WWE Closing Twitch & Cameo Pages?, AJ Styles Reacts, Paige Talks Unionization

It looks like WWE is in the process of shutting down Twitch & Mixer streaming channels owned by several Superstars. Cameo accounts are also being deactivated.

AJ Styles took to Discord this afternoon and announced that he was suspending his “Stylesclash” accounts on Mixer and Twitch due to WWE’s new policy on unauthorized third party platform activity. Styles thanked his fans for the support and memories. He also said he will be leaving his Discord server up to keep in touch with fans for future happenings.

“@everyone, I want to thank you for all the greatest memories on Mixer and Twitch,” AJ wrote. “I will cherish these memories and I love everyone of you that have made this possible and supported me. As many of you know WWE is making some changes that involve streaming. We will see what the future holds in that regard.

“With that being said I will be suspending Stylesclash stream. This isn’t good bye, but this is see you sometime in the future. We will leave discord open, but since it won’t be monitored we will be making changes. Chris or I will let you know what that looks like once we figure it out. If you see me at the arenas or wherever be sure to let me know you’re part of the phenomenal family. Again this isn’t the end it’s just a pause. Thank you again for your support.”

Mia Yim (Reckoning of RETRIBUTION) announced on Twitter that her “ItsMeSYB” Twitch stream is also being pulled down, right before her scheduled gameplay with Jessamyn Duke.

“Sorry guys, no more stream for the time being. Thank you for making these past few difficult months manageable. It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later. [blue heart emoji],” Yim wrote.

Cesaro announced that he was suspending his “Claudio’s Cafe” channel on Twitch today during a stream.

“Well I appreciate everybody spending some time here with me,” Cesaro said. “I don’t know when the next stream is gonna be… I’ll definitely let you guys know. … Thank everybody for spending your time with me here. Thanks for the subs, thanks for the gifts, thanks for the follows. I really do appreciate it. I hope I’ll be back soon, but when? I don’t know. So, yeah… one last race, who are we gonna race today? So yeah, I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

Paige got emotional during one of her Twitch streams this afternoon on her “Saraya Official” channel after finding out about co-workers shutting down their platforms.

“You guys. We have to make this… you guys. There may be a time where I have to stop streaming,” Paige said. “So, I just think in case I walk away, if I have to walk away, let’s make these next two streams crazy. I have to go off. If I have to leave, we make today and Saturday f–king crazy before I have to leave, because it might have to come to that.

Paige continued texting, apparently with co-workers on her phone, and came back to the camera. She was more emotional as she went back to addressing her viewers. She then commented that she “cannot deal” with WWE anymore. She also blamed the company for over-working her, to the point that she suffered the career-ending neck injury during a WWE live event match in December 2017.

“I’ve honestly got to the point where I cannot deal with this company anymore,” Paige said. “So now I have to make a very important decision. I’m f–king tired, man. I broke my f–king neck twice, twice for this company, over f–king worked. I broke my neck twice for this company and all I wanted was to… they don’t realize that this community isn’t just about f–king subs. It isn’t about that. It isn’t about that. We built a wonderful community, a wonderful f–king family where this is an escape for a lot of people, including myself.

“I can’t wrestle anymore, I was worked so hard in WWE that I can’t wrestle anymore. My neck is f–ked, my whole dream got taken away from me, dude, and I had to have something that fulfilled even a small part of that huge f–king void that I lost with wrestling. A huge f–king void. I couldn’t wrestle anymore, something I lived, breathed, f–king s–t wrestling since I was a fetus, dude, and it got ripped away from me, and I had to find something that even filled a little bit of that. Twitch was such a wonderful thing for me, it’s such a wonderful place for me.”

Paige continued and wondered why WWE is taking away her platform while she just sits at home, unable to wrestle.

“And I understand,” Paige said. “I understand if they’re like, ‘Hey, if you’re wrestling every day, if you’re doing shows every day, if you’re on TV constantly.’ That’s fine, but I’m a f–king injured wrestler. I can’t wrestle anymore. I get used for media stuff sometimes, you know? But at the end of the day I’m in my f–king house. I’m going f–king crazy, dude. I need something to keep me sane, man, and Twitch was my escape from that, you know? Right now I’m just sitting on my f–king ass.”

Paige also brought up her private photos & videos that were leaked on the internet a few years ago, and her failed drug tests, and relationship with former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio. She also accused WWE of treating her bad.

“I had a terrible couple of years where I had tapes leaked about me, where I popped a couple of drug tests because I was in an abusive f–king relationship, dude,” Paige said. “And that’s the only thing I could f–king do. See, people think I should be thankful that I still have a f–king job, right? And I am, but it doesn’t mean I should be treated like f–king s–t.”

Paige said at one point that she would keep streaming because her neck was taken away twice and she won’t allow WWE to take away her Twitch next. She also mentioned potential unionization in pro wrestling, revealing that she’s been in touch with a unionization lawyer.

“People don’t realize I’m outspoken as f–k,” Paige said. I will say how I feel. I don’t care who you are. I will say how I feel because I don’t like being walked all over. … You know what? I’m gonna start looking more into unionization. I’ve been learning about it by a unionization lawyer.

“This is bigger than Twitch, it’s about taking f–king control of your own life and not being controlled by anyone. I gave ten years, man. I poured my f–king heart and soul into this. I had a bad couple of years like every motherf–ker has. I’m not the only one who is f–king controversial around here, I’m not the only one. It’s f–king louder when it comes to me because I’m a f–king female. I hate using that because I’m a woman but it’s because I’m a woman and women don’t usually stand up for themselves.”

Paige went on and said she will continue to stream for her fans, and see how the situation plays out. Paige said she loves WWE but doesn’t agree with what is being done in regards to the third party activity. She noted that she understands that this is a business decision, and nothing personal, but she still doesn’t have to agree with it. She also noted that she felt sad at first, but now she feels empowered after speaking out on the latest stream. She told fans that she will be speaking out with more of what’s on her mind over the next couple of days.

WWE couple Zelina Vega and Aleister Black also discussed the situation on their “AtoZ” Twitch channel. They reiterated that they are not 100% sure of what will happen to the account as they have not talked to “the office” but they know there will be a conversation on the matter at SmackDown on Friday.

“In all fairness, we don’t know,” Black said. “We don’t know but it’s starting to look like, obviously that this might be the last one for a while. We haven’t been told anything, but obviously tomorrow is TV, and I know that there’s going to be a conversation tomorrow. But, like, it’s not definite, it’s not like this is the last final stream ever.”

Vega added, “Although it could be. I want you to be prepared for that, too.”

Black continued, “It could be but we don’t think it is, but you never know. I think what’s happening is they’re trying to find a way to make it coexist within the WWE Universe and whatever way that they want to do that, I don’t know, and if we agree to that, I don’t know. I literally can’t tell you anything because we don’t know anything.”

“Only because we haven’t been told anything from the office,” Vega added.

Black and Vega acknowledged the statements by Styles and Yim, and said they made those because they were told separately. Vega said it’s their business and she’s not sure if Yim and Styles have had conversations with the office, but she and Black have not.

“I think you can definitely say this is the last one for a while, for at least a while, and I don’t know how long that while is. Obviously tomorrow [at SmackDown] we’re going to get a little more clarity on things, but I don’t know,” Black said.

Like Styles, Black and Vega plan to keep their Discord server open so they can interact with fans.

“I’m just going to be candid,” Vega said. “And just like, we don’t know but we have a good idea, and there’s the whole ‘trying to make it work for everybody’ stage that we’re in right now, and we’re hoping that there is some kind of middle ground. Is there? There may not be because the thing is, that sounds great, you know? And I hope there is. It sounds like middle ground would be awesome, but I also want to prepare people.”

She added, “Because I don’t want to give you guys hope and then slap you guys in the face and go, ‘Sorry!’ You know what I mean?”

“We’re preparing you for both,” Vega said. “We’re preparing you for the, ‘Hey we figured out something and it’s kind of going to be different and it’s going to work somehow.’ But it’s not going to be exactly what this is because I don’t think it’ll ever be this, it’ll be different if there is that, but there’s also the side of, ‘We just have to stop.’ I want you guys to be prepared for both. I just want to be 100% honest with you.”

Black and Vega acknowledged Paige being upfront and honest with her viewers, and not holding anything back. Vega recalled how Paige also said officials have not said anything concrete to her either, but Vega is sure something will happen to the third party activity. Black and Vega also commented on how they built their platform together, with the fans, despite Black being a very private person.

On a related note, several WWE Superstars have deactivated their Cameo accounts as well, and are no longer taking requests from fans. RSN discovered that Big E, Riddle, Kevin Owens and others have all deactivated their Cameo accounts, which were big earners for some wrestlers. There are some WWE Superstars who remain on Cameo, such as Lacey Evans and Mandy Rose, among others. It remains to be seen if their accounts will be deactivated soon like the others.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On Why Aleister Black And Kevin Owens Are Missing WWE Saudi Arabia Event

Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Aleister Black will not be appearing at the upcoming WWE Super ShowDown event on Friday, June 7th in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Black’s absence was a company decision due to some of his tattoos having a religious connotation. Black has generally kept quiet regarding the meaning behind his body art, although he did reveal the meaning of his back tattoo in an interview with The Daily Star in 2017.

“I don’t really talk about the meaning of my tattoos, but I will give you that one,” Black said. “The being on my back is Lilith, in some folklore she is the first woman to ever rebel against paradise. The reason she is there for equality, equality for every man and woman – which is the most important thing there is.”

Bryan is likely not appearing at the event for the same reasons that he skipped last November’s Crown Jewel show in Riyadh. While he wrestled at WWE’s first big show in Saudi Arabia, The Greatest Royal Rumble, last April, he had since learned more of the country’s treatment of homosexuals. Bryan was also upset that Sami Zayn was not being allowed on those shows because of his Syrian ancestry, which he felt was racist. Saudi Arabia cut ties with Syria in 2012, and Zayn had started a #SamiForSyria mobile clinic in Syria in 2017.

WWE issued the following statement at the time regarding Zayn’s absence from the event:

“WWE is committed to embracing individuals from all backgrounds while respecting local customs and cultural differences around the world.”

According to The Observer, company sources stated that Owens is declining to work the show because his family asked him not to go. It was noted that there may have been other reasons, including Zayn not being allowed to work the show. Owens had been in a program with WWE Champion Kofi Kingston. Dolph Ziggler was pulled out of an appearance in Australia the weekend of Super Showdown and will now face Kingston for the title.

The only other star that refused to work Crown Jewel was John Cena, who is not scheduled for WWE Super ShowDown.

WWE Super ShowDown takes place on Friday, June 7th, at the King Abdullah Sports City’s King Abdullah International Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Tag Teams Splits Up, WWE Quietly Moves New RAW Superstars Back To SmackDown

WWE has apparently changed their minds on a few roster moves made during the 2019 Superstar Shakeup last week.

Andrade and Zelina Vega are now listed as SmackDown Superstars on the WWE website. They were moved to RAW in the Shakeup last Monday and Andrade picked up a non-title win over WWE Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor, who was sent to the blue brand the next night. Vega and Andrade had cut several promos on social media and video to warn the red brand that they were the new faces of the show.

It looks like Aleister Black could be going from RAW to SmackDown as well. Black, who is married to Vega, had been floating between shows since his call-up from WWE NXT, but he and partner Ricochet were confirmed for the red brand in the Shakeup last week. Black is now listed on the SmackDown roster on the official WWE website and his name has the SmackDown logo next to it. Ricochet is still listed for the RAW brand, so that tag team is apparently done.

Andrade and Charlotte Flair were one of the real-life WWE couples affected by the Superstar Shakeup, but that appears to have been rectified. Black and Vega were also kept together on the same brand, but the Black and Ricochet tag team appears to be done.

It will be interesting to see if the Andrade, Vega and Black roster changes are addressed on tonight’s RAW episode.

As we’ve noted, it’s believed that WWE United States Champion Samoa Joe will join the red brand on tonight’s show. Joe had been scheduled to bring the title to RAW on last week’s Shakeup edition of RAW but he was very sick, so sick that his segment was pulled from the show. WWE did not quietly announce Joe’s roster change as they did with other Superstars because they were saving it for tonight as they have an angle planned.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

UPDATE:

Cesaro has been moved to RAW. This means The Bar has split up as Sheamus appears to be staying on SmackDown Live

UPDATE: 4/23/19

It was revealed on 4/23/19 edition of SmackDown Live that, Jinder Mahal and the Singh Brothers has been moved to SmackDown Live.

Ricochet, Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano And Tommaso Ciampa Make RAW Debut – Permanent Call Up?

Image result for Ricochet, Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano And Tommaso Ciampa Make RAW Debut

Last night in the opening segment of RAW, Triple H announced that NXT Stars – Ricochet, Aleister Black, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa would debut on RAW later in the show.

Video packages were played to hype each competitor.

The footage WWE shared on social media was captioned “Triple H introduces WWE’s newest Superstars” and Michael Cole welcomed them to WWE, so it sounds like a permanent call up. No word on what this will mean for Ciampa’s current NXT Championship run and Gargano appeared on RAW as the NXT North American Champion.

Ricochet teamed with WWE Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor to defeat Bobby Lashley and Lio Rush in tag team action. The match was made after Ricochet saved Balor from a double team by Rush and Lashley. The match saw Ricochet get the pin on Rush after hitting the 630 from the top rope.

Johnny Gargano teamed up with former DIY partner Tommaso Ciampa to defeat the RAW Tag Team champions The Revival.

Aleister Black interrupted Elias then went on to defeat him in a singles match.

Aleister Black And Zelina Vega Recently Got Married

aleister black zelina zega married wedding

You probably didn’t even know they were a couple, but Pro Wrestling Sheet can confirm Aleister Black and Zelina Vega have tied the knot.

WrestlingInc first reported the WWE Superstars recently got married, and sources confirm the info is accurate, but it’s unclear where or when the nuptials occurred.

The couple have done a stellar job of keeping their relationship secret. In fact, it was only one week ago when Aleister first appeared on her Instagram in a training video.

Congratulations to the newlyweds!

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Update On Aleister Black’s Status For NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn

aleister black update status nxt takeover brooklyn injury surgery groin october

Aleister Black will NOT be wrestling at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyndue to the groin injury he recently suffered.

As we previously reported, Black underwent groin surgery last week after getting injured at a live event during a match against Tommaso Ciampa.

The former NXT champion likely won’t be cleared for action until October, meaning he’s unable to wrestle this month at TakeOver.

Video footage was released to explain his upcoming absence.

Following last night’s airing of NXT TV, the company put out a video which shows Aleister found unconscious in the parking lot at Full Sail University by William Regal.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

Aleister Black Undergoes Groin Surgery, NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn Status In Question

aleister black injured groin surgery takeover brooklyn

Pro Wrestling Sheet has confirmed Aleister Black recently went under the knife after injuring his groin at a live event and it’s possible he’ll miss NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn.

The Wrestling Observer first reported Aleister’s injury occurred at a live event in Las Vegas over the weekend and described the situation as “quite serious.”

Sources tell us Black underwent surgery this week to repair the torn groin and he’s definitely not confirmed at this point for TakeOver: Brooklyn on August 18.

Recovery time for this sort of procedure is typically three weeks or longer.

We’ll keep you updated if any additional information is made public by WWE.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet