Tag: WWE

Update On Seth Rollins And Riddle’s WWE SummerSlam Match

The biggest party of the summer will have to party on without one of the marque matches.

During today’s episode of “WWE’s The Bump,” Kayla Braxton broke the news that Riddle is currently dealing with a brachial plexus injury. The injury occurred when Seth Rollins brutally attacked him on Monday Night Raw, leading to their WWE SummerSlam match having to be postponed. The injury was described by Braxton as “a really bad stinger that’s resulted in some weakness,” and Riddle is “medically disqualified” until he’s strong enough to return.

The brutal attack by Rollins sent “WWE Raw” off the air Monday night, as Rollins hit Riddle with his patented Stomp on the arena floor and the ring steps. The show closed with Rollins laughing at an injured Riddle, with commentary stating “How will Riddle be ready for Saturday?”

The feud between Rollins and Riddle took place both on television and, supposedly, in real life, dating back to 2019 when Riddle’s former wife body shammed several female WWE superstars on social media, including Rollins’ wife, Becky Lynch. Riddle confirmed the disdain between the two in 2021, stating that he doesn’t think they like each other and that they’re just “two different people.”

It’s unclear at this time whether or not the Riddle injury is legitimate or part of a storyline, but it’s hard to imagine a star as big as Rollins not having any involvement in SummerSlam this Saturday. This weekend’s event is still set to feature eight matches, headlined by Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing Match for both the WWE and Universal Championships, which Reigns unified by defeating Lesnar at WrestleMania 38. The card will also see both “Raw” and “SmackDown” Women’s Champions defend their belts, and will include Logan Paul’s first match since signing his WWE contract.

UPDATE

New information has started to trickle out regarding the postponement of the match, not all is as it seems.

According to Fightful Select, Riddle’s injury is in fact not a real injury, but a kayfabe one, written to explain why the match will not be taking place this weekend. Sources told Fightful that there are still plans to do the match down the line, and that the change was made due to “creative adjustments.”

Fightful would go on to reveal that Rollins and Riddle were informed of the change Monday before “Raw,”which saw Rollins attack Riddle at the close of the show. As of now, the tentative plan is for the two to wrestle at WWE’s next Premium Live Event, Clash At The Castle, in September, but those plans aren’t final due to the changes that have occurred in WWE over the past week, with Paul Levesque, fka, Triple H, taking over as new head of creative and EVP of Talent Relations.

Despite this, fans can still expect to see Rollins this weekend, as Fightful noted the former WWE Champion is expected to travel to Nashville for SummerSlam weekend and is still booked for certain media obligations before the event. Fightful had no information regarding whether Riddle would also be traveling to Nashville or would remain home to sell the injury.

Even with Rollins vs. Riddle now off the card, SummerSlam will still feature eight matches, headlined by Roman Reigns defending the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing match. As always, the Premium Live Event will air on the Peacock streaming service.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Announces Location For WrestleMania 40

WrestleMania 39 is now less than a year away, with both nights scheduled to take place in SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California on April 1 and April 2. But that doesn’t mean WWE can’t start getting ready for the 40th iteration of WrestleMania in 2024, which they are doing by announcing the location, and dates, for the historic event.

“BREAKING NEWS,” WWE tweeted. “Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia will host WrestleMania 40, on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7, 2024, as first reported by Philadelphia Inquirer and Sports Business Journal.”

Shortly after the announcement, WWE also issued a press release regarding the blockbuster news.

“Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, the Philadelphia Eagles, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, PHL Sports, and WWE are proud to announce that Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia will host WWE’s pop-culture extravaganza, WrestleMania 40, on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7, 2024,” the statement read. “WrestleMania is more than a two-day event; it’s a week-long celebration.

“In addition to WrestleMania, other events will include ‘Friday Night SmackDown’, the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame Ceremony, and ‘Monday Night Raw’ at Wells Fargo Center as well as other fan events at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. In addition, WWE will also host multiple community outreach events, including hospital visits and Be a STAR bullying prevention rallies, designed to give back to the local region.”

This will be the first WrestleMania to take place in the Northeast since WrestleMania 35 in 2019, which emanated out of MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It’s been an even longer wait for Philadelphia wrestling fans, who last experienced a WrestleMania in their city back in 1999 with WrestleMania 15. The event, which took place at the height of the Attitude Era, saw Steve Austin defeat The Rock for the WWE Championship in the first of three major WrestleMania events the two stars would have over the next four years.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 7/26/22

Tonight on WWE NXT 2.0 at 8 pm ET on USA Network:

Cody Rhodes Willing To Pay $1000 Fine Each Time For Banned Term

Cody Rhodes has previously indicated that one of the traits of his American Nightmare character is to go against the grain and challenge WWE’s time-honored verbiage.

On the April 11 “WWE Raw” episode, for example, Rhodes would refer to “Superstars” as “Wrestlers” and “Titles” as “Championship Belts” during a Miz TV segment, for which he was corrected on live television by The Miz.

Turns out, Rhodes is fine being charged a $1,000 fine every time he uses a banned word on WWE TV.

Rhodes made his intentions known during Mattel’s recent WWE San Diego Comic-Con 2022, where panelist Steve Ozer pointed out how “title belts” were being added to the 2-pack WWE figures before he quickly corrected himself to say “championship titles.”

This promoted Rhodes to ask the Mattel employee to continue saying whatever he wishes.

“Buddy, you can say belts,” Rhodes said. “If they fine me $1000 every time I say belts, I’m fine with it. Belts. It can be a title belt, sure, it’s a championship. But it also physically goes around your waist. It’s a belt. So, those are great belts [in the new Mattel figures].”

Earlier this year, Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer released WWE’s updated internal list of over 30 banned terms.

Wrestling

Wrestlers

Belt

Blood

Choke

Diva

Strap

Kayfabe

Mofos

Head Shot

Trauma

DQ

The Anti-Diva

Spinal Injuries

Victim

Violence/Violent

WWF

Wifebeater

Curb Stomp

Strangle

Kill

Murder

Kayfabe

House Show

Push

Being Over

Babyface

Heel

Job/Jobber

Card

Non-Title

There is also speculation that the word “attacked” was added to the list following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. This is supposedly why announcer Jimmy Smith corrected himself to say “assaulted” after using the term “attacked” while describing Seth Rollins’ backstage fight with Cody Rhodes following their match at WrestleMania Backlash in May.

Rhodes, currently sidelined with an injury, is the early odds-on favorite to make a triumphant return at next year’s Royal Rumble. During the same Comic-Con panel, Rhodes discussed the possibility of his comeback at January’s annual battle royal.

“[My doctor] told me flat out that he’s not going to give me a timeline because he’s afraid I’m going to try and jump it,” Rhodes said. “So I’m still going to try and jump it.”

Rhodes added that his recovery is “ahead of schedule” but also noted that he “couldn’t win an arm wrestling contest” right now.

“My Royal Rumble stats are top 10, they’re phenomenal,” Rhodes added. “So if I was to come back at that event, there is a chance I could actually get up in the top five and I’m all about that …. You never know! We’ll see.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Upcoming Story Said To Be ‘Damning’ For Vince McMahon

In the aftermath of two explosive stories from the Wall Street Journal, other mainstream outlets have reportedly begun fishing into Vince McMahon’s past transgressions. In the coming week, HBO Real Sports is set to drop a story on McMahon that is said to contain “damning” details.

On Monday’s Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez noted that McMahon’s retirement was likely a preemptive move as WWE was aware of the details in the upcoming stories.

“I will say that there are rumors that the HBO Real Sports story on Vince is – one person used the term ‘damning’ and that there might be another Wall Street Journal article coming out this week,” Alvarez said [H/T WrestlingNews]. “They may have gotten ahead of things with this resignation on Friday.”

McMahon is currently under investigation by not just WWE’s Board of Directors, but also federal prosecutors and the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) for a series of payments he made between 2006 to 2022.

In their 8-K filing with the SEC, WWE stated that they had received “regulatory, investigative and enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or demands” in connection with “Unrecorded Expenses” made by McMahon between 2006 and 2022. WWE announced they are currently revising previous financial statements to record these expenses for the end of 2019, 2020, 2021 and Q1 of 2022, with the goal of issuing new statements by August 9. The “Unrecorded Expenses” were disclosed to be a sum of $14.6 million, which WWE mentioned have either been paid or will be paid personally by McMahon.

According to a WSJ report published Monday, the ongoing federal investigation essentially hastened McMahon’s decision to retire from all duties, corporate and creative. McMahon initially stepped down as CEO & Chairman last month but continued to overlook the creative end of WWE. All that changed last Friday when McMahon announced his retirement from the company.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Triple H Promises More Transparency With Talent Moving Forward

As WWE’s new head of creative, Triple H hopes to make communication easier for talent.

For the last month, the pro wrestling world has been rocked by on major scandal. Vince McMahon was revealed to have paid over $14 million in hush money following sexual misconduct with employees. Last Friday, McMahon announced that he would be retiring from his position as CEO of WWE. In his place are his daughter Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan, WWE’s new co-CEOs.

Paul Levesque, better known by his ring name Triple H, is now leading WWE’s creative team. While it’s yet to be seen how exactly the WWE will look under Triple H’s control, he reportedly already has a vision for how the company will operate in the future.

Ahead of last night’s episode of Monday Night Raw, Triple H held a meeting backstage with the roster. According to Fightful Select, the meeting laid out the groundwork for Triple H’s intentions with the main roster going forward.

Triple H promised talent more transparency in the future, including open lines of communication. This has been an issue for the WWE in recent years; talent would sometimes have to wait for hours outside of Vince McMahon’s office in order to talk with him. Triple H also told talent during the meeting that he wants work to be fun.

According to Fightful’s report, the meeting went smoothly and was well-received. Talent is said to be feeling optimistic now that Triple H is in charge.

If Triple H means what he said to WWE’s talent tonight, then things could be looking up for the company. Hopefully, WWE’s new regime is able to make it through this rough patch and find brighter days ahead.

Source: TheSportster

Vince McMahon Now Being Investigated By SEC, Federal Prosecutors

Vince McMahon’s troubles continue. He’s currently under investigation for hush-money payments.

The world of professional wrestling has been sunk into chaos due to sexual misconduct hush-money allegations against former WWE CEO, Vince McMahon. These allegations have caused Vince McMahon to resign from his position as CEO and step back from the company, though he remains its majority shareholder.

In his place, Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan have been named co-CEOs. Stephanie McMahon’s husband Paul Levesque (better known as pro wrestler Triple H) has been named the new head of WWE’s creative team.

In an article published yesterday by Wall Street Journal, it was revealed that McMahon is now being investigated by the SEC and federal prosecutors.

New federal investigations into the deepening hush-money scandal enveloping World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. hastened the retirement of its chief executive, Vince McMahon, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Securities and Exchange Commission and federal prosecutors have launched inquiries into payments made by Mr. McMahon to settle allegations of sexual misconduct, the people said. The media company said Monday that it has received “regulatory, investigative and enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or demands” in connection with millions of dollars in hush-money pacts.

-Wall Street Journal

Additionally, Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer Network alluded to even darker clouds on the horizon for McMahon. The following transcription has been provided by Paul Davis of Wrestling News:

I will say that there are rumors that the HBO Real Sports story on Vince is – one person used the term ‘damning’ and that there might be another Wall Street Journal article coming out this week. They may have gotten ahead of things with this resignation on Friday.

-Bryan Alvarez, Wrestling Observer Network

Nothing else is currently known about the alleged upcoming WSJ and HBO Sports stories. However, wrestling fans can expect the business to be even further upended once they are published.

Source: TheSportster

WWE’s Latest SEC Filing Includes Legally Foreboding Language

It may be a new day for the WWE, with Vince McMahon now retired in the wake of numerous scandals and Triple H now assuming the dual role of EVP of Talent Relations and head of WWE creative. But don’t think the dust is anywhere near settled, as new information suggests not only more potential payouts from McMahon regarding other allegations, but perhaps legal ramifications for him and WWE.

On Monday morning, WWE released their latest SEC filing, which revealed that the company had made “a preliminary determination” that payments McMahon made from 2006 to 2022 were not recorded as expenses in the quarters they occurred in, thus making them “Unrecorded Expenses.” As such, WWE announced they are revising previous financial statements to record these “Expenses” for the end of 2019, 2020, 2021 and Q1 of 2022, with the goal of issuing new statements by August 9.

WWE also revealed that the total of “Unrecorded Expenses” was around $14.6 million, and that McMahon had paid or would pay the amount personally. The $14.6 million, which WWE claims “was not material to any individual time period in which the Unrecorded Expenses arose,” has been determined to be an aggregate amount, and WWE is continuing to evaluate “the impact on previously reported on previously reported financial statements.”

It had been previously reported that McMahon had paid $12.5 million to keep quiet numerous potential scandals, with the individual payouts ranging from $7.5 million to $3 million to two $1 million payouts. If those payments are part of the $14.6 million, that would leave approximately $2.1 million unaccounted for. It’s unknown if this will lead to more payouts related to McMahon being revealed going forward.

The WWE closed out this section of their filing with a brief statement that suggested that the actions of McMahon may lead to more controversy for the promotion in the days to come:

“The Company has also received, and may receive in the future, regulatory, investigative and enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or demands arising from, related to, or in connection with these matters.”

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Announces Triple H As New Head Of Creative

There’s a new head of WWE creative in town and the game could have just changed for pro wrestling. WWE revealed today that Paul Levesque (fka Triple H) will be in charge of all responsibilities when it comes to WWE’s creative process. With Vince McMahon announcing his retirement from all of his WWE duties, Triple H was named the replacement for John Laurinaitis as the head of talent relations, and according to WWE, he’s now in charge of creative, as well. The full announcement, which also reveals that Stephanie McMahon is the new Chairwoman of the Board, can be read below:

STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE® (NYSE: WWE) and its Board of Directors today announced the appointment of Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan as co-Chief Executive Officers. Ms. McMahon has also been appointed Chairwoman of the Board, and Mr. Khan will continue to serve as a member of the Board. These appointments follow Vince McMahon’s retirement announcement on Friday, July 22.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to lead WWE together with our unmatched management team,” said Ms. McMahon and Mr. Khan. “We recognize this is a tremendous opportunity and responsibility, and we look forward to serving the WWE Universe.”

Additionally, WWE executive Paul Levesque will assume all responsibilities related to WWE’s creative, in addition to his regular duties.

Vince McMahon suddenly announced his retirement Friday evening before “WWE SmackDown” took place, and Stephanie McMahon kicked off the show to send a “thank you” to her father.  Vince’s retirement amidst a storm of allegations that he haded out more than $12 million in hush money to female employees regarding sexual misconduct over the course of the last 16 years, allegations that led to an internal investigation by the WWE board and numerous external investigations regarding WWE’s handling of the situation. Laurinaitis, who was allegedly also involved in the sexual misconduct allegations, was put on administrative leave last month and is not expected to return to the company.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Raw Preview 7/25/22

WWE enters a new era on tonight’s “Raw”. It will be the first WWE broadcast with Paul “Triple H” Levesque officially in charge of the company’s creative direction. Rey Mysterio celebrates his WWE 20th Anniversary.

The company announced Monday morning that Levesque “will assume all responsibilities related to WWE’s creative”. This follows Vince McMahon’s resignation/retirement as the company’s CEO, Chairman, and Head of Creative amid an ongoing company investigation into hush money allegations.