Tag: WWE

Corey Graves Cleared For An In-Ring Return

Corey Graves was reportedly cleared to return to in-ring action at some point in 2020.

A new report from Fightful Select notes that sources close to Graves claim he was actually cleared by WWE doctors at some point in the last year or so. WWE would not confirm the report, so it’s largely based on behind-the-scenes discussions.

Graves briefly won the WWE 24/7 Title on the November 8, 2021 RAW, despite previously being on a strict internal “no contact” list. It’s now been confirmed that Graves was no longer on that list when he won the 24/7 Title.

There have been several internal pitches made for Graves, but it remains to be seen if those were from WWE creative or just Graves himself. It was noted that none of the pitches for Graves have made it through creative. One source close to the WWE creative team said they were not aware of Graves being cleared, and confirmed that he is off the “no contact” list.

After a run on the indies, Graves signed a WWE developmental deal in August 2011. He suffered two concussions between late 2013 and early 2014, and then announced his in-ring retirement in December 2014. Graves has been a member of the WWE NXT and main roster announce teams since then.

Graves spoke about wanting to come out of retirement during an April 2020 podcast, after being inspired by the WWE 24 documentary on WWE Hall of Famer Edge. In May 2020 he then stepped in the ring to train for the first time since retiring, with his brother Sam Adonis, which you can see in a tweet below. Graves fueled the rumor mill again back in July 2021 when he tweeted, “I was put on this earth to do something. What I’m doing is not it.” He then tweeted about wanting to wrestle again in late November 2021.

Graves stated earlier this month that he wants to declare his spot for the 2022 Men’s Royal Rumble Match.

There’s no word yet on if WWE will allow Graves to return to the ring.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

MLW Has Filed An Anti-Trust Lawsuit Against The WWE

Court Bauer’s Major League Wrestling promotion has filed an anti-trust lawsuit against the WWE.

The WWE legal team is working overtime this week … and probably for the next few months.

MLW (Major League Wrestling), the New York-based professional wrestling promotion founded by former WWE writer Court Bauer, has filed an anti-trust lawsuit against World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. MLW is alleging that WWE interfered in some of its business deals and even pressured some third parties to pull the plug on their existing arrangements with MLW.

“WWE’s pattern of predatory and exclusionary conduct has hampered competition in the U.S. wrestling market by deprivingMLW and other competitors of distribution channels, and its conduct has harmed consumers by depriving them of content and keeping prices high,” MLW’s lawsuit states.

MLW claims that WWE sabotaged a “lucrative” agreement between MLW and streaming platform Tubi, which is owned by Fox. According to the lawsuit, a WWE executive contacted Fox and asked Fox to terminate the MLW deal.

As you might recall, WWE and Fox signed a $1 billion broadcast deal in 2018 that facilitated SmackDown’s move from USA Network to Fox. WWE signed another big-money deal with Fox in 2020.

WWE allegedly implied that they would cease doing business with Fox if their demands were not met. Soon thereafter, Fox informed MLW that it had canceled the company’s Tubi contract, which ultimately led to a downturn in MLW’s profits and ticket sales.

MLW also claims that WWE interfered in its deal with VICE TV when WWE senior vice president Susan Levison called VICE to inform the network that Vince McMahon was unhappy that VICE had agreed to air MLW programming As a result, VICE only aired one MLW show.

“WWE has been wrongfully depriving its competitors of critical opportunities for many years, but its latest conduct has been even more unconscionable,” Bauer said in a statement. “I think we speak for the rest of the professional wrestling world when we say that this anti-competitive behavior has to stop.”

In a statement of its own, WWE disputed MLW’s claims.

“WWE believes these claims have no merit and intends to vigorously defend itself against them,” the WWE statement read.

Source: TheSportster

WWE NXT Preview 1/11/22, AJ Styles

Tonight’s WWE NXT episode on the USA Network will feature fallout from last week’s New Year’s Evil special.

John Cena Gives Update On His WWE Future And WrestleMania Status

John Cena says he will likely miss WrestleMania 38 in April.

Cena appeared on The Ellen Show this week to promote The Peacemaker on HBO Max, and was asked about his WWE future, and if he will be at WrestleMania 38 on Saturday, April 2 and Sunday, April 3 in Texas.

“WrestleMania is usually in the cusp of late March, early April. I don’t know if I’m going to make it this year,” Cena said. “And that’s a good conundrum to have because there’s a lot of good opportunity coming up, which I would love to take and if all those things line up, I don’t know if I’ll be able to make WrestleMania.”

John Cena continued and said he is far from done with the squared circle.

“But I will tell you and everybody watching, I’m not done with WWE by a long shot,” he said. “That’s my home, I love it. I was able to go back during the summer for a few months and entertain audiences when they welcomed audiences back to arenas, so I’ve far from had my last performance.”

Cena, who turns 45 on April 23, has not worked a program since losing to WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns at SummerSlam in late August. He returned on September 10 for a dark main event at the SmackDown at Madison Square Garden, teaming with The Mysterios for a six-man win over The Bloodline, but he has been away since then.

You can see footage from his Ellen interview below:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On Changes To WWE NXT’s Creative Team

WWE has reportedly made changes to the creative team setup in regards to NXT 2.0. According to PWInsider.com, things will be getting switched around internally with the third brand continuing to evolve. These alterations come following the recent releases.

WWE cut several long-term employees during the latest batch of cuts. The focus was more behind the scenes than in-ring talent, although Samoa Joe was released as well. The company let go of Gabe Sapolsky, William Regal, and Road Dogg during the re-shuffle.

Moving forward, the WWE NXT creative team will not operate independently, as it has done in the past. Previously, Paul Levesque oversaw things with his own team, which was separate from everything else in WWE. However, that is no longer the case.

Instead, the team will now work under Bruce Prichard and Christine Lubrano. Decisions will be reported to them, with WWE looking to streamline the operation to be consistent with how the Raw and SmackDown creative departments work.

Johnny Russo (no relation to Vince Russo) will be heading up WWE NXT’s writing team, working under Prichard and Lubrano. He originally joined WWE in the fall of 2011, and has been involved with the main roster from 2015-2018. However, he does also have experience with NXT, working within the creative department for the black and gold brand since August 2019.

Russo has also been working as the lead writer for the show since July 2020 and therefore knows how things work. Elsewhere on the creative team, Dewey Foley, who is the son of Hall Of Famer, Mick Foley, will remain on the team. He has been working on the 205 Live product as well.

Meanwhile, Anthony Golden Jr. will also still be on the NT creative team. He joined WWE in March 2020 and has a background in theatre, while he also boasts a Master’s in Film and Television production.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Ric Flair Wants An Apology From Becky Lynch, Oh And $20 Million From WWE

A quick tweet and delete, something The Nature Boy is becoming known for nowadays.

Ric Flair had quite the year in 2021. He started it as a WWE Superstar, even making his return to TV and becoming an active part of what was a pretty odd and eventually scrapped angle. His latest stint with WWE came to an end after he was granted his release. While there doesn’t appear to be bad blood between the two parties for the most part, Flair refuses to let one thing go.

That one thing is WWE’s use of the mantra, The Man. Or, more accurately, Becky Lynch’s use of it. Lynch has been calling herself The Man for a while. However, The Nature Boy claims he owns it, at least in the wrestling world. Flair’s claim stems from when he would say “to be the man, you gotta beat the man” during his heyday.

The situation appears to have become even more complicated rather than get resolved. There has been talk since the turn of the year that WWE has abandoned the trademark. There are also conflicting reports that WWE has simply decided to not have Lynch refer to herself as The Man anymore. Either way, Flair seems to believe he is owed an apology, not to mention a hefty chunk of change for his troubles.

Naitch published a tweet demanding apologies from Lynch and WWE, but then quickly deleted it which has become customary for the 16-time World Champion. “I’ll take 2 apologies- one from Big Time Becks & one from WWE,” Flair tweeted, adding that he’ll also take 20 million. Assuming he means dollars there, and also assuming he believes WWE has made $20 million by having Lynch refer to herself as The Man for part of her career.

Whether WWE has admitted the trademark belongs to Flair or not, it’s hard to imagine a world where The Nature Boy receives $20 million for Lynch’s use of it. This appears to be more about a problem he has with Lynch as opposed to WWE referring to her as The Man. This isn’t the first time Naitch has tweeted something about her and then immediately thought better of it. Perhaps the Hall of Famer is still hung up on the title exchange between Lynch and his daughter Charlotte last year.

Source: TheSportster

WWE RAW Preview 1/10/22

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA with more build for the upcoming Royal Rumble event.

WWE’s Medical Update On Sasha Banks Says She Will Miss The Royal Rumble

WWE provided an update on former Women’s Champion Sasha Banks earlier today, confirming reports that she is dealing with a foot injury. The full announcement can be seen below:

“Sasha Banks injury update

Sasha Banks suffered a foot injury Sunday evening at a WWE Live! event in Fayetteville, NC. After seeking emergency medical attention, it was determined nothing was broken. Sasha underwent an MRI and it was discovered she has a bruised calcaneus bone. She is at home recovering and undergoing physical therapy. She is expected to be out of action for 6-8 weeks. Stay locked in to WWE Digital for the latest updates.”

With the timeline provided, Banks is expected to miss the upcoming premium live event, WWE Royal Rumble 2022, taking place on Saturday, January 29. Stay tuned for updates on Banks’s status.

Banks wrestled SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair at last Sunday’s WWE live event in Fayetteville, NC, and appeared to hurt her leg or knee while taking an over-the-knee backbreaker. She kicked out of a pinfall but stayed on the mat while the referee checked her out, before they went to the finish with Flair getting the win after a Natural Selection. Banks was then helped to the back.

Banks posted an update for fans later that night, writing, “I’m good [fist emoji] Thank you for the love always. [heart emoji]”

It looked as though WWE may have been building towards Banks vs. Flair at Royal Rumble, as the two have been wrestling both on television in tag matches and at live events. However, if WWE’s report holds true, Banks will miss the Rumble and as noted, Flair will be appearing as the SmackDown Women’s Champion in the rumble. If she wins, Charlotte claims she will choose her own challenger for WrestlerMania this year.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Mickie James Announced For WWE’s Royal Rumble

Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Mickie James will compete in the upcoming 2022 WWE women’s Royal Rumble match.

Mickie James is about to walk through the forbidden door … and straight into the 2022 women’s Royal Rumble match.

During this week’s edition of WWE SmackDown Charlotte Flair revealed the names of several women who are set to compete in this year’s women’s Royal Rumble match — including Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James, who was released by WWE in April of last year.

But it gets weirder … on top of announcing that Mickie would be in the Rumble, Impact Wrestling was actually mentioned on air. At one point, SmackDown color commentator Pat McAfee referred to Mickie as “the Impact Knockouts Champion.”

Soon after, both WWE and Impact referenced one another in tweets announcing Mickie’s participation in the Rumble, while Impact’s EVP Scott D’Amore congratulated WWE for finally walking through the forbidden door.

The other participants announced for the women’s Royal Rumble match are as follows:

Charlotte Flair, Rhea Ripley, Nikki A.S.H., Nikki Bella, Brie Bella, Shotzi, Natalya, Michelle McCool, Dana Brooke, Carmella, Queen Zelina Vega, Tamina Snuka, Kelly Kelly, Aliyah, Summer Rae, Naomi, Shayna Baszler, and Lita. The match will feature 30 competitors in total meaning there are still 11 more participants to be announced.

As you might recall, Mickie James was released by WWE back in April, allegedly due to budget cuts necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mickie James returned to Impact after a six-year absence during the company’s Slammiversary pay-per-view back in July. Her relationship with the company first began way back in 2002 when it was called TNA. She signed for WWE in 2003 but returned to Impact in 2010. The legend kicked off her fourth reign as Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion with a win over Deonna Purrazzo at Bound For Glory last October.

The 2022 Royal Rumble Premium Live Event will take place on Saturday, January 29, 2022, at The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Source: TheSportster

WWE SmackDown Preview 1/7/22

The first WWE SmackDown on FOX of 2022 will take place tonight from the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT.

A Confrontation of Champions: WWE Champion Brock Lesnar comes face-to-face with Universal Champion Roman Reigns

It’s believed that the first blue brand participant for the WWE Royal Rumble will be revealed on tonight’s show. Austin Theory, The Street Profits and The Mysterios were confirmed for the 30-Man Royal Rumble Match on this week’s RAW.

Sami Zayn is due for a title shot against WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, and it’s possible that there will be an update on that feud tonight.

Tonight’s show will feature more fallout from WWE Day 1, and build for the Royal Rumble.