WWE issued the following yesterday:
Jack Swagger releasedWWE has come to terms on the release of Jack Swagger as of today, March 13, 2017. WWE wishes Swagger the best in all his future endeavors.
As we previously reported, Swagger announced he had requested his release this month while appearing on Chael Sonnen’s podcast. He was also announced for a WAW event in the UK, which was quickly nixed because he was still technically under contract.
WWE announced the following today:
Eric LeGrand to receive Warrior Award at 2017 WWE Hall of Fame Induction CeremonyEric LeGrand, a former standout for the Rutgers University football team-turned-motivational speaker, has been named the recipient of the third annual Warrior Award. The news was first reported by ESPN.com.
Named after WWE Hall of Famer Ultimate Warrior, The Warrior Award is presented to an individual who has exhibited unwavering strength and perseverance, and who lives life with the courage and compassion that embodies the indomitable spirit of Ultimate Warrior.
The award will be presented to LeGrand by Dana Warrior, widow of Ultimate Warrior, at the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, which will broadcast from Orlando, Florida’s Amway Center live on WWE Network at 8 ET/5 PT on Friday, March 31. USA Network will also broadcast a special presentation of the ceremony on Monday, April 3 at 11 p.m. ET/PT, immediately following Raw.
LeGrand was a key player on the Rutgers University football team, before a spinal cord injury sustained during a game in October 2010 left him paralyzed from the neck down. LeGrand’s tremendous courage and unwavering strength throughout his rehabilitation captured the attention of the nation. He resumed his college classes via Skype and launched his sports broadcasting career as an analyst for Rutgers Football Radio Network. LeGrand founded the charity Team LeGrand of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation in 2013, and is now a highly sought-after motivational speaker. In support of LeGrand’s mission – raising funds for research to find a cure for paralysis and to help improve the quality of life for people with spinal cord injuries – WWE will make a $25,000 donation to Team LeGrand.
“It is an absolute honor to be named the 2017 Warrior Award recipient,” said LeGrand. “I am truly grateful for WWE’s support of my personal journey, and I am proud to continue to be an example of strength for people everywhere.”
“Eric LeGrand has shown incredible perseverance and unwavering positivity throughout his recovery,” said Stephanie McMahon, WWE Chief Brand Officer. “From the work he does helping others with spinal cord injuries to his motivational speaking, Eric is the perfect choice for this prestigious award.”
“Eric LeGrand truly embodies the Warrior spirit with his determination and positive outlook,” said Dana Warrior. “I am honored to present this year’s Warrior Award to Eric at the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.”
Last year, The Warrior Award was presented to Joan Lunden, an award-winning journalist, best-selling author and breast cancer survivor. In 2015, the award was presented for the first time to Connor Michalek, a Pittsburgh native and passionate WWE fan who passed away after battling cancer. In his honor, Connor’s Cure was created as a fund to support pediatric brain and spinal cord cancer research. To date, Connor’s Cure has raised $1 million and assisted more than 100 families around the world.
Kane has been dealing with some nagging injuries. Sportskeeda reported that Kane had also requested time off, which was granted, to run for the Knox County mayoral seat in 2018 and to work on his insurance agency, The Jacobs Agency. It was noted that Kane’s current WWE deal has a $905,000 downside with first class travel and accommodations, and it is set to expire next year.
Kane made his first televised WWE appearance nearly 22 years ago in June of 1995 as Dr. Isaac Yankem, Jerry Lawler’s evil dentist.
Source: WrestlingINC
Tonight’s WWE RAW takes place from the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit as the Road to WrestleMania 33 continues. This will be the final RAW to take place from the historic venue.
According to F4WOnline, former United States Champion Rusev is scheduled to be absent for a period of time. Although it is not confirmed that healing an injured shoulder is the cause of the upcoming hiatus, The Big Show recently told a fan that Rusev does have to undergo surgery, which will shelve him for a while. When asked why he squashed Rusev at Fastlane last week, The Big Show reportedly said, “he’s having shoulder surgery and I put him over strong years ago.”
Rusev has not been involved in any major storyline since his angle with Lana against Enzo Amore dissolved. For a short amount of time, he teamed with Jinder Mahal, but this partnership has ended. During the WWE Fastlane pay-per-view, Rusev competed against Big Show, and was dismantled, receiving multiple chokeslams and a knockout punch. This could have been a way to write him off television while he recovers.
With just three weeks left before WrestleMania, an appearance is unlikely from the Bulgarian Brute.
Source: WrestlingINC
Impact Wrestling sent cease and desist letters to PPV providers in regards to Broken Matt and Jeff Hardy ahead of ROH‘s event Friday night … but we’re told the company doesn’t want to permanently stop the brothers from using the characters.
Sources with direct knowledge says the call to send legal letters came from the top brass at Anthem and wasn’t a decision that Jeff Jarrett had anything to do with.
Pro Wrestling Sheet was told the cease and desists included direct verbiage from the contracts both brothers signed. According to reports that was enough to scare Dish Network, who pulled the show.
Impact Wrestling sources say Anthem isn’t trying to recreate the characters without the brothers and they don’t want to force Matt and Jeff to no longer use them either — they want to work out an agreement for the Broken Universe IP. One that gives Anthem a cut of future proceeds.
Nordholm also tweeted saying Jeremy Borash, Dave Lagana and Billy Corgan created the characters, which should give further insight into why he’s standing firm.
Matt’s wife Reby Hardy went public with their feelings on this over the past 24 hours.
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
WWE‘s announcement of another United Kingdom Championship event has the UK wrestling world buzzing … but one person who isn’t happy about it is Paige‘s dad, Ricky Knight.
Ricky was interviewed by BBC Radio Norfolk and said, “To me the timing is absolutely crap, and I think there’s a conspiracy somewhere.”
For those unaware, Knight’s wrestling promotion WAW is running events this Friday and Saturday out of Epic Studios in Norwich — which happens to be the same venue of WWE’s two-day event in May — and according to Knight, the announcement was made specifically to derail their ticket sales.
Paige’s brother Zak Zodiac tried to be more polite with his response saying, “It’s the same anywhere you go. Once you see someone doing well you want a bit of that pie.”
But Knight was having none of it.
“The could’ve left it until Monday. They know we’re doing so well. They follow us religiously, it seems like they do. They would’ve known this is the biggest weekend in WAW history. To me they wanted to cut us open with the announcement this morning and putting their tickets sales on tonight. But tough guys, because this is going to be a sellout tonight anyway. Go and do your best.”
Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet
Top Contenders Match: Jay Lethal vs. Bobby Fish – Winner: Jay Lethal
ROH 6-Man World Tag Team Championship: (C) The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) vs. Dalton Castle & The Boys – Winners: The Kingdom
ROH World TV championship: (C) Marty Scrull vs. Lio Rush – Winner: Marty Scrull
Bully Ray & The Briscoes vs. War Machine & Davey Boy Smith Jr. – Winners: Bully Ray & The Briscoes
ROH World Tag Team Championship – Las Vegas Street Fight: (C) The Hardy’s vs. The Young Bucks vs. RPG Vice – Winners: The Hardy’s – After the match. The Hardy’s give The Bucks Of Youth a taste of their own medicine. They superkick them on the outside and take their superkick titles away from them. Adding to their collection in their Expedition of Gold.
ROH World Championship: (C) Adam Cole vs. Christopher Daniels – Winner and new ROH World Champion: Christopher Daniels
WWE Hall of Famer Edge and his longtime tag team partner and friend Christian will be launching their “E&C’s Pod of Awesomeness” podcast on March 24th via iTunes.
Ring of Honor presents their 15th Anniversary PPV tonight beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET (8:00 CT) from the Sam’s Town Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The show will be available on traditional PPV, as well as the FITE TV app.
The card for tonight is as follows:
* ROH World Championship: (C) Adam Cole vs. Christopher Daniels
* ROH World Tag Team Championship – Las Vegas Street Fight: (C) The Hardys vs. The Young Bucks vs. RPG Vice
* ROH World TV championship: (C) Marty Scrull vs. Lio Rush
* ROH 6-Man World Tag Team Championship: (C) The Kingdom (Matt Taven, Vinny Marseglia & TK O’Ryan) vs. Dalton Castle & The Boys
* Top Contenders Match: Jay Lethal vs. Bobby Fish
* Bully Ray & The Briscoes vs. War Machine & Davey Boy Smith Jr.
