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VIDEO: WWE Return Takes A Surprising Turn

May 7, 2022 • Admin

That’s a different way to go. There are a lot of ways to present a wrestler, whether they are new or making their return. The way they are introduced can go a long way in determining how well their career goes and it can be rather difficult to make work. WWE has tried a variety of methods over the years and now their latest idea could be an interesting twist on things. Over the last five weeks, vignettes have aired featuring Lacey Evans talking about her childhood and time growing up in an abusive family. Evans chronicled her time dealing with an alcoholic father before finally making it to WWE. This week saw Evans appearing in the arena, but only after having made a request that she be applauded and cheered as she deserved. This could suggest that Evans will be a villain again rather than a heroine as had been suggested before her return. What do you think? Check out Evans’ appearance before the crowd: [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: This is the kind of twist t..

Update On Why Bray Wyatt Has Not Returned to The Ring, Multiple Companies Interested

May 7, 2022 • Admin

I don’t know if he’s getting that again. There are a lot of places for a wrestler to go today, with several of them having the bonus of appearing on national television. Not everyone is going to do that though, which often makes them more interesting that who you are seeing on the shows. It can be fun to see who goes where, and now we know a bit more about someone who is still waiting. Windham Rotunda, better known as Bray Wyatt, was released from WWE in July 2021 and has yet to return to wrestling. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, several companies have been interested in bringing Rotunda in, but the money situation is said to be “far apart”. There is no word on what Rotunda is asking for, but he is believed to have made about $4 million a year in WWE, which does not include merchandise money. Opinion: I’m not sure when or if Rotunda will ever appear in wrestling again but he is certainly one of the biggest names on the free agent market. While I would love to see him..

WWE Is Going To Take A Special Look Back At An All Time Legend

May 7, 2022 • Admin

I’d say he deserves it. There are certain wrestlers who have managed to become all time stars in WWE. These are the names who have had some of the biggest impacts in the history of the company and whose legacies continue long after they hang up their boots. WWE has a history of honoring these legends and that is going to be the case again soon as it is anniversary time. In honor of the 20th anniversary of his WWE debut on May 9, 2002, WWE will begin Batista Week on Monday May 9. WWE will be celebrating the week with special looks back at Batista’s career on its social media channels, including Top 10s and playlists. There is no word on if Batista himself will make any kind of appearance during the week. This comes less than a month after WWE celebrated the 20th anniversary of Randy Orton’s debut. With the 20-year anniversary of @DaveBautista's WWE debut just around the corner, join WWE in honoring The Animal all week long! #BatistaWeek pic.twitter.com/uUpKJ16knh — WWE (@WWE) Ma..

AEW Likely Introducing New Set Of Titles

May 7, 2022 • Admin

All the more gold. Titles are the most important concept in a wrestling promotion and often what the main stories revolve around. Anyone can understand the idea of a wrestler wanting to be the best so wrestling companies run with the concept. You can see a variety of championships in almost any promotion at any time, including the biggest in the world. That is certainly the case in AEW, but now they might be adding several more titles all at once. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AEW has had a set of trios titles created a set of trios titles, meaning that the championships are likely to be introduced to the company. This is something that AEW President Tony Khan has hinted at before but nothing has ever been confirmed. There is no word on when the titles will be introduced or how the first champions will be crowned. Opinion: This is the kind of thing that shouldn’t be the biggest surprise as AEW has so many three man teams who could be in the running for the first cha..

Impact Wrestling Results – May 5, 2022

May 7, 2022 • Admin

Impact Wrestling Date: May 5, 2022 Location: Majed J. Neshewat Convention Center, Poughkeepsie, New York Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan It’s the go home show for Under Siege, which has come up rather fast after Rebellion took place just a few weeks ago. Last week saw Tomohiro Ishii announced as the new #1 contender to Josh Alexander, which should be a nice trial by fire for the new champion. It’s time for the final push towards Under Siege so let’s get to it. Opening recap. Tonight it’s Monster’s Ball with PCO vs. Jonah and they actually bring back the “they’ve been locked away for 24 hours” deal. Brian Myers vs. W. Morrissey Tables match. Morrissey hits a running splash in the corner and goes outside to load up the first table. That is broken up with a slingshot dive to the floor but Morrissey fights up again. Another table is loaded up but Myers is right back to cut him off as we have a theme going here. Instead Myers sets up his own table, only to have to escape a ..

SmackDown Live Coverage And Results – May 6, 2022

May 7, 2022 • Admin

Smackdown Date: May 6, 2022 Location: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole It’s the go home show for Wrestlemania Backlash and that means we need to hype up the six man tag which totally serves some kind of a purpose. I’m not quite sure what that purpose is but I’m sure it’s there. Other than that, it might be time to add one or two more matches to the card. Let’s get to it. The post SmackDown Live Coverage And Results – May 6, 2022 appeared first on WrestlingRumors.net.

AEW Rampage Results – May 6, 2022

May 6, 2022 • Admin

Rampage Date: May 6, 2022 Location: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena, Baltimore, Maryland Commentators: Chris Jericho, Excalibur, Ricky Starks, Taz We are on the way to Double Or Nothing and that means it is time to start hammering things down. Therefore, it means we are still wrapping up the qualifying matches for the Owen Hart Foundation tournaments, as they have now entered their third month. Maybe this show can be better than Dynamite though so let’s get to it. Opening sequence. Britt Baker/Jamie Hayter vs. Toni Storm/Ruby Soho Rebel is here too. Storm runs Hayter over to start and drives her into the corner to take over. Baker comes in and gets taken down by Soho, who ducks a superkick and rolls her up for two. The villains take over though and we take an early break. Back with Storm fighting her way out of the corner and the double tag brings in Ruby to elbow Baker down. Everything breaks down and Baker’s Pittsburgh Sunrise is broken up but Baker counters Storm Zero into ..

Big E Provides Update On His Neck Injury

May 6, 2022 • Admin

That’s not great. Big E has taken to Twitter to provide an update on the neck injury that he sustained a couple of months ago. He tweeted out the following: For those desirous of an update, my C1 apparently isn’t healing optimally. I’ll spend another 4-6 weeks in a brace in hopes that I can avoid a fusion. But don’t you fret! I’ve got a tremendous support system & what shall be shall be. For those desirous of an update, my C1 apparently isn’t healing optimally. I’ll spend another 4-6 weeks in a brace in hopes that I can avoid a fusion. But don’t you fret! I’ve got a tremendous support system & what shall be shall be. — Ettore “Big E” Ewen (@WWEBigE) May 6, 2022 Big E was injured on the March 11, 2022 episode of Smackdown. He, along with Kofi Kingston were in a match with Sheamus and Ridge Holland, when a miscue on a throw from Holland caused E to land on his neck. He had to be stretchered out of the arena and has not been on television since. We will continue to monitor the situa..

Backstage News On Plans For WrestleMania Backlash Main Event

May 6, 2022 • Admin

So that was the plan? We are coming up on WrestleMania Backlash which is always in a tough spot. WWE is trying to follow up on WrestleMania while also doing something to get things off on a new foot. That is a rather tricky balancing act and WWE has the card all set up. The show has a bit of an interesting main event, and now we know what WWE was thinking when they set it up. One of the main events of WrestleMania Backlash will see RKBro/Drew McIntyre vs. the Bloodline. The match was originally a Tag Team Title unification match between RKBro and the Usos but Roman Reigns and McIntyre were added to make it a non-title six man. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the six man tag was always the plan for the match, even with the Tag Team Title match being announced. McIntyre vs. Reigns is still planned for later this year but there is no word on if the Tag Team Title unification match is still planned. Opinion: This makes me all the more confused, as I’m not sure why WWE wou..

Another Star Gone From WWE (But For A Different Reason)

May 6, 2022 • Admin

There goes another one. There are all kinds of people on the WWE roster, to the point where the wrestlers have been grouped together into different groups. This includes the main roster as well as the NXT developmental rosters, where wrestlers still appear on national television. However, one of those stars will no longer be around as her deal with the company has expired. According to Fightful Select, Candice LeRae’s WWE deal has expired, making her a free agent. LeRae has been gone from WWE television last summer as she went on maternity leave, with her son being born in January. Since her WWE contract expired and she was not released, she will have no non-compete clause and is eligible to wrestle anywhere she wants at any time. There is no word on where she is expected to appear next. Opinion: This is something you had to expect as LeRae had not been around in a long time as her contract continued to run. At the same time, LeRae leaving makes sense as there is not a lot she could ..

Backstage Speculation On Political Arrangement Between AEW And Impact Wrestling

May 6, 2022 • Admin

It’s a bit complicated. While WWE and AEW are the dominant forces in professional wrestling, there are certainly other promotions in the industry which deserve some attention. That includes various companies that have national television deals, meaning that they some influence of their own. It turns out that you got to see it on television this week, even if you did not realize it at the time. This week’s edition of AEW Dynamite featured a match between AEW’s Wardlow vs. Impact Wrestling’s William Morrissey, with Wardlow getting the win with a powerbomb. According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, the ending of the match was likely political, as Wardlow has mainly been using multiple powerbombs to defeat wrestlers. The idea is that Impact Wrestling allowed Morrissey to appear and lose, but only with Wardlow not beating him into the ground. Meltzer did make it clear that he was not told this and was speculating. There is nothing to suggest that Morrissey till be a regular in..

How A WrestleMania Match Had Its Time Severely Cut Down

May 6, 2022 • Admin

That’s a big cut. Over nearly the last forty years, WrestleMania has become the preeminent wrestling event in the world. Very little even starts to come close to what the show means and getting to work on the show is a very important part of a wrestler’s career. This is the case if you are new or a veteran, but it turns out that two veterans had their time at WrestleMania severely cut. During this week’s edition of his Monday Mailbag, former WWE referee Mike Chioda talked about the WrestleMania 35 match where Samoa Joe defeated Rey Mysterio in a match that lasted fifty eight seconds. According to Chioda, the match was originally planned to run about twenty minutes but was then cut down to twelve. Finally, once Mysterio was in the ring, Chioda was told to end the match almost immediately. Chioda did not know why the match had so much of its time cut. Opinion: Unfortunately this kind of thing happens occasionally, even when the show was lasting about seven hours, including the Kickoff ..

Run It Back: Two Former WWE Stars Planning Return To The Ring

May 6, 2022 • Admin

Welcome back. There are a lot of wrestlers throughout the world and some of them have managed to make it all the way to WWE. That is the elite level for several wrestlers and it means a lot to get to appear for the company. However, at some point those wrestlers are going to leave WWE but it does not mean their career is over. That is the case again with a pair of former stars. According to Fightful Select, former WWE Raw Tag Team Champions the Authors of Pain are returning to the ring. Should this take place, it would be the team’s first match since the March 9, 20202 Monday Night Raw. There is no word on when or where the team will be wrestling again. The team was released from WWE in September 2020 after several months of activity. Opinion: This would certainly be a cool thing to see as the Authors of Pain were a good monster pairing who could have been around WWE for a lot longer than they were. I’m still not sure how WWE didn’t think there was at least some value in them, as you..

WWE Making Plans For Major Expansions Of Developmental Program

May 6, 2022 • Admin

Investing in the future. WWE has more money than they know what to do with and they continue to bring in even more money every single year. They know how to make money like no other wrestling promotion and there is a chance that will continue for a long time to come. The company does have to think about its future though and that is what they are planning on soon. WWE held its first quarter financial conference call this week and according to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com, the company announced plans to expand its Performance Centers. There is no word on how or when these processes will begin. In addition, the idea of adding new Performance Centers internationally is currently on hold, with no idea of when the project could continue. WWE claim they're looking at expanding and improving on their Performance Centers. I've heard recently that the global expansion was still "on hold" in that regard. — Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) May 5, 2022 Opinion: This ..

AEW Star Injured Again, To Miss 6-9 More Months

May 6, 2022 • Admin

Ouch, again. Injuries are a part of the wrestling world and unfortunately they can take out anyone at any given time. There is no way around this for any wrestler and you never know when someone is going to go onto the shelf for a long time. Unfortunately that seems to be the case again, and this time around it is someone who has not even been back in the ring that long since their last horrible injury. During an appearance on the Universal Wrestling Podcast, AEW’s Malakai Black revealed that Darius Martin was involved in a car crash which will put him out of action for another six to nine months. There is no word on the nature of the accident or what kind of injuries Martin suffered. This comes less than two months after Martin returned to action following a torn ACL. He only wrestled eight matches before he was injured again. Opinion: That is another level of snake bit and that is never something you want to see. Martin is a young, talented star but unfortunately he isn’t going to ..

WWE Very Impressed By Appearance Of Former Star

May 6, 2022 • Admin

He has their eye. WWE is a rather powerful wrestling promotion and can bring in just about anyone that they want. Other than some top stars who are practically tied to their promotion, most wrestlers will listen when WWE comes calling. That call might come after someone has left WWE in the first place and that might be the case again with a former WWE star. This week’s edition of AEW Dynamite included a surprise appearance from William Morrissey, formerly known as Big Cass during his time in WWE. According to the Mat Men Pro Wrestling Podcast, WWE was impressed by Morrissey’s appearance. There is no guarantee that WWE will be attempting to bring Morrissey back in when his Impact Wrestling contract expires, but they were impressed. Morrissey was released from WWE in June 2018. Opinion: I can’t say I’m surprised that WWE is interested in Morrissey, as he is the kind of person that WWE would absolutely love. What matters most is that Morrissey now seems to be clean and clear of his alco..

Serious Problem At This Week’s AEW Dynamite Almost Put Show In Danger

May 5, 2022 • Admin

Talk about a dark match. There are a lot of matches taped at an AEW event, as the company films not only Dynamite, but also Rampage and Dark: Elevation. That makes for a rather long night as there is so much stuff to cover at once. The same time frame was in place this week, but things were delayed as there was a situation in the building that made the match a little more difficult. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, there was a power failure at this week’s Dynamite taping, which caused some changed to the Dark: Elevation schedule. During a match between Max Caster and Cheeseburger, the power went out near the entrance and at the commentary desk. The match was able to finish, but the following match between Nyla Rose and Skye Blue could not be taped, resulting in it just being for the live audience. The show’s scheduled main event was then taped after Dynamite and before Rampage. The problem was fixed before Dynamite went on the air at 8pm EST. Opinion: That certainly could have ..

KB’s Review: All The Changes

May 5, 2022 • Admin

To put it mildly, there is a lot of WWE programming out there. With so many hours of content every week, it can be difficult to keep up with everything that WWE is offering. It doesn’t help that the shows are already pretty long in the first place, meaning that there is quite a bit to see week to week. It can certainly be done, but seeing and remembering everything the company offers is more than a bit tricky. With that being complicated enough, it isn’t made better when WWE decided to make things that much harder. Over the last few months (if not a lot longer), WWE has seemingly gone out of its way to change a bunch of things at the drop of a hat. This has ranged from major matches already announced to characters to wrestlers’ names, leaving things looking very different for a lot of people almost overnight. While I’m sure there is some twisted Vince McMahon logic behind the whole thing, it can be incredibly frustrating to deal with and that is what we are going to be looking at toda..

Hilarious VIDEO: Randy Orton Hides During SmackDown Lumberjack Match

May 5, 2022 • Admin

I mean, he has a point. Last week’s edition of Monday Night Raw was focused on Randy Orton, who was celebrating twenty years as part of the WWE. That is a number that almost no one reaches and it is very impressive to see anyone get that far. Orton has certainly earned the praise that he receives and he is still very good today. Now he is showing just how smart he can be too. Last month, Orton served as a lumberjack in a match between Sami Zayn and Drew McIntyre. During the match, McIntyre hit a running flip dive onto the lumberjacks at ringside. Before McIntyre was diving, a fan filmed Orton laying on the ground away from the pile. The fan asked Orton why he was down and he said he didn’t want to get landed on, as seen in a video that has made its way to Twitter. That’s a smart Viper. Check out Orton’s logical move: [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: This is the kind of thing that you don’t get to see very often but shows how Orton is rather smart at what he does. ..

REVIEW: Backlash 2005: Keep On Fighting

May 5, 2022 • Admin

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over twelve years now and have reviewed over 6,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net. It could be anything from modern WWE to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as really, how good or bad can something that short be? Backlash 2005 Date: May 1, 2005 Location: Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire Attendance: 14,000 Commentators: Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler It’s the follow up to Wrestlemania and that means we’re in for a rematch for the Raw World Title with HHH challenging Batista for the title. Other than that, we have the ultimate teaming of Shawn Michaels/Hulk Hogan vs. Muhammad Hassan/Daivari because we need a way to get to what is likely going to be Shawn vs. Hogan at a big show. Let’s get to it. The opening video i..