Former WWE Superstar James Ellsworth has a new Intergender Title that he will be defending on the indies. You can see the title in his Instagram post below:
Source: WrestlingINC
Category: WWE
Possible Reason For Apollo Crews Losing His Last Name
WWE changed Apollo Crews’ name to just Apollo on their roster section at WWE.com. His name on Twitter also reflects this change. WWE had recently aired an angle with Titus Worldwide creating the “Crews Can’t Lose” catchphrase for him
Shortening names is nothing new in WWE, as Elias (Samson), Big E (Langston), (Antonio) Cesaro, (Adrian) Neville, (Alexander) Rusev and many others are now billed differently than when they were first introduced. The names are usually changed because Vince McMahon feels that they sound better shortened. However, there appears to be another reason for this change.
Daniel Wood of Sportskeeda is reporting that WWE confirmed in an email that the change was done due to the tragic high school shooting last Wednesday in Parkland, Florida. The gunman, 19 year-old Nikolas Cruz, killed 17 students and teachers with an AR-15 rifle. WWE apparently wanted to avoid any allusion to Cruz, despite the spelling being different, and the decision was made by Vince McMahon to drop Apollo’s last name.
Source: WrestlingINC
Breaking News: WWE Announces Jeff Jarrett Will Enter HOF
Jeff Jarrett used to have one question for the WWE Universe during his incredible career: “Ain’t I great?”
While fans responded with boos and jeers then, today, the answer is undoubtedly affirmative. As first reported by NBCSports.com, Jarrett is the latest inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018, joining Goldberg, The Dudley Boyz and Ivory. He’ll take his place in sports-entertainment history on Friday, April 6, in New Orleans during WrestleMania 34 Week.
Read the rest of the announcement here at WWE.com
Titus O’Neil Partnered With Local Athletes And Others To Bring 2000 Kids To The Movies
Titus O’Neil partnered with local athletes and others in the community to bring more than 2,000 kids to see the new Black Panther movie in Tampa on Thursday night. You can see videos and comments from Titus below:
Source: WrestlingINC
Rich Swann And WWE Mutually Part Ways
WWE announced yesterday that Rich Swann is done with the company.
WWE’s statement:
Rich Swann and WWE have mutually agreed to part ways as of today, February 15, 2018.
WWE wishes Swann the best in all of his future endeavors.
Swann was arrested and charged for false imprisonment/kidnapping and misdemeanor battery (touching or striking) after an incident with his wife Vannarah Riggs, who currently works for Impact Wrestling as Su Yung, in mid-December. Swann was driving a car with Riggs and apparently began to critique her performance at a wrestling show earlier in the night. Swann supposedly got angry and Riggs jumped out of the car because she was worried that the argument was going to escalate. Swann allegedly stopped the car in traffic and yelled for her to return before putting her in a headlock and dragging her back to the vehicle. The car was apparently not in park, and it crashed into a telephone pole. Swann denied physically touching Riggs and the couple reconciled shortly after. Swann was later cleared of all charges the incident.
WWE To Make Another Major Pay-Per-View Change Soon?
WWE will reportedly be making an official announcement soon regarding pay-per-view changes, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. It is expected that the announcement will be the end of brand-exclusive pay-per-views, starting with WWE Backlash in May. WWE has confirmed the upcoming announcement after a Ticketmaster e-mail sent this week revealed that the WWE Backlash pay-per-view on May 6th will now be a dual-branded show after previously being announced for the RAW brand, as noted. Originally only 5 events were scheduled to be dual-branded this year – the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, Money In the Bank, SummerSlam and Survivor Series.
Adding more pay-per-view events has added costs without a lot of new revenue, with the exception of the live gates, since they really aren’t increasing WWE Network subscription numbers at a high rate. There also may have been issues with storylines slowing down due to longer gaps in between brand-exclusive events.
WWE ran 16 pay-per-view events in 2017 and cut back to 14 this year but they had a goal of running 12 – one per month. They currently have 13 more scheduled to take place after January’s Royal Rumble – Elimination Chamber, Fastlane, WrestleMania 34, Backlash, Payback, Money In the Bank, Battleground, SummerSlam, Extreme Rules, Hell In a Cell, TLC, Survivor Series and Clash of Champions.
In another pay-per-view change that has not been confirmed yet, there’s belief within WWE that the former B shows will be increased by 1 hour to be four-hour pay-per-views with two matches on the one-hour Kickoff pre-show. One of the main reasons for the increase likely has to do with having to fit top stars from both brands on one show. The Observer points to how the biggest complaint with WWE pay-per-view events has been the length of the top shows and now every show will be 5 hours long.
The Observer notes that both shows will be pushing the same pay-per-view each month and all the top stars would be on it, but one major negative is that a lot of middle & lower card talents won’t be featured on pay-per-view as much, if at all, and less pay-per-view time means less focus on TV. It was also speculated that we may see more stipulation matches on TV that would have usually been used for pay-per-view with some of the midcard feuds.
Another negative could be that there will be title matches relegated to pre-shows, which will hurt their significance. There also could be more multi-person matches as a way to get top talents booked on pay-per-view, more matches on each show meaning rushed matches, less spots for non-title matches. It’s possible that most of the shows will feature two main title matches, two secondary title matches, two women’s title matches, two tag team title matches and the cruiserweight title match.
Source: WrestlingINC
DDP Scheduled For WWE RAW (2/19/18)
According to PWInsider, Diamond Dallas Page is scheduled to be on this week’s Raw in Phoenix, Arizona. No word yet on what Page’s role will be on the show. Page was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame last year.
Source: WrestlingINC
Inside Speculation On Rey Mysterio’s WWE Future, Update On Rey’s Son Training For A Wrestling Career
There’s speculation within WWE on Rey Mysterio signing some sort of new deal with the company in 2019, if not this year, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The deal would be for a part-time run as Rey has been adamant about not wanting to work a full-time WWE schedule.
The Observer notes that Rey could work a deal similar to Chris Jericho’s recent deal where he worked with WWE for some of the time but also had time off for his own projects. It will be interesting to see if WWE’s deal for Rey would allow him to work for other wrestling promotions as he remains very active on the indie scene, here in North America and overseas.
On a related note, Rey’s son Dominik has been training for a pro wrestling career with Jay Lethal in Tampa, Florida and is said to be doing very well. Dominik is no stranger to WWE fans as he appeared in various storylines over the years.
It looks like Dominik, who is much taller than his father, will be wrestling in a mask as he has started to keep his face covered in social media posts. Below are a few of his recent Instagram posts:
I didn’t move all the way across the country to play games, I came out here to train my body/mind and build mental toughness and discipline. I’m not out here learning to compete, I’m here so I can learn how to dominate!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bc6A90QlHjs/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BckmHeAFGTS/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BehVGwgFDhF/
Source: WrestlingINC
Former Impact Wrestling Star Amanpreet Singh (Mahabali Shera) Reports To WWE Performance Center
WWE announced Indian wrestler, Amanpreet Singh, has reported to the WWE Performance Center. Singh was also known as Mahabali Shera for Impact Wrestling where he worked from 2014 until 2017. Singh had quietly left Impact in late 2017. Training under the likes of Savio Vega and Al Snow, Singh commented on signing with the WWE.
“I came to the U.S. with the dream that someday, I am going to make my country proud,” said Singh. “I would consider myself fortunate if I am able to become a positive role model for the youngsters of my country and impact lives. I don’t think I can find a better platform than WWE to empower myself to empower others, especially those back at home.”
Source: WrestlingINC
NXT Preview 2/14/18
* Ember Moon grants Shayna Baszler an NXT Women’s Championship rematch
* Roderick Strong takes aim at Pete Dunne’s WWE U.K. Championship
* Aleister Black returns on WWE Network
