Tag: WWE

Maria Kanellis Denies Asking For WWE Release

maria kanellis mike denies requesting release wwe contract

Maria Kanellis has released a statement denying that she requested her release from WWE.

It was reported this past week that she and Mike Kanellis asked WWE to release them from their contracts. According to Maria, however, that’s not entirely true.

“I DID NOT ask for my release,” she wrote on Instagram. “Speculation and rumors are running rampant. Someone is playing all the wrestling news sites.”

For what it’s worth, multiple sources confirmed the story. Plus, additional publications have since confirmed their request was denied.

Read Maria’s full statement below.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

WWE Reportedly Offering To Beat Contract Offers From Other Groups, Backstage News On WWE Signings

WWE officials have made it clear to certain talents that they will beat any offer from other promotions, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

This new idea to beat offers came up after Bandido decided to sign with Ring of Honor over WWE. It’s interesting to note that they did not try to beat the offer that Chris Jericho received from All Elite Wrestling. Word is that WWE has told talents that if they can show on paper an offer from another promotion, then they will beat it, and even double it on the spot, if the talent immediately signs with WWE.

With rumors of so many talents looking to leave WWE or sign with other promotions over WWE, Vince McMahon and other company officials are going very hard right now in trying to avoid the idea that people do want to leave, and the concept that talents can get more money elsewhere if they leave or that they can benefit from leaving. This is why WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar keeps getting better offers to keep him from UFC, even though WWE would allow a UFC return for The Beast, and why they have started to push some talents who had been unhappy, because there are viable options for them to leave.

The Observer points to the financial advantage that WWE has over promotions like AEW and ROH, as they are structured for major profits in the future, plus they can and will stockpile talents, even if they don’t have a definite idea on how to use those talents.

On a related note, PWInsider reports that WWE officials have started to approach Superstars whose deals are expiring in the next year, trying to lock them up to longer-form deals. WWE has been locking talents in to five-year deals for some time, including The Miz and Kevin Owens, but the timing is interesting with the launch of AEW and other promotions also getting aggressive with talent signings.

Source: WrestlingINC

News On Rumors Of Dolph Ziggler Leaving WWE

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After turning down an offer to become a WWE producer, there is speculation that Dolph Ziggler may be moving on from the WWE, according to PWInsider.

Ziggler has completely removed the “Dolph Ziggler” name from his social media accounts and he is scheduled for an upcoming comedy tour. Some sources claim to PWInsider that he remains under WWE contract. While some have denied that he is leaving the company, others are suggesting that he will be done on January 31st.

Ziggler has expressed frustration over the years with his position in the company. During an appearance on Edge & Christian’s podcast in late December, Ziggler discussed his role with being “the gatekeeper” and helping get NXT talent over.

“My job of making somebody that should be ready for a world title picture becomes harder and it’s not as much of a shove and if you see the last six months, a year of TV, basically, I’m a gatekeeper to the guys from NXT coming up that they have high expectations for, but if I lose for eight consecutive months before they show up, they are no longer getting that pat on the back to go up a notch, so I almost feel like it’s taking back from my role,” Ziggler said. “So I don’t know what the change would be, either be to switch things up, disappear here and there, or, I’ve said this to the boss on several occasions, I go, ‘I’ve made a career out of almost never winning, which is awesome,’ but I go, ‘at some point, I have to be seen as someone who can win, not just by pulling a needle out of a haystack or a lottery ball saying tonight is finally going to be the night because then it loses all of that luster.’

“Wins and losses don’t matter unless you’re the guy who loses every single night. And, if you’re that guy, then maybe you should be in the dark match, not fighting to see who becomes world champion each night. And even if you do pull that rabbit out of the hat, people know it’s not long term.”

Ziggler hasn’t appeared on WWE television since late last month when he lost to Drew McIntyre in a steel cage match on RAW and he has reportedly not been on the road with WWE in recent weeks. We’ll keep you updated on any further details that emerge regarding Ziggler’s WWE status.

As we previously reported, The Revival, Maria & Mike Kanellis have recently requested their releases from the company. As of this writing, none of the releases have been granted.

Source: WrestlingINC

The Revival Reportedly Asks For Their Release From WWE

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After their match with Lucha House Party on Monday night’s episode of RAW, “The Revival”, Scott Dawson & Dash Wilder asked for their release from WWE management, according to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio.

As you can see in the video below, in storyline, The Revival have recently been outspoken regarding a “conspiracy theory” against them. They claim that, regardless of the effort they’ve shown and no matter what they do, there are numerous controversies that somehow keep them from finally winning tag team gold in the WWE.

The Revival have been on the main roster since April 2017 and have yet to hold any WWE Championship gold. In comparison, fellow NXT alumni and current WWE superstars, Authors of Pain, arrived on the main roster in April of 2018 and became the RAW Tag Team Champions later that same year.

Dawson & Wilder saw much more success in NXT, where they are two-time NXT Tag Team Champions, and won Year-End Awards for Tag Team of the Year and Match of the Year for their match against Johnny Gargano & Tommaso Ciampa in a 2-out-of-3 falls match for the NXT Tag Team Championship at NXT TakeOver: Toronto.

While The Revival requested their release, Meltzer added in the latest edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the release has not been granted yet. He noted that no releases are being granted to anyone asking for them “for obvious reasons.”

As previously noted, WWE superstars Maria and Mike Kanellis have also requested a release from WWE.

Source: WrestlingINC

Mike And Maria Kanellis Recently Requested Releases From WWE

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Pro Wrestling Sheet reports that Mike and Maria Kannellis recently asked for WWE officials to release them from their contracts.

According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, the Kanellis’ have been unhappy with the way they’ve been used in WWE for awhile and finally made the decision a few weeks ago to request their releases.

Mike Kanellis has also once again started selling new shirts on Pro Wrestling Tees.

Mike and Maria Kannellis signed with WWE in April of 2017 and debuted in June at Money in the Bank. Months later, Mike revealed he had been battling addiction and Maria announced she was pregnant. The duo weren’t used much on TV after that, until recently resurfacing on 205 Live.

According to CageMatch.net, Mike Kanellis wrestled on SmackDown Live a total of four times since signing with WWE. The rest of his appearances were largely relegated to Main Event and live events.

WWE doesn’t always grant release requests, so it’s possible nothing comes of this and the couple are simply paid to sit at home until the deal expires.

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet

AJ Styles Impersonates “Stone Cold” Steve Austin

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The dark main event after last night’s WWE 205 Live tapings at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama saw WWE Champion Daniel Bryan retain over AJ Styles by disqualification. Bryan reportedly cut a strong heel promo, which poked fun at Alabama for losing to Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Championship earlier this month. AJ came back and laid Bryan out, also stopping to celebrate with a young fan in the crowd. AJ then impersonated WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin, switching out the beer cans for water bottles, after hitting a Phenomenal Forearm on Bryan. You can see video from the segment below:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bsr0BdOlxD6/

Source: WrestlingINC

WWE SmackDown Live Preview 1/15/19

Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama as the road to Royal Rumble continues.

* Rey Mysterio and Andrade “Cien” Almas to continue their epic series

* The Miz to throw Shane McMahon “The Best Birthday Bash in the World”

* Carmella and Sonya Deville to square up

* What’s next for Becky Lynch and Asuka?

* Will AJ Styles find out how vicious Daniel Bryan can be?

Kevin Owens Has Dropped Weight

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Kevin Owens has dropped a significant amount of weight as he prepares to return to the ring from double knee surgery. As seen below, Owens appeared at the Cavalcade of Customs event in Cincinnati this past Friday and signed autographs for fans.

WWE recently aired a “coming soon” promo for Owens’ ring return but there’s no word yet on when he will be back. There’s speculation on Owens returning in the 30-man Royal Rumble match later this month.

https://twitter.com/DominicDeAngelo/status/1084802882233344000

Source: WrestlingINC

Nikki Cross Debuts On Raw In Tag Match, Heavy Machinery, EC3 and Lacey Evans Appeared

The Riott Squad challenged Bayley and Natalya to find a partner this week for a six woman tag — and it led to Nikki Cross wrestling her first match on RAW!

After weeks of vignettes teasing Nikki’s move to the main roster, the Scottish born Superstar finally made her presence known to join Bayley/Natalya. She then helped her team earn a victory.

Heavy Machinery appeared during the “A Moment of Bliss” segment. EC3, Lacey Evans made brief backstage appearances as well, but neither spoke on camera.

Michael Cole mentioned that before any of the arriving Superstars are assigned to a brand, they’ll be appearing on both shows so the WWE Universe can “see what they got”.

Watch video of Nikki Cross’ RAW debut below.

Watch Otis Dozovic of Heavy Machinery disrupts Alexa Bliss’ interview with Paul Heyman during  “A Moment of Bliss” and his partner Tucker Knight coming out to get him below.

And below you can see the appearances of EC3 and Lacey Evans.

Jerry”The King” Lawler Signs New Two-Year WWE Contract

jerry lawler wwe contract two year deal

Jerry “The King” Lawler says he recently signed a new two-year agreement with WWE and will soon be calling the action during the men’s Royal Rumble.

On the latest episode of Dinner With the King, Lawler revealed his contract was due to expire on January 10th. After informing Kevin Dunn that the deal was about to be up, WWE sent a new offer.

King explained that his new deal is for two years and came with a raise.

In addition to the new contract, Lawler also announced he’ll be on commentary for the men’s Royal Rumble match later this month alongside Michael Cole and JBL.

Listen to the full episode below (this portion begins around 29 minutes in).

Source: Pro Wrestling Sheet