Tag: WWE

WWE Hall Of Famer & Father Of Roman Reigns Sika Anoa’i Has Passed Away At Age 79

WWE Hall of Famer Sika Anoaʻi has died at the age of 79. Born Leati Sika Amituana’i Anoa’i, he was the father of Roman Reigns and late WWE star Rosey

Jahrus Anoa’i broke the news that Anoa’i passed away in an Instagram post. He leaves behind his wife Patricia and four children including Roman Reigns. Sika was preceded in death by his son Rosey.

Following in his brother’s footsteps, Sika began training in the early 1970s and made his Stampede debut in 1973. The Wild Samoans made their way to WWF in 1979 and became two-time WWF Tag Team Champions during their initial run. While away from the company for a few years, The Wild Samoans spent time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Mid-South, and Georgia Championship Wrestling.

Upon returning to WWF in 1983, Afa and Sika regained the WWF Tag Team Championship and reigned for several months that year. Sika returned again in 1986 as a singles competitor before teaming up with Kamala. His last televised WWF match would be a battle royal at WrestleMania IV, which was won by Bad News Brown.

Sika wrestled nearly a dozen more times following his sole WrestleMania bout, and his last match took place on the indies in 2006. The Wild Samoans were then inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007 and remained active as trainers at their own school in Florida.

After news broke Tuesday that WWE Hall of Famer Sika Anoa’i had died at the age of 79, his son Roman Reigns took to X (formerly Twitter) to share a tribute to his late father. 

“My family and I thank everyone for the outpouring of support in the name of my father, Pola’ivao Leati Sika Anoa’i, who will forever be remembered as one half of The Wild Samoans tag team,” he said. “My father had a profound impact on my entire family and we are forever grateful for the foundation he built for us. There’s no way to fill the void left by his passing but my sisters and I will do our best to represent him and his legacy. Rest in Power, Dad. We love you.”

https://twitter.com/WWERomanReigns/status/1805778972783034801

Source: Wrestling Inc.

WWE NXT Preview 6/25/2024

Tonight’s WWE NXT on USA Network.

  • NXT Heritage Cup Match: Tony D’Angelo (c) vs. Nathan Frazer
  • NXT Tag Team Championship #1 Contenders Tag Team Turmoil Match: The O.C. vs. Chase U vs. New Catch Republic vs. Edris Enofe & Malik Blade vs. Humberto & Angel
  • Trick Williams vs. Shawn Spears
  • Sol Ruca vs. Arianna Grace
  • Wes Lee vs. Joe Coffey
  • Tavion Heights vs. Damon Kemp

Ludwig Kaiser Reportedly Injured On WWE RAW

Ludwig Kaiser reportedly suffered an injury on the June 24 episode of WWE RAW, and it prompted WWE to change plans.

Kaiser faced Bron Breakker on Monday’s show, and the referee checked on him during the bout. Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer stated that he heard that Kaiser was hurt. However, he noted that he did not know how serious the injury was. (H/t Ian Carey of F4WOnline.com)

Likewise, WrestleVotes reported that they heard that Ludwig Kaiser suffered an injury during the match. The report noted that Kaiser was scheduled to compete in the Money in the Bank qualifying match with Drew McIntyre and Sheamus on the July 1 episode of WWE RAW. WWE announced that Ilja Dragunov would be the third participant in that match.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reported that there was concern that Kaiser was injured backstage on Monday.

Source: WrestleZone

Bo Dallas Explains Motivation Behind Wyatt Sicks To Uncle Howdy Alter Ego On WWE Raw

The Wyatt Sicks’ resident Abby the Witch, formerly known as Nikki Cross, delivered a message to the WWE Universe from Uncle Howdy and Bo Dallas on “WWE Raw,” all while giving Chad Gable another scare. Gable was taken out backstage in an attack by the Wyatt Sicks during their debut on “Raw” last week, but was cleared to compete after suffering what looked like a head injury from the debuting faction, ultimately qualifying for the Money in the Bank ladder match by defeating “Big” Bronson Reed and Braun Strowman.

Gable — whose digital graphics could be seen glitching as he approached and entered the ring — was celebrating his victory in the ring when the lights in the arena shut off, a chilling piano tune began, and fog filled the ring. Cross crawled into the ring behind Gable, who fell down, and was backed into a corner before making his escape.

Cross then made her way out of the ring and grabbed a package ringside. She handed it off to Michael Cole, who was the only person on commentary. When the broadcast came back from commercial, Cole opened the package, which he said was addressed to his co-commentator Pat McAfee, who was not present after receiving another Wyatt Sicks scare on an episode of his ESPN show earlier in the day. The package contained a VHS tape that said “play me” on the side.

Later in the show (after somebody in production found a VCR, per Cole) the video was played for the audience. The same piano music played to start off the footage, and Uncle Howdy was shown, as the tape flashed to show the entire Wyatt Sicks faction.

–

“Are you happy?” Howdy said in a distorted voice. “How have you been since the loss? Do you feel as though you have been forgotten?”

The late Bray Wyatt’s brother, Bo Dallas, who plays the Uncle Howdy character, was then shown, appearing maskless on WWE TV for the first time since he was released from the company in 2021. He told his alter ego he was “nobody.” Uncle Howdy then asked Dallas how he felt when his brother died.

“Like the most important thing in my life was taken away from me,” Dallas said. “Like nothing was ever going to matter again.”

Uncle Howdy then asked the mourning talent if he thought he was exploiting his brother’s legacy, echoing concerns expressed by many fans in the wake of the Wyatt Sicks’ debut last Monday. Dallas said that all he ever wanted his entire life was to be like his brother. He said he looked up to him and worked his entire career so he could be next to him.

“We were going to rule together. We were there. We had it,” Dallas said. “And then it was taken away from me. There is no one on this earth that feels more hurt than me from his loss. Not one person on this earth feels what I feel. What am I supposed to do? … let everyone forget about what he stood for? What he fought for? What he believed in?” 

Dallas said that they made them “all remember,” to which Uncle Howdy agreed. “Yes, we did,” he told Dallas, and the camera panned to show that Dallas and his alter ego seated across from each other as the footage ended.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Update On Rhea Ripley’s Status

On the April 8th episode of WWE RAW, Liv Morgan attacked Rhea Ripley in a backstage segment which resulted in Ripley suffering a legitimate shoulder injury. She later relinquished the Women’s World Title and was written off WWE television, with an expected return timeframe of around four months.

According to a report from Fightful Select, Ripley has opted to undergo shoulder rehabilitation instead of surgery. Due to this, she may not make it back as early as expected.

With that being said, several preparations have been made so Ripley can return whenever she’s needed. It’s also possible that she could return in a non-wrestling capacity if creative decides to go that route.

While Ripley is expected to continue feuding with Liv Morgan when she returns, the specific story available at the time of her return will determine her creative direction.

Finally, it was added that the hope is that she will make an on-screen appearance in some capacity before SummerSlam 2024.

Source: eWn

Reason Pat McAfee Missed Monday Night’s WWE Raw (Updated)

Pat McAfee missed last night’s WWE Raw due to a reported family emergency.

Raw took place in Indianapolis, where McAfee lives and hosts The Pat McAfee Show. Despite this, McAfee was absent from the commentary team. The Miz filled in briefly alongside Michael Cole, who handled most of the commentary alone.

According to PWTorch, McAfee’s absence was due to a “legitimate last-second family emergency.” McAfee has not yet commented publicly on the situation.

Speculation arose that the storyline might explain McAfee’s absence as being caused by the Wyatt Sicks. This group, which debuted on Raw last week, had caused disruptions on The Pat McAfee Show, leading some to connect the dots.

“My normal broadcast colleague Pat McAfee, not here tonight,” Cole announced at the start of Raw. “I’m not going to read too much into that.”

It’s unclear if McAfee’s absence will be integrated into the Wyatt Sicks storyline. During Raw, a mysterious box was delivered to the commentary desk, containing a VHS tape featuring Bo Dallas/Uncle Howdy talking about Bray Wyatt’s death.

After covering for McAfee, The Miz competed in the main event, where he and R-Truth lost the World Tag Team titles to Finn Balor and JD McDonagh of Judgment Day.

Source: WrestlingHeadlines

UPDATE

Yesterday on The Pat McAfee Show, Pat announced that his Father-In-Law had passed away.

“… Yesterday was a day that is obviously a day that will be remembered forever in our family because my father-in-law passed away unexpectedly after the [talk] show ended yesterday in a hospital here in Indianapolis, Indiana,” McAfee explained on “The Pat McAfee Show.” “He had been in the hospital fighting an infection, and on Friday, we were told that he was probably going to be discharged by Sunday. They had figured it out, and he was going to be okay. So we are all in high hopes with incredible optimism, and then yesterday, literally as the show is ending, my wife calls me and says that I have to get to the hospital because there had been an emergency.”

WWE RAW Preview 6/24/2024

Tonight’s WWE Raw come live on the USA Network from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

  • Men’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Braun Strowman vs. Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed
  • Women’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Match: Lyra Valkyria vs. Shayna Baszler vs. Kairi Sane
  • Karrion Kross vs. Kofi Kingston
  • Bronson Reed vs. Ludwig Kaiser
  • Isla Dawn & Alba Fyre vs. Katana Chance & Kayden Carter
  • Will we see another creepy appearance from Uncle Howdy and his group The Wyatt Sick6

WWE Announces Host City For Royal Rumble 2025, Future SummerSlam & WrestleMania

Wrestling fans in Indianapolis, Indiana, will have plenty to look forward to in the coming years, as WWE is bringing three of its tentpole events to the city. According to a press release put out by the company and the Indiana Sports Corp on Monday morning, the 2025 Royal Rumble and future WrestleMania and SummerSlam shows will emanate from the city as part of a unique partnership.

The first event to hit Indianapolis will be next year’s Royal Rumble, which is scheduled to take place from the Lucas Oil Stadium. No dates have been confirmed for the other premium live events at the time of this writing, but everyone involved is excited about WWE bringing three of its biggest shows to the city.

“We are excited to bring this groundbreaking partnership to Indianapolis and our state,” said Patrick Talty, President of Indiana Sports Corp. “For over four decades, our city’s sports strategy has brought in millions of visitors and priceless hours of international brand-building media coverage. This partnership with WWE continues to push that strategy forward in new and exciting ways. We look forward to welcoming the WWE Universe to our community and state and showing them all that Indy has to offer.”

The company will host “Raw,” “SmackDown,” and “NXT” live events across Indiana in the forthcoming months, but no dates have been confirmed yet. Similarly, WWE and the Sport Corp plan on introducing a collaborative program that will ensure the city benefits from the partnership after the announced shows are over.

While some of the announced Indianapolis shows remain shrouded in secrecy, other cities are already bracing for WWE’s biggest events. WrestleMania 41 has been confirmed for Las Vegas and SummerSlam 2026 is scheduled to emanate from the U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Jacob Fatu Makes Long-Awaited WWE Debut

The newest member of The Bloodline made his debut after the main event of “WWE SmackDown” on Friday, making a big impression after sending Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes through the announce desk with a big splash. Jacob Fatu made his debut to help his cousin, the new “Head of the Table” Solo Sikoa, against Rhodes, Randy Orton, and Kevin Owens following a match between Rhodes and Sikoa. 

Sikoa was set to face off against Rhodes with none of The Bloodline ringside, but Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa made their presence known shortly after the bell rang for the match, causing the disqualification. Orton and Owens ran down the ramp to help Rhodes against the stable, and all three men had Sikoa backed into a corner of the ring, where he started groveling to be spared before breaking his face broke into a grin. That’s when Fatu debuted, sneaking up behind Rhodes, Orton, and Owens, taking the latter two men out before beating down Rhodes. Fatu got him onto the announce desk and hit a big splash from the top rope of the ring, then got back into the ring and hugged Sikoa, and Fatu, Sikoa, Tonga, and Loa raised their “ones” in the middle of the ring as “SmackDown” went off the air.

Fatu, a former Major League Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion, revealed he had agreed to a deal with WWE over WrestleMania 40 weekend back in April. He had been a free agent for much of 2024.

Source: Wrestling Inc.

Pat McAfee Addressed The Power Outage From Yesterday On Show Today.

Yesterday, “The Pat McAfee Show” welcomed on former U.S. Navy SEAL and New York Times bestselling author Jack Carr as a special guest. Amidst the conversation, McAfee, Carr, and show staff turned their attention to some obscure, offstage phenomena, to which McAfee uttered, “What the f*** is that?” Upon Carr’s subsequent mention of security, all the lights switched off, causing the studio to be engulfed in complete darkness. Seconds later, the broadcast came to an abrupt end.

There is speculation that The Wyatt Sicks was behind the power outage.

Today on the show Pat McAfee addressed the situation from yesterday’s show.

“Good morning beautiful people.. At the end of yesterday’s show a startling and eery power outage took place in our ThunderDOME.. It shut down our progrum abruptly and left A LOT of folks worried and confused.. I, just like the rest of the boys, saw the assumptions of the Wyatt Sick6 being the culprits.. and that we might be dead. We were gonna address those rumors earlier but didn’t think anybody would ever understand without actually seeing what happened.. So, we gathered all of our Generator Powered security camera footage to explain.. And all we can say is..”