Category: WWE

Former WWE Women’s Champion Ivory Confirmed For 2018 WWE Hall Of Fame

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WWE has announced that former women’s champion Ivory will be going into the WWE Hall of Fame this year in New Orleans during WrestleMania 34 weekend. She joins Bill Goldberg and The Dudley Boyz as confirmed names.

Below is WWE’s announcement on Ivory’s induction:

Ivory to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2018Ivory, a true pioneer in women’s wrestling, will take her place in the WWE Hall of Fame on Friday, April 6, during WrestleMania 34 Week in New Orleans, as a member of the Class of 2018. The news was first reported by espnW.

She broke into the wrestling business as a competitor on Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling, the 80s wrestling program that inspired the hit Netflix show “GLOW.” Competing under the name Tina Ferrari, Ivory captured GLOW’s championship before leaving the sports-entertainment industry in the early 1990s.

After nearly a decade away from the squared circle, Ivory returned to the ring in 1999, showing up in WWE in the corner of Mark Henry and D’Lo Brown. She wasted no time getting physical, helping Henry & Brown even the odds against Jeff Jarrett, Owen Hart & Debra. Not long after her arrival, Ivory defeated Debra to capture her first WWE Women’s Championship. Though she was later dethroned by The Fabulous Moolah, Ivory quickly rebounded and recaptured the title from the WWE Hall of Famer.

During the over-the-top Attitude Era of WWE, Ivory eventually aligned herself with the buttoned-up Right to Censor, trading in her tights for a crisp white dress shirt and a full-length skirt. The unusual ring attire did not hinder her from competing at the highest level, as she defeated three fellow WWE Hall of Famers — Lita, Trish Stratus and Jacqueline — to capture her third Women’s Title in 2000.

Ivory continued to compete in WWE through 2005 but also began to take on other roles in the company, including serving as a trainer on season 3 of WWE Tough Enough, announcing and hosting several WWE television programs before departing in 2009.

Now, Ivory will have one more title to add to her resume: WWE Hall of Famer.

Dean Ambrose Injury Update

According to Pwinsider.com, Dean Ambrose was spotted in Birmingham, Alabama yesterday, likely to see WWE doctors for a check on his recovery progress of his triceps tear after undergoing surgery on it last December. WWE initially reported that Ambrose could be out for upwards of 9 months, but they sometimes exaggerate recovery times to make for surprise returns.

Source: 411Mania

Kenny Omega Is Staying With NJPW This Year, Could Jump To WWE Next Year

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In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer said that Kenny Omega is likely to stay in NJPW this year but could move to WWE in 2019. Omega has already made the decision to remain with New Japan through the end of 2018.

Meltzer said that everyone’s different. While some can earn millions of dollars in WWe, others are helped by a career on the independent scene. He said that while Omega does great in the independents, his style may not be a match for WWE and it’s possible he might not succeed there.

Source: 411Mania

Tamina Snuka Out Of Action After Undergoing Surgery

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Tamina Snuka recently underwent surgery for a torn rotator cuff. Snuka last appeared at last month’s Women’s Royal Rumble match and wrestled with the injury. She got the surgery two days later.

Before the Rumble, she last wrestled on the January 2nd episode of SmackDown Live, where she teamed with Carmella and Natalya in a losing effort to Liv Morgan, Ruby Riott & Sarah Logan.

It appears as if Snuka’s participation in the Rumble match was questionable. Before the Rumble, she was removed from promotional material for the match at one point, before being re-added. She entered the Rumble match at #7 and lasted less than two minutes before being eliminated by Lita.

Jeff Hardy has been out of action since undergoing surgery for the same injury last October. The timetable for a return from the surgery is usually 6-8 months.

Source: WrestlingINC

Booker T Invites Corey Graves To Call Into His Show

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Over the weekend, Booker T called out Corey Graves on his podcast, Heated Conversations, by saying Graves was the reason he lost his commentating spot on Raw. Booker also challenged Graves to a fight. On Twitter, Graves quoted Sun Tzu and responded, “Thus the expert in battle moves the enemy, and is not moved by him.”

Booker posted a tweet asking Graves to call in on his next show and clear the air.

Source: WrestlingINC

Impact Wrestling Licenses ‘Broken’ Content To WWE

According to PWInsider, Impact Wrestling has licensed content from Matt and Jeff Hardy’s “Broken Universe” to the WWE. The amount given and the purpose are not known at this time, but according to the report WWE is looking to devote a WWE 24 episode to the Hardys and eventually release a DVD featuring the tag team. WWE has done similar deals with ROH for CM Punk and Daniel Bryan. As we reported earlier this month, Matt Hardy reached a deal with Anthem Sports and now officially owns the rights to his “Broken Universe.”

Source: WrestlingINC

Serena Deeb Reveals New WWE Role

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Serena Deeb is back with WWE as a Women’s coach at the WWE Performance Center. Deeb, 31, had worked for WWE from 2009 through 2010. During that time, she was a member of The Straight Edge Society with CM Punk and Luke Gallows. She returned to the company last year in the Mae Young Classic where she defeated Vanessa Borne in the first round before losing to Piper Niven in the second. In an interview with WWE.com, she said that her goal it to be teaching her own class at the Performance Center. She also was asked about her goals specifically as a teacher as someone who’s just starting out as a coach.

“To really step up into this leadership role, which is a new thing for me,” Deeb said. “I’m just looking forward to the set of challenges and rewards that are coming with this responsibility and getting to improve myself personally and professionally. I’m focused on how I can be a better person and a better coach. [I want] to give my best self to them so I can be a reflection of them and receive their best selves back. I think it’s so important for the individual, regardless of the role you’re in, to always be mindful of where you’re at and always take your self-inventory so you can garner the best side of them as well.”

Source: WrestlingINC

Triple H Expected To Have More Control In WWE, Vince McMahon On His WWE Role After XFL Relaunch

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On today’s WWE earnings call, WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon addressed the relaunch of the XFL. He once again noted that his near-$100 million stock sale will not be enough to fund the league, and that the venture will require more investment capital. He also reiterated that the league will not affect his role in WWE, and that there will be a separate management team for it.

Despite Vince’s comments, Dave Meltzer reported in The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the feeling is that Triple H will be given a lot more control in the company, simply because of the realistic demands in running both a pro wrestling company and a football league. Triple H has been putting his own team together, which includes Jeremy Borash, who left recently Impact Wrestling to come on board. Meltzer added that there have been others talked about recently to join his team to eventually fill key roles when he is in charge.

As noted, PWInsider reported this week that Vince recently stepped aside to put Triple H in charge of running 205 Live, which explains the different feel of the show the past couple of weeks. That change, however, was done more to reboot the brand as opposed to a workload issue with Vince. While the original Cruiserweight Classic concept, under Triple H, did very well on the WWE Network, 205 Live usually struggles to make the top 10 episodes of the week on the streaming service. Vince had been trying to make the show more character-driven, while Triple H is now bringing back some of the original aspects of the Cruiserweight Classic, including more of a focus on the in-ring work and the original presentation of the talent.

Source: WrestlingINC

CM Punk Reportedly In Talks To Face Another Winless Fighter At UFC 225 In Chicago

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After competing in his first UFC fight on September 10, 2016, UFC is reportedly in discussions to have CM Punk return after a nearly two-year hiatus. According to MMA Fighting, UFC is planning on returning to Chicago for UFC 225 and have native CM Punk (0-1) fight Mike Jackson (0-1).

UFC announced on February 3rd that they will be returning to Chicago for UFC 225. Just moments later, Punk teased interest in competing on the card.

CM Punk made the decision to quit WWE, and subsequently wrestling altogether, after being involved in a feud with corporate Kane during the time of the 2014 Royal Rumble. Punk was the first entrant, and lasted over 49 minutes before being eliminated by Kane. Despite being scheduled to appear on RAW the following night, Punk never showed up, and decided to leave the company. Punk then set his sights on MMA and locked in a bout with Mickey Gall at UFC 203. Unfortunately, Punk tapped out via a rear naked choke 2:14 in the first round.

Following this fight, Dana White felt that he maybe should not have his next fight in the UFC.

“He probably shouldn’t have his next fight in the UFC,” the UFC President told Fight Network’s John Pollock. “Just like I said with Brock, having your first fight in the UFC is tough and you [saw] tonight, even if it’s against a guy who is 2-0. This is a tough place to learn.”

Now, White looks to be willing to give Punk another chance inside the Octagon.

“I like that guy. He’s a good dude,” White told the Associated Press in January. “He wants to give it another shot. I’m going to give it to him. He’s a completely different case than most normal human beings. So, I’m going to give him another shot.”

CM Punk and Mike Jackson share two glaring similarities. Along with both being 0-1 in the UFC, both lost to Mickey Gall in 2016 via rear naked choke in the first round. While Punk lasted over two minutes against Gall, Jackson submitted in only 45 seconds to a rear-naked choke.

Source: WrestlingINC

Vince McMahon Steps Aside And Puts Triple H In Charge Of ‘WWE 205 Live’

There are major behind-the-scenes changes going on with the WWE 205 Live brand as Vince McMahon has stepped aside and is no longer personally producing the show, according to PWInsider. The changes began with last week’s episode, which featured new 205 Live General Manager Drake Maverick and kicked off the 16-man tournament that will end at WrestleMania 34 with the crowning of a new WWE Cruiserweight Champion.

Triple H is now overseeing 205 Live and he has brought back some of the aspects of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic tournament, including the style and presentation of the wrestlers. Vince had personally worked with the 205 Live Superstars to bring out their personalities to present them in a certain way but there has been more focus on the in-ring work under Triple H.

There has been a lot of internal talk over the past few months about why 205 Live wasn’t succeeding like they had hoped. Vince reportedly believed that a character-driven show was the best way to get the brand over, which is why former WWE Superstar Enzo Amore was brought over to be the top star of the brand. Enzo’s arrival helped with viewership and buzz for the show but there were still people in the company that wanted to present the show like the Cruiserweight Classic was presented. Their feeling was that having smaller talents that were just echoing the Superstars from RAW and SmackDown was not going to showcase what made the cruiserweight talents unique, and it wasn’t going to help 205 Live grow into its own brand, more than just a weekly WWE Network TV show.

The product we’ve seen over the last few weeks is said to be very much in line with the original plans for 205 Live before Vince became personally involved with the direction of the show and the development of the cruiserweight talents.

While WWE is still considering non-televised 205 Live live event shows in the future, there are currently no plans to run more cruiserweight-exclusive events as the plan is to focus on re-building the brand by presenting strong athletic characters with strong in-ring competition.

Vince finally made the decision to let Triple H run the show back in mid-January as a way to reboot the brand, or fix it. Triple H is running the show, making all decisions, while Jonathan Baeckstrom is the current lead writer. Baeckstrom has worked on the WWE creative team since August 2013 and has been a lead writer since November 2016. Former WWE Performance Center Coach Adam Pearce is still working as the lead producer for the brand.

Regarding roster changes, there may be more additions in the coming weeks. WWE NXT Superstar Roderick Strong was brought up to help freshen the roster and the show. As noted, Strong defeated Hideo Itami last night to advance in the 16-man tournament.

Source: WrestlingINC