Tonight’s WWE SmackDown will be taped from the O2 Arena in London, England today with the final hype for WWE Money In the Bank.
* SmackDown LIVE’s Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match participants to throw down in pivotal Fatal 4-Way Match
* Will Kofi Kingston accept KO’s invitation to come on The Kevin Owens Show?
* Can Fire & Desire scorch Asuka & Kairi Sane on Tuesday night?
WWE has announced that former Impact X Division Champion DJZ reported to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando this week to begin working for the company.
It was reported back in mid-March that DJZ had signed with WWE. The 32 year old left Impact Wrestling on December 31 after his contract expired. He first debuted for Impact back in 2011 and worked there off & on, becoming a two-time X Division Champion and a one-time Tag Team Champion with Andrew Everett.
Below is WWE’s full announcement on signing DJZ:
“DJZ” Michael Paris reports to WWE Performance CenterOne of the world’s top high-flying Superstars has come to the WWE Performance Center.
Michael Paris, better known to sports-entertainment fans as “DJZ,” reported for training this week at WWE’s facility in Orlando, Fla.
A professional grappler for nearly 15 years, Paris specializes in dynamic, top-rope offense, and has put many competitors away with moves like the 450 Splash and the 630 Splash. He has experience wrestling internationally, including in Mexico, Japan and the United Kingdom. Paris has also captured dozens of championships on his journey to WWE, such as the International Wrestling Cartel’s Super Indy Championship, a title formerly held by the likes of AJ Styles, Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole and Corey Graves.
Paris’ signing comes on the heels of several other high-profile acquisitions. In January, the WWE Performance Center welcomed a new class of 12 athletes, while international wrestlers Kushida, Shane Strickland and Humberto Garza all reported for training last month.
Sami Zayn defeated Braun Strowman in the Falls Count Anywhere main event of last night’s RAW to earn Braun’s spot in the men’s Money In the Bank Ladder Match at the May 19 WWE Money In the Bank pay-per-view.
Strowman is currently dealing with an injury, according to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, but that is not why he was pulled from the match. There’s no word yet on injury details, but Strowman could be working through some sort of biceps or triceps injury.
Regarding Strowman losing his Money In the Bank spot to Zayn, Meltzer reported that the removal was a part of a longer storyline that will play out over the next month or so. Strowman is working hurt, but the injury is not bad enough that he needs to take any time off right now.
There’s been a lot of speculation on Strowman’s WWE future as of late. He reportedly received heat from WWE officials after winning the 6th Annual Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35. The end of the match was said to be a mess as Strowman forgot some of his spots. It was reported in late April that the botched spots are why Strowman hasn’t had much of a push since winning the Battle Royal.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Bray Wyatt revealed his dark secret during last night’s “Firefly Fun House” segment on WWE RAW.
The segment featured Mercy The Buzzard, Abby The Witch and Ramblin’ Rabbit, despite the apparent demise of Rabbit on last week’s show.
Wyatt noted that fireflies helping him is what warms his soul, but he still has some darkness in his head. Wyatt added that he knows how to harness that darkness and control it. That’s when he revealed the bizarre new look, which you can see in the video.
WWE has announced The Undertaker vs. WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg for the first-time ever at the upcoming WWE Super ShowDown event.
Super ShowDown, which is the same name that WWE used for the big event from Australia last year, will take place on Friday, June 7 from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
WWE has also announced a 50-man Battle Royal and Triple H vs. Randy Orton for their return to the Kingdom.
Below is the full announcement on the event:
Undertaker, Goldberg to clash for first time ever at WWE Super ShowDown
JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA — The Saudi General Sports Authority will host WWE Super ShowDown at King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday, June 7, at 9 p.m. AST, and feature the first-ever match between WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg and Undertaker. In addition, the event will include Triple H vs. Randy Orton, as they create another chapter of their storied rivalry, and a 50-Man Battle Royal — the largest in WWE history.
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, AJ Styles and Brock Lesnar are also scheduled to compete at WWE Super ShowDown, which will stream live on WWE Network and be available on pay-per-view outside of the Middle East.
Additional details on the event’s matches and regional broadcast information will be announced in the coming weeks.
Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the 02 Arena in London, England with the final hype for WWE Money In the Bank. Since the show is in London it will be taped today to air tonight.
* Double contract signing for Becky Two Belts
Roman Reigns returns for “Miz TV”
* Women’s Fatal 4-Way Match for “Money” momentum
* Ricochet takes flight against Baron Corbin
* Braun Strowman locks up with Drew McIntyre
* Seth Rollins and AJ Styles brace for monumental title collision
* Rambling Rabbit rambles no more
WWE RAW and SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch confirmed this weekend that she is dating Seth Rollins during a Twitter exchange with Beth Phoenix. Lynch had involved Edge in the Twitter spat, which prompted Phoenix to ask, “Wait wait…are we involving our men now…”
Lynch replied, “I’ll ask him…@WWERollins?”
In a tweet that has since been deleted, Phoenix responded to Lynch confirming her relationship with Rollins, writing, “Aw! Relationship confirmed! Congrats @BeckyLynchWWE @WWERollins ! Maybe one day we can double date and reminisce on old times…”
On Monday morning, Rollins also confirmed their relationship. Rollins posted the photo below of the two kissing and wrote, “I guess I’m allowed to post this now…. @beckylynchwwe ?”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Ever since The Rockers split up over 25 years ago, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty have been on divergent paths. HBK became one of the most celebrated wrestlers in history while Jannetty has struggled to stay clean.
Jannetty recently spoke to Wrestling Inc. on their WINCLY podcast to discuss his physical ailments and how he’s holding up.
“I’m having a problem with my ankle and it’s a hard adjustment from being a world-class athlete to having to gimp and use a crutch,” said Jannetty.
“When I look at guys that are my age like Iron Sheik – man he’s in a wheelchair. Duke ‘The Dumpster’ Droese – from his knee down he’s got a titanium leg. I see that and it hurts my feelings because I don’t wanna see them like that. I can only think what fans must think when they see us like that.”
“Mine’s only a gimp, I can get it fixed. I don’t have health insurance so it’s gonna cost me a little bit. I could do it now, but then I’ll be broke. If I don’t make money after that, then where am I gonna eat?”
Jannetty realizes that the first step in turning his life around is having the right attitude. But that’s where his self-doubt creeps in which keeps him from getting things back on track.
“I’m trying but it’s so hard when you have self-doubt. My dad once told me that if you don’t have self-respect, it don’t matter what you got because you ain’t got nothing,” stated Jannetty. “It’s hard to respect yourself when you can’t walk right…Now I can’t even walk out to the trash can to put the trash out. I gotta let it smell up the house before I finally do. It’s a hard adjustment.”
Diamond Dallas Page has helped numerous wrestlers in similar positions to Jannetty, but the conversation between DDP and Jannetty apparently didn’t go smoothly.
“I love him to death,” Jannetty said of DDP. “I don’t wanna say nothing negative, but there was a couple of negative things… His response was not one I liked and I’ll just leave it at that.
“I wanna leave it alone because I don’t wanna say nothing negative.”
Two years ago Jannetty faced Joey Janela in his first ever Spring Break main event. Afterwards Janela and Chris Jericho then tried to help Jannetty by creating a GoFundMe page to help raise money for medical costs.
“I love Joey but he finished me off [laughs]. I love Joey. He offered to help me, him and Chris Jericho to do a GoFundMe…,” Jannetty said before mentioning that others like Scott Hall had previously received money from GoFundMe accounts to help them after drug issues.
“Scott Hall had just gotten a sh**load of money from the GoFundMe…. Here I come behind him and the first three or four comments were ‘Oh, all these drughead partiers blew their money and now they want us to pay.’ I was like ‘No. Take it down. I don’t want that up there.’ Because it does appear that way.”
Jannetty has a lot of pride and admits he needs to check his ego in order to reach out for help.
“And when you’ve been worldwide – it’s even harder…. I’m asking people for money that already paid me. When they showed up to the arena that night, they paid me. And now I’m asking for more? It’s just hard,” stated Jannetty.
“But it’s all on WWE. Because if you’re making a million off me last quarter, you can’t pay $40,000 to get my ankles fixed so I don’t need to OD on pain pills? That’s why I got in a lawsuit. The Rockers [going into the WWE] Hall of Fame will never happen because there’s a lawsuit in place. It can’t happen.
“I love all of them. I love Vince. I love Shane. I love Stephanie. I love them all…Linda, she was hardcore. But I love them all. Vince once told me, I think it was about Jesse Ventura when he was suing, ‘You have to separate business from personal life. What’s going on right now is business.’ That’s where I’m at and you’re the one who taught me it’s business.
“I don’t like it. But I don’t like walking in front of people with a gimp either.”
Wrestling Inc’s full, exclusive interview with Jannetty was included in a recent episode of our WINCLY podcast. It can be heard via the embedded audio player at the bottom of this post. In it Jannetty discusses his infamous match with Kurt Angle on Smackdown, his current relationship with Shawn Michaels and more.
You can check out past episodes of the WINCLY here. Subscribe to Wrestling Inc. Audio on iTunes or Google Play. Listen to the show via Spotify here or through TuneIn here.
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston will be returning to Ghana, West Africa for the first time in 26 years for a four-day visit that runs from Thursday, May 30 through Sunday, June 2.
Kofi announced the tour with a press release on social media today. WWE confirmed the news on their website. The trip home, his first since 1993, will coincide with a celebratory “Year of Return” in the country this year. A WWE film crew will be filming the trip for a future documentary special. Kofi will visit his maternal and paternal hometowns, host a children’s rally, and a visit to the Ghanaian President, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and a visit to Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the Asante Monarch.
Kofi is scheduled to defend his title against Kevin Owens at WWE Money In the Bank on May 19. He commented in the post that included the press release, “Well it’s officially official. For the first time since 1993, I’m going back to my home country! Though it was 26 years ago, I still have so many vivid memories of my last visit to Ghana. I’m beyond excited to make many more in a few short weeks!”
Below is the full press release that was released:
Thursday, May 9, 2019
PRESS RELEASE
TO ALL MEDIA HOUSESKOFI KINGSTON’S HISTORIC VISIT TO GHANAThe World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Champion, Kofi “Kingston” Sarkodie-Mensah, is visiting his homeland.
The World Champion considers this “Year of Return” as a unique opportunity for him to make a historic visit to Ghana at the height of his wrestling career.
The four-day visit which starts from Thursday, 30th May, 2019 to Sunday, 2nd June, 2019, includes a courtesy call on the President of Ghana, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Presidency. He will then be at the Manhyia Palace to pay homage to the Asante Monarch, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
Other activities include a Children’s Rally, visits to Tourist Sites and places like the Lake Bosomtwe, the Christianborg (Osu) Castle, Bonwire and Ntonso, a visit to the Mother and Baby Unit at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and visits to Ejisu and Atwima Techiman which are his paternal and maternal hometowns respectively. There will also be Media Engagements and In-Studio Interviews.
Accompanying Kofi are the WWE crew who are currently shooting a documentary on the World Champion.
They look forward to a warm reception, as well as the experience of the proverbial Ghanaian hospitality.
Media houses and other organisations can get in touch for further and more specific details.
Thank you!
The Planning Committee
Source: Wrestling Inc.
When it comes to WWE vs. AEW, the former appears to be changing a lot of programs around the world.
Toni Storm made an appearance for Stardom this past weekend. She was supposed to continue the momentum from that show and face Bea Priestley on 5/16 at Korakuen Hall. Priestley just recently won the World of Stardom Title. Stardom then announced that the match wouldn’t be taking place.
There have been issues before with WWE U.K. talent appearing in certain promotions. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, however, WWE were the ones who ended the idea of the match taking place, due to it being their top U.K. Women’s Champion potentially losing against someone from AEW. Priestley was expected to retain the title, making WWE worried about backlash.
Priestley will now defend her title against Hazuki while Toni battles Kagetsu.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
