Category: WWE

Backstage Updates On Rey Mysterio, What GFW Had Planned For Him, Recent Injury, Training His Son

No word yet on where Rey Mysterio is headed but it won’t be Global Force Wrestling, according to PWInsider and The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Rey had an offer from GFW after negotiations between the two sides but he opted not to take it.

Rey was also in talks with WWE over the summer but those talks stopped as Vince McMahon did not want to work with Rey’s representation, mainly Konnan, among other reasons. It was also noted that while Rey and WWE were talking, the talks were said to be overblown in the first place as Rey was actually looking at signing with GFW because of the easier schedule and because it would allow him more freedom to do other projects. When word first got out about Rey talking with WWE, Dave Meltzer was told that it was actually GFW Rey was talking with, and that there was nothing significant to the WWE reports.

While his in-ring future with a major company is up in the air, Mysterio is said to be focused on training his son Dominick and preparing him for a pro wrestling career. Rey is also heavily involved with The Crash promotion in Mexico.

GFW wanted Rey to wrestle against Alberto El Patron at the November 5th Bound For Glory pay-per-view, according to The Observer. We’ve noted how Jeff Jarrett vs. Alberto El Patron was in the works for Bound For Glory but is likely off the books now that Jarrett is taking an indefinite leave of absence from GFW. The Observer notes that the storyline would have had Alberto blaming Jarrett for his recent GFW suspension. Jarrett vs. Alberto was to be teased until they pulled a big swerve on the night of the show and had Jarrett introduce Rey as Alberto’s opponent instead. When the talks with Rey fell through, plans changed back to Jarrett vs. Patron for Bound For Glory. There’s still no word yet on what Alberto will be doing at Bound For Glory, if anything at all.

On a related note, Rey suffered an ankle injury while working for the Catch Wrestling promotion in Austria during an eight-man single elimination tournament in four cities from August 30th through September 2nd. Rey defeated Alofa on August 30th and Apolo on September 1st to make it to the finals of the tournament. He then appeared at the finals on September 2nd in Vienna and apologized for the injury, promising to return to Vienna to make up for it. His opponent for that night, Joe Doering, then attacked him but Rey made a quick comeback to hit the 619 and roll him up for the win. He went to the hospital after the match to get the ankle checked out and while there was an injury, it was not serious and he’s expected to be back in the ring soon. The Observer noted that Rey suffered the injury because he’s been worked several dates in recent weeks.

Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter via WrestlingINC

Mae Young Classic Information

May contain spoilers if you are not up to date on the Mae Young Classic.

Following this week’s Raw, there will be a MYC recap show and it will feature Tessa Blanchard, Jazzy Gabert, and Kay Lee Ray vs. Santana Garrett, Sarah Logan, and Marti Belle. On their Facebook page, WWE will have a red carpet event at 6pm ET on Tuesday that will include Ronda Rousey, Charlotte, Bayley, cast members of GLOW, and others.

According to PWInsider, the lineup for the Mae Young Classic Finals on Tuesday (10pm ET) will be just Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane as the show is scheduled for 30 minutes on the WWE Network.

Update:

The Mae Young Classic episodes will begin airing at 1pm EST on Tuesday afternoon with the “Bracketology” hosted by Corey Graves and WWE Hall of Famer Lita. There will then be a Red Carpet Special at 6pm EST, hosted by Cathy Kelley. That event will air exclusively on Facebook. Ronda Rousey, Olympic gold medalist Hope Solo, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, The Bella Twins, Bayley, Charlotte Flair, cast members of Netflix series “GLOW” and others are expected to appear on the red carpet, live from Las Vegas. The tournament finale with Kairi Sane vs. Shayna Baszler will then air at 10pm EST exclusively on the WWE Network once SmackDown goes off the air. The finale is scheduled to feature just one match – Sane vs. Baszler.

As a reminder, there will be a tournament recap special hosted by Charly Caruso that airs on the WWE Network after tonight’s RAW goes off the air. The thirty-minute show will feature Tessa Blanchard, Jazzy Gabert and Kay Lee Ray vs. Santana Garrett, Sarah Logan and Marti Belle, which was taped at Full Sail University during the tournament tapings.

Source: WrestlingINC

 

WWE’s Dilemma With Ronda Rousey And Her Four Horsewomen Faction

The New York Post wrote an article on WWE’s dilemma with Ronda Rousey and her Four Horsewomen faction. During the Mae Young Classic her group crossed paths with Charlotte, Becky Lynch, and Bayley, possibly teasing something down the road. The topic of what should WWE do if the two groups do meet up in the ring is discussed in the article.

“Baszler is now a rising star in the wrestling business, and Shafir is engaged to NXT’s Roderick Strong, so there is plenty to expand upon. Rousey’s nature will push her to ensure she can put up a good showing; if not, this could always get put on hold. The question is, how do you handle Rousey in the match? Does a group of ‘novice’ pro wrestlers — though MMA badasses — go over on arguably the four top women in your promotion? Does Baszler, who likely will be a full-time WWE performer, get lost in the shuffle? Do you promote Rousey as the invincible force she once was or the more fragile star looking for redemption we have seen after she twice got knocked out in the UFC? You can’t just expect people to forget her history and how she hid from the public eye after each loss.”

Source: WrestlingINC

 

According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the Horsewomen vs. Horsewomen match set up at the Mae Young Classic is scheduled to build to a match between the two groups at Survivor Series. That would lead to a Rousey singles match at WrestleMania, with Stephanie McMahon and Charlotte being the names most talked about.

Source: 411Mania

Steve Austin Comments on the Sexy Star/Rosemary Incident

Below is audio posted on the WrestlingInsiders YouTube channel of Steve Austin Commenting on the Sexy Star Incident with Rosemary.

WWE On Vince McMahon’s SmackDown Return

Vince McMahon will make his first WWE SmackDown appearance since 2013 on next Tuesday’s show in Las Vegas to address the situation between Kevin Owens and suspended SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon. WWE posted the following on Vince’s return to the blue brand:

Mr. McMahon comes to Sin City SmackDown to address the Shane McMahon-Kevin Owens situationThe animosity between Kevin Owens and Shane McMahon has reached its boiling point, and only one person can perhaps put an end to it: Mr. McMahon!

The WWE Chairman and CEO will be at Sin City SmackDown next week to address the bad blood between his son and KO, which boiled over Tuesday night on SmackDown LIVE. After Shane attempted to stop Owens from again making himself referee for a match, KO crossed the line by insulting Shane’s family.

The insults sent Shane over the edge, as he immediately pummeled Owens, tackled him over the announce desk and continued to throw haymakers before finally being pulled off by officials and arena security. After Owens threatened to sue WWE and the entire McMahon family and press criminal charges against Shane, Mr. McMahon phoned SmackDown LIVE General Manager Daniel Bryan with a difficult decision that had to be made: The Chairman suspended Shane indefinitely as SmackDown LIVE Commissioner.

Though Daniel Bryan thought that would have ended the situation, it was not enough for Owens, who vowed to make Sin City SmackDown his personal playground and Bryan’s personal nightmare. KO said there was nothing Bryan could do about it, to which Bryan agreed, but quickly notified Owens of Mr. McMahon’s intentions for next week.

What does Mr. McMahon have in store for Owens? Tune in to Sin City SmackDown LIVE next Tuesday at 8/7 C on USA Network to find out!

NXT Preview 9/6/17

* Disqualifications are thrown out the window in Ohno vs. Itami

* The Empress of Tomorrow reveals her future

* Can Cezar Bononi go 2-0 against Andrade “Cien” Almas?

* Lars Sullivan battles three men at once

Total Bellas Season 2 Premiere Tonight On E!

Image result for total bellas season 2

The second season of Total Bellas premieres tonight on E! Network.

Nikki & John contemplate a decision that affects the entire family; a pregnant Brie poses nude.

Nikki Bella Officially Joins ‘Dancing With The Stars’

Nikki Bella was on Good Morning America earlier today as part of the cast reveal for the latest Dancing with the Stars. Both WWE (here) and Nikki (via her Twitter) also announced the news. Nikki will be the third WWE Superstar on the show after Chris Jericho in 2011 and Stacy Keibler in 2006.

Here are the full season 25 pairings:

  • Shark Tank entrepreneur Barbara Corcoran with Keo Motsepe
  • ’80s icon Debbie Gibson with Alan Bersten
  • NBA player Derek Fisher with Sharna Burgess
  • Property Brothers star Drew Scott with Emma Slater
  • Actor Frankie Muniz with Witney Carson
  • Singer/actor Jordan Fisher with Lindsay Arnold
  • YouTube star Lindsey Stirling with Mark Ballas
  • Singer Nick Lachey with Peta Murgatroyd
  • WWE wrestler Nikki Bella with Artem Chigvintsev
  • Pretty Little Liars star Sasha Pieterse with Gleb Savchenko
  • NFL player Terrell Owens with Cheryl Burke
  • TV personality Vanessa Lachey with Maksim Chmerkovskiy
  • Paralympic swimmer Victoria Arlen with Val Chmerkovskiy

WWE Announces Signing Of Donovan Dijak

donovan dijak signs wwe nxt performance center

WWE issued the following:

A new hoss has arrived at the WWE Performance Center.

Six-foot-seven, 265-pound Chris Dijak of Worcester, Mass., better known to ring fans as Donovan Dijak, is the latest signee to join WWE’s training center in Orlando, Fla.

Combining heavy-hitting power with cat-like agility, Dijak’s explosive offense has won him admirers around the world. His “Feast Your Eyes” knee-smash, meanwhile, has downed enough opponents to put Dijak on WWE’s radar with only four years’ experience.

A football and basketball standout in high school and college, Dijak stormed onto the New England independent wrestling scene in 2013. He remained a force in the region ever since, crossing paths with the likes of Tommaso Ciampa and Oney Lorcan, and becoming a fixture in organizations including Massachusetts’ Chaotic Wrestling, Connecticut’s Northeast Wrestling and Rhode Island’s Beyond Wrestling.

Dijak’s search for new competition broadened in short order. In 2015, he won Ring of Honor’s Top Prospect tournament, and earlier this year he competed in the wXw 16 Carat Gold tournament in Germany. He has also wrestled for EVOLVE, and this past weekend, he fought in Pro Wrestling Guerrilla’s Battle of Los Angeles tournament, held in Reseda, Calif.

Dijak’s arrival at the Performance Center comes on the heels of WWE signing another sensation from the independent ranks, high-flyer Lio Rush.

Chris Jericho On What Would Get Him To Return To WWE

Chris Jericho is currently on a hiatus from the WWE touring with his band Fozzy and promoting his latest book. Speaking with Baby Huey and Bimbo Jimbo on The Other Guys Podcast, Jericho said he’s in no rush to return.

“Will I be back? Maybe, possibly,” Jericho said. “If I never wrestled again it wouldn’t bother me.”

Jericho is known as one of the best in-ring technicians ever to wrestle in the WWE. He said he’s driven by the storytelling aspect of wrestling, and he needs to be intrigued by a story before he can commit to getting back in the ring.

“I don’t care about who is it I want to work with, for me it’s what’s the story behind it because I’ve worked with everybody,” Jericho said. “It’s about what’s the storyline that you can put behind these things to make people really care.”

Jericho said he really enjoyed his latest run with the WWE that saw him work with Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, AJ Styles and most notably Kevin Owens. Jericho said he’d be willing to work with anybody as long as the story is something he thinks the fans will respond to.

“If I can think of a good story or if a good story is presented to me, then I’m all in, and I don’t care if it’s with John Cena or if it’s with Enzo Amore, whoever,” Jericho said. “If it’s a good storyline that I can sink my teeth into that I know people will love, just like the Festival of Friendship, then I’ll come back again. If not, then it might be a little harder to attract me.”

Source: WrestlingINC