Category: WWE

Backstage News On Neville Possibly Returning To WWE

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Neville is reportedly once again talking with WWE about a return to the company, according to Dave Meltzer in the latest issue of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. It was noted that if it does happen, the target for a return would be sometime in April.

Neville left the company in mid-October, reportedly over frustration with his status. He was scheduled to lose to then-WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore on the October 9, 2017 episode of WWE Monday Night RAW, and left the company after reportedly learning of the scheduled finish. The match resulted in Enzo losing the championship to Kalisto.

Neville has been silent since his departure with his last social media post, seen below, coming in late September ripping WWE Shop over his new shirt. He has remained on their roster section on WWE.com.

Since quitting in October, Neville had been wanting his release from the company. He is still under WWE contract and his deal is apparently frozen for the time that he is not working. It’s the same situation that led to Daniel Bryan and Rey Mysterio remaining with the company well after their original contracts had expired.

Source: WrestlingINC

Rob Gronkowski Furthers Speculation About A Possible Move To WWE

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Speculation has continued to increase following the New England Patriots’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles at Super Bowl LII on whether tight end Rob Gronkowski has played his last game for the Pats and will decide to move over to the world of professional wrestling. WWE is reportedly interested in signing Gronk if he does indeed decide to retire from the NFL.

“I’m definitely going to look at my future, for sure, sit down in the next couple weeks, and see where I’m at,” Gronkowski said during a press conference following the Patriots’ loss. He also deflected a question asked about retirement, stating that he is not ready to answer that question.

Recently, Gronkowski has posted a series of cryptic tweets regarding the possibility of joining WWE. His good friend, Mojo Rawley, appears to be the bridge between Gronk’s possible transition from NFL to WWE.

Last year, at WrestleMania 33 in Orlando, Rawley won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal, and celebrated with Gronkowski. Prior to Rawley’s win, Gronkowski was involved in the match in an altercation with Jinder Mahal. Rawley shared his thoughts on Gronk coming over to the WWE.

“In my opinion and a lot of others, he’s the greatest tight end to ever play the game,” said Rawley. “You take all those assets and just raw abilities that you have and you bring that here, it’s kind of a recipe for success one way or another. He has a lot on his plate right now. Whether an appearance here in the WWE again comes at WrestleMania, or whether it comes to a WrestleMania five years from now, I’m sure at some point you’re going to see him in a ring again.”

Gronkowski may have added to the speculation on Twitter this week. As seen below, Gronk shared a recent article of Rawley being interviewed by ABC 15 Arizona and wrote, “It’s a team effort with Family and Friends!”

Source: WrestlingINC

NXT Preview 2/28/18

* Kairi Sane looks to put a stop to Shayna Baszler’s path of destruction

* What’s next for Andrade “Cien” Almas following Johnny Gargano’s exit from NXT?

* Tyler Bate and Velveteen Dream settle their differences inside the squared circle

Jeff Hardy Returning To The Ring In Time For WrestleMania 34?, Speculation On Hardy Return Plans

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Jeff Hardy has started training for his return to the ring, according to Wrestling Observer Radio. There’s no word yet on when Hardy will be cleared to return to the ring but there’s hope that he will be back in time for WrestleMania 34.

Hardy has been out of action since suffering a torn right rotator cuff in September. He underwent surgery in Alabama during the first week of October and almost immediately began what WWE called a tough physical rehab. There was talk at the time of Hardy being out of action for 6-9 months and other wrestlers have been out for 7 months with similar injuries. WWE sources expected Hardy to be out until May 2018. Hardy noted during a November interview that he hoped to be back in the ring by April.

There’s been a lot of speculation on creative plans for Hardy’s return now that brother Matt Hardy is doing the “Woken” storyline and feuding with Bray Wyatt. It’s believed that Jeff would be put back with Matt as Jeff contributed to the success of the original “Broken” storyline in TNA. There has also been a lot of speculation on WWE pulling the trigger on another big singles run for Hardy.

Source: WrestlingINC

Ronda Rousey To Be Inducted Into International Sports Hall of Fame

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Former UFC women’s bantamweight champion and current WWE Superstar Ronda Rousey, can add yet another accolade to her illustrious combat sports career, which already boasts a mixed martial arts (MMA) world title, as well as a bronze medal in Olympic Judo.

The International Sports Hall of Fame, class of 2018.

The ceremony takes place March 3, 2018, as part of the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio, a 501(c) Non Profit Foundation “established to honor the world’s greatest athlete legends in all sports.”

Joining “Rowdy” at this year’s induction ceremony is WWE wrestler and movie star David Bautista, former UFC champion Bas Rutten, New Zealand television personality Phil Keoghan, and Dr. Terry and Jan Todd, who did a bunch of stuff that I’m sure was important.

WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle announced on Instagram that he will be appearing at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, OH on March 3rd from 12-3pm. Angle will be appearing at the Barndad Nutrition Booth.

Rousey will also be receiving her 6th degree black belt in Judo that weekend while her mother, AnnMaria De Mars, will receive her 7th degree black belt.

Sources: MMA Mania and WrestlingINC

Brock Lesnar’s Chances Of UFC Return ‘Very, Very, Very Good’ According To UFC President Dana White

Brock Lesnar met up with UFC President Dana White over the weekend while in Las Vegas. Rumors on a potential UFC return for Lesnar have been ramping up as of late because Lesnar’s current WWE contract expires after WrestleMania 34, where he will defend the WWE Universal Championship against Roman Reigns. White posted a photo of the two together, but has yet to elaborate on what they discussed.

Yesterday, Dana White appeared on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio and at one point was asked about the chances of Lesnar returning to the UFC. White kept his answer positive, but brief.

“They’re very, very, very good.”

Lesnar’s last UFC fight was at UFC 200 back in July of 2016 where Lesnar defeated Mark Hunt by unanimous decision, which was later overturned. Failing a post-fight drug test for clomiphene, Lesnar was suspended for a year and fined $250k. In February of last year, Lesnar said he would be retiring from MMA. If he did decide to return, there’s still just over six months of his suspension that he would still have to fulfill.

Lesnar was scheduled to be at Monday’s Raw for a face-off with Roman Reigns, but that segment didn’t take place. He was featured in multiple Raw scripts that were done and his absence was acknowledged by Reigns during a segment he did by himself.

Lesnar is scheduled to defend against Kane at Saturday’s WWE live event in Chicago and is scheduled to return to WWE TV on the March 12 Raw from Detroit.

Source: WrestlingINC

Rey Mysterio Reportedly Finalizing Deal For Huge WrestleMania 34 Match With Top WWE Star

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It looks like Rey Mysterio may be returning to the ring for WWE at WrestleMania 34 in a huge match against a top WWE Star. That top star is speculated to be John Cena.

There had been a lot speculation of Cena facing The Undertaker at WrestleMania 34 but it appears that is not happening and Cena may be facing Mysterio.

Mysterio was backstage visiting at Monday’s SmackDown live event in San Diego, his hometown. Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated reports that Mysterio was also backstage for last night’s SmackDown TV tapings in Los Angeles to finalize details for the deal that will see him work WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans. Barrasso added that Rey’s rumored opponent is Cena.

Barrasso now reports that the Cena vs. Mysterio match was brought to the table after it was ruled that The Undertaker will not be working this year’s WrestleMania event.

Cena vs. The Undertaker had been expected but Cena did note during Monday’s RAW promo that he was told the match with Taker was impossible and not happening.

Last night on SmackDown, Cena returned an defeated AJ Styles to earn a spot in the WWE Championship Match at Fastlane against WWE Champion AJ Styles, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Baron Corbin and Dolph Ziggler.

Mysterio made a surprise appearance for WWE at the Royal Rumble back in January and has been rumored to be in talks with the company about a return later this year or in early 2019.

The last Cena vs. Mysterio singles match came on the July 25th, 2011 RAW. That match saw Cena defeat Rey for the WWE Title. The two would then team up at a December 28th, 2013 WWE live event in Newark, NJ. They defeated Randy Orton and Alberto Del Rio that night.

 

Backstage News On WWE’s Plans For Roman Reigns Vs. Brock Lesnar Build, More On Monday’s RAW Absence

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As noted, WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar was scheduled to face off with Roman Reigns on Monday’s RAW from Anaheim but that segment never happened. Lesnar, who was in Las Vegas on Sunday to meet with UFC President Dana White but not to attend the WWE Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, was listed in multiple RAW scripts on Monday and was still being advertised by WWE after RAW hit the air.

It’s still not completely clear why Lesnar and Heyman didn’t appear but F4Wonline.com reports that their absence is believed to be due to an 11th hour creative change. The goal of the build to Reigns vs. Lesnar at WrestleMania 34 is to get Reigns cheered by fans, leading to a positive reaction when he wins the title in New Orleans. WWE officials also want the build to Reigns vs. Lesnar to come across like a shoot as much as possible, and the RAW segment helped with that goal.

We also noted before that the RAW segment with Reigns, Lesnar and Paul Heyman was scheduled to be lengthy and would air in the second hour. PWInsider adds that the segment was scripted to have Lesnar call Reigns a “b—h” at one point. Regarding the promo that Reigns did by himself, word is that the promo was not in the script but most of the verbiage was approved, likely by Vince McMahon.

Lesnar is scheduled to defend his title against Kane at Saturday’s WWE live event in Chicago. He’s scheduled to return to TV at the March 12th RAW in Detroit.

Source: WrestlingINC

Former Colts Punter Pat McAfee To Guest Ring Announce At NXT Event

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NXT‘s live event in Indianapolis this weekend will be getting a special treat in the form of guest ring announcing from former Colts punter Pat McAfee.

McAfee will get behind the microphone before Undisputed Era take on Street Profits and Kassius Ohno to introduce the competitors as they walk to the ring.

The current host of Barstool Sports‘ Pat McAfee Show tweeted:

Tickets are still available at WWE.com.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

CM Punk And Stu Bennett Among New Hosts Announced For “Ultimate Beastmaster”

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“Ultimate Beastmaster” on Netflix has announced that ex-WWE stars CM Punk and Stu Bennett(aka Wade Barrett) will be among the new hosts joining the show for season three.

Deadline first reported that a new season will air in 2018 and Punk tweeted afterward saying, “The Beast is back and I’ll be your host for Team USA along with the my co-host the awesome ! Don’t miss the most intense obstacle course in the world!!!!!”

For those who haven’t seen Beastmaster, the show is edited to be specific to each region participating — hence the local hosts who anchor their country’s version — however, we’re told there’s lots of interaction between all of them … so you’ll see some banter between the former Nexus leaders.

Bennett posted an announcement on social media as well with the caption, “*BREAKING NEWS* I’ll be hosting Netflix’s  S3 alongside .  .”

Check out his video below:

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet