Pro Wrestling Sheet has confirmed WWE announcer JoJo was not in attendance for Monday Night Raw in in Boston this week due to a death in the family.
The following statement, which we’ve verified is accurate, was posted from her fan site’s Twitter account: “JoJo will not be working tonight’s episode of RAW as she has been sent from Boston. This is due to her sister, Gigi, passing away.”
Mike Rome took over on announcing duties at the TD Garden tonight in her absence.
Our deepest condolences go out to the announcer and her family during this time.
Ric Flair had successful surgery yesterday and it was not heart related. Flair’s manager, Melinda Morris Zanoni of Legacy Talent and Entertainment, tweeted:
Ric had surgery today (not❤️related)am happy 2report it was a success.Still a long road ahead so plz keep 🙏🏻4Ric Charlotte Megan David&Wendy
WWE Hall of Famer “Mean” Gene Okerlund indicated on Facebook that Flair was having “colon surgery.” He wrote the following:
I’ve heard nothing on the outcome of Ric Flairs colon surgery this afternoon but the outpouring of prayers and love re-enforce that he definitely is “THE MAN”.
Pro Wrestling Sheet reported Saturday that Flair, 68, was admitted to an intensive care unit on Saturday morning for heart-related issues. It was reported on Monday by TMZ that Flair was in a medically induced coma and was being prepped for surgery. Their report never confirmed what type of surgery Flair was undergoing.
It was reported by F4WOnline.com that Flair was scheduled to have surgery this week but it’s unknown whether the surgery he had was the original surgery scheduled or a new surgery.
“Free Agent” John Cena is expected to be working on Raw in the near future as he’s being advertised on the brand’s upcoming No Mercy PPV on September 24. The Barclays Center tweeted out that Cena is scheduled to appear on the Raw after SummerSlam on August 21.
WWE covered the news Ric Flair was hospitalized in Atlanta, GA over the weekend on their official website and ran comments from his management team that he’s dealing with “tough medical issues.”
It was learned (via Pro Wrestling Sheet) that Flair, 68, was admitted to an intensive care unit on Saturday morning for heart-related issues. At the time, his manager, Melinda Morris Zanoni of Legacy Talent and Entertainment, indicated there was no reason to panic. A tone that seemed to change early Monday morning when she asked for prayers and positive energy for the Hall of Famer.
PWInsider.com pointed out that while there is no confirmation on Flair’s exact issues, it was written in his To Be The Man autobiography that he suffers from Alcoholic cardiomyopathy. The condition is a result of prolonged alcohol abuse and can result in heart failure. The effects of the alcohol damage the myocardium where it is unable to efficiently pump blood.
Head WWE producer Michael Hayes visited Flair on Sunday prior to flying to Boston for RAW and tweeted, “I saw @RicFlairNatrBoy before I flew to Boston yesterday I can assure that he needs everyone’s prayers and positive vibes. Thx in advance!!”
I saw @RicFlairNatrBoy before I flew to Boston yesterday I can assure that he needs everyone's prayers and positive vibes. Thx in advance!!
Today The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling welcomes back the one and only “Innovator Of Violence” and ECW Original, Tommy Dreamer. Promoting the upcoming HUGE weekend for his House of Hardcore promotion (tonight in Freehold, NJ at iPlay America and Saturday night at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia) Dreamer opens up on how his shows have helped Independent pro wrestling and how his vision for a “NO POLITICS, NO BS” environment has proven to be a great destination for all kinds of wrestling talent. The full episode can be downloaded at this link.
What he has in store for his HOH shows Friday night in NJ and Saturday in Philly:
“Booking is easy. Availability is a different thing and with these shows at first I was like what am I going to do with this? All of a sudden I have a lot of and when I tell you this it is that I have too many people for these two shows. The fans are going to see two great things and the only way they are going to see these shows (because) it is not going to be on any streaming device and you are going to have to attend it to see it. I have not advertised one match for The Arena and my advance is huge and I did that purposely. I wanted to see what I had and I also want to see how much my fans trust what I am doing.”
“If you look at everybody on the poster they will all be there and I’ve got a bunch of surprises for you and if that doesn’t wet you whistle than the Rock N’ Roll Express will be there and they’ve never wrestled in The Arena as a tag team and you can say goodbye to Bobby Fish. He’s not a huge House of Hardcore guy but he was a huge Ring of Honor guy and he wrestled in that building a million times. I love to be able to offer people a goodbye and let them say goodbye to the audience that has watched them grow and I am as happy as can be for Bobby Fish, I wish I had Kyle O’ Reilly (I do not) but with Bobby Fish I am happy he is finally able to go to NXT.”
Does he get frustrated when talent he uses regularly depart for WWE:
“House of Hardcore 34 and 35 are coming up and I was doing something to lead to something else and my friend went through all of the guys (we’ve had) and he said that thirty nine people that have wrestled for you are all working for WWE and I thought that was cool. At first when that would happen I would get mad and thought I would find more stars and use this as a different platform because until I am able to sign guys to contracts than I am okay with it. They will remember for some guys that they had some breaks and got to hang out and work The Arena and work in a lot of cool places.”
Ideas on how to put a House of Hardcore card together:
“I am always excited for myself the performer because this main event we’ve got I wrestled it in Australia and it was myself, MVP and Jack Swagger and when I want guys to bring it to me, they brought it to me and I loved it. The match was so good that I wanted to showcase it another on one of my shows and I get the opportunity when guys are free and I am able to do that. I had assisted them in both of their WWE careers and I am blessed to do that with guys. MY “MVP” is usually Sami Callihan for the amount of great wrestling that he does and for the first time ever (vs. Bully Ray) at iPlay. Bobby Fish who is now no more and he’ll be in NXT now will wrestle Rhett Titus and I am the biggest Rhett Titus fan. When I see someone of his talent and what he does and see how hungry he still is I will take ten Rhett Titus’ over anybody else. When you put these things together even thought it is my money, you do what the fans want to see and I am happy.”
Personal favorite matches of his in HOH:
“Me and Matt Hardy had something special. Me and Ethan Carter had something special, me and Eric Young, me and Bobby Roode and I’ve been blessed to piggy back off of a lot of stuff when I was doing stuff with TNA. Some of my favorite matches from House of Hardcore are me versus Cody Rhodes for the emotional aspect of his father being my hero and I hired Cody into WWE and I love Cody’s work and what he has become post WWE. Me and Billy Gunn in Australia took on The Young Bucks and it was the main event in Australia and billed its as The Young Bucks versus The Old Bucks that don’t give a f*ck. I do a lot of joking on my Facebook and when I saw advertisements for it and told them I was kidding, I was just happy that they put a star “F”.”
Comparing the growth of HOH to the evolution of ECW:
“It’s funny because when the original ECW started we were just an indy and it was a company that was running once a month or once every other month. The beauty of ECW and you can watch it on the WWE Network but you can watch the company grow and if you watch those TV tapings and watch the dates you can watch the audience grow and grow.”
“I’ve had that and I try to give that back and if I can’t I’ve had so many people (like) Matt Hardy. He would sit at the curtain and watch guys matches and when me and Matt got ready to wrestle that night than Bubba would watch the matches and even Christian did. Christian had not attended an Independent event in forever but he wanted to hang out and chill in the back and watch it. I asked him to be my eyes and if you see something you like than tell me and if you see something that you don’t tell me or better yet tell them. I love that.”
Source: WrestlingINC with credit toThe Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling FOR THIS TRANSCRIPTION
Terry Funk spoke with Sports Illustrated‘s “Extra Mustard” section on a number of wrestling topics. Here are some of the highlights:
Wrestling again at 73-years old:
“I’m back doing what I love. I’m really honest about this, I don’t need the money. …I don’t know if I can kick some ass or not, I don’t know if I can get my foot up that high. [Laughs] I’ll bet I can. I’ve been working out hard at it, and one more time is all I want.”
His Dad (Dory Funk) wrestling and passing away shortly after:
“My pop was in the business and he loved it very much. He actually went ahead and passed away while wrestling. We used to have a few parties out at the house and invite the wrestlers. There was one by the name of Lance Thornton, and he thought he could take my father. My father went ahead and said, ‘Dah gumit, I don’t think you can do that.’ So everybody pushed by the tables and chairs in the house, and they went at it. My father, who was 54 at the time, beat him. He sat down beside me and said, ‘Wasn’t bad for an old man, was it?’ Then he got up and left the room and went out the front door. About 15 minutes later, my wife came to me and said, ‘Your father is out on the front porch and thinks he’s having a heart attack.’ Sure enough, he was, and he passed away. He passed away doing what he loved. I certainly don’t want to pass away, but I’m doing what I love. And so what if I’m doing it in my 70s? I know this is hard for some people to understand, but I still think I can kick ass. This love of wrestling has been in my family with my dad, my brother, and myself. To this day, it’s what I love.”
Jerry Lawler (who will be one of his opponents in September):
“Lawler sure is different. I love sharing my moments with people that I made money with. I used to love to wrestle on the same card as him, and I’m back to doing what I love.”
According to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Rey Mysterio would not be returning to WWE after the company had interest in bringing him back to help with the Latin market. Word was that Vince McMahon was not interested in working with Rey’s representation, specifically Konnan.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletterreports this week that while Rey and WWE were talking, the discussions were said to be overblown in the first place as Rey was looking at signing with GFW because of the easier schedule and because it would allow him more freedom to do side projects. When word first got out about Rey talking with WWE, The Observer was told that it was actually GFW that Rey was talking with, and that there was nothing significant to the WWE talk. Rey is unlikely to sign a regular WWE deal at this point in his career, unless it was for a very limited number of dates, and the pay wouldn’t come close to what he could earn as an indie talent if the company offered him a non-talent public relations job.
Regarding Rey’s status with Lucha Underground, he had a very good deal going with them but the fact that he’s looking for work elsewhere as their biggest name is not a good sign for the promotion. It looks like Rey and LU are parting ways, and it’s been noted that he’s expected to receive a significant offer from GFW. Rey’s deal with LU would have made him one of the higher paid wrestlers in the world, working a limited number of dates and still having freedom to work other indies. The Observer notes that the money isn’t there for Rey to be offered what his prior deal was, due to various issues with the promotion – long delays in between tapings, no live event touring and no movie, which was never promised but was pitched. Rey reportedly ended up signing for less than the numbers offered when he was first told about LU’s interest, but it was still far more money than he could get from any other promotion.
Konnan noted that he had not negotiated with WWE on behalf of Mysterio, and that if Rey wanted to return to WWE and anyone saw Konnan’s involvement as a negative, then he would stay out of the talks and Rey would negotiate for himself. The SI story noted that the rift between Vince and Konnan goes back decades to when the company invested big bucks into the Max Moon character for Konnan. He ended up staying in Mexico to work as a top star and while he was recently welcomed backstage at a WWE event as a guest of Chris Jericho, SI noted that issues still exist between Konnan and the WWE office. The Observer noted that the issues over the Max Moon character were started 25 years ago and almost nobody involved is still with the company, except Vince. It was indicated that the Vince – Konnan story may have been overblown.
Regarding Rey and GFW, GFW Executive Karen Jarrett fueled the rumors last month when she posted a photo with Rey to her Instagram account. It’s worth noting that the photo has since been deleted. Rey is under contract with LU through the end of season three, which airs in September, but he does have a 90-day non-compete clause in the deal. He will be a free agent after that and it’s believed he will debut with GFW then.
UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones tweeted that appearing ringside at WWE’s upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view has crossed his mind.
The comments came after a follower on Twitter asked the newly-crowned UFC titleholder if he planned on showing up ringside at the event in Brooklyn, New York.
Jones defeated Daniel Cormier at UFC 214 last month in Anaheim, CA and immediately called out former UFC heavyweight champion and current WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar. Lesnar immediately commented on Jones’s challenge:
“Be careful what you wish for, young man,” Lesnar replied to The Associated Press.
Brock will face Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe and Braun Strowman in a Fatal Four-Way Match for the WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam in less than two weeks. He remains under contract with WWE through April 2018.
A super-fight pitting Jon Jones against Lesnar is something the UFC reportedly wants to do, however, it’s not without its obstacles. Lesnar has to finish out serving a one-year suspension after failing two drug tests in connection with his fight against Mark Hunt at UFC 200 last year. When Lesnar retired from MMA, his suspension was frozen. He must be back in the testing pool for a full four months before he’s able to fight. Last time he fought he was granted a testing exemption, which resulted in two failed drug tests, a suspension and a civil lawsuit filed by his opponent.
UFC President Dana White said shortly after Jones called out Lesnar that a fight between the two happening anytime soon was not a reality.
“It’s fun to talk about, but the reality of it happening anytime soon, it’s not a reality,” White said.
Scott Dawson suffered a ruptured biceps tendon tear while competing at a WWE live event in Halifax, Canada last Friday, as we previously reported. The injury occurred while Dawson was teaming with Dash Wilder against RAW Tag Team Champions Cesaro and Sheamus.
It was noted in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletterthe only reason the match pitting heel teams against one another happened is because the original opponents for the champions were The Hardy Boyz. However, WWE wasn’t about to get things cleared up to insure that Jeff Hardy would be allowed to cross the United States border into Canada, so they were removed from the shows.
WWE was working on it but time ran out and Hardy had to be pulled from all shows. The original plan was for Matt Hardy to be in Toronto for RAW and shoot an angle with The Revival for their match, but after the injury to Dawson, that was removed from the show. It’s believed they’ll be able to clear things up before RAW’s next tour of Canada.
Border crossing issues have been an issue for Jeff Hardy due to being convicted on felony drug charges, including a drug trafficking charge in 2009. Hardy was arrested on September 11, 2009 and charged with trafficking controlled prescription pills and possession of anabolic steroids, after a search of his house yielded 262 Vicodin prescription pills, 180 Soma prescription pills, 555 milliliters of anabolic steroids, a residual amount of powder cocaine and drug paraphernalia. He pled guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 10 days in jail, 30 months of probation and a fine of $100,000.
As for Dawson, surgery will likely be required and he’s out indefinitely.
