Tag: WWE

Haku Rumored For WWE Hall Of Fame Class Of 2024

According to Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, Haku is one of the rumoured names for the 2024 class of the WWE Hall of Fame. 2024 will be the first class chosen by Paul “Triple H” Levesque as opposed to Vince McMahon. 

Paul Heyman was announced as the first inductee into the 2024 class of the WWE Hall of Fame on Monday, March 4 and earlier today Triple H announced Japanese women’s wrestling legend Bull Nakano for the WWE Hall of Fame. The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony takes place ahead of WrestleMania and the 2024 edition of the Shows of Shows will emanate from Philadelphia, a city synonymous with Extreme Championship Wrestling. Heyman owned ECW for several years until the promotion shuttered in 2001. 

Known as one of the toughest men in professional wrestling, Haku had a long pro wrestling career. He performed in WWE as King Tonga and then Haku from 1985 until 1992, returning to the company in 2001 for a brief run. He also performed as Meng in World Championship Wrestling from 1994 until 2001. 

Haku later spent time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling as part of Bullet Club with sons Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa. He helped take out The Elite back in 2018 as part of the Bullet Club civil war. Haku made a brief appearance in All Elite Wrestling in 2021, accompanying his son Hikuleo to the ring at Fight for the Fallen.

Tama Tonga is believed to be WWE-bound following the end of his run with New Japan. He is reportedly not expected to debut before WrestleMania 40, however. 

Source: Cultaholic

Triple H Announces Women’s Wrestling Legend Bull Nakano For 2024 WWE Hall Of Fame Class

Following the news earlier this week that Paul Heyman would be part of the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame class, the company’s Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque has now announced the second performer set to be recognized — former All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling star Bull Nakano. Levesque revealed the news on X and recognized the retired wrestler for her contributions to the industry.

“An unbelievable talent with an unforgettable look, and a mean streak a mile long,” Levesque said. “Bull Nakano isn’t just one of the best women’s wrestlers of all time — she’s one of the best of all time, period.”

Nakano began her wrestling career in the early 1980s when she was still a teenager. She captured the AJW Championship before the age of 18 and promptly held onto the title for more than three years. In the early 1990s, after years at the top of the promotion, Nakano left AJW.

In addition to her main body of work in Japan, Nakano made various appearances for both WWE and WCW, primarily from 1994 to 1996. Throughout this time, Nakano had a lengthy rivalry with Alundra Blayze (AKA Madusa). The two feuded in WWE in 1994 and 1995, including a match at WWE SummerSlam 1994, and Nakano later won the WWF Women’s Championship for a time. Both Nakano and Blayze wound up leaving the WWF for WCW in 1996 and their feud continued there.

After retiring due to injuries in 1997, Nakano spent some time as a professional golfer. She would later come out of retirement twice for very brief spots in gauntlet matches. It was also recently announced that Nakano would serve as the onscreen commissioner for Sukeban, a United States-based promotion that focuses on Japanese women’s wrestling.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Roadblock Preview 3/5/2024

Tonight’s WWE NXT special Roadblock on USA Network from the WWE Performance Center in Orlando Florida.

  • Number one contender’s match for NXT Championship: Carmelo Hayes vs. Tony D’Angelo
  • WWE Women’s Tag Team Championship: Kabuki Warriors (c) vs. Lyra Valkyria & Tatum Paxley
  • WWE NXT Tag Team Championship: Baron Corbin & Bron Breakker (c) vs. Chase U
  • Asylum match: Dijak vs. Joe Gacy
  • Shawn Spears to appear

Paul Heyman To Be inducted Into The WWE Hall Of Fame Class Of 2024

WWE announced Paul Heyman as the first inductee into this year’s WWE Hall of Fame.

Below is the announcement on WWE.com:

As first reported by the Associated Press, Paul Heyman will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024.

The outspoken, brusque New Yorker first gained enemies under the guise of Paul E. Dangerously in WCW. Managing Steve Austin, Arn Anderson and Rick Rude in a stable he dubbed his Dangerous Alliance, Heyman used a Big Apple attitude and an oversized 1980s cell phone to help his charges run through the likes of Sting and Ricky Steamboat.

After WCW released the hothead in 1993, Heyman found an opportunity in failure, turning a modest Philadelphia-based independent promotion called Eastern Championship Wrestling into the notoriously daring Extreme Championship Wrestling. Inspired by alternative rock music and MTV, the innovator took ECW from public access to national pay-per-view by endorsing brutal bouts showcasing the rare combination of misfit warriors alongside cutting-edge athletes.

Credited with inspiring WWE’s landmark “Attitude Era,” the controversial brand became the third-largest wrestling company in the world before it was crippled by financial problems in 2001. Heyman joined WWE as Jim Ross’ broadcast partner, but it wouldn’t be long before the nonconformists of ECW reemerged in WWE as part of the infamous “Invasion.” Aligning himself with Stephanie and Shane McMahon, Heyman came frighteningly close to overthrowing WWE but ultimately failed to bring down his competition.

Time and again, however, Heyman was able to find his way back in, forming alliances with Superstars like CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, Big Show and Kurt Angle.

Since the summer of 2020, Heyman has been firmly entrenched as the Special Council to Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns, where he lends his opinion and uses his outspoken nature to advise one of the most impressive title reigns in WWE history.

Heyman’s influence on sports-entertainment has become immeasurable, as his brash, in-your-face attitude has paved the way for multiple generations of managers and Superstars. With a resume that is unmatched, Heyman now takes his rightful place in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Congratulations to Paul Heyman on becoming a WWE Hall of Famer!

Source: WWE

Rey Mysterio Returns To WWE On SmackDown

Rey Mysterio has returned to WWE following knee surgery.

During this week’s episode of WWE SmackDown, Mysterio made his return during Santos Escobar’s Street Fight match against Carlito.

As Escobar got the upper hand in the match, Mysterio came out to the ring on crutches. Mysterio wound up throwing down the crutches and took out Angel and Humberto Carrillo. This allowed Carlito to get the win over a distracted Escobar following a Backstabber, a 619 from Mysterio and then a slam through a table.

Prior to Friday night, Mysterio hadn’t been seen since the November 10th, 2023 episode of WWE SmackDown.

Source: eWn

Fox Blacks Out WWE SmackDown Bloodline Segment In Reported Effort To Avoid Crowd Sign

The Bloodline were once again the focal point of “WWE SmackDown” this week, as The Rock declined Cody Rhodes’ recent challenge for a match at WrestleMania. Instead, Rock thought it would be a better idea to have himself and Roman Reigns face Rhodes and Seth Rollins in a tag team match as one of WrestleMania 40’s main events. “The Great One” has been playing up his heelish antics as of late, so much so that Fox had to work around the crowd who weren’t happy to see Rock on “SmackDown.”

PWInsider reports that the random blackouts fans in the United States kept experiencing on the March 1 “Smackdown” wasn’t a technical problem, but was Fox themselves trying to censor a sign in the crowd that read “Die Rocky Die.” The fans also chanted “Die Rocky Die” at the former WWE Champion, causing the crowd to be dubbed over, and in some cases, completely muted due to the hostility of the chant.

The “Die Rocky Die” chant became infamous not too long after Rock’s 1996 WWE debut, as the fans didn’t respond well to the bland Rocky Maivia character being forced upon them. The chant would eventually lead to Dwayne Johnson shedding his babyface persona of Rocky Maivia and evolving into The Rock. He would join The Nation of Domination in 1997 to revolt against the WWE fans who booed him, deciding to forge his own path of not caring about anyone but himself. However, his natural charisma and attitude proved too much for the fans to remain against, and his entertaining villainy launched him into WWE’s main event scene and eventually becoming one of the most popular stars of all time.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

The Rock Acknowledges Roman Reigns, Lays Out WrestleMania Challenge On WWE SmackDown

Cody Rhodes, World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins, and Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns may be pulling double duty WrestleMania 40 weekend, following Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson issuing a challenge with set stipulations during the opening of Friday’s “WWE SmackDown.” The Rock also acknowledged his cousin, Reigns, as his Tribal Chief during the segment after Reigns interrupted Rock’s iconic “if you smell” catchphrase.

Rhodes had previously challenged the Rock to a one-on-one match during “The Grayson Waller Effect” at Elimination Chamber. Rollins did him one better and said he would team with Rhodes to take on the Rock and Reigns. On “SmackDown,” Rock said he wouldn’t be facing Rhodes one-on-one because everyone wants to challenge “The Great One.” He did challenge both Rhodes and Rollins to the tag team match the World Heavyweight Champion previously suggested at the premium live event, but with added stipulations.

Rock said that if Rhodes and Rollins win on WrestleMania Night One, the Bloodline would be barred from ringside during Rhodes’ match for Reigns’ title on Night Two. However, if the babyface team loses, Rock said the title match would be a “Bloodline Rules” match where anything goes. Rock said he was giving Rhodes the option to accept the challenge, but if he doesn’t, he said he is going to make sure Rhodes does not win the title.

There’s currently no word on if Rollins and Rhodes will acknowledge the challenge on “WWE Raw” on Monday, but Rhodes is scheduled to appear on the next three episodes of “SmackDown” alongside the Rock on the “Road to WrestleMania.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 3/1/2024

WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FOX from the sold out Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

  • Fallout from Elimination Chamber
  • The Bloodline to appear with The Rock and Roman Reigns
  • Cody Rhodes to appear
  • Non-Title Match: Women’s Tag Team Champions The Kabuki Warriors ((Kairi Sane and Asuka) vs. Bayley and Dakota Kai
  • Street Fight: Santos Escobar vs. Carlito
  • I would expect LA Knight retaliate against AJ Styles for his assault on Knight at Elimination Chamber

Former WWE Star Billy Jack Haynes Arrested, Charged With Second Degree Murder

Earlier this month, news broke that former pro wrestler Billy Jack Haynes was arrested in Oregon in connection to the murder of his wife, but authorities were waiting to charge the former WWE star until he was released from the hospital for an unrelated matter.

According to CBS affiliate “KOIN,” Haynes has been released from the hospital and officially charged with second-degree murder. Haynes’s wife was murdered in a shooting on February 8 which led to a standoff between Haynes and authorities. Haynes was soon taken into custody and then hospitalized for an unrelated matter. Upon Haynes’s release, he was booked into Multnomah County Detention Center for charges of second-degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon.

Haynes’s contemporary WWE Hall of Fame Jake “The Snake” Roberts recently said that he wasn’t surprised by the arrest, as he always felt that Haynes was an unbalanced individual. Haynes retired from professional wrestling in 1996 and was one of the many wrestlers named in the massive class action lawsuit that was leveled against WWE in the 2000s regarding issues of the company’s negligence regarding the brain health of the wrestlers. The case was dismissed in 2016.

In 2018, Haynes admitted to witnessing the murders of three boys in rural Arkansas, an infamous case that has not been solved, which occurred in 1987, not long after Haynes had wrestled for WWE at WrestleMania III. Haynes said that he had been involved in drug trafficking at the time, which is why he was hesitant to come forward.

Source: Wrestling Inc.