Jeff Jarrett Reveals When WWE Contacted Him Regarding WWE Hall Of Fame Induction

Image result for Jeff and Karen Jarrett WWE Hall of Fame

WWE confirmed this week that former Intercontinental Champion Jeff Jarrett will be the latest inductee into the Hall of Fame. During the video package, WWE aired his achievements while competing for the company, from popularizing himself by pompously spelling his name, to eventually becoming a crew-cut, hard-nosed competitor and smashing guitars over the heads of his foes.

 They also showed some of his pinnacle moments in WCW, as he was the World Heavyweight Champion four times, United States three times, and the leader of nWo 2000 in just under a year and a half with the company from 1999-2001.

Jarrett was interviewed by TMZ about WWE’s announcement, as seen in the video above. Jarrett stated that it is surreal to him, and WWE asked him back in January if he would like to go in the Hall of Fame and he did not think twice about it.

“Out of all the guys who’ve laced up their boots, there’s less that 200 of us in the Hall of Fame,” said Jarrett. “So, I’m very grateful, I’m very, very humbled, and… this is for my family. My family goes back three generations, so I’m the lucky one that got picked for my family being in the Hall of Fame.”

On the March 26, 2001 simulcast of Raw and Nitro, where Vince McMahon revealed that he bought his rival, he also publicly fired Jarrett as he was appearing on WCW Nitro. A year later, Jarrett and his father Jerry would launch TNA Wrestling.

TMZ asked Jarrett about that infamous moment. Jarrett stated, “that night in Panama city, who would’ve thunk (laughs), who would’ve thought these many years later, 17 years later or whatever it may be, that I’m standing here Monday, February the 19th and the announcement is made.”

Jarrett would then say “thank you” to WWE for their decision to induct him in the Hall of Fame, despite his ups and downs.

Source: WrestlingINC and H/T to TMZ

Karen & Jeff Jarrett On His WWE HOF Induction

Image result for Jeff and Karen Jarrett WWE Hall of Fame

Jeff Jarrett and wife Karen Jarrett posted the following on Jeff’s 2018 WWE Hall of Fame induction:

James Ellsworth Reveals Intergender Title (Photo)

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Former WWE Superstar James Ellsworth has a new Intergender Title that he will be defending on the indies. You can see the title in his Instagram post below:

Source: WrestlingINC

ROH Launches Streaming Service And New Look To Website

Yesterday, Ring of Honor not only showed off a new look to their official website, but their streaming service, Honor Club, is up and running. Honor Club will be streaming not only PPVs, but ROH’s live events too. If fans sign-up at the monthly rate ($9.99), they will get live PPVs 50% off (digital platforms only, not cable/satellite), but if they sign up for the year under their VIP Membership ($119.99), all ROH PPVs will be free. Previously, ROH had a Ringside Membership for fans to get early access to tickets, which will now be rolled into this service. Also included: access to ROH’s video library, ROH weekly TV episodes, and receive discounts in the ROH Pro Shop.

Source: WrestlingINC

Possible Reason For Apollo Crews Losing His Last Name

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WWE changed Apollo Crews’ name to just Apollo on their roster section at WWE.com. His name on Twitter also reflects this change. WWE had recently aired an angle with Titus Worldwide creating the “Crews Can’t Lose” catchphrase for him

 Shortening names is nothing new in WWE, as Elias (Samson), Big E (Langston), (Antonio) Cesaro, (Adrian) Neville, (Alexander) Rusev and many others are now billed differently than when they were first introduced. The names are usually changed because Vince McMahon feels that they sound better shortened. However, there appears to be another reason for this change.

Daniel Wood of Sportskeeda is reporting that WWE confirmed in an email that the change was done due to the tragic high school shooting last Wednesday in Parkland, Florida. The gunman, 19 year-old Nikolas Cruz, killed 17 students and teachers with an AR-15 rifle. WWE apparently wanted to avoid any allusion to Cruz, despite the spelling being different, and the decision was made by Vince McMahon to drop Apollo’s last name.

Source: WrestlingINC

Breaking News: WWE Announces Jeff Jarrett Will Enter HOF

Jeff Jarrett used to have one question for the WWE Universe during his incredible career: “Ain’t I great?”

While fans responded with boos and jeers then, today, the answer is undoubtedly affirmative. As first reported by NBCSports.com, Jarrett is the latest inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018, joining Goldberg, The Dudley Boyz and Ivory. He’ll take his place in sports-entertainment history on Friday, April 6, in New Orleans during WrestleMania 34 Week.

Read the rest of the announcement here at WWE.com

Mystery Promotion Taping TV In Nashville Next Month ft. James Storm

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PWInsider reports that a mystery promotion is holding free TV tapings from March 27 to March 29 in Nashville. Tickets are being given away at NashvilleAudience.com. Those who attend will have to sign a non-disclosure agreement and can’t reveal the results or details publicly. Those advertised include James Storm, Jeff Cobb, Joey Janela, Brian Pillman II, Shane Strickland, Corey Hollis, Aaron Solow and more.

Source: 411Mania

Titus O’Neil Partnered With Local Athletes And Others To Bring 2000 Kids To The Movies

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Titus O’Neil partnered with local athletes and others in the community to bring more than 2,000 kids to see the new Black Panther movie in Tampa on Thursday night. You can see videos and comments from Titus below:

Source: WrestlingINC

Rich Swann And WWE Mutually Part Ways

rich swann cleared charges domestic violence su yung

WWE announced yesterday that Rich Swann is done with the company.

WWE’s statement:

Rich Swann and WWE have mutually agreed to part ways as of today, February 15, 2018.

WWE wishes Swann the best in all of his future endeavors.

Swann was arrested and charged for false imprisonment/kidnapping and misdemeanor battery (touching or striking) after an incident with his wife Vannarah Riggs, who currently works for Impact Wrestling as Su Yung, in mid-December. Swann was driving a car with Riggs and apparently began to critique her performance at a wrestling show earlier in the night. Swann supposedly got angry and Riggs jumped out of the car because she was worried that the argument was going to escalate. Swann allegedly stopped the car in traffic and yelled for her to return before putting her in a headlock and dragging her back to the vehicle. The car was apparently not in park, and it crashed into a telephone pole. Swann denied physically touching Riggs and the couple reconciled shortly after. Swann was later cleared of all charges the incident.

WWE To Make Another Major Pay-Per-View Change Soon?

WWE will reportedly be making an official announcement soon regarding pay-per-view changes, according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. It is expected that the announcement will be the end of brand-exclusive pay-per-views, starting with WWE Backlash in May. WWE has confirmed the upcoming announcement after a Ticketmaster e-mail sent this week revealed that the WWE Backlash pay-per-view on May 6th will now be a dual-branded show after previously being announced for the RAW brand, as noted. Originally only 5 events were scheduled to be dual-branded this year – the Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, Money In the Bank, SummerSlam and Survivor Series.

Adding more pay-per-view events has added costs without a lot of new revenue, with the exception of the live gates, since they really aren’t increasing WWE Network subscription numbers at a high rate. There also may have been issues with storylines slowing down due to longer gaps in between brand-exclusive events.

WWE ran 16 pay-per-view events in 2017 and cut back to 14 this year but they had a goal of running 12 – one per month. They currently have 13 more scheduled to take place after January’s Royal Rumble – Elimination Chamber, Fastlane, WrestleMania 34, Backlash, Payback, Money In the Bank, Battleground, SummerSlam, Extreme Rules, Hell In a Cell, TLC, Survivor Series and Clash of Champions.

In another pay-per-view change that has not been confirmed yet, there’s belief within WWE that the former B shows will be increased by 1 hour to be four-hour pay-per-views with two matches on the one-hour Kickoff pre-show. One of the main reasons for the increase likely has to do with having to fit top stars from both brands on one show. The Observer points to how the biggest complaint with WWE pay-per-view events has been the length of the top shows and now every show will be 5 hours long.

The Observer notes that both shows will be pushing the same pay-per-view each month and all the top stars would be on it, but one major negative is that a lot of middle & lower card talents won’t be featured on pay-per-view as much, if at all, and less pay-per-view time means less focus on TV. It was also speculated that we may see more stipulation matches on TV that would have usually been used for pay-per-view with some of the midcard feuds.

Another negative could be that there will be title matches relegated to pre-shows, which will hurt their significance. There also could be more multi-person matches as a way to get top talents booked on pay-per-view, more matches on each show meaning rushed matches, less spots for non-title matches. It’s possible that most of the shows will feature two main title matches, two secondary title matches, two women’s title matches, two tag team title matches and the cruiserweight title match.

Source: WrestlingINC