Last night was the first night of the annual WWE Superstar-Shake-Up and as usual there was some big changes.
Below are a list of names that has joined the RAW roster:
NXT Tag Team Champions Hanson and Rowe, better known as War Raiders, were shock call-ups on last night’s Superstar Shake-Up edition of RAW, joining forces with The Revival to face off against Ricochet, Aleister Black, Zack Ryder, and Curt Hawkins in an eight-man tag.
They weren’t introduced under their NXT monickers: instead, Hanson and Rowe have been rebranded Erik and Ivar, The Viking Experience.
RAW’s commentators then tried to put the act over as “not a gimmick,” claiming that Ivar and Erik are literal vikings, thus cementing the move’s utter ridiculousness.
Is this the dumbest name change in WWE history?
Ditching “War Raiders” essentially means that the hugely over “war” chants are probably going away as well.
Regardless, The Viking Experience should be strong enough to survive the silliness. They’re a great tag team, having proved it again at TakeOver: New York.
Here’s hoping they compensate by ruling the RAW tag division.
Tonight’s WWE RAW will take place from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Superstar Shake-Up night one.
* WWE gets shaken up
* Lacey Evans steps to “Becky Two Belts”
* The Universal Freakin’ Champion awaits his next challenge
* Bobby Lashley strikes back
* The Big Dog protects his yard
There’s been a lot of speculation on Sasha Banks’ WWE status after it was reported that she tried to quit the company during WrestleMania 35 Weekend. Banks reportedly felt blindsided by the decision put the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles on The IIconics. It was also reported that she and Bayley caused a scene at MetLife Stadium and at the WWE hotel, making it known they were not happy with the title change. Banks also made the news for no longer following WWE and Vince McMahon on Twitter, while following several AEW accounts.
Banks took to Twitter today and apparently responded to some of the reports, also tagging WWE NXT, NXT UK, PROGRESS, EVOLVE, RAW and SmackDown. She wrote, “If you only knew, ya marks! #Raw #SDLive #NXT #NXTUK #Progress #evolve #ShakeUp”
You can see Banks’ tweet below:
https://twitter.com/SashaBanksWWE/status/1117805269097041922
Source: Wrestling Inc.
WWE has just signed Championship Wrestling from Hollywood commentator, Jonny Loquasto. According to PWInsider, today is his final CWFH taping.
Loquasto is the host and co-creator of the Wrestling Compadres Slamcast on FOX Sports, where he and the other hosts Dale Rutledge, Scott Narver, and Carrlyn Bathe have interviewed wrestlers like AJ Styles, The New Day, Kevin Owens, and Bray Wyatt.
Jonny Loquasto is also a comedian who has performed on Comics Unleashed, Gotham Live on AXS TV, and Standup & Deliver on NUVO TV. He was also the host of AXS Live.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Sasha Banks and Bayley reportedly caused a few scenes during WrestleMania 35 Weekend in New York City.
We noted before that Banks felt “blindsided” by the decision to put the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles on The IIconics and reportedly tried to quit the company. It was noted that she expected to have a strong run with Bayley and the titles. According to the report, which you can read at this link, Banks has been given time to think everything over before making a decision.
Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet took to Twitter today and reported that Banks and Bayley were laying on the floor of the locker room at Met Life Stadium on Sunday, “loudly making it known they were unhappy” about dropping the titles. It was also noted that they made a similar scene back at the WWE hotel.
“Heard from a few sources now saying Sasha Banks and Bayley were laying on the floor of the locker room on Sunday, and back at the hotel in front of one of their rooms, loudly making it known they were unhappy about losing the tag titles,” Satin wrote on Twitter.
Satin defended his report and said he heard the same information from multiple sources. “This info is from four different sources I’ve spoken with the past day. All independent from each other and all came to me about it, not the other way around,” he wrote in one tweet to a fan. He continued in another tweet, “Was told this by four separate people who have no relation to each other. There were a lot of people staying in the hotel during Mania weekend.”
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Sasha Banks told WWE that she wanted out of her contract during WrestleMania weekend. It was not a pleasant scene at all and it called for Banks to cancel an appearance on the Wendy Williams Show in the process.
WWE is giving Banks some time to sort things out, but she might not be back if that is what she chooses to do. Sean Ross Sapp was recently asked during a Fightful Select Q&A if The Boss n Hug Connection would stay in WWE or go elsewhere and he had a rather interesting reply. Because Sasha Banks isn’t the only one who is frustrated.
“I see them taking a chance elsewhere. Sasha is not happy. Bayley was very frustrated this weekend as well, not the the point where Sasha was. Sasha has been sold a bill of goods for a long time and they wasted both of these women’s 2018s.”
AEW is opening up and making a lot of noise. They could certainly use The Boss and The Hugger in their company to help bring a new shine to their emerging women’s division as well.
Source: RingSideNews
Nia Jax took to Twitter and indicated an injury as she said she would be gone for a while. It was then reported, via Pro Wrestling Sheet, that Jax is currently suffering from ACL tears in both knees and would need to undergo surgery.
https://twitter.com/NiaJaxWWE/status/1116745757133103106
Jax posted another tweet this afternoon and confirmed that she will be undergoing double knee surgery to repair the injuries. She noted that she has been working through pain for the last year.
“Some of you may or may not know, but I will be out of action for a little while,” Jax wrote, “Unfortunately, I have been pushing through some pain over the last year due to injuries in my knees and I will be undergoing surgery to repair both of my ACLs. I’m grateful to everyone who has supported me! Thank you!”
https://twitter.com/NiaJaxWWE/status/1116775667989995522
Jax hasn’t wrestled since WrestleMania 35 on Sunday where she worked the Fatal 4 Way with partner Tamina Snuka, Natalya and WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix, new WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions The IIconics and former champions Sasha Banks and Bayley.
There’s still no word yet on how long Jax will be out of action, but it could be for up to 9 months. WWE has not officially announced the injury.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Bobby Lashley recently spoke with Sky Sports and revealed that he is still under contract to the Bellator MMA promotion.
The 42 year old Lashley said he expects to do a few more fights before he calls it quits on his MMA career. He has his eye on Bellator Heavyweight & Light Heavyweight Champion Ryan Bader.
“I think I am still probably going to do a couple more before it’s all said and done,” Lashley said. “I am still under contract at Bellator also, and if I go back I will give them a call and possibly go after (Ryan) Bader. I don’t want to wait too long, time is ticking.”
Lashley said may return to the cage after the WWE SummerSlam pay-per-view in August. He would likely need to take some time away from WWE to train for the fight. Lashley said his body is at 100% these days.
“I feel great. My body is 100% so I think maybe this summer, maybe after SummerSlam,” Lashley said.
Lashley said maybe he will talk with WWE boss Vince McMahon about winning the WWE Universal Title at SummerSlam, then go to Bellator to win their title.
Lashley also talked about Conor McGregor possibly coming to WWE and joked that they won’t be putting a top title on him because he’s too small.
Lashley’s last MMA fight came at Bellator 162 in October 2016. He defeated Josh Appelt that night by submission. Lashley’s current MMA record is at 15 wins and 2 losses.
Source: Wrestling Inc.
Zachary Madsen, the 26 year old amateur MMA fighter from Nebraska who attacked Bret Hart at Saturday’s WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony during The Hart Foundation’s induction, bonded out of the Brooklyn Detention Complex on Wednesday. His bond was set at $1,500.
Madsen is due back in a Kings County Criminal Court room tomorrow, April 12. He was charged with two counts of 3rd degree assault, one count of 3rd degree criminal trespassing and interfering with a sporting event. Madsen, who has a public defender, will be facing up to 1 year in jail for each count of assault, if he’s found guilty. The judge at his hearing earlier in the week also granted an order of protection against Madsen to Hart and the WWE security guard that also suffered minor injuries in the attack, Thaddeus Jones. During that arraignment, Madsen’s lawyer had urged the judge not to set bail, arguing that Madsen was “agreeable and cooperative” and that would be hard for him to come up with the money.
As noted, prosecutors said in court that Madsen told police that it felt like “the right time” for him to attack Bret on Saturday night during the induction. He was quickly taken down by security and a group of wrestlers and other people, including Ronda Rousey’s boyfriend Travis Browne, Dash Wilder, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Shane McMahon, The New Day, Bret himself and others. Madsen was taken to the back by security and handed over to police, then booked in jail.
Hart and Jones were examined at a local hospital but released after the incident. Hart was said to be dealing with pain and stiffness in his hip after the incident. Jones was kicked in the ribs by Madsen.
WWE issued a statement on the incident and said the man has been turned over to the proper authorities. Their statement read like this: “An over-exuberant fan surpassed our security at ringside and made his way briefly into the ring. The individual has been turned over to the proper authorities.”
Madsen was linked to bizarre Twitter account that has been sending strange tweets to WWE Superstars for months now, including messages to Triple H and Vince McMahon. Madsen is also due in court next week to face stalking charges from an arrest a few months ago. Madsen was arrested then for allegedly stalking MMA fighter Haris Talundzic. That was Madsen’s third arrest related to the situation with Talundzic.
Bret issued a statement this week that said he was not injured. “What a wild weekend to say the least! First of all I want to thank WWE for not only the Hall of Fame honor for myself and Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart, but for their hospitality with my family and friends,” Bret wrote. “Regarding the ceremony, firstly I want to let everyone know that I am okay and was not injured. If there’s one thing I want everyone to take away from the Hall of Fame ceremony is not so much what happened, but how I wasn’t going to let anything stop me from completing my tribute to my best friend and our team. I’m also glad I got to join @natbynature and @thebethphoenix for their WrestleMania moment. Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts and words.”
