Elijah Mainville, who had signed an honorary contract with the WWE as Drax Shadow passed away last night. He was nine years old.
Elijah was battling neuroblastoma cancer and WWE had signed him back in 2015.
Cody Rhodes posted the following tweet thanking Elijah:
Kassius Ohno (Chris Hero) returned to WWE NXT last night and confronted NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura at the end of the tapings in what may have been a dark segment. Video is below. WWE announced the following on his return:
Kassius Ohno makes a huge return to WWE NXT
ORLANDO, Fla. — As first reported on Twitter, Kassius Ohno stepped between the yellow ropes for the first time in more than three years to confront NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura.
At the conclusion of the night’s event, Nakamura was celebrating with the NXT Universe when Ohno’s music suddenly blared through the arena. The returning Superstar — widely considered to be one of the world’s top competitors — wasted no time making his intentions clear, as he approached Nakamura, slapped the champion’s title while it rested on his shoulder and then took his leave as quickly as he had emerged.
Whatever happens as a result of Kassius Ohno’s huge return, this is certain — the landscape of NXT just changed in a big way.
Source: WrestlingINC
Former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Diamond Dallas Page is set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year, according to PWInsider. No word yet on the headliner for this year’s class but it does not appear to be DDP.
DDP, one of the most-liked names in the business, has had success behind-the-scenes and in the ring but became somewhat of a household name after launching DDP Yoga and going on to help troubled stars WWE Hall of Famer Scott Hall and Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Page has helped numerous other wrestlers, including Mick Foley and Vader.
WWE officials are finally planning on inducting “Ravishing” Rick Rude into the WWE Hall of Fame this year, according to PWInsider.
Roode, who passed away in April 1999, made appearances for WWE, WCW and ECW, among others. He held the WWE Intercontinental Title and the WCW United States Heavyweight Title, among others. He was forced to retire after suffering a back injury during a match against Sting in 1994.
There are rumors of a current WWE employee being inducted this year but we haven’t confirmed that name yet.
The 2017 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony takes place on Saturday, April 1st from Orlando during WrestleMania 33 weekend.
Source: WrestlingINC
Luke Gallows is dealing with some Facebook issues. He tweeted the following, noting that Facebook deactivated his account for “impersonating” himself:
Tonight’s two-hour WWE NXT special will feature the following matches from the December live event in Melbourne, Australia:
Ember Moon vs. Liv Morgan and Billie Kay
NXT Tag Team Champions Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa vs. TM61
Tye Dillinger and Buddy Murphy vs. Bobby Roode and Elias Samson
NXT Champion Shinsuke vs. Samoa Joe in a steel cage match
More than a year ago WWE legend Jimmy Snuka was charged with the 33-year-old murder of girlfriend Nancy Argentino … but as of today, the charges have been dropped.
The Morning Call reports that a Lehigh County, Pennsylvania judge dismissed the charges of third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in a closed-door hearing today in Allentown.
The decision comes after Snuka’s attorney Robert Kirwin filed a motion for dismissal following the ruling that Snuka was found to be incompetent to stand trial.
Kirwin commented on the judge’s decision saying, “It was time for there to be closure. The medical evidence showed that he was not getting better, and in fact he’s getting worse.” Furthermore, it was revealed in court last month that Snuka may only have six months to live.
As you may recall, Argentino died in 1983 and her case was reopened in 2013. Snuka was arrested for her death in September of 2015. The District Attorney’s office says they are presently considering what their next move is.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
It appears that Dolph Ziggler made a heel turn last night on SmackDown Live. After Baron Corbin defeated Ziggler, Corbin got a chair and looked to attack Ziggler, when Kalisto came down and made the save. Ziggler wasn’t very thankful as he nailed Kalisto with a superkick and said he never needed anyone. Later in the locker room he attacked Apollo Crews.
In the main event Dean Ambrose defeated The Miz for the Intercontinental Title.
Scheduled for tonight’s 1/3 205 Live on the WWE Network:
Neville vs TJ Perkins
The return of Tajiri
AJ Styles and John Cena’s WWE Title Match contract signing
Intercontinental Championship: (C) The Miz w/Maryse vs Dean Ambrose
Dolph Ziggler vs Baron Corbin
Who will challenge the new SmackDown Tag Team Champions American Alpha?
Who is the mysterious La Luchadora?
Source: WWE.com
Alberto Del Rio was arrested in Austria on Friday, December 30th, according to Austrian news website KRONE and other local media outlets.
Following an indie show in Leoben, Austria, Del Rio and his brother El Hijo del Dos Cara were reportedly involved in a brawl at a local nightclub.
Del Rio was obviously released from police custody as he was visiting RAW in Tampa with girlfriend Paige today but the incident led to Del Rio leaving the country 24 hours later than planned. Paige was not with him in Austria.
After the fight at the club, the man they fought reportedly went to the hospital while Del Rio and his brother were taken to the local police precinct. The two then got into a fist fight with each other while at the precinct, apparently because Del Rio was trying to calm his brother down. Del Rio’s brother is reportedly still hospitalized in Austria. It was also noted that police at the precinct had to use ankle shackles to restrain Del Rio after he destroyed the ties that were originally used to restrain his arms. Apparently the brawl between the two brothers left the walls bloody.
Source: WrestlingINC
