. Former ECW competitor Terrance Gerin, known commonly as Rhyno, ran for the Michigan House of Representatives in 2016 as a Republican, but lost in the general election by more than 8,000 votes, according to WXYZ-TV.

It appears Jacobs will be battling Democrat Linda Haney in the mayoral race, according to Knox News. The county’s general election is set for Aug. 2.

Source: Fox News via MSN.com