Vince McMahon Reportedly Countersues Former XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck

The USA Today is reporting that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is countersuing former XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck for $572,792.10. 

The suit, filed in Connecticut Federal Court claims Luck defied orders by McMahon when it came to hiring XFL staff and players. McMahon said Luck abandoned his duties when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the league to be suspended in mid-March of 2020.

McMahon also argued that Luck did not follow directions when it came to signing former NFL wide receiver Antonio Callaway for the Tampa Bay Vipers. Vince says that he emphasized to Luck that an XFL player must have “quality football players with good character.” Callaway apparently did not meet McMahon’s standards, during his NFL career, Callaway violated the substance abuse policy, and alos was involved in credit card fraud.

Callaway suffered a knee injury before the start of the XFL season.  The League then had to pay him worker’s compensation pay, and the XFL unable to terminate Callaway’s  contract without paying him his original signing bonus which exceeded $120,000.

The report also notes that the pursuit of former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel also caused issues between Luck and McMahon. It was said that after learning of reports that the XFL would consider signing Manziel, McMahon texted Luck “How long R U going to play this game Oliver? U know there is NO CHANCE IN HELL for Manziel to play for us. I will not change my mind. So what’s Ur plan??”  Luck then responded with “Vince – we have no intention of signing him, none whatsoever. We’re just milking the story to stay in the news. I’m happy to categorically rule him out but both Jeffrey and I think it is worthwhile to milk it until the showcases are finished (July 12). At that point we can say he doesn’t fit into our plans.”

McMahon also accused Luck of leaving the league’s Connecticut headquarters on March 13 and returning to his home in Indiana. After that date, it is said that Luck and McMahon had no direct contact, according to the countersuit, and McMahon claims Luck missed several league operations meetings.

Last month, According to OK!USA, XFL commissioner Oliver Luck is convinced that he will win his wrongful termination suit against former boss WWE CEO Vince McMahon. If Luck wins his case, McMahon would have to pay Luck nearly $24 million.

Back in April of this year, filed suit against Vince McMahon for wrongful termination.  Luck said he received a termination letter on April 9 spelling out the case against him. Luck then denied any wrongdoing. Luck said that he fulfilled his end of the bargain, running the league since its resurrection in January 2018 — only to be “wrongfully terminated.”

April 13, 2020 the XFL officially filed for voluntary Chapter 11 Bankruptcy shortly after the league announced they were ceasing operations permanently.

On August 3, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Dany Garcia announced they, along with RedBird Capital Partners, purchased the football league in August for $15 million.

In a video that was released on October 1, 2020, along with and press release Johnson announced that the XFL will return in the spring of 2022.

Source: WrestleView

WWE SmackDown Preview 1/8/21

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown on FOX will feature two title matches.

WWE Intercontinental Champion Big E will defend against Apollo Crews. This match was made after Crews quickly accepted an Open Challenge that Big E announced last week after helping him out with Sami Zayn and King Baron Corbin.

SmackDown will also see Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode challenge SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Street Profits for their titles. This match comes after Ziggler and Roode attacked the champs during a segment on last week’s show.

SmackDown should also feature more build to the upcoming Royal Rumble pay-per-view, and fallout from last week’s show-closing segment that saw Jey Uso and WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns toss Kevin Owens through a table.

Impact Wrestling ‘Genesis’ 1/9/21

Impact Wrestling presents Genesis this Saturday on Impact Plus.

I Quit Match
TNA Champion Moose vs. Willie Mack

Jordynne Grace vs. Jazz

* First Round Of The Super X Cup Tournament: Suicide vs. Ace Austin

* First Round Of The Super X Cup Tournament: Daivari vs. Cousin Jake.

* First Round Of The Super X Cup Tournament: Crazzy Steve vs. Tre Lamar.

* First Round Of The Super X Cup Tournament: Blake Christian vs. KC Navarro.

* Super X-Cup Semi-Finals and Finals

Genesis will broadcast exclusively on IMPACT Plus. Those who sign up now will recieve a free 30-day trial.

WWE Reportedly Making “A Strong Play” At Jay White

Following his defeat to Kota Ibushi at the main event of day two of Wrestle Kingdom 15 for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Titles, Jay White said in the post-match press conference that he simply was done with pro wrestling and just wanted to go home after the sacrifices he made.

Many believed this to be an angle. However, the Super J-Cast is reporting that their sources of told them that there is doubt whether White would extend his NJPW contract and that WWE are making “a strong play for him.” They also reported that it is currently “50/50” as to whether he stays or leaves NJPW.

“Several sources have indicated there is some doubt whether Jay White will extend his NJPW contract, rumoured to be up at the end of the month,” Super J-Cast wrote. “WWE are believed to be making a strong play for him and it’s 50/50 whether he stays or goes.”

White has some connections in WWE as Finn Balor and Shinsuke Nakamura were part of a group that recruited him to NJPW. White has stated in the past that signing with WWE was not on his radar.

You can view the Super J-Cast’s tweet below:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Bullet Club Reunion In AEW – Will The Name Be Used In AEW?

Impact stars Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson have made their All Elite Wrestling debuts and reunited with some former Bullet Club buddies.

It all went down on this week’s New Year’s Smash edition of Dynamite following the main event in which AEW World Champion Kenny Omega defeated Rey Fenix.

After the bell, Omega’s associate Don Callis got on the mic and declared Fenix’s career over. Omega was about to attack Fenix when Jon Moxley appeared to make the save. But Mox’s upper hand was short-lived.

Impact tag champs The Good Brothers then shocked everyone by making their AEW debuts and rescuing their old Bullet Club colleague. Omega, Gallows, and Anderson beat the hell out of Moxley for some time, until The Young Bucks appeared and pleaded for some decorum.

The show went off the air with all four former Bullet Club members participating in a four-way “Too Sweet” salute.

The question now is will they be able to use the Bullet Club name in AEW. Karl Anderson is a founding member of Bullet Club in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Bullet Club is still a group in NJPW.

The Good Brothers will be returning to NJPW at some point – Speaking to GameSpot’s Wrestle Buddies podcast the Good Brothers confirm that they will be returning to New Japan. In fact, there’s already a deal between the two sides to make it happen. “For sure. There’s a deal in place,” Anderson said. Gallows added, “Yeah, we’re going.”

The Bullet club name wasn’t mentioned during Wednesday Night’s episode of Dynamite. The Good Brother and Omega have mentioned the Bullet Club name on episodes of Impact. So it will be interesting to see if they will use/mention the Bullet Club name in AEW.

MLW Kings of Colosseum Preview 1/6/21

MLW returns TONIGHT at 7pm ET with Kings of Colosseum, featuring a double main event available on Fubo Sports, Roku Channel, DAZN and YouTube.  Learn more about where to watch.

•World Middleweight Championship: Myron Reed (c) vs. Lio Rush
•National Openweight Championship: Alexander Hammerstone(c) vs. Mads Krügger
•Tornado World Tag Team Championship: Ross & Marshall Von Erich (c) vs. Colonel Parker’s Dirty Blondes (managed by Aria Blake)
•Grudge Match: Jordan Oliver vs. Simon Gotch

It’s a FREE marquee event from Major League Wrestling as newlawoffice.com presents Kings Of Colosseum.

The double main event sees a battle between MLW’s emerging franchise against CONTRA’s 7-foot masked mercenary.

After being put on the injured list at the hands of Mads Krügger, National Openweight Champion Alex Hammerstone looks to drop the hammer on “The Black Hand of CONTRA” with the title on the line!

Will CONTRA’s mercenary put the champ in a body bag and walk away with the belt, or will Hammerstone take out the vile CONTRA commander and move one step closer to a shot at Jacob Fatu’s World Heavyweight Title?

The highly anticipated World Middleweight Championship fight between defending champ Myron Reed and challenger Lio Rush headlines a double main event. “The Young GOAT” Myron Reed has run through the best from Japan to Mexico and all points in-between, but he has yet to battle Lio Rush. The Man of the Hour believes it is his time to shine with gold.

Can “The Young GOAT” stay true to his moniker and take down “The MOTH”, thereby defining his legacy and staking his claim as king of the division? Or will “The Moneyweight” add the World Middleweight championship to his extraordinary and growing list of accomplishments?

Ross and Marshall Von Erich put the World Tag titles on the line against Colonel Parker’s Dirty Blondes, in a Tornado Tag Title fight! The Colonel has relentlessly petitioned for a title fight against The Von Erichs, and he gets his wish at Kings of Colosseum!

9 months in the making, Injustice’s Jordan Oliver looks to take out CONTRA’s elite grappler, Simon Gotch! It’s a grudge match!

After celebrating his Opera Cup win, “Filthy” Tom Lawlor returns with a proclamation of his own. What does the Filthy One have in store? Tune in to find out!

Amidst chaos and corruption, Salina de la Renta has promised a bombshell announcement!

Join Rich Bocchini, fight analyst Jared St. Laurent, and backstage correspondent Alicia Atout for a night of top-ranked championship fights as Major League Wrestling presents Kings of Colosseum.

AEW Dynamite ‘New Year’s Smash’ Night 1 Preview 1/6/21

Tonight’s AEW Dynamite New Year’s Smash Night 1 episode airs on TNT at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.

* Kenny Omega (c) w/ Don Callis vs. Rey Fenix w/ Penta El Zero Miedo (AEW World Championship)

* The return of Jon Moxley

* Hikaru Shida (c) vs. Abadon (AEW Women’s World Championship)

* AEW World Tag Team Champions Young Bucks and SCU vs. The Acclaimed and The Hybrid 2

* Cody Rhodes vs. Matt Sydal

* Jake Hager vs. Wardlow

* Sting appears

* Weigh In for next week’s Brian Cage vs. TNT Champion Darby Allin match

* Chris Jericho on commentary

* Special guest: Snoop Dogg

WWE NXT ‘New Year’s Evil’ Preview 1/6/21

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will be the New Year’s Evil special, the first show of 2021 for the brand.

Host: Dexter Lumis

NXT Title Match
Kyle O’Reilly vs. Finn Balor (c)
Commercial-free from bell to bell.

NXT Cruiserweight Title Match
Gran Metalik vs. Santos Escobar (c)

Last Woman Standing Match
Rhea Ripley vs. Raquel Gonzalez

Karrion Kross with Scarlett vs. Damian Priest
Commercial-free from bell to bell.

Xia Li and Boa return from their transformation

It looks like the Fight Pit II bout has been pulled from tonight’s event.

The Fight Pit structure was scheduled to return tonight for Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher, but the match has been pulled from the WWE website. Furthermore, the official NXT Twitter account has removed a recent tweet announcing the match.

Fight Pit
Tommaso Ciampa vs. Timothy Thatcher

Chris Jericho Receives Inscribed official Stryper Platinum Album

Chris Jericho received his very own inscribed official Stryper Platinum Album for ‘To Hell with The Devil’ from Stryper frontman Michael Sweet.

Jericho wrote on Facebook:

“Thanks to Michael Sweet & @champagnesweet1 for my very own inscribed official Stryper platinum album for #ToHellWithTheDevil!!! What an honour to receive this from the band who I first saw live in Fargo, North Dakota in 1988. I even snuck into their meet and greet and grabbed a Bible…who knew that 32 years later I would receive this in the mail!!!”

Several Advertised Stars Did Not Appear For WWE Legends Night, Carlito Reacts

Several stars did not appear for last night’s Legends Night edition of WWE RAW, despite being advertised ahead of time.

The WWE Hall of Famers and Legends who did appear for various cameos during the show, and on the stage to watch WWE Champion Drew McIntyre retain over Keith Lee in the main event, were Irwin R. Schyster (IRS), Melina, Jeff Jarrett, Jimmy Hart, Molly Holly, Booker T, Alicia Fox, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Torrie Wilson, Big Show, Mickie James, Mark Henry, Ron Simmons, Teddy Long, Sgt. Slaughter, and Tatanka.

Stars who were advertised but did not appear were Beth Phoenix, Candice Michelle, Carlito, Eve Torres, Hillbilly Jim, Ivory, Jacqueline, Kurt Angle, and Michael “PS” Hayes.

Carlito was one of the most anticipated returns for Legends Night and WWE had previously confirmed his appearance on social media and their website. There’s no word yet on why he never appeared but as seen in the tweet below, he tweeted a shrug GIF in response to the show:

Update

According to Wrestling Inc., Carlito was never officially booked for the show at all. WWE sent feelers out to a variety of talents, including Carlito, and someone internally in WWE apparently simply jumped the gun announcing his appearance. This was not an issue of travel problems or him being held up due to COVID-19 precautions.

We’re told there is no bad blood over the errant announcement since it appears to have just been a communication error.

Carlito’s appearance on RAW would have been his first RAW appearance in over ten years. His last appearance for WWE was as part of Edge & Christian’s Show That Totally Reeks Of Awesomeness on the WWE Network back in 2016.

Source: Wrestling Inc.