Category: WWE

Update On Emma’s Injury And Her WWE Return

Emma is expected to be cleared to return to action in mid-June, according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Emma suffered a shoulder injury at a WWE live event earlier this month on May 7th in Liverpool, England. She was teaming with RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss and Nia Jax against Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Mickie James. She took a bad landing on her right shoulder after a double knee drop from Sasha on the turnbuckle, which caused the referee to throw the “X” signal and have the match stopped early.

Emma had returned to action on television last month on the April 3rd episode of RAW. She had suffered a back injury last May, and was scheduled to return as “Emmalina” earlier this year. The gimmick was dropped the day it was scheduled to debut this past February, and she reverted back to her “Emma” name.

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE Women’s Tournament To Be Named The Mae Young Classic, Possible Plans For Tournament

Triple H announced that the tournament will be called the “Mae Young Classic.” The name honors Young, who the company has long held up as a legendary figure in women’s wrestling. She was 90 years old when she passed away in January 2014.

WWE announced the following:

WWE has announced that the first-ever Mae Young Classic women’s tournament will take place Thursday, July 13, and Friday, July 14, from Full Sail Live in Orlando, Fla.

Tickets will go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. ET via www.nxttickets.com.

The tournament, named after WWE Hall of Famer and one of the greatest WWE Superstars in history, Mae Young, will feature 32 of the top female competitors from around the world participating in a single-elimination tournament. The unprecedented event will stream later this summer exclusively on WWE Network.

“The Mae Young Classic will mark a significant moment in the evolution of WWE,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events and Creative. “We are proud to provide this unique opportunity for the best female talent from around the world.”

Additional information on the Mae Young Classic will be announced in the coming weeks.

Click here for additional information on the life and legacy of WWE Hall of Famer Mae Young.

The current plan is for the tournament to have a very strong female presence, besides the talent roster, according to PWInsider. There has been talk of using female announcers, something like 2 female announcers and 1 male. No word yet on who the female announcers would be but they could go with something like Renee Young and Charly Caruso or with a guest WWE Hall of Famer, perhaps Lita or Beth Phoenix. We already know that WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross will be working the announce table that week.

There’s also been talk of using female referees for the tournament. We noted a few weeks back that indie women’s wrestler Kennadi Brink has been signed to work as a referee for the company. She will likely call at least some of the matches but there’s no word yet on if there will be another female referee brought in.

WWE has confirmed that the tournament will tape on July 13th and July 14th but they have not announced an air date yet. We do know that the tournament will air later this summer and as noted, the plan is to release 3 or 4 episodes at a time instead of one new episode each week. There are also plans to hold a live WWE Network special with the tournament finals on Tuesday, August 29th but that date could change.

Sources: WWE.com and WrestlingINC.com

NXT Preview 5/24/17

* Drew McIntyre and Wesley Blake settle their differences

* “The Velveteen Dream Experience” arrives in NXT

* Aleister Black is back in action

* What’s next for NXT following an unforgettable TakeOver: Chicago?

Women’s Money In The Bank Match Being Planned For Next Month’s Pay Per View?

Image result for Womens MITB ladder match being planned for MITB PPV

Pro Wrestling Sheet has learned WWE officials are planning to announce a women’s Money in the Bank match for next month’s event … and if all goes accordingly, we’ll be getting the first of it’s kind.

Sources tell PWS the SmackDown Live brand pay per view will not only feature the men’s MITB, but as it currently stands they’re planning to announce a women’s match as well in the next few weeks.

Thats right, 2017 is more than likely going to feature the inaugural Women’s Championship briefcase.

No word yet on participants, or if there is any added stipulations, but the fact they are having this match alone is just another large step forward in women’s equality in WWE.

This past October WWE stepped up and featured not only the first ever women’s Hell In A Cell, but also the first ever women’s PPV main event. And just this past Wrestlemania, #givesdwomenachance ended up moving those wrestlers from the pre-show to the main card.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

I really hope WWE goes through with these plans. The women are very capable of putting on a great MITB Ladder match.

Backstage News On Why WWE Is Staying Out Of Matt Hardy – Impact Wrestling Situation

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Impact Wrestling President Ed Nordholm revealed in an interview with the LAW this week that even though he felt that it was “unquestionable” that Impact Wrestling owned the “Broken” gimmick, he received word from WWE that they weren’t interested in it anyway.

“As far as I know, the WWE doesn’t want the gimmick, and indeed, from every conversation I’ve had with them, I’ve been told they have no interest in it,” Nordholm said. When asked if WWE has been actively pursuing the gimmick from them Nordholm replied, “Oh god, no. We’ve been in communication because there’s all this chatter about how we’re keeping it from them. [Laughs] I’m taking heat because I’m keeping something from you. If you want it, why don’t you call me? And their answer to me has been, ‘No, not interested.'”

On Tuesday, Nordholm leaked an email exchange he had with a WWE employee who stated that WWE had “no interest” in getting involved with acquiring the gimmick.

Dave Meltzer reported on the most recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE is not getting involved because they don’t want to set a precedent of buying a gimmick or idea from someone else. Hardy is actively pursuing acquiring the rights to it, and Meltzer noted that if WWE was not interested in the gimmick, they would tell him to stop doing the “Broken” mannerisms that he’s been using on television. Meltzer added that it’s clear that they have interest in the gimmick if Hardy can get the rights for it, however they have no desire to get involved in the process.

Source: WrestlingINC

Matt Hardy Responds To Impact Wrestling President Leaking His Contract Details

Image result for Matt Hardy

Matt Hardy commented on Impact Wrestling President Ed Nordholm sending PWInsider a log of the communications between the company and Hardy over the ownership of the “Broken” gimmick. Nordholm included an alleged four-page excerpt from Hardy’s contract with highlighted passages which stated that the company owned all intellectual property after their relationship ended.

Nordholm also posted an email exchange with a WWE employee who stated that WWE had “no interest” in getting involved with acquiring the gimmick.

Hardy responded on Twitter:

Source: WrestlingINC

Impact Wrestling President Releases Portion Of Matt Hardy’s Contract, Reby Hardy Sends Threats

The issues between the Hardys and Impact Wrestling got even uglier tonight. Impact Wrestling President Ed Nordholm sent PWInsider a log of the communications between the company and Matt Hardy over the ownership of the “Broken” gimmick. Nordholm included an alleged four-page excerpt from Hardy’s contract and highlighted passages which stated that the company owns all intellectual property after their relationship ended.

Nordholm also posted an email exchange with a WWE employee who stated that WWE had “no interest” in getting involved with acquiring the gimmick.

Below is the email that Nordholm sent to PWInsider:

Good afternoon,In response to on-going speculation concerning our position with respect to the “Broken Brilliance” creative, I am providing this detailed log of our communications on the subject and the contractual structure of our relationship with Matt Hardy with respect to intellectual property matters (which is standard to our roster and in the industry).

There has never been any argument from Impact Wrestling that the Hardy’s were key contributors to the development of the characters and story line, or that Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy executed on their roles in spectacular fashion. But the position taken by the Hardys is a massive disservice to the contributions of the rest of the creative team at Impact Wrestling, including Jeremy Borash, Dave Lagano (sic), Matt Conway and Billy Corgan, and is totally at odds with the terms of their contracts.

The Hardys would have you believe that Anthem is somehow avoiding their lawyers to address this. This is the log of our communications with the Hardys and/or their lawyers. It is clear that we have not been avoiding them.

* March 10 – EBN speaks with executives at ROH about “Broken Brilliance” being used in ROH shows. I indicated willingness to provide an arrangement that would allow the creative to be used in ROH shows and encouraged ROH to have Matt speak with me if he wanted to pursue that discussion
* March 11 – EBN spoke at length with Matt by telephone about the structure of an amicable arrangement for use of the Broken Brilliance creative
* March 14 – Matt sent text message to Ed Nordholm at 4:05pm:

“Tried giving you a call, it rang & went busy. I’m open to working things out amicably as we spoke about. The lawyer who represent me is interested in seeing your offer. My lawyer’s email is {redacted} which you could send the offer to for review. Thanks.”

And I responded by text at 6:41 pm

“Thank you Matt. I was supposed to be [flying] into NYC today and am a little twisted. I will pull something together with [our] lawyers and try to get it over to your lawyer tomorrow or Thursday at latest”

* March 16 – At 8:25 pm I sent an update text to Matt:

“Hi Matt. My lawyer got me a draft too late to get reviewed for today. I will look at it in the morning. Sorry for the delay”

And he responded at 9:16 pm

“Ok, he’s ready for it. Thanks for the update.”

* March 17 – counsel for Anthem Wrestling delivered draft proposal to counsel for Matt Hardy
* March 24 – counsel for Anthem Wresting followed up with Matt Hardy counsel requesting comments on the proposal
* March 27 – counsel for Matt Hardy responds that they have been away and have not reviewed the proposal but will be back “in the next few days”

After which no further communication until

* April 18 – counsel for Matt Hardy leaves a voice mail message for counsel for Anthem Wrestling asking to arrange a meeting
* April 20 – EBN contacts WWE by email to determine veracity of internet rumours concerning WWE interest in Broken Brilliance
* April 21 — WWE respond by email that there “is no interest on our end” {redacted email exchange attached}
* April 21 – counsel for Matt Hardy sends a follow up message requesting a meeting
* April 27 – lawyers speak to arrange a meeting
* May 16 – lawyers meet but no agreement reached

Finally, I am attaching a copy of the relevant provisions of Matt’s contract with Impact. The clause is virtually identical to the corresponding provisions of every wrestler under contract with Impact.

The facts are that we tried to accommodate the Hardys for their Ring of Honour engagements, and have tried to elicit an indication from WWE whether they have an interest in using the Broken Brilliance creative in WWE. We are not hoarding it from WWE; WWE is not interested in it.

We fully respect the decision of Matt and Jeff to return to WWE and appreciate all of their contributions to Impact Wrestling. We wish them every success.

Our focus is on the future and we will not have any further public comment on this matter.

Ed Nordholm

Reby Hardy responded to Nordholm’s leaks and timeline of events, and threatened to release some of their phone calls, as seen below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE 205 Live Preview 5/23/17

Tonight’s WWE 205 Live will take place from the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio.

* Street Fight: The Brian Kendrick vs. Akira Tozawa

* Will Neville attack TJP to intimidate Austin Aries?

SmackDown Live Preview 5/23/17

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio with the fallout from Sunday’s WWE Backlash pay-per-view.

* WWE Champion Jinder Mahal to throw Punjabi Celebration

* SmackDown LIVE Women clash in tag team battle following WWE Backlash melee

* Shane McMahon to make Money in the Bank announcement

* Who’s next to challenge The Usos?

* Will AJ Styles continue his pursuit of the United States Title?

Reby Hardy Contacts Lawyer Regarding Impact Drama, Matt Hardy On TNA Never Paying Senor Benjamin

Image result for Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Reby Hardy & Senor Benjamin

Matt and Reby Hardy continue to battle publicly with Impact Wrestling regarding the ownership of the “Broken” gimmick. In an interview with the LAW earlier this week, which is owned by Anthem, the parent company of Impact Wrestling, Impact Wrestling president Ed Nordholm said that it was “unquestionable” that they owned the gimmick.

“I think it’s unquestionable that the ownership of the characters in the storyline resides in Impact Wrestling,” Nordholm said. “I don’t think even the Hardys would dispute that. They’ve all signed contracts. Their contracts are standard contracts. Not only in the wrestling industry, but in the entertainment industry, generally, the producer of the show owns the content and it doesn’t really matter who in the creative team came up with the idea of what the character should be. The person that owns the storyline and the character is the person who invested to take that idea and put it on TV. That’s what we did. Impact put those characters on TV, and the contracts with those people are indisputably contracts that provide their IP to Impact.”

Impact Wrestling Creative Consultant to Head of Creative Dutch Mantel, who has been bickering with the Hardys on Twitter lately, responded to Nordholm’s comments and thanked him for “clearing it up.”

Matt Hardy’s wife, Reby, responded to the former Zeb Colter (Dutch Mantel) and shared a text message that she sent to her attorney, as seen below:

Matt chimed in, noting that Senor Benjamin was never paid by the company despite being promised, and he never signed a release to allow the company to air footage with his likeness:

Source: WrestlingINC