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Former WWE Star Makes AEW Debut (MINOR SPOILER)

May 2, 2022 • Admin

Welcome to the team. One of the major benefits of the rise of AEW has been seeing several wrestlers getting the chance to shine on a stage other than WWE. That is something that has been missing from the wrestling world for a very long time now and AEW has done a lot to make things better. Now we are getting to see that again, as another former WWE star is making his AEW debut. As seen on images that are circulating online, former WWE star and former NXT North American Champion Leon Ruff debuted for AEW at a recent Dark taping. Ruff appeared on Sunday in Orlando, Florida in a match taped for AEW Dark, though it is not clear who he will be facing or when the match will air. Ruff was released from his WWE contract on August 6, 2021 and has wrestled on the independent circuit since. Hey! That's @LEONRUFF_ #AEWDark pic.twitter.com/sytUmMWyKF — JJ Williams (@JJWilliamsWON) May 1, 2022 Opinion: I know Ruff might not be everyone’s cup of tea due to his small stature but it is nice to..

WATCH: Roman Reigns Calls Out The Rock At WWE Live Event

May 1, 2022 • Admin

That would be the big one. There are very few true dream matches left in the WWE. With so many matches being presented at any given time, it can be difficult for the company to come up with something new that fans will want to see. Those things do happen though, and there was another indication that what might be an all time dream match could be a possibility. WWE is currently in Europe on a live event tour, including a show in London, England on Saturday. The show was headlined by Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns successfully defending his title against Drew McIntyre. Following the match, Reigns thanked the fans for bringing their energy to the show. A fan shouted something about the Rock, with Reigns responding that “The Rock can get it too.” Rock vs. Reigns has been discussed as a possible WrestleMania 39 main event, though the match has yet to be confirmed. It’s weird to see Reigns like this. Check out Reigns breaking character and addressing the London crowd: [Thi..

Say What? WWE Releases Suggest Major Communication Issues With Creative

May 1, 2022 • Admin

They might want to work on that. WWE is the largest wrestling company in the world and that brings a lot of benefits. They are able to do things that other promotions are unable to do, but at the same time the status can cause some problems. With so many people in the company it can be difficult to keep track of everything, and that seemed to be the case earlier this week. On Friday, WWE released ten names from NXT, including several wrestlers. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, the amount of wrestlers who were released while involved in televised storylines suggests that the NXT creative team did not know the releases were coming. This includes Malcolm Bivens, who gave no indication that he would be done with the Diamond Mine stable anytime soon. Opinion: This wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest, as WWE has a tendency to make these moves out of nowhere with little communication beforehand. If that is the case, I certainly feel sorry for NXT, as they now have to come up with so..

WWE Had Main Roster Plans For Recently Released NXT Name

May 1, 2022 • Admin

They had a shot. There are so many wrestlers in WWE and some of them have quite a bit of talent. They can do things in the ring that are hard to believe but somehow make it work anyway. However, some of them need someone to do their talking for them as it is not their forte. WWE understood this with a certain current star and had some ideas for him, but only one of them wound up working. Earlier this week, WWE released several names from NXT, including Malcolm Bivens. According to Fightful Select, WWE had discussed bringing Bivens to the main roster as Omos’ manager, though MVP wound up in the role. Another name considered for the spot was LA Knight, who has been working as a manager in dark segments before SmackDown. Bivens was released after making it clear that he would not be signing a new deal with WWE. Opinion: That is something that could have gone very well had WWE put the whole thing together, though I get why it might not have worked. At the end of the day, if Bivens did no..

It’s A Good Weekend: AEW Team Picks Up Some Gold (With Some Chicanery)

May 1, 2022 • Admin

It suits them. There are certain wrestlers who are perfectly suited as villains and the fans can sense it. They know when these wrestlers are as vile as can be and they deserve to be booed. It makes sense for wrestling promotions to present them in ways that are going to draw as much heat from the crowd as possible and now two of the best around are getting additional help. Sammy Guevara and Tay Conti won the AAA World Mixed Tag Team Titles at TripleMania XXX on Saturday night, defeating Maravilla/Latigo, Sexy Star II/Komander and defending champions Los Vipers. Guevara came to the ring on a crutch and had Parka Negra take his place, only to use his crutch to beat everyone up and score a double pin with Conti to win the titles. He also offered to pay off the referee. #andNEW! Sammy Guevara & Tay Conti are the new AAA Mixed Tag Team Champions!#TripleManiaXXX pic.twitter.com/2rajHWgsdC — AUTHORS OF WRESTLING (@authofwrestling) May 1, 2022 Opinion: This is a good move for everyone inv..

Mark Your Calendars: NXT May Have A Strange Schedule For Upcoming Major Events

May 1, 2022 • Admin

At least they have a plan. NXT has undergone some major changes in the last eight or so months, as the promotion has been relaunched as NXT 2.0. This has meant a major shift for everyone involved and that has not been the easiest thing. A lot of the older traditions have gone away, including the Takeover specials. Now though, NXT does have plans for something that sounds pretty cool. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, NXT’s current plan is to hold a special event in June on the USA Network called In Your House. There would also be a special event in August airing on Peacock, though the event would not take place over Summerslam weekend. NXT’s most recent major event, Stand & Deliver, took place over WrestleMania weekend on April 2. Opinion: That sounds like a pretty logical schedule, as NXT has to have some major events to build towards in the future. In Your House has been around in NXT for a few years now and it would make sense to put it on the NXT schedule again. It ..

Hang On: Possible Reason For WrestleMania Backlash Match Change

May 1, 2022 • Admin

It might be a little while. The main event of WrestleMania 38 saw Roman Reigns defeat Brock Lesnar to unify the WWE Title and the Universal Title. The win made Reigns even more of a dominant force in WWE and the question now is who could possibly defeat him. There are a few options out there, but it might be a little while before you see the title on the line again. This week on SmackDown, a six man tag was announced for WrestleMania Backlash. The match will see the Bloodline, comprised of Reigns and the Usos vs. RKBro and Drew McIntyre, meaning Reigns will not be defending his title. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, WWE is likely setting up McIntyre vs. Reigns in the next title match at an upcoming stadium show, possibly in Las Vegas for Summerslam or Cardiff, Wales for Clash At The Castle. Opinion: That is quite the stretch for time between title matches, assuming that Reigns doesn’t defend until July or September as might be the plan. While having one title over all of them ..

WWE Makes Major Change To WrestleMania Backlash Card, Top Match Off

April 30, 2022 • Admin

Now it’s bigger. We are just over two weeks away from WWE’s WrestleMania Backlash pay per view but WWE has not exactly put much on the card. The show was lacking a main event, though the unification match between the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Champions did seem important. Now we know the show’s main event and it is a little bit different. This week on WWE SmackDown, Roman Reigns interrupted a contract signing between RKBro and the Usos for the Tag Team Title unification match at WrestleMania Backlash. Drew McIntyre came out and helped fight off Reigns and the Usos. Later, Reigns’ special counsel Paul Heyman told Adam Pearce to make a six man tag for the WrestleMania Backlash rather than the Tag Team Title match. The new match was made later in the show, with no titles being on the line at the moment. Opinion: I’m not entirely sure I get the thinking here but this certainly seems to be a match that takes away a lot of the importance. Maybe this leads to a bigger match down the line, ..

WATCH: Former WWE Stars And Wrestling World React To Recent Releases

April 30, 2022 • Admin

They have something to say. One of the biggest wrestling stories in recent years has been the amount of wrestlers released from WWE. The company has let all kinds of wrestlers go over the last few years with well over a hundred names leaving in one way or another. Even more names were added to the list today and some of them have already responded to their releases in various ways. WWE released ten names from the company on Friday, with all of the releases coming from NXT. Since then, several of the names have responded online, with no one saying anything negative. Instead, the responses have either praised WWE or talked about how the wrestlers are looking forward to their futures. While not all of the released names have commented, here is what has been said so far, from both the released and the rest of the wrestling world: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] PARKER BOUDREAUX…is back? pic.twitter.com/LwRZ66W0cD — PARKER BOUDREAUX (..

Big Ouch: Another AEW Star Suffers Injury During Dangerous Match

April 30, 2022 • Admin

It shouldn’t be a surprise. There are all kinds of wrestling matches that anyone can have but there are some that are a lot more dangerous than others. No matter how much training or practice you might have, there is always the chance that someone is going to get injured. That was the case again this week, as an AEW star was injured during a rather dangerous match. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, AEW’s Sammy Guevara was injured during a ladder match against Scorpio Sky this week on Dynamite. During the match, Guevara attempted a 630 body block from the ladder but came down too fast, meaning Sky could not catch him. Guevara landed on his neck and shoulder but did continue the match, which he ultimately lost. It is not clear how severe the injuries are or how long Guevara might be out of action. Opinion: What matters most is Guevara’s health, because that was a horrible looking landing. At the same time, it isn’t even that much of a surprise as Guevara has a tendency to..

REVIEW: ECW On Sci Fi – October 30, 2007: Mashy

April 30, 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? ECW On Sci Fi Date: October 30, 2007 Location: Nassau Coliseum, New York City, New York Attendance: 12,300 Commentators: Joey Styles, Tazz It’s the Halloween special and this time around that means we have the Monster Mash four man battle royal between Kane, Great Khali, Mark Henry and Big Daddy V. They are leaning heavily into the freak show idea here and that is not a bad idea. I could go for seeing what else they have going on here now that Cyber Sunday is gone so let’s get to it. We open with a Halloween them..

WRESTLING RUMORS: Money, Money: WWE Has Gotten Another Huge Payday For Very Little Work

April 30, 2022 • Admin

That’s a pretty sweet deal. WWE has long since been the biggest and most powerful wrestling company in the world. They also make by far the most money, with a lot of that coming from the simple idea of renting out their name. The WWE name still means a lot in the way of promotion, and that was on display again recently, albeit to the tune of a six figure payday. WWE has been promoting an upcoming boxing match between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano on its social media platforms. According to Sportico, the deal with DAZN, the company presenting the fight, has brought nearly $500,000 in to WWE. The deal was put together by Stephanie McMahon and the winner of the fight is being awarded a custom Raw Women’s Title. Boxing superstars meet WWE superstars ?#TaylorSerrano pic.twitter.com/cfR651EbHK — DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) April 29, 2022 ? @BeckyLynchWWE introduces @katietaylor ?? Watch LIVE here: https://t.co/UVk8o07f3Lhttps://t.co/FoiaUucafv ? https://t.co/GDriDZOecz#TaylorSerrano pic..

Important Detail On Bret Hart’s New WWE Deal

April 30, 2022 • Admin

That makes things more interesting. The battle between WWE and AEW has certainly shaken up the wrestling world and that has been a good thing. In addition to providing fans with more wrestling content, it has also given those in the wrestling industry a better chance to make money. That seems to be the case again with a certain legend, and now we know more about it. Earlier this month, news broke that Bret Hart had signed a new contract with WWE. According to the Wrestling Observer newsletter, the deal that Hart signed is a merchandising deal. There is no word on what this means in regards to Hart being able to appear elsewhere, including potentially with AEW. However, AEW is reportedly operating under the assumption that he is not available, including for the Owen Hart Foundation tournaments that begin next month. Opinion: Whether he can appear for AEW or not, this seems to be good news for Hart. Anything that lets fans have some new Hart merchandise while putting some money in his ..

A New Endeavor: Backstage News On Why Two Wrestlers Are Going On Hiatus

April 30, 2022 • Admin

They’re trying something else. Wrestlers have a weird situation when it comes to acting. While they are acting in front of the camera, they are only seen as wrestlers, meaning they do not have many opportunities in mainstream acting roles. Some wrestlers are able to pull it off though and now two more successful wrestlers are going to try their hand at a different form of entertainment. Earlier this week, the IInspiration (Cassie Lee/Jesse McKay) announced that they will be taking a hiatus from the ring for the time being. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the word backstage at this week’s Impact Wrestling TV taping is the team is hoping to try their hands at acting. There is no word on if they have any start on their efforts or any roles in the works. Lee and McKay last wrestled on Saturday at Impact Wrestling’s Rebellion pay per view, losing to the Influence. Opinion: This sounds like something that makes sense on paper but I’m not sure how well it is going to work in..

Welcome Home? WWE Considering A Big Move For NXT

April 30, 2022 • Admin

That would be a different kind of reunion. WWE has a lot of resources available to it but one of the most important is NXT. The company’s own in-house developmental territory allows it to build up stars as it sees fit, which makes things a lot less complicated. Now though, WWE might be making a change to how the developmental territory is set up, or at least where it is set up. According to the Wrestling Observer, WWE is considering bringing back NXT to Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. According to Wrestlinginc.com, one of the reasons for the move was due to the Coronavirus pandemic leaving no students on campus to help put together the production. NXT was produced from the school from 2012-2020, when it was moved to the Capitol Wrestling Center. The two sides split amicably, with a future relationship always a possibility. Opinion: This is certainly something that could work, as Full Sail is a bigger venue and something that can offer a better atmosphere than the Capito..

SmackDown Results – April 29, 2022

April 30, 2022 • Admin

Smackdown Date: April 29, 2022 Location: MVP Arena, Albany, New York Commentators: Pat McAfee, Michael Cole We have a rare taped show from Smackdown this week as the roster is currently over in Europe. WrestleMania Backlash is in just over two weeks and the card could use some spicing up, which we might get this week. If nothing else, things should be interesting as we have our second contract signing in two shows (third if you count this week’s NXT UK). Let’s get to it. Sami Zayn vs. Drew McIntyre Inside a cage after Zayn has run away from McIntyre twice in a row. Drew Gulak, auditioning to be timekeeper, rings the bell so Sami goes for the early escape. That goes as well as expected and McIntyre sends him straight into the cage. It works well enough that McIntyre does it again but Zayn grabs a sunset bomb to send us to a break. Back with Zayn rubbing McIntyre’s face against the cage and then kicking said face into said cage. McIntyre gets in a ram into the cage of his own but Sami..

AEW Rampage Results – April 29, 2022

April 30, 2022 • Admin

Rampage Date: April 29, 2022 Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Ricky Starks, Chris Jericho We’re still in the most serious wrestling city in the country and that should play into AEW’s hands rather well. Rampage is the show that is going to focus on the in-ring action more than anything else and hopefully that makes for a good night. Throw in Danhausen calling out Hook and….I’m really not sure what that is going to mean. Let’s get to it. Opening sequence. Owen Hart Foundation Tournament Qualifying Match: Swerve Strickland vs. Darby Allin Sting is in Allin’s corner as they start with a wrestle off. Neither can get very far until Allin takes him down by the arm. Make that a chinlock for a bit before Allin knocks him to the floor. The suicide dive is cut off by a jumping knee as commentary talks about how well these two know each other. We take a break and come back with Allin working on the knee but Strickland fights up. Swerve knock..

NXT UK Results – April 28, 2022

April 30, 2022 • Admin

NXT UK Date: April 28, 2022 Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd We’re in a bit of a weird place here as there is no major match this week. Last week saw Moustache Mountain cheat to retain the Tag Team Titles and in two weeks, Ilja Dragunov defends the United Kingdom Title against Jordan Devlin. I’m not sure what that leaves us with this week but maybe they have something in mind. Let’s get to it. Opening sequence. Symbiosis vs. Wild Boar/Mark Andrews Eddie Dennis is here with Symbiosis and it’s a big brawl on the floor before the bell. Andrews avoids a kick in the knee and hits a 619 on T-Bone’s leg, setting up a dropkick to the same knee. Boar comes in for a slam on Primate and then drops Andrews onto him for two. It’s back to T-Bone (still favoring the knee) for a forearm to the back and a belly to back suplex for two. Primate hits an elbow to the face as the villains keep taking turns beating on Andrews. T-Bone makes the mis..

Impact Wrestling Results – April 28, 2022

April 30, 2022 • Admin

Impact Wrestling Date: April 28, 2022 Location: Majed J. Nesheiwat Convention Center, Poughkeepsie, New York Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt We’re done with Rebellion and the big story is that Josh Alexander got the World Title back from Moose in a heck of a main event. Other than that, we are less than two weeks away from Under Siege and need to get a card together pretty fast. Odds are we’ll be seeing a bunch of rematches so let’s get to it. The opening recap looks at Rebellion in rapid fashion. Opening sequence. Here is Violent By Design for a chat. Eric Young talks about desiring power and control, and that is exactly what they went and got. Now they have defeated seven teams and are the permanent Tag Team Champions. If you are being honest, their success shouldn’t surprise you and there is no team anywhere that can take them down. Cue Heath and Rhino to say they want the Tag Team Titles but here are the Briscoes to interrupt. Jay says Dem Boys are in the house an..

BREAKING: WWE Releases Nine More From Company (Plus One More)

April 29, 2022 • Admin

Here we go again. WWE has shaken up its roster like never before in recent years, letting well over a hundred names go from the company. It can make for some very tense moments as you do not know how long it might be before someone else is let go. That time seems to have come again, as WWE has released multiple people from the company on Friday afternoon. According to Sean Ross Sapp, WWE has released ten people from their contracts today. All of the names are from NXT and include wrestlers who have been on TV recently, a manager, a referee, and some names who have who not appeared on television frequently. The released names include: Dakota Kai Harland Malcolm Bivens Persia Pirotta Blair Baldwin (referee) Sanjana George Draco Anthony Mila Milani Raelyn Divine Dexter Lumis There is no word on if any more releases are expected soon, though this is reportedly all that will be let go today. Fightful has learned Dakota Kai has been released by WWE. — Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@Se..