The following is scheduled for tonight’s 6/8 ROH TV on Comet:
ROH Champion Jay Lethal w/Taeler Hendrix vs. Donovan Dijak w/Prince Nana
IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champion Matt Sydal vs. Kazuchika Okada
Colt Cabana vs. Adam Page
Kimbo Slice Was Awaiting Heart Transplant, UFC Comments On Slice, Spike TV Special
Source: WrestlingINC
Just a couple of days after legendary street fighter, boxer and mixed martial artist Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson passed away at 42, additional details have emerged regarding his death.
According to The Sun-Sentinel, Slice was admitted to Northwest Medical Center in Margate last Friday for abdominal pain, which according to those close to him, started in March. The decision to pull out of his scheduled Bellator 158 fight with James Thompson had already been made.
Slice passed way at 7:30 PM EST as doctors were preparing to transport him to Cleveland. There, he would have been placed on an organ donor list, as it was revealed that he’d require a heart transplant.
Bellator and Spike TV announced that they’ll be airing a one-hour tribute to Kimbo on Friday, June 24 at 7 PM EST.
The UFC issued a statement on Kimbo’s passing:
UFC is saddened to learn of the passing of Kevin Ferguson, known to fans around the world as Kimbo Slice.Slice will forever be a part of UFC history as a contestant on season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter in 2009, and for having fought twice inside the Octagon at The Ultimate Fighter Finale and UFC 113. He carried himself as a true professional during his time in our organization.
While he will never be forgotten for his fighting style and transcendent image, Slice will also be remembered for his warm personality and commitment to his family and friends.
UFC offers its sincere condolences to Slice’s family, friends and teammates at American Top Team.
NXT TakeOver: The End – 6/8/16 – Card
NXT Championship – Steel Cage Match: Samoa Joe (c) vs. Finn Balor
NXT Women’s Championship: Asuka (c) vs. Nia Jax
NXT Tag Team championship: American Alpha (c’s) vs. The Revival
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Austin Aries
Tye Dillinger vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas
Triple H Media Call: Bobby Roode And Eric Young, WWE Brand Split, ‘The End,’ Nakamura, Muhammad Ali
Source: WrestlingINC
Triple H’s media call to promote WWE NXT Takeover: The End:
Triple H joined the call and thanked everyone for joining and noted that there will probably be some questions about the Cruiserweight Classic. Triple H ran down the card for Wednesday’s Takeover event. Triple H said that Nakamura will be a key player in the company. He added that he’s excited for the debut of Andrade Almas and that he will be “big player.”
Triple H said “The End” title for the event has a lot of meanings, which we’ll see tomorrow. He said that you can expect it to be the end of the Finn Balor – Samoe Joe series.
NXT will be taping TV on Thursday, and he will be heading to the UK with the NXT crew for the UK tour after the tapings.
The Cruiserweight Classic starts up at the end of the month. Triple H thinks it will be the premier cruiserweight tournament, and he thinks it will be an unbelievable ten weeks. He says that it will be something unlike you’ve seen from WWE or NXT.
He thinks the NXT roster will look a lot different after the brand split, but he doesn’t know for sure. He thinks that one of the strengths of NXT is that their talent rises to the occasion whenever talent leaves for the main roster.
He doesn’t think the talent is any more aggressive than they were before, and they’re always looking for the best talent around the world. He’s always been aggressive in acquiring great talent.
About the brand split, Triple H noted that they’ve always had two tours and he’s not sure how much everything will change.
He was asked about how much they focus on the UK. Triple H said there is a ton of talent in the UK, but they don’t focus on any one area for talent, they look everywhere.
On Bobby Roode and Eric Young, Triple H is working on contracts for both men and said to stay tuned. He said they’re both talented, and he looks forward to working with both of them.
When asked about NXT touring in Canada, he said that they’re looking at everywhere. He said that NXT will be doing 180-190 events this year alone, and with RAW and SmackDown, you’re at around 500 events a year. With all the events, there’s a lot of factors that go into where they tour.
When asked for an update on Hideo Itami, Triple H said that he can’t go too much into his medical information, but everyone heals differently, and Itami had some issues with mobility and scar tissue, and wants him to take his time and return at 100%. Nothing has changed regarding his thoughts on Hideo as a performer, and he looks forward to him returning.
Triple H was asked about doing a women’s tournament, similar to the Cruiserweight Classic. Triple H said he had been throwing out ideas about it, and said that he would like to do it if the timing is right. He said it’s on the table, but there are a lot of things on the table. He said that it’s just an idea that spread quickly on the internet, and when they know what they’ll want to do, they’ll put out a statement or contact talents.
He said that the process for the Cruiserweight series has been very exciting, and he’s enjoyed working with outside promotions to secure talent for the series.
Triple H thanked everyone for calling in. He mentioned the passing of Muhammad Ali, and called him a personal hero of his. He said that Ali’s personality and charisma, which admittedly was influenced by pro wrestling, was amazing and and he was able to pass it on to others. Triple H said Ali was integral to what they do, and even though Ali wasn’t a part of WWE on a day-to-day basis, that his impact isn’t forgotten in the sports entertainment world.
Speculation On Bray Wyatt’s WWE Return
There are a lot of rumors about Bray Wyatt returning to WWE TV next Monday at RAW in New Orleans. F4Wonline.com speculates that Wyatt will be added into the Money In the Bank Ladder Match but at last word the match will have just 6 participants, but you never know anything is possible. When the match was first announced the graphic showed 7 spots for the match.
Bray Wyatt posted this tweet on Friday:
TNA Impact Wrestling Preview: 6/7/16
Tonight’s TNA Impact Wrestling is the final episode before the Slammiversary pay-per-view.
Sienna vs. Madison Rayne in a #1 contender’s match
Eddie Edwards vs. TNA X Division Champion Trevor Lee
Maria Kanellis and Mike Bennett vs.Gail Kim and Ethan Carter III
Matt Hardy vs. TNA World Heavyweight Champion Drew Galloway
Brock Lesnar On Vince McMahon’s Reaction To UFC 200
Source: WrestlingINC
Brock Lesnar made the media rounds on ESPN yesterday to promote his upcoming fight against Mark Hunt at UFC 200. During an interview on ESPN’s SportsCenter, which you can watch below, Lesnar was asked about how Vince McMahon reacted when approached about the upcoming fight.
“I said, ‘Listen, old man, we can do this the hard way or the easy way,'” Lesnar recalled. “I said, ‘Do you wanna arm-wrestle for it?’ He was like, ‘Aw yeah, what the hell.’ So, I ended up beating him and here we are.”
Lesnar said that McMahon had no hesitation allowing Lesnar to do the fight.
“Who would you [have any hesitation]?,” Lesnar asked. “I believe that in the WWE brand, I’m a legit athlete in that brand, and I bring lots to the company. For me to get back in the Octagon legitimizes why the WWE has me in their company. It’s a win-win for all of us. It’s a win for me, it’s a win for WWE and it’s a win for the UFC.”
Lesnar again wouldn’t reveal how much he is making for the fight, but said that it was “lots of money” and stated that he was a prizefighter.
“You don’t get in the cage for nothing,” Lesnar noted. “It’s a lot of money… I’m not gonna relay how much money I’m making on it, I wouldn’t do that to either one of the companies.”
WWE RAW And SmackDown GMs Revealed?, How Brand Split May Benefit WWE
Source: WrestlingINC
In case you missed it, before kicking Teddy Long out of the building in a backstage segment on last night’s RAW, Stephanie McMahon claimed that she would be in charge of SmackDown, which would presumably leave Shane McMahon in charge of RAW. It’s not clear if that was the official announcement, or the start of an angle between Stephanie and Shane on who would run the show.
“My father wants someone in charge [of SmackDown] who is intelligent, who is young, who is vivacious, who is smart, who has business acumen, someone who is going to bring in the New Era right!” Stephanie said. “That’s not my brother Shane McMahon, I’m going to let you in on a little secret Teddy… it’s going to be me!”
Joseph Bonaccorso has an article at Seeking Alpha looking at how the brand split can boost WWE’s bottom line. It noted that it can attract older fans who no longer follow the product, as well as lead to excitement with the current fan base. It also noted that the shows can deliver better content with the separate rosters, and can lead to an increase in WWE Network subscriptions.
WWE reportedly interested in UFC’s Paige VanZant
At just age 22, Paige VanZant is arguably one of the best fighters in the ever growing Strawweight division. With just two losses under her belt in her professional MMA career many would say she’s the next huge crossover star.
She’s already been endorsed by Reebok and was in the finals of Dancing with the Stars this past season, and now according to MMA Junkie the biggest company in professional wrestling known as the WWE has an interest in “12 gage”
VanZant has reportedly been in talks with the WWE about appearing at their biggest PPV of the summer, SummerSlam, says her manager Mike Roberts.
No word has been said what type of role PVZ will play in the PPV if she does indeed appear. Still it’s interesting to think about especially with the news that broke this past weekend of WWE’s Brock Lesnar competing at UFC200. Let’s not forget the appearance by Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 31.
All of this begs the question of could it be possible that the WWE and the UFC be in some type of under the table partnership? We here at WNB sure think so.
MMA fighter Kimbo Slice passes away at 42
Early Monday evening it was reported by TMZ that Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Furgeson was rushed to a hospital in Florida and it was said to be a dire situation.
Less then an hour later various news sites including Bloddy Elbow and MMA Junky broke the news that Kimbo passed away.
Kimbo Slice gained acclaim for his street fights, which were filmed and posted on YouTube in the early 2000s. The Miami native was one of the world’s first online viral video stars. He parlayed that into becoming one of the biggest ratings draws in the history of mixed martial arts — a true rags to riches story.
Ferguson most recently competed under the Bellator MMA banner. He was supposed to face James Thompson at Bellator 158 on July 16 in London, England. In his last fight, Ferguson fought longtime rival and former compatriot Dhafir “Dada 5000” Harris in February. Ferguson won the fight by knockout in the third round, but it was later found out that he tested positive for steroids in a fight-night screen. The victory was overturned into a no contest and Ferguson was suspended three months by the Texas Department of Licensing and Registration.
Ferguson, who had a 5-2 record with that no contest in MMA, started out in the sport as a spectacle for EliteXC, the YouTube streetfighting bad ass turned pro athlete. He won his first three fights for the promotion via finish, including victories over Tank Abbott and Thompson. EliteXC built its whole promotion around Ferguson, who was a ratings behemoth.
We here at Wrestling News blog would like to send our deepest condolences to the family friends and fans of Kimbo slice. His contributions to the growth of MMA will never be forgotten.
