Search Results: "alvarez"

NEWS

WRESTLING RUMORS: SmackDown Star Reportedly Injured, #1 Contenders Match Possibly Impacted

March 4, 2023

That could change things. There are certain things that can happen to any wrestler at any time and an injury is one of the worst. You never know when you might see someone get injured and anyone can get hurt no matter how trained or experienced they are. Now it seems that a WWE veteran is hurt and that could cause some issues for an upcoming important match. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WATCH: Liv Morgan Meets Fan Who Cried Over Her SmackDown Loss This week on SmackDown, a fatal five way match between Kofi Kingston, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, LA Knight and Karrion Kross was scheduled for next week, with the winner challenging Gunther for the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania 39. However, according to Bryan Alvarez’s Twitter subscription feed by way of Wrestlingnews.co, Kingston has suffered an undisclosed injury this week on SmackDown. There is no word on how long he might be out of action or what this might mean for the five way match. Kingston is very talented when he is in the ring. ..

NEWS

Change Of Plans: NXT Stars Now Allowed To Wrestle Elsewhere, First Case Announced

February 5, 2023

They’re expanding. WWE has all kinds of wrestlers on its roster, including several developmental stars as part of NXT. Those wrestlers are often just starting their wrestling careers and are mainly in need of ring time. The problem is there is only so much time to go around in NXT, but now WWE might have a solution that can make things a bit easier on everyone involved. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: He’s A Wild Card: WWE CEO On Vince McMahon Possibly Stepping Away From The Company According to Bryan Alvarez, WWE will allow NXT wrestlers to work for select independent promotions. There is no word on which promotions will be able to work with WWE, but Booker T. has announced that NXT’s Ivy Nile will be appearing for his Reality of Wrestling promotion on February 11. WWE had a previous arrangement with Evolve Wrestling in the past but has not had such an agreement since. NXT is going to allow talent to work select indies going forward, which is a pretty big deal — Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvare..

NEWS

Ouch: Monday Night Raw Star Injured During Royal Rumble

February 1, 2023

It can happen to anyone. Injuries are one of the worst things to happen to a wrestler as you can see anyone get hurt at any time in any match. The question after that is what happens next, as you never know how long someone is going to be out of action. Another wrestler is hurt, but thankfully things might not be as serious as it can be in various other situations. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Beast Time: Here Is When You Might See Brock Lesnar Back In The Ring This week on Monday Night Raw, Corey Graves mentioned that Dakota Kai was injured during the women’s Royal Rumble, though there are no details on what happened to her. According to Bryan Alvarez, the injury is expected to be minor. Kai did not wrestle this week on Monday Night Raw, but she did appear in a segment with Becky Lynch, who tied a chair around Kai’s leg and threatened her to get a match against Bayley. Kai is a star when she is in the ring. Check out what she can do: [This post contains video, click to play] [This pos..

NEWS

She’s Missed: Backstage Reaction To Mandy Rose’s Surprise WWE Release

December 15, 2022

People are going to talk. There have been a lot of WWE roster moves throughout the year and some of them have been more than a bit surprising. You never know when you are going to see a wrestler leave out of nowhere and that was the case again earlier this week with a surprise release. It was enough of a surprise that it was going to get a reaction, and now we have the important ones. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: If At First You Succeed: Kevin Owens Pitched Dream Match vs. Shawn Michaels Earlier this week, Mandy Rose was suddenly released from her WWE contract, reportedly due to Rose posting risque content online. According to Bryan Alvarez’s subscription feed by way of Wrestlingnews.co, the release took Rose by surprise and she was caught off guard. In addition, Rose’s Toxic Attraction teammate Jacy Jayne seemingly responded to the news with a series of broken heart images. Neither Rose nor Gigi Dolin, the third member of the team, has commented on the release. Per Bryan Alvarez on Mandy..

NEWS

Ouch: Current AEW Champion Working Through Painful Injury

December 2, 2022

That’s the real part. Injuries can take place at any time in wrestling and there is no way to prevent some of them. Sometimes a wrestler is going to get hit in the wrong way and something is going to be damaged completely by accident. Those can cause some serious problems, but in this case, an injured wrestler is working through a rather painful injury, albeit with some extra protection. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Go Your Own Way: Speculation Over William Regal Jumping Back From AEW To WWE The main event of this week’s edition of AEW Dynamite saw the Elite defeat the Death Triangle in a six man tag, bringing their best of seven series to a score of 2-1 in favor of Death Triangle. The match saw Pac wrestle with a face mask on, which according to Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Live, is due to a legitimate broken nose. The injury took place at Full Gear, though there is nothing to suggest that Pac will miss any time. The two sides have a history together. Check out some of their serie..

NEWS

Yes Chance: Important Update On Vince McMahon Documentary

November 17, 2022

He is a subject. While his last few years in the business were not the strongest, there has never been a more powerful person in wrestling than Vince McMahon. Over the years, McMahon dominated the wrestling world as the owner of WWE. There are few people in wrestling with more odd stories than McMahon and now we are going to be getting a special look at him. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Boss Time: Update On Vince McMahon’s Relationship With WWE In Retirement Earlier this year, VICE TV announced an upcoming documentary film on McMahon, set to debut on October 18. However, the film’s premiere was pushed back when AEW Dynamite and NXT were both scheduled to air on the same night. Now, according to Bryan Alvarez, who is interviewed in the documentary, the film will air Tuesday December 13 at 9pm. There is nothing to suggest that McMahon himself cooperated with the documentary. The Vice TV documentary on Vince McMahon that Dave and I were interviewed for airs Dec 13th at 9 PM ET — Bryan Alvar..

NEWS

WWE Has A Special Reason For Running WarGames At Survivor Series

November 9, 2022

That’s a good reason. We are less than a month away from this year’s Survivor Series, which will feature the first ever WarGames matches in WWE history. While the company has presented WarGames matches in NXT, they have never been held between main roster stars. That is quite the change of pace and it turns out there is a very unique reason for the matches taking place. According to Bryan Alvarez’s Super Followers Twitter feed by way of Wrestlingnews.co, WWE is planning “craziness” during the WarGames matches because WWE needs some new highlight footage. WWE’s previous WarGames matches feature several wrestlers who are no longer in the company. There are two WarGames matches scheduled, with one each involving men and women. Per Bryan Alvarez, expect "craziness" at WarGames because they need footage for video packages. The video footage they have is from NXT and most of the people are no longer in WWE. — Wrestling News (@WrestlingNewsCo) November 9, 2022 Opinion: That isn’t a surpri..

NEWS

WWE Changes Recruiting Philosophy, Scouting Talent Again

November 3, 2022

That’s a change of pace. WWE has a very talented roster of stars but there are times when new names have to be added. There are a variety of places that can serve as a line of talent, with WWE recently looking in one rather specific direction to find its next generation of stars. Now though, it seems that direction might be shifting back towards the place WWE looked before. According to Bryan Alvarez’s Super Followers Twitter account, WWE is once again scouting for independent wrestlers to sign to the company. This includes Gabe Sapolsky scouting talent at this weekend’s Defy Wrestling event. WWE’s previous strategy had involved focusing on athletes from other sports being turned into wrestlers. It is not clear if athletes from other sports will still be used in significant numbers. Opinion: That is a nice development to see but it is also not the biggest surprise. At the end of the day, it did not make sense to bring in so many stars from outside the wrestling world with no one comi..

NEWS

WRESTLING RUMORS: WWE Making Changes To Several Premium Live Events

October 18, 2022

That would be different. WWE runs regular monthly premium live events as the focal point of their in-ring action. This includes several shows that the company has run for years if not decades, many of which are among the best known shows in wrestling. The company presents several shows that involve some kind of a special theme, but that might be changing going forward. According to Bryan Alvarez’s Super Fans Twitter account, by way of Wrestlingnews.co, WWE is planning to make a change to its premium live events starting in 2023. This would include more international events and fewer gimmick based events, such as Hell In A Cell or Tables Ladders And Chairs, for example. There is no word on what kind of shows would replace the originals. This comes after news broke that WWE was canceling it’s Day One event. Per Bryan Alvarez, WWE will make major changes to PPV/PLE events in 2023. Likely more international shows, less gimmick shows. — Wrestling News (@WrestlingNewsCo) October 16, 2022 ..

NEWS

Becky Lynch Suffers Separated Shoulder at SummerSlam

August 1, 2022

You hate to see it. According to a report from Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Live. Becky Lynch suffered a separated shoulder at SummerSlam during her match with Bianca Belair. From the report: “Becky Lynch took the Jaded (Glam Slam) and landed sideways, she landed on her side. Having separated my shoulder twice wrestling, I knew immediately that was not good. She started grabbing her shoulder, and she was grabbing her shoulder throughout the rest of the match,” Alvarez said. He continued, “We can confirm today that she did suffer a shoulder separation. I don’t know the extent of it, there are several grades of shoulder separation. She did finish the match, and she was using her arm, and she was favoring it, but she was lifting and doing all of her spots so I’m hoping it is an injury that she can come back from very quickly.” We will continue monitoring the story and provide updates as they become available. Editor’s Opinion: I was afraid of this. During the match, I also n..

NEWS

Cut It Down: Summerslam Match Lost Time After Another Match Ran Long

August 1, 2022

Call it a sacrifice. Over the weekend, WWE presented its annual Summerslam event, featuring some of the biggest matches of the year. The show featured a series of title matches, including some rather big showdowns. One of the last matches of the show certainly fit that description, but it did not wind up lasting very long. It turns out that was due to another match entirely. The semi-main event of Summerslam saw Ronda Rousey failing to regain the SmackDown Women’s Title from Liv Morgan. The two went to a controversial ending with Morgan tapping out just before she pinned Rousey, though the referee only saw the pin. It was a relatively short match at less than five minutes, which was due to another match running long. According to Bryan Alvarez, the match had “a lot” of time cut due to Miz vs. Logan Paul running long earlier in the night. There is no word on how long Morgan vs. Rousey was scheduled to last. That match had a lot of time cut because Miz and Logan went long. HOW ABOUT WE..

NEWS

Brock Lesnar Reportedly Leaves SmackDown, Status For This Week Unclear

July 22, 2022

I guess he wasn’t pleased. There are a lot of wrestlers in WWE, but there is only one Brock Lesnar. Throughout his multiple runs in WWE, Lesnar has been one of the most dominant stars the company has ever seen. Even though he only appears occasionally now, it means something when he shows up. That was supposed to be the case this week, but now things might have changed. Lesnar has been advertised for this week’s edition of SmackDown, but according to Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Lesnar has left SmackDown as of just before 5PM EST. There is no word on why Lesnar left, though it comes less than an hour after Vince McMahon announced that he is stepping down as WWE CEO and Chairman of the Board. It is not clear if Lesnar will appear on the show in any fashion. From several sources, Brock Lesnar has left Smackdown. — Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) July 22, 2022 Opinion: I’m not sure what is going on here, but at the end of the day, things are going a bit more nuts ..

NEWS

WWE May Be Releasing More Wrestlers Soon

June 9, 2022

It continues to loom. The WWE roster of three years ago looks very little like the WWE roster of today, as the company has released all kinds of wrestlers from their contracts. Well over one hundred names have been let go from the main roster down through NXT and those releases continue to take place. Now we might be getting ready for the next batch of releases. According to Bryan Alvarez on the Bryan And Vinny Show, WWE may be announcing more releases soon. WWE has a policy of reevaluating wrestlers every ninety days and releasing those who are not improving. More evaluations have recently taken place, though it is not clear when the releases could happen. WWE’s most recent batch of releases took place in late April. Opinion: You know these things are coming, but that doesn’t make them any better. At the end of the day, WWE has released so many wrestlers that it is hard to fathom at times. That being said, it still strikes me as a questionable idea to release wrestlers if they aren’..

NEWS

Samoa Joe Also Misses AEW Meet And Greet But This Is A Bit Different

May 29, 2022

Him too? One of the biggest stories of the weekend has been Maxwell Jacob Friedman no showing a meet and greet at AEW’s Double Or Nothing fan fest. That brings up all kinds of questions of what is going on with Friedman’s future, which could cause some issues up and down the company. It turns out that Friedman is not the only person who was absent from an event this weekend, though it is a different situation. In addition to Friedman missing the meet and greet, reports have surfaced that Samoa Joe missed his meet and greet as well. However, according to Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Samoa Joe’s absence was due to a communication issue rather than any kind of problem between the two sides. There is nothing to suggest that Samoa Joe has any kind of issue or heat with AEW and he is scheduled to face Adam Cole at Double Or Nothing. It appears the situation with Samoa Joe and the Fan Fest was a communication issue, so totally different from whatever is happening with..

NEWS

WRESTLING RUMORS: Possible Backstage Heat On CM Punk In AEW

May 27, 2022

That would be a problem. There are two different worlds in wrestling and only one of them takes place in front of the camera. In addition to what happens in front of an audience, there is everything that happens when the cameras are off. That can include backstage issues between the wrestlers and we might have seen one of them take place in front of our eyes. According to Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez on Wrestling Observer Radio, there may be some backstage heat on CM Punk in AEW. The two both cited the promo exchange between Punk and Hangman Page this week on Dynamite, saying that it felt like the Shawn Michaels/Bret Hart exchanges from the Attitude Era. This is seen as speculation as the two did not say that there were definite issues between the two or heat on Punk for that matter. Opinion: That is quite a bit to infer off of a single exchange. There is a very real chance that AEW was trying to make the segment feel more like a worked shoot, which means that they did very well. M..

NEWS

RUMOR: Problems Between Kota Ibushi and NJPW

May 12, 2022

This is only a rumor, so take it for its worth. According to Brian Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Radio, some further drama is taking place between Kota Ibushi and New Japan Pro Wrestling. Apparently, Ibushi is not happy with NJPW as he feels the company is trying to get him back in the ring before he is fully healed. Ibushi suffered a shoulder injury after taking a hard landing during his G1 Climax finals match against Kazuchika Okada in October 2021. Ibushi was initially planned to participate in this year’s New Japan Cup. He was pulled from the tournament as he wasn’t ready to return to action. This adds to the potentially current drama, as he recently posted a series of cryptic tweets in Japanese. This left many foreign fans confused, due to mistranslations, as some shocking terms were seen through the translation tool on Twitter, such as “sexually harassing bosses.” Ibushi signed a “lifetime contract” with NJPW back in 2019. [h/t to SEScoops] Editor’s Opinion: While rushing h..

NEWS

AEW Star Injured During Dark: Elevation Taping

April 7, 2022

That’s never good to see. An injury can take a wrestler out of action at any time and that can make for some scary situations. You never know when you are going to see someone get hurt and be put out of action for a long time, but the best you can do is hope that things are not bad. That seems to be the case again, as a wrestler was injured during a match this week. According to the Wrestling Observer Twitter account, AEW’s Leyla Hirsch suffered a knee injury during the opening match of this week’s AEW Dark: Elevation taping. The match was immediately stopped and Hirsch was helped to the back. There is no word on the severity of Hirsch’s injury or how long she might be out of action. Hirsch has been part of AEW since October 2020. Leyla Hirsch appeared to injure her knee on a somersault flip out of the corner in the opening AEW Dark: Elevation match. Match was immediately stopped and she was helped to the back. ^JN — Wrestling Observer (@WONF4W) April 6, 2022 @bryanalvarez @davemel..

NEWS

Surprising Backstage Reaction To Brandi Rhodes Leaving AEW

February 18, 2022

Fare thee unwell? The biggest wrestling story of the week has been the announcement that Cody and Brandi Rhodes have left AEW. This was quite the shakeup, as Cody was one of the founders of the company and Brandi had been treated as a big deal throughout AEW’s existence. The pair are now gone though, and that has made for some surprising reactions from some people in AEW. According to Bryan Alvarez on the Wrestling Observer forum, by way of Wrestlingnews.co, several people backstage in AEW were happy that Brandi has left the company. While there were some names who have been supportive of Brandi after her departure, the majority are said to be happy that she is gone. There were no names mentioned as being happy or sad about Brandi leaving. Opinion: I don’t know how well Brandi was received backstage but this does not seem to paint her in the most positive light. Brandi is good at what she does when she gets in front of a camera, but that does not mean it plays well backstage. I’m not..

NEWS

D’Oh: More Details On Botched Royal Rumble Spot

January 31, 2022

It had to happen one day. Wrestlers are in a weird place when it comes to their performances in front of a crowd. Not only are they having pre-determined matches, but they also have to make everything they do look as realistic as possible while not injuring their fellow wrestlers. At some point, something is going to go wrong and unfortunately that was the case last night on a pretty big stage. This year’s WWE Royal Rumble included Kofi Kingston, who has a history of elaborate saves to prevent himself from being eliminated. However, this year saw Kingston eliminated in less than thirty seconds. According to Bryan Alvarez on Twitter, Kingston’s elimination did not go as planned, as he had a major save planned. Big E., Kingston’s New Day teammate, was likely to have been involved, though it is not clear what the spot would have been. Kingston has also commented on the spot, saying that it is better to try and fail than to never try at all. Kofi's big spot was mistimed and he was l..

NEWS

Rey Fenix Suffers Broken Arm

January 6, 2022

You hate to see it. According to a report from Bryan Alvarez and F4WOnline, Rey Fenix suffered a broken arm in the main event of this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite. Fenix broken arm heading to hospital — Bryan Alvarez (@bryanalvarez) January 6, 2022 From the report [h/t to f4wonline.com]: Near the end of The Lucha Brothers’ AEW Tag Team title match against Jurassic Express, Fenix suffered a broken arm when Luchasaurus chokeslammed him off the apron and through a table on the outside. Fenix was headed to the hospital after the show and will likely need surgery. It was immediately apparent that Fenix was injured after taking the chokeslam. He grabbed his arm and motioned for the medical staff. In the ring, Jungle Boy countered out of a package piledriver by Penta El Zero Miedo — but Penta countered out of the Killswitch. Jungle Boy then countered Penta’s Made in Japan into a pin to win the AEW Tag Team titles for Jurassic Express. We will continue to monitor this story and provide..