Tag: JBL

Mauro Ranallo Parts Ways With WWE, JBL Comments, WWE Investigated JBL?

Image result for Mauro Ranallo & JBL

Mauro Ranallo and WWE have mutually agreed to part ways, Ranallo revealed to Newsweek in a new story posted today by Tufayel Ahmed. He will still remain under WWE contract through August 12th.

“WWE and I have mutually agreed to part ways. It has nothing to do with JBL,” Ranallo stated in an email to Newsweek.

As noted, Ranallo was rumored to have had issues with JBL, which reportedly escalated after Ranallo tweeted out results of him winning the “Wrestling Observer Announcer of the Year” award for 2016. JBL was visibly frustrated with Ranallo and went on a public rant on Bring It To The Table in March, stating that Ranallo “has a hundred and 80 something thousand tweets, and by the time this show airs, maybe 2 hundred something thousand.”

“That is a problem, okay? And he [Ranallo] retweets some Internet poll,” JBL said on Bring It To The Table. “We have, what, two million people who watch SmackDown in the United States alone, and you have some Internet poll with 12 people on it?”

Tension had reportedly been building between both men up until that point. Ranallo missed the following SmackDown tapings on March 14th, and has not appeared on WWE television since. Several past stories of JBL’s behavior resurfaced. JBL issued a statement to Newsweek, noting that he would take place in locker room pranks in the past, but WWE addressed his behavior.

“Admittedly, I took part in locker room pranks that existed within the industry years ago,” JBL said. “WWE addressed my behavior and I responded accordingly, yet my past is being brought up because of recent unfounded rumors. I apologize if anything I said playing ‘the bad guy’ on a TV show was misconstrued.”

WWE also issued a statement to Newsweek stating that they “fully investigate any allegations of inappropriate behavior,” including the JBL situation, however it was not clear if the investigation was ongoing. Below is their statement:

“As part of our commitment to creating an inclusive environment, in April 2011, WWE launched our anti-bullying campaign, Be a STAR, which encourages young people to treat each other with tolerance and respect.”As a publicly traded company, that mantra carries forward in our corporate culture. As such, we fully investigate any allegations of inappropriate behavior including the recent alleged situation with John Layfield (aka JBL), despite no formal complaint having been submitted.”

Source: WrestlingINC

JBL Bullying Reports Getting Mainstream Media, Justin Roberts On People Getting Fired Over His Book

Image result for JBL & Mauro Ranallo

As noted, Mauro Ranallo’s WWE run is apparently over. Ranallo had taken over the lead announcing position on SmackDown in January of 2016.

Ranallo’s current absence from WWE is believed to be over tension with JBL after Ranallo tweeted out results of him winning the “Wrestling Observer Announcer of the Year” award for 2016. JBL, who didn’t place in the top 10 in the category and was actually voted “Worst Television Announcer” in 2015, was upset over the tweet and went on a public rant about Ranallo on Bring It To The Table in March. The Wrestling Observer had reported that tension had been building between both men up until that point. Ranallo missed the following SmackDown tapings on March 14th, and hasn’t appeared on WWE television since.

As noted, CBS Sports reported this weekend that sources told them that Ranallo is not expected back on WWE TV before his contract ends. WWE sent CBS Sports a statement, noting that “Ranallo remains under contract with the company until Aug. 12, 2017.”

More media outlets have been reporting on JBL’s history of bullying. WXPI in Pennsylvania has a story here about the bullying accusations. As noted, Deadspin has a piece about JBL asking John Morrison and his tag team partner at the time, Joey Mercury, to take ring announcer Justin Roberts’ passport during an overseas trip, which they didn’t do. Someone ended up stealing Roberts’ passport, which was never returned. Forbes has an article at this link about the bullying allegations resurfacing, noting that “WWE’s Be a STAR campaign is a staple of its community outreach as WWE Superstars lead anti-bullying rallies across the country.”

There have been many stories in the past over JBL’s behavior. Joey Styles reportedly punched JBL out during an overseas trip in 2008 after dealing with JBL’s bullying. Former ECW and WWE star The Blue Meanie recently stated that JBL punched him during ECW One Night Stand because Meanie had spoken out about JBL’s behavior, although Meanie said that the two are fine with each other now. There are also the past comments in the video above at the 5:30 mark of JBL discussing hazing in the locker room and being proud of hazing The Miz in the past.

In Justin Roberts’ new book, Best Seat in the House: Your Backstage Pass through My WWE Journey, which is available at Amazon.com for $19.52, Roberts discussed being bullied by JBL during his time with WWE, including alleging that he would be scared to work SmackDown tours because he would be bullied by JBL and his friends the whole time. He claimed that JBL once asked the mother of a high school kid if “she had any children who weren’t mentally disabled” after the child had dropped his index cards with notes while interviewing him.

Roberts posted the Instagram post below about writing the book, noting that he wrote the book to tell his story about “being a kid who loved and lived for pro-wrestling.” He stated that the purpose was not to get anyone fired, noting that “sometimes firing someone is just to bandaid a problem and not address the root cause.” He added that he hopes that his story “will help make the wrestling world a better place for everyone who is still involved as there are a lot of great people who fall into that category and should be treated well.”

Source: WrestlingINC

Who Will Induct Teddy Long Into The WWE Hall Of Fame?

Image result for JBL & Ron Simmons To induct Teddy long into WWE Hall of Fame

WWE announced the following:

JBL & Ron Simmons to induct Teddy Long into the WWE Hall of FameJBL and Ron Simmons will have the privilege of inducting their longtime friend and frequent travel companion, Teddy Long, into the WWE Hall of Fame.

“It’s an incredible honor,” JBL told WWE.com. “I’ve always thought that inducting someone into the WWE Hall of Fame is one of the greatest privileges you can get because it’s the honor of a lifetime for the person going in.”

JBL and Simmons’ close relationship with Long makes it all the more special. The brawlers known as The APA traveled the roads with Long and 2016 inductee, The Godfather.

“We rode thousands and thousands of miles together for years – me, Ron, Teddy and Godfather in one car,” JBL explained. “It’s real special. Ron’s in the Hall of Fame, Godfather’s in the Hall of Fame, and now Teddy is, too.

“I’m the only one left,” he joked.

Their friendship aside, JBL believes Long is one of the worthiest recipients of sports-entertainment’s ultimate honor.

“Teddy Long is a groundbreaker,” the former World Champion said. “He worked his way up from the ring crew to become the manager of one of the greatest tag teams of all time in Doom. He was a referee and became one of the most colorful general managers ever. Teddy Long has done it all. If there’s anybody deserving of going into the WWE Hall of Fame, it’s him.”

How do JBL & Ron Simmons plan to honor their friend as he takes his rightful place in sports-entertainment history? Find out during the 2017 WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, airing live on WWE Network Friday, March 31, 2017 at 8 ET/5 PT!

JBL On Bret Hart Saying Seth Rollins Is Unsafe, Hart Complaining About Freedbirds WWE HOF Induction

On the first episode of WWE Network’s Bring It To The Table, JBL addressed Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart, asking why ‘The Excellence Of Execution’ is seemingly angry from his alleged negative comments about Michael Hayes’ WWE Hall Of Fame induction as part of The Fabulous Freebirds and Seth Rollins being an unsafe worker.

In calling out Hart for saying that Hayes should not be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame because The Freebirds were not known for their WWE run, JBL pointed out that Hart did not complain about Sting’s WWE Hall Of Fame induction even though ‘The Vigilante’ did not make a name for himself in WWE either.

“I’d like to tell Bret Hart, please don’t get hot. What are you mad at, Bret? Bret, you’re one of the greatest superstars of all time. You’re a multimillionaire. You’re a legend in Canada. You’re a legend around the world. I personally like you very much. You’ve been very great, great, to me your entire career, but what are you mad at? You come out and you talk about Michael Hayes, The Freebirds, and you bash Michael Hayes, [saying] he shouldn’t be in the [WWE] Hall Of Fame. But you don’t say anything about Sting, who didn’t make his name in the WWE. What in the world is Bret Hart mad at?”

On the subject of Hart claiming that Rollins is unsafe in the ring, JBL said that people get hurt all the time and that Hart of all people should understand that.

“What about Seth Rollins? He claims that Seth Rollins hurts people. I mean, people get hurt in this business. Look, Bret was one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. People get hurt all the time. I think Bret should understand that. I’m not sure what has made Bret, appearingly, so bitter.”

JBL went on to say that Hart should not be bitter over Goldberg cutting his illustrious professional wrestling career short and instead focus on the positives.

“My career ended because I got my back [broken] in a match in Earl’s Court, it was just a mistake, over in London [England]. It ended shortly thereafter. I wasn’t able to do anything after that. I’m not mad about that. Do you know what I’m happy about? I’m happy about the fact that I got to do what I wanted to do since I was a kid. The fact that I got to live the dream that I wanted to live. And I think Bret has to understand he’s an incredible superstar. Could he have had a few more years? Absolutely. But you can’t get hot about the fact that something bad happened and it was a mistake. It wasn’t like Goldberg did that on purpose.”

Source: WrestlingINC

Viewpoint: Ed’s Take on #Raw1000

After live blogging for 3 hours and 15 minutes last night and having a blast doing it, how do I start with this post. My favorite moment (several), favorite match (again, more than one), biggest surprise (two huge ones, so I don’t know which to choose), best segment (it would be easy to say the entire show). So where do I go?

How about THANK YOU WWE and your entire staff, AND THANK YOU Mr. McMahon for what you did for us – the fans of the WWE Universe!

Check out how The Boss opened the show. And for everyone who thinks he is arrogant and cocky, this may shock you. How could Vince have been more humble than this:

Trevor has already hit on these two shockers – #Raw1000 Shockers: AJ Named Raw GM (@WWEAJLee) and #Raw1000 Shockers: C.M. Punk Turns Heel, WWE Universe Filled With Shock, Anger (VIDEO) (@CMPUNK) so I want to hit on three parts of the show that I think will go down in my own personal #Raw1000 memory bank.

First, is the DX reunion (PG Version). Of course it was great when HHH and HBK came out, but I really popped loud when HHH said, “Didn’t there used to be more of us”? Out comes The Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, and X-Pac and the band was back together. Check it out here:

Next let me share with you the Legends moment of the night where Lita was Heath Slater’s opponent but after Slater got a little over confident – she brings out the APA, yes Ron Simmons and JBL. That sent Slater headed back up the ramp but then, blearing from the speakers comes the words, “Whhhhhaaattttt A Rush”, that’s right Road Warrior Animal and ALL the Legends that have had a part in the weekly Heath Slater beat downs come down the ramp and throw Slater back into the ring. Aww heck, the video says it way better than I can so I will end this part with ONE word, Ron Simmons style – DAMN!!!!

Ok I do have to add, didn’t Lita look awesome with the Twist of Fate and the Moonsault from the top rope.

Finally, I loved the HHH/Brock Lesnar segment, and it may have been Paul Heyman and Stephanie McMahon who stole the segment, that and HHH clotheslining Lesnar over the top rope and out of the ring.

Ok, I can’t keep it to just three – I’ve got to include the “cold chill” moment of the night – the reunion of the Brothers of Destruction, The Undertaker and Kane.

So many more great moments that you can go see here at WWE’s Official YouTube Destination.

Again, THANK YOU WWE for an awesome night at #Raw1000.