Tag: WWE

Road Dogg Reportedly Working Full-Time On The WWE NXT Brand

According to PWInsider, WWE Hall of Famer “Road Dogg” BG James is now working full-time on the WWE NXT brand. His official role and title haven’t been confirmed yet though.

As it was reported earlier this month, James has been working at the Performance Center. He also made a cameo Sunday on the WWE PC Combine, which aired on the WWE Network.

Last month James stepped down as the co-lead writer of SmackDown Live. He quit the position because he was reportedly frustrated with Vince McMahon always making changes to the TV scripts.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE RAW Preview 5/27/19

Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Sprint Center in Kansas City, MO.

* Brock Lesnar to announce blockbuster decision

* Future of the United States Championship to be addressed

* 24/7 Championship chaos continues

* Who will be Becky Lynch’s next challenge?

Rey Mysterio Gives Injury Update Following United States Title Win

WWE United States Champion Rey Mysterio took to Instagram this week and revealed that he has a separated AC joint in his left shoulder. Mysterio noted that he has been having trouble lifting his arm.

Mysterio is scheduled to be on Monday’s RAW to address the injury and the controversial finish to his win over Samoa Joe at WWE Money In the Bank earlier this month. Rey won the title in that match, which was rushed due to Joe’s busted nose, but he did not appear on RAW this week. Rey was seen in Birmingham, Alabama earlier this week, likely visiting with WWE doctors over the shoulder injury.

Mysterio noted that he’s been doing physical therapy at The Lab in Riverside, CA, and he hopes that will improve his range of motion, which has been really bad since the match with Joe. Rey blamed it on taking the Uranages from Joe.

You can see Rey’s full IG post below:

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Wild Card Rule To Be Used On Non-Televised WWE Live Events

The WWE Wild Card Rule will be used on non-televised WWE live events moving forward.

RAW Superstar Dew McIntyre has been advertised for several upcoming SmackDown live events. He is currently scheduled to miss the June 3 RAW in Corpus Christie, Texas and the June 10 RAW in Reno, Nevada.

McIntyre has been added to the following blue brand events:

* Saturday, June 1 in Waco, TX
* Sunday, June 2 in College Station, TX
* Monday, June 3 in Corpus Christie, TX
* Sunday, June 9 in Stockton, CA
* Monday, June 10 in Reno, NV

The June 3 RAW is the final episode before WWE Super ShowDown in Saudi Arabia. McIntyre has not been announced for a match on that show as of this writing, but he could work the 50-Man Battle Royal or get involved with the Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon match.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On Why WWE Created The WWE 24/7 Title, Pressure From The USA Network Continues

One main reason for the new WWE 24/7 Title was the USA Network, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

USA Network officials have reportedly been complaining for some time about the drop in ratings for RAW, in particular the third hour. The network has continually pushed Vince McMahon to try and fix the third hour as the 10-11pm hour of the show was always the highest rated, until recent years.

The third hour dropped so bad in recent weeks that WWE officials recognized they had to do something.

The move goes back to the idea of allowing top SmackDown Superstars to appear on RAW, and to make sure the blue brand show doesn’t become a secondary show while it’s preparing for the move to Fox in October.

USA officials have reportedly been sending WWE all sorts of ideas as of late, in an attempt to bring up the third hour numbers. One source close to the situation described the ideas as all terrible, but their best ideas was the 24/7 Title and Vince knew he had to take one of them.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Backstage News On Why Aleister Black And Kevin Owens Are Missing WWE Saudi Arabia Event

Daniel Bryan, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and Aleister Black will not be appearing at the upcoming WWE Super ShowDown event on Friday, June 7th in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Black’s absence was a company decision due to some of his tattoos having a religious connotation. Black has generally kept quiet regarding the meaning behind his body art, although he did reveal the meaning of his back tattoo in an interview with The Daily Star in 2017.

“I don’t really talk about the meaning of my tattoos, but I will give you that one,” Black said. “The being on my back is Lilith, in some folklore she is the first woman to ever rebel against paradise. The reason she is there for equality, equality for every man and woman – which is the most important thing there is.”

Bryan is likely not appearing at the event for the same reasons that he skipped last November’s Crown Jewel show in Riyadh. While he wrestled at WWE’s first big show in Saudi Arabia, The Greatest Royal Rumble, last April, he had since learned more of the country’s treatment of homosexuals. Bryan was also upset that Sami Zayn was not being allowed on those shows because of his Syrian ancestry, which he felt was racist. Saudi Arabia cut ties with Syria in 2012, and Zayn had started a #SamiForSyria mobile clinic in Syria in 2017.

WWE issued the following statement at the time regarding Zayn’s absence from the event:

“WWE is committed to embracing individuals from all backgrounds while respecting local customs and cultural differences around the world.”

According to The Observer, company sources stated that Owens is declining to work the show because his family asked him not to go. It was noted that there may have been other reasons, including Zayn not being allowed to work the show. Owens had been in a program with WWE Champion Kofi Kingston. Dolph Ziggler was pulled out of an appearance in Australia the weekend of Super Showdown and will now face Kingston for the title.

The only other star that refused to work Crown Jewel was John Cena, who is not scheduled for WWE Super ShowDown.

WWE Super ShowDown takes place on Friday, June 7th, at the King Abdullah Sports City’s King Abdullah International Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE Issues Statement On Ashley Massaro Allegations

WWE has issued a statement in response to allegations made by lawyer Konstantine Kyros, who has represented several former WWE Superstars in concussion lawsuits against the company, including the late Ashley Massaro. Kyros has published an affidavit by Massaro that includes her allegations on how she was treated while with the company. Massaro alleged that she was sexually assaulted while visiting troops with WWE in Kuwait back in 2006.

Massaro alleged that she was drugged and raped by a man posing as a US Army doctor while in Kuwait on a tour of a US military base. She said she was examined by a WWE doctor after returning from the trip, and that the doctor reported the incident to WWE officials. Massaro alleged that WWE officials called her into a meeting, to apologize, and to persuade “her that it would be best not to report it to appropriate authorities.” You can read all of her claims in the full affidavit via PDF by clicking here.

WWE’s statement to the media in response to the allegations reads:

WWE is saddened by the death of Ashley Massaro, and we reiterate our condolences to her family. However, we regret that her attorney Konstantine Kyros, who filed multiple cases against WWE, lost all of them, and was sanctioned multiple times by the Court for repeated misconduct and false allegations, is using Ashley’s death to further his malicious campaign against WWE by releasing an affidavit that she submitted to the Court and later apologized to WWE for being involved with, so we wish to make certain things crystal clear.At no time was Vince McMahon or the management of WWE ever informed by Ashley Massaro or anybody else that she had been sexually assaulted, drugged, raped or sodomized by a military doctor with a nurse standing guard while on a goodwill tour in 2007 to U.S. military bases in Kuwait. In fact, if she ever articulated such a claim to WWE, we would have reported it immediately to the Base Commander.

At no time was there ever a meeting with Vince McMahon, Kevin Dunn, John Laurinaitis or other company executives in which she told them of such a claim and was instructed to keep it quiet.

WWE recently revealed that Massaro e-mailed them back in October, a month after the lawsuit was dismissed, to apologize for joining the lawsuit. Below is WWE’s full statement with excerpts from Massaro’s e-mail:

Long after Ashley Massaro filed an affidavit, which WWE only learned of the contents after she passed away, Ashley sent an email to WWE on Oct. 20, 2018 – approximately one month after the Court dismissed all claims against WWE and sanctioned the lawyer who brought the suit against WWE, Konstantine Kyros, for repeated misconduct including pursuing false allegations. Below are a number of excerpts from her letter to WWE:”I love WWE, you all were my family the whole time I was there…”

“The lawsuit got out of control very fast-I had been roped in by the lawyer representing the others…”

“I apologize that I was part of this class action suit and knew it was a bad idea but was convinced by the lawyer and I want to acknowledge that I should’ve contacted you guys before agreeing to be involved-i was basically poached. But I accept my part of the responsibility and just want to formerly apologize and express my regret.”

“You all changed my life and I couldn’t be more grateful…”

“Can you express my sincerest regret to Vince, Stephanie, Hunter and Kevin Dunn.”

Massaro passed away last Thursday at the age of 39 after an apparent suicide by hanging. She would have turned 40 this coming weekend.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Ruby Riott Undergoes Shoulder Surgery, Additional Operation Required

Ruby Riott is out of action with injuries that required surgery on both of her shoulders.

According to WWE.com:

Raw Superstar Ruby Riott underwent successful surgery yesterday to repair a bilateral injury to her right shoulder, WWE.com can confirm.

Riott will receive surgery for the same injury on her left shoulder at a later date.

No word at this time on how long Ruby will be on the sidelines.

The Roast Of Ric Flair To Take Place At A Later Date

Starrcast has announced that the roast of WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair will take place at a later date to be announced.

As noted, The Nature Boy was forced to pull out of “The Roast of Ric Flair” scheduled for Friday night in Las Vegas during Starrcast II weekend, which coincided with AEW’s Double Or Nothing weekend. Flair underwent heart surgery on Monday and his doctors won’t allow him to travel to Vegas for the weekend events. Starrcast issued the following today:

“The good news is that Ric Flair’s surgery was a success. The bad news is that his doctor won’t allow him to travel this weekend. As a result, his Meet & Greets at #Starrcast are being refunded. The Roast of Ric Flair will have to be postponed to a later date yet to be determined.”

The roast of Flair was scheduled to air on pay-per-view and Fite.TV this Friday night. There’s no word yet on if it will still stream when it happens. Flair was also scheduled for a “30 Years and 5 Stars Later” panel with WWE Hall of Famers Ricky Steamboat and Jim Ross this week. Starrcast will be issuing refunds for all of Flair’s planned events.

Flair’s wife Wendy Barlow noted on Monday that the operation was a success and that Flair was in the recovery room. TMZ reported that doctors were optimistic Flair will make a full recovery. Flair was said to be in good spirits over the past few days, chatting with some of his famous friends on the phone, including rapper Offset.

Flair is scheduled to make his first post-surgery public appearance on Friday, May 31 for SCWPro at their “To Be The Man” event in East Moline, Illinois. SCWPro confirmed today that they have been in contact with Flair’s representatives, and that he will still make that appearance.

https://twitter.com/SCWPro/status/1130629464554135552

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Dolph Ziggler Returns, Viciously Attacked Kofi Kingston

Last night on SmackDown Live, Paul Heyman came out with Brock Lesnars’s Money in the Bank briefcase taunting WWE Champion Kofi Kingston. That’s when Dolph Ziggler made his surprise return to WWE viciously attacking Kofi.

Later Ziggler came out and explained why he did it. Ziggler says it should’ve been him instead of Kofi having all the success Kofi has had lately. Ziggler said he will ,make things right be defeating Kofi for the WWE Championship at WWE Super ShowDown on June 7 in Saudi Arabia.