John Cena revealed on Twitter that he will return to WWE on the Memorial Day edition of RAW on May 30th. Cena has been out of action with a shoulder injury since this past January and was expected to miss up to 6-9 months of action.
Category: WWE
Coroner Delays Ruling On Chyna’s Death
Source: WrestlingINC
CBS Los Angeles reports that the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office has deferred a ruling on Joan “Chyna” Laurer’s death pending an additional investigation into what happened.
As noted, the former WWE Intercontinental Champion was found dead at the age of 46 in her Redondo Beach apartment last Wednesday night.
There were no signs of foul play inside the apartment but it was previously reported that her death was being looked at as a possible overdose. Her manager and best friend Anthony Anzaldo, who found her after she went several days without answering her phone, said he found Chyna in bed with two prescription bottles in the same room — one for Ambien, one for an anti-anxiety medication similar to Xanax. He also said there was nothing illegal as she was prescribed those medications and there was no alcohol, no blood, no vomit or any other signs of an overdose.
Finn Balor Coming To RAW This Monday Night?
After last night’s NXT event, Finn Balor came out to get on the tour bus. Balor had a message for the fans outside watching: He said: “see you all on Monday.” You can see the video footage below:
Samoa Joe Makes History With WWE NXT Title Win
With Samoa Joe defeating Fin Balor last night for the NXT Championship, Joe becomes the first and only person to hold the WWE NXT, ROH and TNA Titles.
Breaking news: Samoe Joe defeats Finn Balór becoming the new NXT champion
WWE has reported that Samoe Joe has dethroned the demon Finn Balór end at an NXT live event in Lowell Mass ending his record setting reign of 292 days.
The Now that we have a new NXT champion there’s two main questions. What’s next for the monster in his path of distruction now that he has gold around his waist? And what is next for the former champion Balór?
Our best bet is that the Demon is heading to the main roster. It would definitely keep the momentum Raw has had in the last few weeks going. Perhaps the most obvious scenario would be the inception of the Bullet Club and or Balór club (which ever they decide to call it)
All the pieces are already aligned. Styles is number 1 contender for the WWE world heavyweight title, Gallows and Anderson have made their presence known in the last two weeks, the only thing missing is Finn.
What do you guys think? Will we see a new formation of the Bullet club? Will Balór debut on Raw? Or perhaps Payback? Let us know in the comments below.
SmackDown Preview: 4/21/16
Source: WWE.com
Miz TV with guest AJ Styles
Dean Ambrose & Sami Zayn VS Chris Jericho & Kevin Owens
Ryback VS Kalisto
Dolph Ziggler VS Baron Corbin
Natalya & Paige VS Naomi & Tamina
Note On Chyna’s Condition Before Her Death
Source: WrestlingINC
As noted, TMZ reported that police are investigating Chyna’s death as a possible overdose. Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio today that friends of Chyna’s had been discussing a possible intervention recently. The former WWE Intercontinental Champion was found dead at home on Wednesday. She was 45.
WrestleCon Incidents Between Current And Former WWE, GFW, TNA And Lucha Underground Stars
Source: WrestlingINC
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there were two incidents at the WrestleCon indie convention in Dallas during WrestleMania 32 weekend – one involving Karen Jarrett and Lucha Underground’s Melissa Santos, the other involving former WWE talent Stacy “The Kat” Carter and Tessa Blanchard, daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Tully Blanchard.
No word on what caused the incident between Tessa, who recently appeared on WWE NXT TV against Nia Jax, and Carter, Jerry Lawler’s ex-wife but it had something to do with Carter telling Tessa she wasn’t showing respect. Word is that the argument would’ve ended in a fight but Tessa’s boyfriend Ricochet stepped in as the peacemaker.
Santos was complaining about not having a chair to sit in and somehow Karen, who was criticized by many in attendance, spat on her, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. This led to an argument and observers thought they were about to come to blows but things calmed down.
There was also a minor incident with Jeff Jarrett and Brian Knobbs. It was said to be a half-hearted incident where Jarrett shoved Knobbs but his balance was so bad that he fell. This led to the hotel putting a security officer in the lobby for the rest of the weekend and a sign about no horseplay.
Update On Bray Wyatt’s Injury, WWE Return
Source: WrestlingINC
As noted, Bray Wyatt suffered a calf injury in the main event of the April 14th WWE live event in Milan, Italy against WWE World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns.
WWE has kept everything quiet but word going around the current European tour is that Wyatt actually suffered a pulled muscle and he will be out of action for 4-6 weeks, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. This indicates that the severity of the injury isn’t as bad as originally thought, and Wyatt could be back in time for the May 22nd WWE Extreme Rules pay-per-view.
The world of professional wrestling reacts to the sudden passing of Chyna
Regardless of what your personal opinions may be on Chyna there is no denying she changed the game for not only women of professional wrestling but men as well.
She was in a league of her own. Last night moving into the early morning of today is a tough one for the wrestling world. It almost doesn’t feel real. Maybe it’s just because being such big Chyna fans we don’t want to accept it.
Right now the number one trend on Twitter is #RIPChyna as it should be. We here at WNB have took it upon ourselves to compile some of those tweets but really each one is a beautiful tribute and we encourage you to look through them:
Perhaps though the most heartbreaking tribute comes from Mick Foley as he took to his Facebook account this morning to pay tribute to his friend saying:
GOODBYE JOANIE
My heart is aching. My eyes are swollen from crying, having just talked to Joan Laurer’s manager Anthony Anzaldo on the phone and been told that Chyna, the 9th Wonder of the World was no longer with us; gone at only 45.
I will always be grateful for the friendship I shared with her, but particularly so for the kindness she showed my children, especially Noelle when she was younger. I will never forget those moments where Joanie would take Noelle by the hand at WWE events in the late 90’s – off to have her makeup done, her fingernails painted; bonding time between big, strong Joanie, and her tiny sidekick. A father doesn’t forget that type of kindness.
I didn’t know whether to post a classic photo of Chyna in her WWE prime or of Joanie from the last time I saw her – about 10 months ago at a convention on Long Island. I went with the photo from the convention because of the emotion; because it was taken at the exact moment I saw her for the first time in many years. I was told later that Joanie wasn’t sure how I would react to her, and that it meant a great deal to her to be accepted. Like I said, a father doesn’t forget. I called home on my way back from the convention – only about 40 minutes from my house. “I’m bringing a friend over to watch the pay-per-view” I said to my wife.
“Who’s that?”, my wife asked.
“Chyna”
“Chyna?”
“Yeah, Chyna!”
And that was pretty much that. A mother, you see, doesn’t forget the kindness shown to her child, either.
I am so glad we had that night with Joanie. A night to let her know how much we cared about her, whether it was politically correct or not. A night to let her know we loved her – and always would. RIP my dear friend. I pray that somehow in death, you can find the peace that eluded you so frequently during the latter years of your remarkable life.
As you can see the general consensus is that Joanie (Chyna) was a remarkable person, and she touched the hearts of everyone she knew. No longer hurting and finally at peace. Long live the 9th wonder of the world
