Tag: WWE

Eric Young On WWE Exit: ‘I Can’t Take Instruction And Work For A Person Like That’

It was recently reported that Eric Young left WWE in April because he didn’t want to work with Vince McMahon. The longtime wrestling promoter returned to the Stamford-based promotion as executive chairman earlier this year after retiring last summer due to allegations of sexual misconduct. Young, who returned to Impact Wrestling at the promotion’s Slammiversary event this past weekend, addressed his WWE exit in a recent interview with Denise Salcedo. 

“I can say that I signed up for one thing and then was presented with a completely different thing,” Young said. “Personally, professionally, and for me, more importantly, morally, I can’t take instruction and work for a person like that. 

“And if you would have said that nine months ago, six months ago, I would probably would have said, ‘No. I wouldn’t be back at Impact.’ Fates got a funny way of doing things.

“Like I said, I didn’t really wanna leave [Impact] in the first place, but business is business, and an opportunity had presented itself that I just couldn’t say no to. I made the move, and I don’t regret it at all. Nine-month vacation, there’s worse things that can happen to a person, for sure.”

Young went on to say that he was “very lucky” to be in a position where he had a choice to leave WWE, acknowledging that not many people within the promotion would have that same ability. The former Impact World Champion believes it was the right option for him to walk away from a “massive opportunity” and “life-changing money.” Young said that he doesn’t regret the decision he made. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE SmackDown Preview 7/21/2023

WWE SmackDown will air live tonight on FS1, due to FOX’s coverage the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be the Unites States vs. Vietnam. Tonight’s SmackDown takes place from the Amalie Arena in Orlando, FL.

  • Rules of Engagement with Roman Reigns and Jey Uso. Jey has challenge Reigns to an Universal Championship Match at SummerSlam.
  • United States Championship Invitational Fatal 4-Way Tournament with Rey Mysterio, Sheamus, Cameron Grimes and LA Knight

Nick Aldis Is Interested In Both WWE And AEW

Nick Aldis departed from Impact Wrestling after the Slammiversary 2023 pay-per-view event, where he lost to World Champion Alex Shelley in the evening’s main event. He is now once again a free agent.

Before his Impact return at its April 16th Rebellion pay-per-view event, where he was on a short-term contract with the promotion, he had interest from WWE but wasn’t brought in. 

As previously reported, WWE has expressed interest in signing Aldis again and Aldis’ name has been discussed internally among WWE management as a potential producer for the company.

Dave Meltzer reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Aldis has yet to sign with anything.

“Aldis has no new deal in place and is said to be interested in both AEW and WWE. Aldis did clean jobs on the way out to Alex Shelley in the title match and Eric Young on TV. Aldis is a free agent right now and had agreed to work here through this week,” Meltzer wrote.

Source: eWn

WWE World Heavyweight Champ Seth Rollins Says He Should Probably Have Surgery

Professional wrestlers are often working through injuries on a daily basis and fans have no idea. Such is the case with current WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins who revealed on “Impaulsive” that he should probably have surgery on his back.

“I try to change my training up based on how I feel. There are constant injuries,” Rollins said. “My knee has been bugging me since before WrestleMania, I was having an issue with that. My neck acting up. My lower back has been at me since 2019, probably should get some surgery on that, but trying to just do whatever I can to make sure I don’t need it because I have a couple of stress fractures back there.”

Rollins added, “I tried some stem cells, I’ve done a couple of stem cell treatments. I found that they were temporarily helpful. I wasn’t taking time off. I wasn’t just idling while I was on the stem cells, I was still working pretty much a full-time schedule with WWE. I found it temporarily helpful, but long-term it kind of faded off a little bit. I got maybe four or five months of ‘Ooh, okay.'”

The 37-year-old hasn’t missed considerable time due to surgery since 2015 when a torn ACL, MCL, and medial meniscus cut his first WWE Championship reign short. He missed nearly seven months of action before returning in May 2016. His current world title reign marks his first since 2019 when he claims his lower back began troubling him. As of this writing, Rollins is set to be in a marquee match at WWE SummerSlam on August 5 when he defends against Finn Balor.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Dominik Mysterio Wins North American Title On WWE NXT

Dominik Mysterio is your new NXT North American Champion, which marks his first singles championship in WWE.

On this week’s episode of WWE NXT, Dominik Mysterio faced off against Wes Lee in the main event to capture the title. The finish came when Finn Balor and Damian Priest, who came out through the crowd, distracted Lee. This allowed Rhea Ripley to hit Lee with her WWE Women’s World Championship while the referees back was turned. Mysterio then pinned Lee to get the 1, 2, 3.

For what it’s worth, Wes Lee was set to defend the North American Championship against Mustafa Ali at the upcoming WWE NXT: Great American Bash pay-per-view event. Now, it appears we’ll see see Dominik Mysterio vs. Ali taking place at the show.

WWE NXT Preview 7/18/2023

Tonight’s WWE NXT in Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center on the USA Network: 

  • Tony D’Angelo’s homecoming
  • NXT North American Championship: Wes Lee (c) vs. Dominik Mysterio
  • Thea Hail vs. Elektra Lopez
  • Dragon Lee & Nathan Frazer vs. Los Lotharios
  • Gigi Dolin vs. Kiana James
  • Scrypts & Axiom vs. Lucien Price & Bronco Nima

WWE RAW Preview 7/17/2023

WWE Raw will air live tonight on the USA Network from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

  • Women’s Tag Team Championship: Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez (c) vs. Sonya Deville and Chelsea Green
  • Viking Rules Match: The Viking Raiders vs. Alpha Academy
  • Matt Riddle vs. Gunther (Imperium members Giovanni Vinci and Ludwig Kaiser are banned from ringside)
  • Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn vs. The Judgment Day (Dominik Mysterio & Damian Priest)
  • Brock Lesnar returns after Cody Rhodes made a SummerSlam challenge last week

Back on July 9, Arrow and Heels star Stephen Amell revealed on his Facebook page, that he would be heading to the July 17 episode of WWE Raw in Atlanta. However, as of this writing, WWE has not officially advertised his appearance, which means they are obviously saving it as a surprise, should he show up during the show.

Saraya: WWE Medical Staff Said ‘Book Was Closed’ On Neck Injury, Refused To Examine

It was only a year ago when Saraya, then retired following a neck injury, found herself at a crossroads as a free agent after her WWE contract expired. Now, Saraya not only finds herself wrestling again, but a prominent member of AEW’s women’s division – part of The Outcasts with Ruby Soho and AEW Women’s World Champion Toni Storm.

But in an interview with “Inside The Ropes,” Saraya revealed that she could’ve gone down a different path if WWE would had taken a look at her neck to see if she had healed enough. But that was never something the promotion seriously considered.

“At WWE, I asked to see my neck a few times, and the medical said that the book was closed on that, and they weren’t gonna keep checking on it, which was really disappointing,” Saraya said. “So if I wanted to check on my neck, it would have to come out of my own pocket. Her name was Stacy — that was her who said that, by the way. So it wasn’t anything to do with like Hunter or anything, it was just that medical department, which I thought was a little unfair, but it’s okay.”

Ultimately, things worked out well for Saraya following a phone call from AEW owner Tony Khan, who offered her a job and the freedom to do whatever she wanted, including pursuing an in-ring comeback. Still, Saraya admitted she’s taken this comeback slow, in order to preserve herself as a competitor long-term.

“I was like ‘I’m smarter this time,'” Saraya said. “I have to be smarter. I’m starting my thirties here and I just want to work smarter, not harder, you know what I mean?”

Source: Wrestling Inc. with credit to “Inside the Ropes”

Bayley Reportedly Injured In A WWE House Show Match In Salisbury, Maryland

WWE Superstar Bayley appeared to have suffered a knee injury during Sunday night’s WWE non-televised live event in Salisbury, Maryland, according to a report from PWInsider. The match was between her, Charlotte Flair, and WWE Women’s Champion Asuka and when Bayley went for a clothesline, her knee gave out.

The match was said to have been “halted” after the incident and Bayley was assisted to the backstage area by WWE officials. PWInsider also noted that they were told by WWE sources that it wasn’t a “worked spot” and it was a “legitimate situation.” Bayley has had issues with her knee in the past. The former “SmackDown” Women’s Champion suffered a torn ACL in July 2021 and didn’t make her return until July 30, 2022, at SummerSlam.

Bayley did give an update on her injury via Twitter. The “WWE SmackDown” star shared a photo of her knee bandaged and the caption, “I’ll be alright, thanks, everyone.”

At the moment, Bayley’s stable, Damage CTRL, is already down one person. Dakota Kai suffered a torn ACL during a match on the May 12 edition of “SmackDown,” when Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez were defending the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles against her and Bayley. Kai underwent surgery a few weeks after. Her injury happened in the same match that Morgan injured her shoulder and the team had to subsequently relinquish the titles. Morgan and Rodriguez have since regained the titles and are the current WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. They have held the titles since defeating Ronda Rousey and Shayna Baszler on July 1 at Money in the Bank.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Bayley commented on her injury scare:

“I’ll be alright, thanks everyone.”

https://twitter.com/itsBayleyWWE/status/1680768652700704770

Backstage Update On WWE’s Interest In Brian Pillman Jr.

Brian Pillman Jr. may be on his way to WWE after his contract with AEW expire as was spotted training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, FL on Thursday.

His AEW contract expired earlier this month and his profile was removed the company website.

Fightful Select reports that Pillman had been under a two-year deal with AEW.

“When we asked WWE sources, they confirmed that as of now, Pillman had not been signed, but was working out at the facility. We’re told that what he’s doing resembles a bit of a “get to know you” meeting, and that WWE had immediate interest when he became available.We’re told that things regarding a lot of the people they bring in are being kept close to the vest, but that Pillman was in plain sight of many others at the PC,” the report read.

Source: eWn