WWE Hall Of Famer Says He’s Prohibited From Attending Sting’s Final Match In AEW

Sting’s legendary career will officially come to a close at this year’s AEW Revolution, which will place in less than two weeks. While many expect “The Icon’s” old rivals and allies to appear at the event, Kevin Nash has confirmed he will unfortunately not be able to attend during a recent episode of “Kliq This.”

According to Nash, Sting had approached him and asked him to make some kind of appearance, but due to his obligations to WWE, it’s not possible. “He asked me to be a part of it, I just said that … you know, with my positioning with WWE I couldn’t -– I couldn’t even be … If I went in the crowd, it would be … you know?”

Nash noted that both he and Sting were disappointed by the outcome and expressed that he believes their close friendship is why “The Icon” wanted him there. “I think he wanted me to be there because I was just one of the guys who has been there with him the whole run. Yeah, I think he was disappointed. I mean, I was disappointed,” said Nash.

While he was ultimately forbidden from attending, he claimed that he first approached WWE before giving Sting his answer. “I asked [WWE] –- you know when you ask and there’s that three-second pause? It’s like when you be on the road and you’re like, ‘Hey babe? We’re at Fort Wayne, I’m gonna go to Stewie’s Strip Joint, you got a problem with that?’ Nothing.”

Sting, who is the current AEW World Tag Team Champion alongside Darby Allin, will defend the titles against The Young Bucks at Revolution on March 3 at the Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 2/19/2024

Tonight’s WWE Raw will air live on the USA Network from the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA.

  • WWE Intercontinental Championship: Gunther (c) vs. Jey Uso
  • Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre
  • Chad Gable vs. Ivar
  • Last chance battle royal for the final spot in the Women’s Elimination Chamber Match
  • Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, The Miz and R-Truth vs. The Judgment Day’s Damian Priest, Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio & JD McDonagh

AEW Star Dustin Rhodes Reconsiders His Retirement Plans

Last year Dustin Rhodes claimed he only had one year left wrestling, but it appears the AEW star has re-thought that idea, instead opting to “keep stepping” like his catchphrase says.

“I see myself [wrestling] two to four more years if my legs allow me to, if Tony Khan is gracious enough to keep me around and keep me on television that’s great, whatever I can do to help,” he told “Sports Guys Talking Wrestling,” noting that his love of coaching will be something on which he can fall back when his body finally gives out. “There’s a lot of good things going here, I’ve got a lot. I take it one day at a time.”

Rhodes has been hands-on with talent during his time in AEW, training a lot of the women’s division before the shows, utilizing his experience. However, he isn’t slowing down inside the ring either, with Rhodes having been booked regularly on AEW television lately, which included him challenging for the TNT Championship against Christian Cage. While he admitted that it does get harder to compete as he gets older, he believes his work ethic keeps him going, which is why he’s now set to keep wrestling.

“I work hard, and every time that red lights on I try to do my very best, and so far being here for the five years I have in my 50s, I’m doing amazing and I’ve not had one bad match,” he said. “It’s been pretty cool to think back of all the great matches I’ve had here in AEW and I’ve wrestled everybody, it’s unbelievable.”

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to Sports Guys Talking Wrestling

More Details Regarding The Lawsuit Filed Against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis And WWE

Fightful Select has provided a new update on the lawsuit against Vince McMahon, John Laurinaitis and WWE. Fightful Select notes the lawsuit continues to be looked into.

Fightful Select has said they are working with additional mainstream media outlets on their efforts to cover the lawsuits, and will continue to look into the allegations and the lawsuit.

As it pertains to the heavy speculation of who unnamed executives are in the lawsuit, it all still remains a mystery. One source high up in WWE told Fightful that they are of the belief that one of the executive had “long been gone from WWE.”

Former WWE Executive John Laurinaitis has been very outspoken through his attorney, which one source said to Fightful they saw coming. The same source, who is a longtime WWE employee, said they effectively had looked at Laurinaitis as being Vince McMahon’s “fall guy” since the summer of 2022, but also figured that he had a golden parachute that has taken care of him financially. The same source said the looming possibility of actual charges being filed is what many in WWE saw as the main reason for Laurinaitis turning on McMahon.

Another source told Fightful Select, they think Laurinaitis is doing himself favors by saying that management knew and that proper WWE protocols were followed, but too many things happened there under his watch.”

Fightful Select said they had been in contact with Ashley Massaro in March 2019 to set up an interview in Las Vegas that May at Starrcast II. This part of the report notes Massaro was hoping to talk about her plans to resume in-ring training, and said she was weighing whether or not to open up further about her claims that was raped while on a WWE Tribute to the Troops tour in Kuwait back in 2006. Sadly, at just age 39, Massaro committed suicide two weeks prior to Starrcast II.

Futhermore, Fightful Select said based on the talent spoken to, they have not been briefed or told that they cannot speak about the nature of the lawsuit in interviews or appearances and several have been asked about it. Fightful Select added that while they heard thus far that no other companies are actively participating in the investigations, they have heard that talent from several other United States based companies have been given the okay to speak about issues or participate in the investigations if they feel comfortable doing so.

Fightful Select concluded by saying that they spoke to one former talent who has indicated they are weighing the options of whether to tell their story through the media, or whether or not they want to take legal action. Fightful Select did not disclosure the name of this talent, due to the talent not giving their approval for their name to be made public.

Source: WrestleView

AAA MEGA Champion El Hijo del Vikingo Suffers Knee Injury

AAA MEGA Champion El Hijo del Vikingo was injured on Saturday night.

According to Mas Lucha, Vikingo’s match at, which took place at Arena López was stopped early on after he landed awkwardly on his right knee. He was checked out by doctors at the venue. Mas Lucha is saying Vikingo could have possibly ruptured a tendon. 

You can watch the injury take place at the beginning of the match in the video that is posted below:

Vikingo has also wrestled on AEW Programming. His last match on AEW TV was on the February 2 episode of Rampage, where he teamed up with Penta El Zero Miedo, as they defeated Jon Cruz and KM. That match was taped on January 31.

Source: WrestleView

Backstage Report On Scrapped WWE Plans For Cody Rhodes, The Rock & The Bloodline

Last week’s WrestleMania 40 Kickoff press event saw Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson join forces with Roman Reigns, while 2024 men’s Royal Rumble winner Cody Rhodes revealed he would challenge “The Tribal Chief” for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at the two-night show in April. That presser followed several days of confusion, after “The American Nightmare” seemingly stepped aside to allow Johnson to face Reigns at WrestleMania. According to the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there was once a different idea on the table heading into last Thursday’s event in Las Vegas.

Per the report, WWE CCO Paul “Triple H” Levesque had a plan to shoot an injury angle on the February 2 episode of “WWE SmackDown” — the same night Rhodes said he wouldn’t be challenging Reigns at WrestleMania 40 and Johnson confronted Reigns — where The Bloodline would “take out” Rhodes. That would have then led to Reigns vs. Johnson being officially announced for Philadelphia at the Kickoff. However, Rhodes would eventually return and challenge for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Although things played out a lot differently, it’s said that Levesque “scrambled” to keep Rhodes in the mix at all times.

Additionally, the newsletter mentioned “Rhodes was never going to get screwed” and he was always set to face Reigns, although it was unclear whether that title clash would be at WrestleMania or another premium live event down the line. Furthermore, the Rhodes injury angle idea for the February 2 “SmackDown” was ultimately nixed after CM Punk, who was reportedly set to challenge Seth Rollins for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 40, got injured in the 2024 men’s Royal Rumble match. Levesque initially touted Rhodes to fill Punk’s spot, with a title match against Reigns coming at a later date. However, it was determined that Rollins vs. Rhodes would have made “no sense” if the trigger was pulled on The Bloodline attacking Rhodes.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 2/16/2024 – The Rock & Roman Reigns

WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX from the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

  • The Rock and Roman Reigns will appear.
  • Men’s Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: WWE Champion Logan Paul vs. The Miz
  • Men’s Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Kevin Owens vs. Dominik Mysterio
  • Women’s Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Alba Fyre vs. Tiffany Stratton
  • Women’s Elimination Chamber Qualifying Match: Zelina Vega vs. Naomi

AEW Rampage Preview 2/16/2024

Tonight’s AEW Rampage on TNT at a special time (7pm ET) due to NBA All-Star coverage.

  • No DQ match: Jeff Hardy vs. Sammy Guevara
  • Anna Jay vs. Queen Aminata
  • Bang Bang Scissor Gang in 12-man tag team action

Backstage Report Offers Latest Update On Jeff Hardy’s Injury From AEW Rampage Taping

Jeff Hardy competed in a taped “AEW Rampage” match directly after last night’s “AEW Dynamite,” and was on the receiving end of a nasty botch in his bout against Sammy Guevara. While initial reports suggested Hardy could have suffered a serious injury, according to “Wrestling Observer,” the veteran’s official injury has been revealed to be a broken nose.

“Wrestling Observer’s” Brian Alvarez reportedly spoke to those backstage in AEW and conveyed the news to his X-Subscribers. Additionally, his report shot down speculation that Hardy might have suffered a concussion. “The word from within AEW is that Jeff Hardy suffered a broken nose last night but not a concussion.” Many fans online were naturally concerned after Hardy seemed to be knocked out, but a broken nose could explain why he seemed dazed. Hardy notably underwent surgery last year, so hopefully, his broken nose won’t result in him taking time off to get more surgery. In an appearance on his brother’s podcast, “The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy,” last year, Hardy listed his eye surgery as something he considered to be one of the biggest challenges he faced in 2023. Hardy also revealed at the time that he still suffered from double vision, but he seemed hopeful about his future in the ring going forward.

It’s unclear when The Hardys will retire, but it seemed like “The Charismatic Enigma” was well into what seemed to be a singles run, and some fans online were notably praising his recent work. If his broken nose isn’t too severe, Hardy could be back in the ring very soon, potentially working the injury into a new angle at the same time.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Why Cody Rhodes Initially Stepped Aside For The Rock At WWE WrestleMania 40 (Report)

Since the start of 2024, a slew of unexpected factors have seemingly resulted in some major shifts in the plan for WWE WrestleMania XL. Many fans have been captivated, for good or for ill, by the saga of Cody Rhodes in the lead-up to this year’s big event. In the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer offered some additional details on the journey to Rhodes’ main event rematch against Roman Reigns.

According to Meltzer, following the injury to CM Punk, the decision was made internally to have Rhodes shift to facing Seth Rollins. With that in mind, WWE head of creative Paul “Triple H” Levesque came up with the idea for the segment on the February 2 edition of “WWE SmackDown,” with Rhodes stepping aside and offering his support for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to face Reigns instead.

Levesque reportedly believed that Rhodes’ endorsement of The Rock would tie up the storyline’s loose ends, but the fan reaction was overwhelmingly negative. At that point, an audible was called, with Johnson and his longtime writing and producing partner Bryan Gewirtz (a former WWE head writer) feeling that The Rock should turn heel based on the crowd response. That led to the WWE WrestleMania XL Kickoff press conference, pitting Rhodes and Rollins against Johnson and Reigns.

When the plan was for Rhodes to face Rollins, the idea within the company was that there would be no Men’s Elimination Chamber match at the next premium live event. However, as plans continued to shift around, it was decided to go back to that match to set up Rollins’ WrestleMania opponent. As many may have expected, the original plan was for Punk to win the Men’s Elimination Chamber until he suffered an injury at the 2024 WWE Royal Rumble.

Source: Wrestling Inc.