WrestlingINC reports that former TNA Television Champion Gunner may be signing with WWE. Gunner will reportedly take the WWE physical soon, and if he passes, he will start with NXT.
Gunner worked for Impact Wrestling from 2010 – 2015. Since leaving Impact in June of 2015, Gunner has been working the independent circuit.
WWE announced the following:
WWE® TO HOLD TRYOUTS IN DUBAI
DUBAI, UAE and STAMFORD, Conn., APRIL 24, 2017 – WWE® (NYSE: WWE) today announced that it will visit the United Arab Emirates this week in search of the next generation of WWE Superstars by holding a four-day talent tryout in Dubai from April 26-29.
The event, which will be hosted at the newly constructed Dubai Opera House, will give 40 men and women from the Middle East and India the opportunity to showcase their abilities in the hopes of being recruited to begin training at the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in the United States. The talent pool will comprise elite performers with a diverse background in sports and athletics, including power lifters, body builders, martial artists and fitness experts.
“WWE is dedicated to finding the most talented athletes and entertainers from around the world,” said Paul “Triple H®” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events and Creative. “Not only are the Middle East and India important markets to grow our business and reach new fans, but they are also key regions from which to recruit premier athletes who want to pursue the dream of becoming a WWE Superstar.”
The Dubai tryout is the latest example of WWE’s global talent recruiting efforts. In recent years, WWE has scouted rugby and soccer players from Europe, Kabaddi and Kushti athletes from India, and martial artists and boxers from China. In 2016, WWE held a talent tryout in Shanghai, which resulted in the signing of eight Chinese recruits, including Tian Bing, the company’s first-ever Chinese Superstar.
Tonight’s WWE RAW takes place from the Sprint Center Arena with the final build for Sunday’s WWE Payback pay-per-view.
* Braun Strowman to battle Kalisto in a Dumpster Match on Raw
* Alexa Bliss closes in on the Raw Women’s Title
* Will The Miz retaliate against Dean Ambrose?
* Bray Wyatt brings true “Horror” to Raw
* Business gets “personal” between Seth Rollins and Samoa Joe
As noted, former TNA Tag Team Champion Crazzy Steve of The Decay finished up with Impact Wrestling at Friday’s tapings.
Dave Meltzer stated on Wrestling Observer Radio this past weekend that Steve got a job offer from WWE, which he accepted. Steve’s final Impact Wrestling appearance will be on next week’s episode.
As noted, Steve, who made his Impact Wrestling debut in April of 2014 as part of The Menagerie, thanked Impact on his Twitter after Friday’s taping.
Source: WrestlingINC
Back in January it was announced Tajiri would be out of action with a knee injury when he teamed up with Shinsuke Nakamura against Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe at an NXT taping. Tajiri took to Twitter to give an update an his situation. Please note, this is roughly translated from Japanese.
Tajiri said he did have a knee injury, which wasn’t too big of an issue, but at his age (46) the company considered it risky to put him back in the ring. While he was waiting for clearance from the doctor, he did some coaching in NXT. After being in the WWE for about four months, he’s returning to Japan with no regrets. He thanked Triple H, William Regal, and the WWE for giving him another chance in the company.
Tajiri was initially brought back to the WWE for their 32-man Cruiserweight Classic tournament that took place last June. He was eliminated from the tournament by Gran Metalik in the Round of 16.
Source: WrestlingINC
Mauro Ranallo and WWE have mutually agreed to part ways, Ranallo revealed to Newsweek in a new story posted today by Tufayel Ahmed. He will still remain under WWE contract through August 12th.
“WWE and I have mutually agreed to part ways. It has nothing to do with JBL,” Ranallo stated in an email to Newsweek.
As noted, Ranallo was rumored to have had issues with JBL, which reportedly escalated after Ranallo tweeted out results of him winning the “Wrestling Observer Announcer of the Year” award for 2016. JBL was visibly frustrated with Ranallo and went on a public rant on Bring It To The Table in March, stating that Ranallo “has a hundred and 80 something thousand tweets, and by the time this show airs, maybe 2 hundred something thousand.”
“That is a problem, okay? And he [Ranallo] retweets some Internet poll,” JBL said on Bring It To The Table. “We have, what, two million people who watch SmackDown in the United States alone, and you have some Internet poll with 12 people on it?”
Tension had reportedly been building between both men up until that point. Ranallo missed the following SmackDown tapings on March 14th, and has not appeared on WWE television since. Several past stories of JBL’s behavior resurfaced. JBL issued a statement to Newsweek, noting that he would take place in locker room pranks in the past, but WWE addressed his behavior.
“Admittedly, I took part in locker room pranks that existed within the industry years ago,” JBL said. “WWE addressed my behavior and I responded accordingly, yet my past is being brought up because of recent unfounded rumors. I apologize if anything I said playing ‘the bad guy’ on a TV show was misconstrued.”
WWE also issued a statement to Newsweek stating that they “fully investigate any allegations of inappropriate behavior,” including the JBL situation, however it was not clear if the investigation was ongoing. Below is their statement:
“As part of our commitment to creating an inclusive environment, in April 2011, WWE launched our anti-bullying campaign, Be a STAR, which encourages young people to treat each other with tolerance and respect.”As a publicly traded company, that mantra carries forward in our corporate culture. As such, we fully investigate any allegations of inappropriate behavior including the recent alleged situation with John Layfield (aka JBL), despite no formal complaint having been submitted.”
Source: WrestlingINC
Tonight’s WWE 205 Live will take place from the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
* Will Alicia Fox and Noam Dar’s relationship survive?
* Can Austin Aries top TJ Perkins?
Tonight’s WWE SmackDown Live will take place from the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky with the fallout from last week’s “Superstar Shakeup” roster changes.
* Six-Pack Challenge to determine No. 1 contender to WWE Championship
* Kevin Owens seeks to prove he is the “Face of America”
* How will the Superstar Shake-up affect Team Blue’s Women’s Division?
* Will SmackDown’s newest arrivals continue to impress?
Former WWE Superstar Matt “Rosey” Anoa’i passed away on Monday at the age of 47. Matt was the older brother to RAW Superstar Roman Reigns.
WWE issued the following:
WWE is saddened to learn that Matt Anoa’i, known to fans as Rosey, has passed away at age 47. The son of WWE Hall of Famer Sika and older brother of WWE Superstar Roman Reigns, Rosey grew up in the legendary Anoa’i wrestling dynasty.
He debuted in 2002 alongside his cousin Jamal as part of 3-Minute Warning. The imposing, powerful tandem tore through Raw’s tag team division before going their separate ways. Rosey then formed a beloved superhero duo with The Hurricane, which culminated in his first World Tag Team Championship reign.
The Anoa’i family shared the following statement:
“The Anoa’i family is mourning the loss of Sika’s son, Matt aka Rosey, due to an untimely death.
We want to let his fans know that he loved them and the wrestling world so much. In his passing, he left three beautiful young children and a heartbroken family. Please respect the privacy of his children and family as they mourn the loss of this kind, loving, gentle man, who was a father, son, brother and a superhero to us all.
Our family appreciates your prayers and continued support during this very difficult time.”
WWE extends its condolences to Rosey’s family, friends and fans.
WWE is reportedly planning on using the “Broken” character for Matt Hardy. Dave Meltzer reported on Wrestling Observer Radio that WWE is working on a deal with Impact Wrestling to use the character on television, which has yet to be finalized.
As noted, there have been legal issues with Matt Hardy using the “Broken” character with Impact Wrestling claiming ownership of the gimmick. Impact Wrestling recently added a trademark symbol (™) to videos on their YouTube channel containing references to the ‘Broken’ gimmick, including ‘Broken Matt’, ‘Brother Nero’ and ‘Broken Brilliance’. They also sent a cease and desist letter last month to pay-per-view providers airing the ROH 15th Anniversary pay-per-view regarding the intellectual property of the gimmick, which resulted in the Hardys not using most of the mannerisms associated with those characters on the show.
Hardy has been using some of the mannerisms of the “Broken” character on television since returning to WWE at WrestleMania 33 earlier this month. He has also been switching his Twitter description, using “#BROKEN”, “#Version1” and “#Mattitude.”
Source: WrestlingINC
