News

Here’s Why Bret Hart Never Appeared For AEW Again

June 18, 2021 • Admin

Remember him? While the company has come a long way, All Elite Wrestling has still not been around that very long. The promotion’s first event was just over two years ago with Double Or Nothing in May 2019. There have been some great moments in the company’s history, including some surprise cameos. Now we know why one such legend never made another appearance. Wrestling legend and WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart made a surprise cameo appearance at AEW’s Double Or Nothing 2019 to unveil the AEW World Title belt. Hart was interrupted by Maxwell Jacob Friedman, who was eventually taken out by Jimmy Havoc, Jungle Boy and Hangman Page. To date, this is Hart’s only appearance with AEW and now we know why that is the case. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Hart did not make another appearance with the company due to being a bit worried about having some heat with Vince McMahon. Hart was also worried about Natalya being punished for him making such an appearance. The deal with AEW was a las..

WWE’s Return Shows May Look Really Different

June 18, 2021 • Admin

You need something new. We are coming up on one of the most important times that WWE has seen in a very long time as fans will be returning to live events for the first time in nearly a year and a half. That is the kind of thing that WWE has been building towards for a good while and it would make sense for the company to push them as hard as possible. They might be doing that in another way. In an interview with Below The Line, WWE’s Lead Production Designer Jason Robinson mention that WWE is considering new sets for the upcoming shows. This would include news staging and graphics, plus additional augmented reality, meaning 3D elements that wrestlers can walk around. There is no word on any specific ideas or changes that will be taking place. WWE’s first show back on the road will be the July 16 SmackDown in Houston, Texas. WWE knows how to do sets. Check out their biggest of the year: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This pos..

WWE May End No Compete Clauses Early

June 18, 2021 • Admin

Sooner than later? There have been a lot of wrestlers leaving WWE this year, with only a handful of them leaving by their own request. WWE has released several wrestlers from their contracts and that means that things are going to get a little more interesting for the other promotions. It turns out that we might be seeing those changes a lot sooner than expected. According to Fightful Select, some released WWE wrestlers have requested that their ninety day no compete clauses be dropped, allowing them to appear for other promotions earlier. The lengths of the requests vary, though WWE has been receptive to granting them. It is not clear how much the WWE wrestlers would still be paid if they get out of their clauses early. There is no word on which wrestlers are attempting to get out of their clauses. You might see them sooner or later. Check out some of the released wrestlers: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains ..

BREAKING: Hell In A Cell Match This Week On SmackDown For The Universal Title

June 18, 2021 • Admin

Let’s do it early. We are less than a week away from WWE’s next pay per view with Hell In A Cell 2021. As the name suggests, the show is built around matches taking place inside the show’s namesake structure. As has been the case with the event over the years, the show will feature multiple matches inside the Cell, but now we might be seeing something a little bit different. WWE has announced that Rey Mysterio will challenge Roman Reigns for the Universal Title in a Hell in a Cell match this week on SmackDown. The match was already scheduled to take place two days later at the pay per view. Mysterio sent out a tweet saying that he could not wait that long, with Reigns responding that he was fine with having the match early. There is no word on what this means for the pay per view card. This will be the third ever Cell match on regular television and the first in over twenty years. It’s eating me up inside. I can’t wait any longer. I want the Hell In A Cell match tomorrow night. @WWER..

WATCH: Top 10 Hell in a Cell Controversies

June 17, 2021 • Admin

They say that Controversy Creates Cash. WWE has posted a new video to its YouTube channel in which they show the Top 10 controversies from Hell in a Cell matches over the years. This is to help promote the upcoming pay-per-view event of the same name this weekend. You can see the video in its entirety below: [This post contains video, click to play] The moments are as follows (from 10-1): Roman Reigns attacks Jimmy Uso, causing Jey to quit Paul Bearer betrays The Undertaker and sides with Kane Edge interferes as a Camera Man and attacks The Undertaker Sami Zayn saves Kevin Owens from Shane McMahon jumping off of the cell on top of him Brock Lesnar kicks down the door to the cell, attacks Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns The Miz and R-Truth get arrested after attacking John Cena and various referees Seth Rollins smashes The Fiend with a sledgehammer and the referee stops the match The Undertaker chokeslams Edge through the ring, sending him to hell Referee Shawn Michaels superkicks ..

Vince McMahon Impressed By Surprising WWE Star

June 17, 2021 • Admin

He has a fan. With so many different people on any given WWE television show, it can be difficult for one of them to stand out more than the others. You can have so many wrestlers who can’t get any extra attention, but sometimes someone comes along who does something a bit more special. That is the case on Monday Night Raw, and it seems that the boss is a fan. According to Fightful Select, Vince McMahon is said to be a fan of Reginald, including his presentation, delivery and abilities in the ring. Reginald is also said to have been easy to work with backstage and open to anything presented to him. Reginald made his main roster debut in December 2020 as Carmella’s sommelier before being moved to Monday Night Raw as Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler’s manager. He has also wrestled against women on both shows. Reginald does have some skills. Check out what he can do: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to pl..

The Rock Earns Unique Distinction

June 17, 2021 • Admin

Makes sense to me. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has been a superstar for a very long time, earning multiple wrestling championships and having many successful box-office films, among others. He can now name another distinction to this long list of accolades. People magazine has recently named The Rock No. 1 on their list of the “Top 100 reasons to love America.” He expressed his gratitude with the following Tweet: Appreciate you @people ? for choosing this big, brown, bald, tattooed T-Rex for your cover ? We shot this in my home state of Hawaii ?? where the positive vibes and mana were ever-present and powerful. On newsstands this Friday ? Enjoy the read! ?? Appreciate you @people ? for choosing this big, brown, bald, tattooed T-Rex for your cover ? We shot this in my home state of Hawaii ?? where the positive vibes and mana were ever present and powerful. On newsstands this Friday ? Enjoy the read! ?? https://t.co/bkW60isgtd — Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) June 16, 2021 In addi..

RUMOR: WWE Planning More Themed Shows

June 17, 2021 • Admin

They have an idea. WWE holds a lot of wrestling shows sin a given year, including three different TV shows in a single week. That can make it rather difficult to fill in all of the time as you can only do so many things to fill in this many shows every seven days. Sometimes you need a special way to make it work and now WWE might be doing just that at a higher frequency. According to the WrestleVotes Twitter account, WWE is planning to hold more themed television shows as fans return. This could include things like Old School Raw, Viewer’s Choice, King of the Ring and more. These events would take place in late 2021 or early 2022. Earlier this week, Adam Pearce hinted at a return of the King of the Ring tournament, though no show has been announced. Hearing WWE is potentially looking at more ‘themed’ live shows upon returning to the road. Old School RAW, KOTR tourney, Viewers Choice ala Cyber Sunday all possible for late 2021, early 2022. — WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) June 17, 2021..

Charlotte Flair Discusses Being A Heel, Andrade to AEW, More

June 17, 2021 • Admin

WWE superstar Charlotte Flair was recently interviewed by Bleacher Report to promote her Raw Women’s Championship match with Rhea Ripley this Sunday at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view. She discussed a number of topics, including the Women’s Division, Andrade to AEW and more. Below are some highlights from the interview: On being a heel: “Yes, I’m the 13-time champion, but really, in the last couple of years, I have not had a successful title run,” Charlotte said. “Yes, I’ve been in the title picture non-stop, but besides the tag titles, I haven’t been the champion, but people just associate me [with that]. So, [I’m thinking], ‘Play into that, go with that,’ but I have been chasing. At the same time, like I said on Raw Talk, do I need a title to be Charlotte Flair? Absolutely not. Am I going to go into this any different? Absolutely not.” “I always want to be a heel,” she said. “When I came back after WrestleMania, there was no questioning what I am. There’s no questioning what side..

Tony Khan Discusses AEW’s Future, WCW Demise, More

June 17, 2021 • Admin

Tony Khan was recently featured in by Forbes in an article about the rise of AEW. He discusses a number of topics, including the future of AEW, the demise of WCW, how the company is not yet profitable, and more. Below are some highlights from the interview: On the future of AEW and its place in the wrestling industry: “I don’t want to be the next ‘blank’ wrestling company of the past—fill in the blank,” Khan says of erstwhile promotions (Vince) McMahon has vanquished over the years. “We love wrestling of the past, wrestling of the present and wrestling of the future… That’s what gives us a great chance to retain and gain audience share.” “There’s no reason why there only needs to be one wrestling company,” Khan says, contradicting the act he put on in the AEW promo. “The wrestling business is hotter now than it’s been in a long time.” On WCW: “I’m glad that WCW failed because it created a vacancy for us to come in and succeed,” Khan says, “but it made it a fairly bleak period for..

WWE Teases Return Of King Of The Ring Tournament

June 17, 2021 • Admin

One more time? Tournaments are about as easy of a concept in wrestling as you can get in wrestling. You take a bunch of people or teams and put them in a bracket with the last one standing winning some kind of a prize. It could be a title, a title shot or something else, including bragging rights. Either way, it can make for some entertaining programming and now we might be seeing it again. King Corbin appeared on this week’s edition of the Bump and discussed the King of the Ring tournament. Later in the day, WWE’s Adam Pearce mentioned that he had many conversations with Corbin about the tournament coming back, telling fans to “stay tuned”. At the moment, no new tournament has been announced. Corbin won the most recent edition of the tournament in 2019 and has worn the crown since. The King of the Ring tournament was first held in 1985 and went on to become an annual pay per view event starting in 1993. It would remain on the schedule until 2002, when it became an event held intermi..

Vince McMahon And More WWE Executives Facing Huge Lawsuit

June 17, 2021 • Admin

The boss is in trouble. WWE is a lot of things, but ultimately it is a business. As a result, the company needs to find out how to make the most money possible to please its stockholders. It can be a heck of a balance to figure out as one wrong move can cause a big problem. That seems to be the case again, as some high level WWE names are facing some legal issues over business moves. According to Fightful, a lawsuit has been filed against the McMahon Family, Triple H and former WWE Presidents George Barrios and Michelle Wilson over selling $300 million of stock. The lawsuits says that the stock was sold while WWE was publicly saying that a new Middle Eastern television deal on the Orvit Showcase Network in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia was coming soon. However the network had moved out of sports broadcasting and WWE misled investors about finding a replacement. The news of the lack of a deal caused WWE stock to drop nearly 30%, with the defendants selling their stock before the news broke. Th..

REVIEW: NXT Great American Bash 2020 Night Two: When Champions Collide

June 17, 2021 • Admin

Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over ten years now and have reviewed over 5,000 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? NXT Date: July 8, 2020 Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida Commentators: Mauro Ranallo, Tom Phillips, Beth Phoenix We wrap up the Great American Bash tonight with the second of two shows. This time around it’s a big one, as NXT Champion Adam Cole faces North American Champion Keith Lee in a title for title match. That could go either way and may be the biggest match NXT TV has ever seen. Let’s get to it. Opening sequence. Candice LeRae vs. Mia Yim Street fight and Mia jumps her from behind during ..

WWE And NXT Stars Slam Fans For Body Shaming Piper Niven

June 17, 2021 • Admin

That is going to get them in some trouble. It can be rather interesting to see a new star debut on WWE television, even if they have been on another show before. That can make for some fun situations as you do not know how the new star is going to be received. However, that might not be the best thing in the world in some situations, which seems to be the case this time around. This week on Monday Night Raw, NXT UK’s Piper Niven made her debut, wrestling in Eva Marie’s place to defeat Naomi in less than a minute. Niven has wrestled for NXT UK since 2017, following an appearance in the Mae Young Classic. She was not given a name and commentary did not recognize her, but it seems that someone has some problems with Niven already. Since Niven’s debut, various fans have posted messages to Twitter, many of which have been critical of Niven’s size and weight. Various WWE and NXT stars have responded as well, criticizing fans for making such comments. Niven herself has responded as well, sa..

You Can Vote For The Best WWE Moment In The ESPY Awards

June 17, 2021 • Admin

That’s pretty mainstream. WWE is in a weird place when it comes to mainstream attention. Things have gotten better in the last few years as WWE has gone PG and they are not on FOX every Friday night, but there is still a big gap between professional wrestling and almost anything else in mainstream sports. Every now and then you see something a little different though, and that will be the case again this summer. WWE has announced that the Best WWE Moment Award will return to the 2021 ESPY Awards. This will be the second version of the award, with Roman Reigns’ return winning the inaugural edition in 2019. This year’s version will be determined by fan voting, with fans being allowed to choose from sixteen options in a tournament style format. Here are the first round matches, with fans being able to vote here: MATCH 1 Dominik Mysterio makes in-ring debut at SummerSlam, with dad Rey Mysterio in his corner Roman Reigns returns to SmackDown and aligns with Paul Heyman MATCH 2 Pat McAfee ..

KB’s Review: The Midnight Express Should Give WWE Sneering Lessons

June 17, 2021 • Admin

You can call wrestling a lot of things, but ultimately it is about telling a story. That can be accomplished in a lot of different ways, but there are a few things that have to be there to make the whole thing work. You need the right characters, the right story and the right actions, but you also need the right energy. If the vibe isn’t right, the whole thing is not going to work out. An old clip made me think about this earlier this week and it kind of shows you something that is missing from modern wrestling. First off, the clip: [This post contains video, click to play] And now, some backstory. This is from Starrcade 1987 in Chicago, with the United States Tag Team Champions, the Midnight Express (Beautiful Bobby Eaton on the left and Sweet Stan Lane on the right. If you somehow haven’t seen them before….egads man get out of this thing and go watch one of the best teams of all time.), on the way to the ring for a non-title Skywalkers (scaffold) match. Jim Cornette and his bodyg..

WWE RUMOR: Good News On Sonya Deville’s Future

June 17, 2021 • Admin

Another shot? There can be a lot of frustrating times as a wrestling fan and one of the most annoying is when you see someone being ready to become a star and being held back. This can happen for a variety of reasons and sometimes it is due to something beyond the wrestler’s control. That was the case again last year but now it seems like we might be seeing someone again. According to Ringsidenews.com, Sonya Deville is training for an in-ring return to WWE. There is no word on when Deville could return to the ring, though WWE has considered bringing her back multiple times throughout the course of the year so far. Deville’s most recent match took place at Summerslam 2020, though she has served as an authority figure since January. Deville has taken time away from an in-ring career while she deals with the legal process involving a man accused of stalking her. Last summer, a man broke into Deville’s home carrying a knife, zip ties and mace, among other items. The case is still waiting..

Back To Normal: Released Name Returns To WWE

June 17, 2021 • Admin

Welcome back. There are a lot of people needed to make a WWE event work. While the wrestlers are the most important part of a show, there are several other roles that need to be filled. Some of these are a lot more prominent than others, but you need the right people involved to make everything work. Now WWE is bringing back someone who could help in a nice way. According to Wrestlinginc.com, Shawn Daivari is back with WWE as a producer. This comes less a week after Daivari was working as a producer at the NWA’s When Our Shadows Fall pay per view. The move comes as WWE is preparing to return to full time touring starting in July. Daivari had worked as a producer for WWE starting in January 2019 but was let go last year due to budget cuts brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic. https://www.wrestlinginc.com/news/2021/06/veteran-wrestler-returns-to-work-for-wwe/ Daivari has been around. Check out some of his time in various places: [This post contains video, click to play] [This pos..

Former WWE Star Stepping Away From Wrestling

June 17, 2021 • Admin

Everyone does it eventually. At some point, every wrestler eventually has to retire. It might be for one reason or another, but it has to happen at some point. Sometimes you see someone get taken out of the ring before they should, but the best situation is a wrestler being ready to retire when they are ready. That is the case with a former WWE star, though it might be earlier than you would expect. Via a post on Instagram, former WWE star ACH, 33, has announced that he is stepping away from wrestling. The post does not go into any details on why he is stepping away or if he plans to return to the ring at some point in the future. His most recent match took place at AAW Take No Prisoners 2021 on May 7 near Chicago, Illinois, where he defeated Danny Vega. ACH has wrestled around the world, including in Japan and Mexico, as well as in Ring of Honor and Impact Wrestling. His highest profile run came in WWE, where he signed in 2019, only to be gone before the end of the year. Eventually ..

We Might Be Getting A Modern Version Of A Classic WWE Character

June 17, 2021 • Admin

He needs someone. There are certain ideas in wrestling that you will see taking place over and over again. It might not be the best idea in the world, but sometimes you need an idea that you know has worked before. It can be even better if the original wrestler can be involved, even in a small way. That seems to be the case in NXT and the story may be about to expand. Last weekend at NXT Takeover: In Your House, LA Knight became the new Million Dollar Champion by defeating Cameron Grimes in a ladder match. Original champion Ted DiBiase brought the title in and had mentioned that he wanted someone to continue his Million Dollar Legacy. During an interview with PWInsider.com, Knight mentioned that he was in search of his own version of Virgil and was currently taking applications. There is no word on if NXT is planning to bring in a Virgil character. Virgil served as DiBiase’s bodyguard for the first several years of DiBiase’s time in the WWF. The pair eventually split in 1991 when Vir..