According to a new report from Fightful Select, WWE is said to be currently working on an “off the wall surprise” for tonight’s Royal Rumble in St. Petersburg, Florida.
The report further notes that WWE contacted other wrestling promotions about potentially using their talent in the men’s and women’s Royal Rumble Matches on tonight’s show.
Vince McMahon’s role in WWE and its parent company, TKO Group Holdings, has come to an end. During Friday night’s broadcast of “WWE SmackDown,” Sean Ross Sapp reported that WWE President Nick Khan had sent the following memo to some staff:
“I wanted to inform you that Vince McMahon has tendered his resignation from his positions as TKO Executive Chairman and on the TKO Board of Directors. He will no longer have a role with TKO Group Holdings or WWE.”
Shortly after Sapp’s report, McMahon issued a statement to Deadline.
“I stand by my prior statement that Ms. Grant’s lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and is a vindictive distortion of the truth,” McMahon said, echoing his initial denial. “I intend to vigorously defend myself against these baseless accusations, and look forward to clearing my name.”
“However, out of respect for the WWE Universe, the extraordinary TKO business and its board members and shareholders, partners and constituents, and all of the employees and superstars who helped make WWE into the global leader it is today, I have decided to resign from my executive chairmanship and the TKO board of directors, effective immediately,” he said.
The news comes one day after news broke that former WWE employee Janel Grant had filed civil suit against McMahon and another former employee, John Laurinitis, alleging “physical and emotional abuse, sexual assault and trafficking at WWE.” The allegations, which a TKO spokesperson referred to as “horrific,” resulted in major WWE sponsor Slim Jim putting its deal with the company on pause one day before they were set to sponsor the Royal Rumble.
After McMahon resigned from TKO, Slim Jim agreed to the sponsorship again.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE Royal Rumble PLE Saturday, January 27, 2024 from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The pre-show starts at 7:00 PM EST while the main card starts at 8:00 PM EST
CARD
30-MAN ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH:
Participants: Bobby Lashley, CM Punk, Cody Rhodes, Damian Priest, Drew McIntyre, Gunther, Kofi Kingston, Shinsuke Nakamura, Chad Gable, Otis, Akira Tozawa, R-Truth, Santos Escobar, Carlito, Austin Theory, Grayson Waller, Jimmy Uso and TBA
30-WOMAN ROYAL RUMBLE MATCH:
Participants: Bayley, Becky Lynch, Bianca Belair, Nia Jax, Maxxine Dupri, Ivy Nile, Zelina Vega, Alba Fyre, Shotzi, and Mia Yim and TBA
UNDISPUTED WWE UNIVERSAL CHAMPIONSHIP – FATAL 4-WAY
Roman Reigns (c) vs. AJ Styles vs. LA Knight vs. Randy Orton
UNITED STATES CHAMPIONSHIP:
Logan Paul (c) vs. Kevin Owens
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown live on FOX from the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama.
A bombshell was dropped on the wrestling world Thursday afternoon, after a lawsuit filed by Janel Grant, alleging that Vince McMahon and John Laurinaitis engaged in sex trafficking made headlines. Among the allegations in the suit were that McMahon sexually abused and exploited Grant, trafficked her to other WWE employees, including Laurinaitis, and attempted to do so with “a former UFC Heavyweight Champion the company was actively trying to re-sign” in 2020.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the former UFC Heavyweight Champion in question is none other than long-time WWE star Brock Lesnar. According to the suit, Grant was instructed by McMahon to create “personalized sexual content” for Lesnar, referred to only as a “UFC and WWE star” in the lawsuit, in an attempt to sway Lesnar towards re-signing with WWE. Grant alleges Lesnar told McMahon that he enjoyed the content and that McMahon later told Grant that Lesnar re-signed with WWE, in part, so he could have sexual relations with Grant.
The suit further claims that McMahon gave Lesnar Grant’s phone number in December, leading to Lesnar requesting that she send him more explicit content. Grant then alleges Lesnar told her he would like to set up a “play date” between the two of them, though the encounter would ultimately not take place due to a snowstorm “disrupting his [Lesnar’s] travel plans.” Grant alleges McMahon would attempt to traffic her to Lesnar one final time in March 2022, with McMahon once again telling her to send explicit photos to Lesnar. Ultimately, the suit alleges that a physical meeting between Lesnar and Grant never took place.
Lesnar has not commented on the matter at this time.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
The following comes from a report from The Hollywood Reporter.
Janel Grant accuses the wrestling mogul of coercing her into sex with him and others at the company. She calls the company probe into sexual misconduct allegations a “sham.”
WWE founder Vince McMahon and a former executive have been sued for sex trafficking and battery by a ex-administrative employee, who questioned the extent of the company’s investigation into hush money payments after she wasn’t interviewed despite stating her cooperation.
Janel Grant, in a lawsuit filed in Connecticut federal court on Thursday, said she was coerced by McMahon into having sex with him and others at the company at his direction during his tenure as chief executive of the wrestling outfit. WWE was named in the complaint for attempting to “conceal the wrongdoing.”
The suit escalates growing legal troubles for the company tied to payments by McMahon to silence sexual misconduct allegations. He initially retired in 2022 amid the probe, only to return the next year by using his power as WWE’s controlling shareholder to appoint himself and two former executives to its board, which went on to name him executive chairman. McMahon in November was sued in a shareholder complaint over his corporate coup that paved that path for him to merge the sports entertainment powerhouse with Endeavor’s UFC. It accused him of accepting a sweetheart deal that allowed him to stay on as executive chairman of TKO Group and avoid scrutiny in connection with the probe that could’ve ousted him from the company.
In a statement, a spokesperson for McMahon said, “This lawsuit is replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred, and a vindictive distortion of the truth.”
WWE didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the lawsuit, which was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
According to the complaint, Grant in 2019 was directly hired by McMahon as an administrator-coordinator in WWE’s legal department. While McMahon was chief executive, she alleged he “recruited individuals to have sexual relations” with her and directed her to engage in sexual activity at WWE headquarters during working hours.
The suit details a June 2021 assault by McMahon and John Lauriantis, former head of talent relations who was also named in the complaint.
“Behind a locked door, the two men cornered her and pulled her in between them, forcibly touched her, before ultimately putting her on top of a table in between them,” the complaint stated. “She begged them to stop, but they forced themselves on her, each taking turns restraining her for the other.”
According to the complaint, Grant was terminated when McMahon’s wife discovered the affair. She says she was coerced into signing a nondisclosure agreement under the threat of McMahon releasing pornographic content he captured and his vast legal resources.
“Ultimately, Ms. Grant succumbed to the pressure and signed the NDA in exchange for payments – which McMahon later stopped making,” the complaint stated.
Instead of intervening to address the alleged misconduct, Grant claims that WWE moved to “sweep the matter under the rug” with a payment of $3 million. She takes issue with the company’s board of directors touting the conclusion of the “sham” probe into sexual misconduct allegations by McMahon despite the special committee neglecting to interview or request documents from her.
Additionally, the suit calls into question WWE’s characterization of hush money payments from McMahon, which were initially footed by the company. In securities filings, WWE called the payouts “immaterial accounting errors,” per the suit.
Grant claims suffers post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal ideation due to the alleged misconduct. She seeks unspecified damages and brings claims for battery and violations of federal laws related to sex trafficking, as well as negligence against WWE.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
After nearly three years with the company, “WWE SmackDown” lead announcer Kevin Patrick has officially been released, according to PWInsider. Multiple sources only recently reported that Patrick would be removed from “SmackDown,” with the reasoning that it “just wasn’t working out.” Despite this, it originally seemed there could have been a future for him in the promotion after some restructuring, especially since he was liked backstage.
A replacement for Patrick has not yet been announced.
It was also reported that Michael Cole was initially brought back to “SmackDown” to help Patrick gain his footing, but that Cole was removed from the team to determine whether Patrick could hold his own, with some believing he was not “the right person for the role”. Additionally, PWInsider says that Patrick was set to travel to attend “SmackDown” in Florida this Friday, making his release seem like a last-minute decision. Before his stint with WWE, Patrick worked as a broadcaster for Sirius XM, beIN SPORTS, CNN International, and multiple other companies. During this time, he even interviewed Liv Morgan, who he praised for her conduct during their chat.
Less than a year ago, Patrick recalled his journey to WWE during an appearance on the “Out Of Character” podcast. According to him, he received his audition call while he was shaving in preparation for an appearance on CNN International, since WWE was headhunting for broadcasters at the time. During the same interview, Patrick notably claimed that he had been trying to learn from as many industry veterans as possible.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Following the recent success of A24’s “The Iron Claw,” many have wondered what other wrestling stories could be made into blockbuster pictures, and it seems that WWE star Natalya might be playing a part in bringing her family story to the silver screen. On January 14, Natalya posted an image on her Instagram account where she was pictured with Rory Culkin, the star of movies like “Signs” and “Scream 4.” Culkin wasn’t the only person of note in the picture, which also included Jordan Levine and Jordan Beckerman of Yale Productions, the company that has produced movies like “The Kill Room,” “Seven Faces of Jane,” and “Becky.”
Natalya’s caption noted that she was working on something near and dear to her heart, and according to a recent report by Fightful Select, that something involves possibly making a movie based on the Hart family, an idea that has been in the pipeline for some time. Levine and Beckerman have reportedly had interest in the idea for a while, to the point where some casting ideas have already been pitched. This could be where Culkin comes in, as the actor is a long-time wrestling fan and the brother of Kieran and Macaulay Culkin, the latter of whom has history with WWE after making a cameo on an episode of “WWE Raw” in 2009.
“The Iron Claw” has (perhaps ironically) turned into something of a feel-good story at the box office; as of this writing, it’s grossed more than $32 million domestically, which is uncommon for a R-rated film. That success may have spurred renewed interest in movies about wrestling families, and the Harts are better known than “The Iron Claw’s” subjects, the Von Erichs. Natalya is the granddaughter of family patriarch and Stampede Wrestling founder Stu Hart and the niece of former WWE stars Bret and Owen Hart.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Cora Jade has gone under the knife to surgically repair a torn ACL.
During the main event of a WWE NXT live event earlier this month, Jade’s match against Lyra Valkyria for the Women’s Title had to be stopped due to an injury.
Jade posted the following on Twitter, confirming the news:
“WWE NXT” has a new sheriff in town, and her name is Ava Raine.
Tuesday’s episode of “NXT” marked an important meeting for 22-year-old Ava Raine, as she was seen standing outside the office of Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels. A returning William Regal then emerged from the office, sharing the news that Raine had been named as the new General Manager of “NXT,” making her the youngest general manager in WWE history.
As Raine thanked Regal for sitting in on their meeting, Regal noted that while this role is often a thankless job paired with long hours, he is confident that Raine can keep up with its demands. Regal also reminded her that he is always a phone call away if she needs advice along the way.
Regal previously took on the on-screen General Manager duties for “NXT” in 2014, serving in this role until his eventual release from WWE in January 2022. Following his exit from WWE, Regal joined All Elite Wrestling, serving as a managerial figure for the Blackpool Combat Club. The veteran performer later requested his release from AEW, which was then granted in December 2022, on the condition that he could not appear on WWE television in 2023. With his non-compete clause now over, Regal is free to resume any on-screen duties that WWE may have for him, including tonight’s new “NXT” GM unveiling.
Raine isn’t the only member of the Samoan dynasty to receive an authority position this week. Earlier today, WWE revealed that her father, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, was appointed to the board of directors at TKO Group Holdings.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
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