WWE Hall of Famer Rick Steiner was kidnapped by Joe Gacy and Harland on this week’s NXT 2.0.
Rick Steiner returned to NXT for the first time since his son Bron Breakker won the NXT Championship for the first time … but things went a little differently this time.
It all went down at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida during the cliffhanger climax of this week’s edition of NXT 2.0 on USA Network. Breakker had just successfully retained the NXT Championship with a victory over “Der Ring General” Gunther in the main event when his father, the legendary WWE Hall of Famer Rick Steiner, appeared on the big screen. Rick congratulated his son on the win, but as the camera panned out it was revealed that Rick was tied up and had been locked in a cage … by the villainous Joe Gacy and the brutish drone known as Harland.
As the show drew to a close, a concerned Breakker looked on and Gacy said he was going to teach the old dog some new tricks. Steiner’s involvement in this week’s show marks his first involvement in a WWE angle since he parted ways with the company back in 1994.
Steiner set foot in a WWE ring for the first time since 1994 following the conclusion of the New Year’s Evil edition of NXT 2.0 on USA Network back in January. Bron Breakker had just defeated the veteran Tommaso Ciampa in a thrilling main event to capture the NXT Championship. The show went off the air, but the WWE cameras didn’t stop rolling … and that’s when the Dog-Faced Gremlin himself appeared to celebrate with his boy.
Rick and his brother Scott joined WWF in 1992 and would go on to win the WWF Tag Team Championship on two occasions. Despite tasting glory in the WWF, the brothers did not get along with Vince McMahon and ultimately left the company in 1994. Time heals all wounds, though, and both Steiner brothers were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame during the induction ceremony last Friday.
Kimber Lee has shared photos of an injury she claims was intentionally caused by a drunken Nash Carter.
Impact Wrestling’s Kimber Lee, formerly known as Abby Laith during her stint in WWE, made some serious allegations against her husband and fellow wrestler Nash Carter last week. Carter is one-half of the tag team MSK who won the NXT Tag Team Titles for a second time over the weekend. Prior to that, Lee claimed she had suffered domestic abuse at the hands of Carter.
After opening up about the allegations on social media, Lee claims she was hounded by wrestling fans to the point she decided to delete the original tweets, only fueling those who didn’t believe her. Not wanting to be silenced about what she is claiming to have happened between her and Carter, Lee has posted fresh allegations this week, including photos of an injury she alleges was caused intentionally by the NXT star.
“Hey NXT this is my face after your tag champ Nash Carter got wasted and hit me so hard he split my lip open,” Lee tweeted, tagging both NXT and Carter in the post. She adds that Carter told her after the incident that she’s a wrestler so gets “marked up” all the time. Lee followed up that tweet with another apologizing to her fans for backing away from the allegations last week. She also claims Carter has been messaging her over the weekend asking she not say anything else publicly.
Lee and Carter got married in May 2020 and are still husband and wife now, though it’s assumed the two are separated at this moment in time. As for what will happen next, that depends on WWE and possibly the authorities should they get involved. A number of wrestlers were named in 2020’s Speaking Out movement, and each situation that involved a WWE Superstar was handled individually and in many cases, pretty differently.
Triple H has previously clarified all allegations like these are taken very seriously, and internal investigations are conducted. Velveteen Dream was let go from NXT following the allegations made against him, but Riddle managed to keep hold of his position in the company despite some thinking the issues involving him and a female wrestler he cheated on his wife with still being a pretty tangled web. Whatever happens, we could see Carter disappear from NXT TV pretty soon.
NEW YORK – April 6, 2022 – The XFL today unveiled an innovative brand identity that aligns with its new vision, values and purpose ahead of its 2023 season. This enhanced visual identity represents a new era for the forward-thinking league, signaling one of inclusivity, innovation and co-creation as it works to build tomorrow’s league together with partners, fans and players. Fans can watch the brand reveal here: A New Identity for the XFL’s New Direction
“We are proud to unveil the new identity of the XFL – a strong, dynamic and modern look that embodies our vision of pushing football forward and unleashing the dreams that football makes possible,” said Dany Garcia, Co-Owner and Chairwoman of the XFL. “This is a significant milestone for us, and one that encapsulates the teamwork that has gone into building this league from the ground up with our experienced leadership team, led by Russ Brandon. As we continue to march towards our 2023 kickoff, we will invite our fans, partners and athletes to co-create with us. We are putting in the work today to define football’s future; Together, we are building tomorrow’s league.”
“For us, this is more than just a new pro football logo; this is a new era of the XFL. You can already begin to feel the energy and mana building behind our brand, and it has been amazing to feel the incredible support from fans, players, coaches and media, that we continue to be blessed with. We have a passion and vision to push the boundaries of sport and entertainment, to grow the game of football – and most importantly – unlock the dreams of all the talented and hungry football players out there,” said Dwayne Johnson. “I’m pumped to reveal our new XFL logo to the world as we continue to strategically build our XFL organization and shape our one-of-a-kind XFL culture. Here’s the bottom line of what our new XFL logo stands for: The X represents the INTERSECTION OF DREAMS & OPPORTUNITY. So, to our hungry XFL players, coaches and fans – you bring the dreams, and we’ll bring the opportunity.”
Gerry Cardinale added, “Since acquiring the League in 2020 with Dany and Dwayne, we have envisioned the XFL as a platform of opportunity that converges the worlds of sports and entertainment. We are building the XFL so that we can bring new possibilities to the future of football – this will give our players new opportunities for turning pro, our partners new platforms to expand and enhance their brands, and our fans opportunities to engage with the sport of football and our players in new and innovative ways.”
R/GA, a global brand design and marketing company, has been awarded Agency of Record. R/GA started working with the XFL in 2021 to support the league’s marketing efforts including brand identity, design innovation and campaign activation.
Brand Pillars
The XFL has established four core brand pillars to guide the league in its mission to building tomorrow’s league:
Co-Creation: Build a league of culture: a place where players, fans, partners, employees and communities interact with each other to build a dynamic future of football.
Inclusivity: Embrace being at intersection of opportunities, connecting players to fans and changing the way everyone experiences and engages with the game
Accessibility: Create a new standard for accessibility by experimenting with different forms of interactivity to connect the fans and players in a way unlike ever done before, creating a deeply immersed and personal fanbase.
Innovation: Leverage innovation to unlock new opportunities to win together
New Logo and Visual Identity
The new visual identity centers around the idea that the XFL is the intersection of opportunity and captures the essence of the league’s vision: the XFL is pushing football forward. To do that, the brand needs to be modern, dynamic and inviting.
The “X” represents those intersections, the point at which everything comes together: sports and storytelling, players and fans, partners and a passion for innovation. We elevate it to unlock the opportunities that will push football forward, so that together, we can build tomorrow’s league.
As a platform for co-creation, the XFL’s new identity seeks to elevate the stories and communities that enhance the game. Built as a platform, the league’s black-and-white color palette ensures the individual personalities of the teams are able to seamlessly coexist and stand alongside the league as partners versus separate organizations.
The XFL continues to build its league across all functions as it prepares to kickoff in February 2023.
In February, the XFL announced it will collaborate with the NFL on select innovation programs to further expand the game of football and create increased opportunities for player development both on and off the field. Key areas of focus include health and safety, international football development and officiating and rules innovation.
Meanwhile, the football operations department, led by NFL veterans Marc Ross and Doug Whaley, added six key hires in December. Since January, the team has been attending college pro days, NFL Combine and actively recruiting players for the 2023 season.
The XFL’s ownership group, led by Dany Garcia, Dwayne Johnson, and Gerry Cardinale’s RedBird Capital Partners, is building a fan-first, fast-paced global professional football league with innovative rules and enhanced 360 game experience. The XFL will bring entertainment to world class football, with the goal of advancing the game of football and expanding player opportunities when it launches in February 2023.
Indie Wrestler Logan Roettger (Logan Legit) who performed for World Wrestling Alliance (a indie promotion in Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee), who passed away due to a car accident on March 23, 2022, has given 4 others a chance at life, when his ended too soon because he was an organ donor.
Evansville, In. area Eyewitness News covered the story on their news broadcast and posted the following on the website:
POSEY COUNTY, Ind. (WEHT) — A Wadesville man who died in a car crash last month was able to save lives after his passing. According to his obituary, 28-year-old Logan Roettger was able to save the lives of four people because he was an organ donor.
His obituary says he loved making others feel good about themselves. He was an independent professional wrestler with the World Wrestling Alliance known as “Logan Legit.” He became the most loved wrestler in World Wrestling Alliance and won belts such as tag team title and WWA National Champion.
“As a friend he was irreplaceable and he was truly LOVED,” says a spokesperson for WWA. “Logan departing this world has shown light on how many people’s lives he touched.”
Logan loved to perform, living for wrestling and his fans, his obituary states. He had also styled hair for WWE and NXT women wrestlers.
A celebration of life and memorial will be held at a later date in Evansville. His family asks that instead of flowers, donations be made to the Vanderburgh Humane Society or your favorite animal shelter in his memory.
W.W.A. posted the following response on their Facebook page:
Logan Roettger was featured on the news tonight. Logan Legit was an organ donor and has given 4 others a chance at life, when his ended too soon. The W.W.A. will forever be incomplete without Logan, but we’ll never let the world forget what kind of beautiful human being he was. #wwaisnowChris Waddell
New NXT Champion Bron Breakker is expected to return to the brand as champion on tonight’s show. Breakker lost to Dolph Ziggler at Stand & Deliver, but won the title on last night’s RAW After WrestleMania episode.
WWE is also teasing that Tony D’Angelo and AJ Galante, the former Danbury Trashers hockey team GM who appeared on Netflix’s “Crime & Penalties” documentary, will continue their Stand & Deliver celebration on tonight’s show. Galante accompanied D’Angelo at Stand & Deliver for the win over Tommaso Ciampa.
It’s also likely that new NXT North American Champion Cameron Grimes will appear on tonight’s show, along with new NXT Tag Team Champions MSK.
Below is the current line-up for tonight’s NXT:
* Fallout from Stand & Deliver
* New NXT Champion Bron Breakker returns as a two-time champion
* Tony D’Angelo and AJ Galante continue their Stand & Deliver celebration
* New NXT Women’s Tag Team Champions Dakota Kai and Raquel Gonzalez defend against former champion Gigi Dolin and Jacy Jayne
WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler is set to return to RAW commentary next week.
Lawler appeared on RAW Talk last night and revealed to Matt Camp and Jackie Redmond that he will work RAW commentary for a few weeks to replace Corey Graves while Graves is on his honeymoon with Carmella.
Lawler did not specify how many weeks he will be working RAW, but Redmond noted that he will be at the announce table with Jimmy Smith and Byron Saxton for “a couple of weeks.”
“I am looking forward to it,” Lawler said. “I’m going to be back behind the announcer’s table there on Monday Night RAW because that idiot Corey Graves is getting married!,” he joked.
Graves and Carmella are set to tie the knot in Fort Lauderdale, Florida this week. Graves spoke to The Athletic last week in the lead-up to WrestleMania 38 and commented on getting married this week, revealing that the ceremony is scheduled for Thursday.
“Tuesday morning, I get on a plane and fly to Fort Lauderdale. Because Thursday, we’re getting married. Why try to relax after a busy professional week? Let’s go right into the biggest life event we could possibly have,” Graves said.
Last night’s RAW saw Carmella and Queen Zelina Vega officially split up, which came after they dropped the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles to Sasha Banks and Naomi at WrestleMania 38. The RAW segment featured a ringside make-out sessions with Graves and Carmella, which you can see below.
Elias has returned to WWE RAW with a new clean-shaven look and a new gimmick.
Tonight’s post-WrestleMania 38 edition of WWE RAW saw Kevin Owens come to the ring and admit how good WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin was at WrestleMania Saturday. Owens then said Austin’s win should be wiped from the record books because Owens wasn’t 100% going into the match as he had a bad back injury. Owens went on ranting about how great he is until the music hit and out came the former Elias.
Owens recognized this as Elias, but the man introduced himself as Ezekiel, the younger brother of Elias. This confused Owens but he insisted he was talking to Elias, while the former Elias reiterated that he is actually the younger brother to the former WWE Superstar known as The Drifter.
Owens ended up marching out of the ring without any physical action. Ezekiel watched Owens head to the back with a smirk on his face, and that was the end of the segment.
WWE began airing multiple vignettes for the re-branding of Elias last summer, but the last vignette aired on August 23, and that was the last we’ve seen of Elias until now. It was later reported that WWE had no end plan for the vignettes, and that WWE just filmed them to kill off Elias’ musician gimmick. At one point Elias had a new look in the works, reportedly similar to the look we saw on RAW tonight, but word was that WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon nixed it because he felt like it looked too much like WWE Hall of Famer Randy Savage.
Elias, or Ezekiel, has not wrestled since his Symphony of Destruction loss to Jaxson Ryker on the July 19 edition of RAW. He has also been quiet on social media since last summer.
“The American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes makes his return to Monday Night Raw to a big reception. A loud “Cody” chant picks up. Rhodes is wearing a blue suit. Rhodes goes to speak, but then puts the microphone down to listen to the crowd. They chant, “Welcome back!” Rhodes smiles and looks around before getting pumped up. Another “Cody” chant picks up, and he plays to the crowd. Rhodes goes to speak, but the crowd keeps going.
Rhodes says, “So… what do you guys want to talk about?” It has been 47 days since the abrupt news that he was a free agent. Rhodes chose to remain silent. He heard stories and defamatory stories. Everyone thinks that the decision to return to WWE was difficult. It was not. It was simple really. The star that left them in the dust, the man standing here now having signed a multi-year agreement with World Wrestling Entertainment. A “You deserve it” chant picks up. If there was a glimmer of doubt or a shred of trepidation, when he rose up at WrestleMania and came back to beat one of the best wrestlers in the world in Seth Rollins, that doubt was irradiated. Rhodes read a quote that states, “A man often finds his destiny on the path he takes to avoid it.”
Rhodes has a picture of his late father Dusty Rhodes shown from a WWWF Title match at Madison Square Garden in 1977. Rhodes says there is his father, “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. It’s so simple to say that’s his father. In reality, he’s a legend, the son of a plumber, and the common man. To him, he was his hero. Rhodes is getting very emotional. A “Dusty” chant picks up. This photo was taken in 1977 at Madison Square Garden. His father was holding the championship belt that Hulk Hogan would get his hands on (Hogan’s name gets boos), The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H as well. Rhodes says this very photo was on the mantle in his parent’s bedroom until his father’s last day. As he got hip to the industry, he worked up a little courage to ask him poorly if he was a champion like Hulk Hogan. His father told him with the same eyes his daughter has that he had won the match by count-out and did not take home the title due to the champion’s advantage. Rhodes was 8-years-old, he knew he needed to do something. Rhodes was going to win that championship belt and bestow it into the hands of “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes and no one can take it from him.
Unfortunately, that dream died in front of him. That opportunity passed… or did it? He cannot physically put that title into his father’s hands, but he can put it around the waist of The American Nightmare. The crowd loudly cheers that. A “You can do it” chant picks up. Rhodes smiles. With that in mind, the silence is broken. His intentions are clear. Rhodes stands before the crowd finally ready. Rhodes is going to do it. He’s going to give the distinction that his family has been denied. He’s going to do it for the people, for himself, and for his family… and he is going to do it for “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes.
Seth “Freakin” Rollins dances out to the stage in a wild pink suit. Rollins gets in the ring and struts around Rhodes while the crowd sings his theme song. Rollins stops in front of him and looks into Rhodes’ eyes. Rhodes tosses his microphone away. Rollins smirks. Rhodes extends his right hand, and Rollins looks down at it. A “YES” chant picks up. Rollins cackles and shakes Rhodes’ hand. Rollins backs up and leaves the ring, and Rhodes looks a little taken aback.
The biggest WWE RAW of the year will take place tonight from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas with fallout from WrestleMania 38.
No WrestleMania-related matches or segments have been announced for the RAW After WrestleMania as of this writing, but it’s expected that new Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns will be appearing. It’s interesting to note that Reigns is not being advertised by the WWE website or the arena, and Brock Lesnar is also not advertised.
WWE has confirmed that Veer Mahaan will finally make his red brand re-debut tonight after months of vignettes and squashes on WWE Main Event. There is no word on who he will face tonight.
Cody Rhodes is expected to make his RAW return on tonight’s show for a follow-up to his WrestleMania win over Seth Rollins. Rhodes will reportedly be a regular member of the RAW roster moving forward, and noted on Instagram that he can’t wait to have a live mic on tonight’s show.
RAW will also likely feature more on the new alliance between WWE Hall of Famer Edge and Damian Priest. Edge was reported to be leading a new heel stable on RAW, and then Priest provided a distraction that helped Edge defeat AJ Styles at WrestleMania.
The WWE Events website has the following Superstars advertised for tonight – Priest, Styles, Rollins, new RAW Women’s Champion Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch, and Kevin Owens.
There’s no word yet on potential surprises for tonight’s RAW.
WWE superstar Cody Rhodes joined BT Sport’s Ariel Helwani to talk about his return to the company at WrestleMania 38 to challenge Seth Rollins. It was reported directly after his departure from AEW that The American Nightmare had met with Vince McMahon to strike a deal with the company. Cody spoke with Ariel about his meeting with Vince and the WWE and revealed the one request he did make about returning to the company.
“There wasn’t any true guarantees, there was a request,” Rhodes said. “I said I never want to ever see Stardust ever again and I never want to see, hear it or talk about it and it was a handshake and that was all I needed. Then the first thing I did in the match last night was a random Stardust reference, I thought what’re you doing? You’re going back on your own strange request, other than that it was complex to get this all together and maybe one of wrestling’s biggest contracts, which I’m so flattered about. I have a child so yeah.
“But it was more a matter of, I don’t not trust people right, it’s not that I don’t trust this person’s word or this person’s words, but at this point in my career, I do trust myself, fully, implicitly I trust myself. So I know what I can do and given the platform to do it, I’m able to move on, I’m able to get over, I’m able to get what I want and that was presented to me on a silver platter last night. Nothing changed, nothing, Kingdom played, wrestling is more than one royal family and this is a world where wrestling term isn’t said that often. So to hear that was a big give from them and to be me. There’s nothing silly about the entertainment industry to me because this is my life’s work, sports entertainment, pro wrestling. I think I’m the best there is and how I define it as a wrestler, because there’s all these terms, to me what a pro wrestler is is your ability to capture people’s imagination from week to week.
“Are they talking about it, good, bad or ugly? That’s what I’ve been able to bring to the table everywhere I’ve gone and to be able to carry it without saying a word for 40 something days and them understand when I walked out felt like yup, I am the best. But, Roman and Brock are wrestling for the best, what matters the most and a title that was never on a Rhodes. Not saying anymore than that but my intentions are probably clear as to what I like and it’s another thing if it’s unattained but I don’t want it to go unsaid.”
Ariel Helwani also interviewed MJF recently, where the AEW superstar spoke about his upcoming free agency in 2026 where he’ll ponder between WWE and AEW. As the first big name to leave AEW for WWE, Cody Rhodes spoke about what other talent he sees following in his footsteps and making the same jump. The former TNT Champion spoke about the advice he would give other talent looking to make the same move he did and talked about how easy WWE made it for him to jump ship.
“I know there’s so many things printed about me and such but I would only give somebody honest advice,” Rhodes said. “That might be right for somebody and this was right for me. I think I know who those people will be [who come to WWE from AEW] because there’s certain people who fit that superstar mode. I think I know who those types might be and when they ask I’m just going to give them the best advice I possibly can. I can say that the schedule here, at least the schedule I was on the first time, is not for the non-committed. You can’t be one foot in, it is a full time commitment. You are not getting paid 1 day a week to work, it’s not knocking anybody who is. That might be the biggest shock and change. The structure here is a positive, there’s a wonderful structure, it’s a little less punk rock. Punk rock is great but then you want to play something else and that’s really what I experienced.
“When they start coming and talking, I’m sure people will make the transition, I’m sure you can probably guess some of the people that will come over and undoubtedly, not unlike Daniel Bryan and Adam Cole, people will make that move [to AEW]. It is a healthy thing, it doesn’t seem healthy when you watch the show because all you’re doing is talking trash about each other which I really hope that nobody here does because it’s lazy and you’re discrediting what got me. You’re discrediting me so you’re incorrect in a sense that it doesn’t matter. I’ll always give the best advice because this schedule is not for everybody, WWE and Nick Khan specifically made it so easy. There’s a bus, your family, your wife, your daughter. Just a red carpet and I know with that red carpet comes it’s time to get to work but I’m curious you know, how I’ll do it but I’ll never do it in terms of leveraging. I can only give honest advice because everyone’s path is different.”
Source: Wrestling Inc. – credit BT Sport with Ariel Helwani
