Johnny Gargano Ruled Out Of NXT TakeOver: War Games Due To Neck Injury

Johnny Gargano is unable to wrestle at NXT TakeOver: War Games due to a neck injury.

Pro Wrestling Sheet‘s Editor-in-Chief Ryan Satin first reported the news on tonight’s edition of WWE Backstage on FS1.

According to sources, WWE management was hoping to have Gargano wrestle against Finn Balor at the event taking place during Survivor Series weekend.

However, due to the neck injury, that won’t be possible.

The severity of the injury is unclear at this time.

Gargano last appeared on NXT TV in a segment involving Finn Balor landing his finisher on Johnny on the ramp to launch a heel turn.

Sin Cara Requests Release From WWE

WWE star Sin Cara has announced he’s requesting his release from the company.

The wrestler made the announcement via social media with a lengthy statement in Spanish, which we’ve translated below:

Last night, after praying and considering it a lot, thinking about my children and their future, I made one of the most difficult but sensible decisions I have had to make in my professional wrestling career; I have asked for my WWE release.

Since I was a child, all I wanted to do was fight and all my life I have taken decisions and sacrifices to put myself in a position to fulfill that dream. There are 20 long years of experience and total dedication to my sport that I love and respect. I have traveled the world, met incredible people and fought for the incredible fans of the WWE Universe.

I am so grateful for the opportunity they gave me, however, I realized that I am stuck in a place where I am not valued as an athlete or talent. I have worked hard and honestly for many years to polish my trade, I have been loyal, respectful, a team player, support and I have waited patiently for the opportunity to show the world everything I can do. Unfortunately, after all these years, that opportunity never came or I feel that it will ever come while I remain where I am.

The best years of my professional wrestling career are coming and I think the best is yet to come! I am a healthy, disciplined man, respectful of my profession and its environment, of my companions and mainly of the public who has never failed. This is not the end, on the contrary, this is the beginning of the next chapter and I am excited for what the future holds!

I want to thank WWE for this incredible chapter, I will always be grateful. Most importantly, thanks to the WWE Universe for its unwavering support and to all my public that in all parts of the world has supported me and showed its affection, the only way I can correspond is by continuing to provide with all the narrow, passion and professionalism that I have Always shown. Thanks from the bottom of my heart.

Sin Cara had been off television for some time before recently returning to Raw after the draft. The wrestler began a program with Andrade upon his return and was paired with a masked female wrestler named Carolina to combat Zelina Vega.

The wrestler currently playing the role of Sin Cara is Jorge Arias aka Hunico. He permanently replaced the original wrestler under the mask in 2013.

Arias has been with WWE since 2009.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

CM Punk Appears On WWE Backstage

CP Punk appeared at the end of last night’s WWE Backstage. Punk will be on next week.

“It’s as simple as this, just when they think they’ve got the answers, I change the culture,” Punk said to the camera. “I’ll see you here next week.”

FOX’s Twitter announced Punk will be “appearing periodically” on the show. Punk originally left WWE in 2014.

At the end of last month, Punk had commented in an interview that he hadn’t heard back since his tryout, however FOX was obviously happy with how it went.

“I did the FOX thing,” Punk said last month. “They asked me to come out and I was already in LA, so I went into the FOX studios. I guess you could call it an audition? I haven’t heard a thing.

“Renee Young and Booker T, I haven’t seen either of them in five+ years. I think Renee is great, that’s the kind of thing she is built for. Booker, to me, he’s Booker; he’s always laughing and he’s good for that kind of role.”

Punk has also noted that a deal for the show would be with FOX Sports and not WWE.

You can check out Punk’s appearance in the video below.

https://twitter.com/WWEonFOX/status/1194479818215051264

WWE.com posted the following:

After a nearly six-year absence from WWE TV, CM Punk made a shocking, unannounced appearance on Tuesday night’s episode of WWE Backstage, FS1’s new weekly studio show.

The two-time WWE Champion arrived during the show’s final moments, entering to the sounds of Living Colour’s “Cult of Personality,” Punk’s entrance music during his storied in-ring career.

“It’s as simple as this: Just when they think they’ve got the answers, I change the culture,” Punk told the camera, before adding, “I’ll see you here next week.”

Within minutes, the WWE on FOX Twitter account confirmed that Punk will make periodic appearances on WWE Backstage beginning next Tuesday.

Punk left an unforgettable legacy during his WWE career, including holding the WWE Championship for a remarkable 434 days. Since parting ways with WWE, Punk has gone on to author comic books for Marvel, compete in UFC and, more recently, star in the horror film “Girl on the Third Floor,” released in theaters last month.

Don’t miss Punk’s headline-making return to WWE Backstage next Tuesday at 11 p.m. ET on FS1.

PWInsider reported that Punk’s surprise appearance was kept a secret to the other on-air talents, except for Renee Young, who introduced Punk, in order to prevent leaks. As we previously reported, Punk’s deal is with FOX only, and not WWE. The decision to sign Punk was a FOX call, but WWE obviously gave their blessing. PWInsider added that while Punk and FOX have been in talks, the deal was only finalized in the last few days.

WWE’s official press release on Punk joining the show noted that he will appear as a Special Contributor and Analyst beginning next week, making “select appearances” in the studio alongside host Renee Young and analyst WWE Hall of Famer Booker T.

WWE RAW Preview 11/11/19

Tonight’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown will take place at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England as the Road to Survivor Series continues. The show was pre-taped on Friday.

WWE RAW TV Taping Cancellation, WWE To Hold RAW Double Taping

The December 17 taping of RAW at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa was cancelled due to a scheduling conflict. That show was scheduled to air on December 23 as WWE talent was reportedly going to get some time off during the holidays from December 22 until December 26.

The Well Fargo Arena announced it will host two episodes of RAW on Monday, December 16, with the second episode airing the following week on the 23rd.

Below is the full announcement:

WWE Fans! Wells Fargo Arena will now host two episodes of WWE Monday Night RAW on Monday, December 16th, moving the event start time up to 5:45pm, with doors at 4:15pm. That’s two shows for the price of one! Follow the ticket link below to purchase your tickets today!

For no additional charge, fans going to the event can end up sitting through six hours of TV tapings.

WWE Using Different RAW And SmackDown Sets This Week In England (Photos)

WWE is taping tonight’s SmackDown and Monday’s RAW from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England today.

WWE is using a different set for today’s double tapings, as seen in the fan tweet below. The more elaborate sets that recently debuted on RAW and SmackDown are not being used.

https://twitter.com/Bluepeter1979/status/1192858732969037824

Hulk Hogan To Undergo Back Surgery Next Week

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan revealed he would be undergoing back surgery next week.

“I’m going in for another back surgery next Tuesday. They’re going to fuse six levels together, so we’ll see how I feel after that.”

There is no timetable for how long the recovery will be for Hogan. Hogan had been floating around the idea as of late of doing one last match at WrestleMania 36 in Tampa, Florida, his hometown.

Source: WrestleView

WWE Friday Night SmackDown Preview 11/8/19

Tonight’s WWE Friday Night SmackDown will take place at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England as the Road to Survivor Series continues. the show will be pre-taped beginning around around 1:15pm ET.

  • Roman Reigns collides with King Corbin
  • Tyson Fury returns to SmackDown on FOX this Friday
  • The Revival to defend SmackDown Tag Team Titles against The New Day
  • Sasha Banks returns to face Nikki Cross on Friday Night SmackDown

Backstage Notes From Vince McMahon’s Pre-RAW Meeting, Karl Anderson Called Out For Tweets, More

Vince McMahon called a backstage meeting at around 3pm ET on Monday before RAW to address the travel debacle coming out of WWE Crown Jewel.

Vince reiterated that there were no issues between the company and officials in Saudi Arabia, and that a mechanical issue prevented the plane from leaving when it was scheduled to, nothing else.

Vince opened the meeting up for questions from talents and nobody asked any questions, and nobody said anything about the story given to them on what happened in the Kingdom. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that there was a feeling that saying anything negative about the story given to them during the meeting wouldn’t do anyone good, and nobody spoke up. The Observer adds that the feeling on saying anything negative about the company’s Saudi story wouldn’t do anyone any good, was apparently the correct call.

Randy Orton said something during the meeting but he was just trying to break the tension by being funny. Vince responded and asked, “Anybody else want to just kiss my ass?”

The meeting was just about to wrap up when Triple H called out Karl Anderson for comments he made on Twitter, about who would be the locker room leader on Monday. As noted, Anderson tweeted, “Looking forward to seeing who the locker room leader is on Monday.. [popcorn emoji] [red heart emoji]”

Anderson reportedly didn’t say much of anything in response. There was apparently more heat to the Anderson situation as he and his wife also joked on Twitter about not going back to Saudi Arabia, but going back because they need a new pool or a second house. He tweeted, “Couldn’t pay me enough to go back .. Well that’s not true, I need a second pool, so…..”

Anderson’s wife responded, “2nd house!! Not a pool..but don’t ever go back AGAIN! We don’t need our daddy/papi/motherlover/absanderson/besttagteam etc. being held hostage while we’re at home worried to death [red heart emoji]”

You can see the Anderson tweets below.

WWE United States Champion AJ Styles spoke at the meeting but didn’t say much. Styles was very unhappy because the delay in the Kingdom caused him to miss one of his son’s wrestling matches. Rusev spoke some and mostly thanked Mark Carrano, WWE’s Senior Director of Talent Relations, for his work in quickly getting hotel rooms booked for everyone while they waited for a flight back to the United States. No one spoke about anything negatively, but there were some remarks about how at times during the debacle, the talents didn’t have access to Wi-Fi and were unable to contact their families.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On Why WWE Put Sami Zayn With Shinsuke Nakamura

Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Sami Zayn had been having trouble with his shoulders in recent months. This is why he has been wrestling less and was put with WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura as his mouthpiece.

There’s no word yet on when Zayn will return to regular in-ring action, but word now is that he’s OK and can wrestle, but the current role is what they have him doing. Zayn has worked some live events since being put with Nakamura, including losses to Buddy Murphy while WWE was in Australia last month, but he hasn’t wrestled regularly on TV since August, when he took losses on RAW to Samoa Joe and Cedric Alexander.