Search Results: "bruce"

NEWS

That’s A Hot One: How A Former WWE Star (Literally) Set Backstage On Fire

December 30, 2022

It might have been a factor. Wrestlers have come and gone from WWE over the years but only some make an impression. You never know when you are going to see someone in the ring for the last time, but in one case, a wrestler with a unique character was gone after his first match. It turns out there is a very specific reason for his departure and it could have been much worse. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: That’s A Hot One: How A Former WWE Star (Literally) Set Backstage On Fire During a recent edition of Something To Wrestle With, Bruce Prichard told a story about Phantasio, a magician character who wrestled one match on WWE TV in July 1995 before being let go from the company. According to Prichard, prior to his match, Phantasio dropped a bottle of liquid fire in the Gorilla Position, causing the drapes to catch on fire. The company did not know he had a fire spot planned and the accident resulted in Phantasio’s time with the company ending. It was something. Check out Phantasio’s match, p..

NEWS

That’s Big: D-Von Dudley Reportedly Nearly Fired Over Recent Independent Show Situation

December 24, 2022

That’s a bit more serious. There are a lot of people who come together to make a WWE show work and several of them are rarely seen on camera. In addition to the wrestlers who get all of the spotlight, there are all kinds of people who work hard to make the show a success. Those are people who help get the wrestlers ready, but WWE almost let one go over a recent incident. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: They Need Plans: WWE Looking For Backup Plan If Rock Cannot Work WrestleMania 39 Earlier this month, a story broke about D-Von Dudley being pulled from the Battleground Championship Wrestling “Tribute To The Extreme” event in Philadelphia. The promotion has said that the issue was a misunderstanding, but according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dudley was nearly fired over the incident. WWE reportedly did not want Dudley to risk his health during the show, even though the only thing he would have done was get the tables. The appearance was initially shut down by Bruce Prichard, with Tri..

NEWS

REVIEW: WWF Houston Live Event – December 10, 1987: The Goodish Old Days

December 1, 2022

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, starting today. 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? WWF House Show Date: December 10, 1987 Location: Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas Commentators: Bruce Pritchard, Mike McGuirk, Duke Doherty Oh that commentary team is going to kill me today. Not really sure of what to expect on this card as I haven’t seen the details of it. The matches would probably be fallout from Survivor Series and leading up to the Rumble….which doesn’t tell us much at all as that was more or less Andre vs. Hogan and that’s about it. Anyway, I love the late 80s so let’s get t..

NEWS

WRESTLING RUMOR: Interesting Name May Gain Power With Vince McMahon Gone

July 26, 2022

He might be next in line. There are a lot of changes taking place in WWE at the moment and they very well could rock the company for a long time to come. That is the kind of thing that you do not get to see happen very often and it is a rare situation where a lot of movement could take place as a result. It seems possible that one person in particular could benefit behind the scenes. According to a Pro Wrestling Torch VIP Audio show, Paul Heyman may be set to move up in WWE’s creative due to Stephanie McMahon becoming the co-CEO of the company. Heyman and Triple H are said to be close and Heyman’s relationship with McMahon has improved over the years. Heyman was in charge of Monday Night Raw for several months starting in 2020 before being replaced by Bruce Prichard. Opinion: Now this is intriguing as the power vacuum left by Vince McMahon’s absence begins to be filled. Vince ran the company for such a long time that there were very few people with significant authority. Things seem ..

NEWS

Next In Line: Here’s Who Will Be Taking Over For Vince McMahon In WWE

July 24, 2022

Someone has to do it. The biggest wrestling story in a long time took place this week as Vince McMahon finally retired from WWE. McMahon has run the company for over forty years and now we are in for a very different future. The question becomes who will take over McMahon’s jobs, and now we have an idea of that, plus some of the other changes that may be coming. According to Fightful Select, Bruce Prichard is taking over leadership of the creative team, with his first show in charge being this week’s SmackDown, with Triple H and Ed Koskey assisting. There is a chance that this is only a temporary situation and no permanent choice has been made. According to some WWE talent, Prichard being in charge would not bring about much change. However, one change expected to be made is fewer rematches, as McMahon had a tendency to forget that a match had taken place and would book it again no matter what. There is no word on when a permanent decision will be made. Opinion: Something tells me th..

NEWS

Negative Backstage Reaction To Major WWE Shakeup

June 25, 2022

Talent doesn’t relate well to him. WWE has been shaken up in a lot of ways in recent weeks and there is a chance that several of those changes are going to continue. This includes several backstage moves related to the Vince McMahon affair scandal. One of the moves involved a new boss in charge of a pretty important department and some wrestlers are not happy about the change. As a result of his involvement in the McMahon investigation, John Laurinaitis has been placed on administrative leave from his role as Head of Talent Relations and Bruce Prichard has taken the position According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the backstage reaction to the change has been mostly negative, as Prichard is seen as a quiet person who does not interact with the wrestlers. Laurinaitis was seen as more approachable and willing to talk. Opinion: The more I hear about all of these changes, the more worried I am about how the whole thing is going to do. At the end of the day, it seems there are peo..

NEWS

WRESTLING RUMORS: Triple H Returning To Old Position

June 23, 2022

Welcome back! To say there has been a lot of upheaval behind the scenes in WWE in recent months would be a huge understatement. The company’s front office has been turned upside down in a lot of ways and that is probably going to be continuing in the near future. It can be interesting to see how things shake out, and now another big change seems to be putting things back to how they were before. According to John Pollock of Post Wrestling, Triple H is reportedly back at the WWE Performance Center and has said that he is “back”. This comes after Triple H has been away from NXT since August of 2021 when he suffered a cardiac event. There is no word on what Triple H will be doing or if he is going to have anywhere near the authority that he had before. This change follows John Laurinaitis being placed on administrative leave and Bruce Prichard being named the new Head of Talent Relations. According to multiple sources, Paul Levesque was in Orlando today and spoke at the Performance Cent..

NEWS

Backstage Reaction To John Laurinaitis’ Removal As Head Of WWE Talent Relations

June 21, 2022

He might not be back. WWE has a lot of people who come together to make the promotion work. This includes the wrestlers in front of the camera, but also several people who stay backstage. There are a lot of names that fans might recognize for their previous or current efforts, but now one of those names very well might not be around any longer after a scandal has taken place. Earlier this week, John Laurinaitis was placed on administrative leave from his role as heat of talent relations in WWE due to his investigation in a scandal involving an affair with a WWE employee. Bruce Prichard has taken Laurinaitis’ place while still being part of WWE creative. According to Fightful Select, several backstage in WWE believe that Laurinaitis is “as good as gone”, with many of them being happy that Laurinaitis is gone. There is however a worry about Prichard holding both roles, as it could become an issue in regards to working with the two departments. Opinion: This whole ordeal has turned into..

NEWS

BREAKING: John Laurinaitis Placed On Administrative Leave

June 21, 2022

The saga continues. According to a report from Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, John Laurinaitis has been placed on administrative leave from WWE. This is due to his potential involvement in the current scandal involving Vince McMahon and an inappropriate relationship with an employee within the company. The report also states that Bruce Pritchard will serve as the Interim Head of Talent Relations. Fightful can confirm that talent were informed that Bruce Prichard is now interim Head of Talent Relations. John Laurinaitis was placed on administrative leave. — Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) June 21, 2022 The WWE board presented a report stating that McMahon passed the employee over to John Laurinaitis “like a toy”. It is unknown what that is referring to at this current time. McMahon is currently being investigated for an alleged $3 million payment to a WWE employee due to a sexual relationship between the two. The investigation also includes a variety of other possible c..

NEWS

Ouch: WWE Legend Announces Upcoming Surgery With Six Months Of Rehab

June 11, 2022

That’s a serious issue. Wrestling is a physical sport and something that can cause some very serious injuries to the wrestlers themselves. Some of these issues take place all at once and others are built up over time. You don’t know when you might see someone get hurt right in front of you, but this time it seems that there was an injury that might not have been so obvious. During the latest edition of his Something To Wrestle With podcast, WWE’s Bruce Prichard revealed that he has suffered a torn rotator cuff and will be undergoing surgery. As a result, Prichard will be undergoing six months of rehabilitation to get back to normal. There is no word on how much, if any, time he will miss from his position helping to run Monday Night Raw and SmackDown. Opinion: This is something that might have wider implications than it seems, as Prichard is such an influence on WWE’s major television shows. Having him away from the shows for that long could change the way they are presented, dependi..

NEWS

REVIEW: WrestleMania 8: Double Double

April 2, 2022

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? Wrestlemania VIII Date: April 5, 1992 Location: Hoosier Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana Attendance: 62,167 Commentators: Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby Heenan This was one of the names mentioned for a possible redo so I’ll throw it in as a bonus. On his podcast, Bruce Prichard mentioned this as one of the worst Wrestlemanias ever and I’m really not sure why. The show features a double main event with Ric Flair defending the WWF World Title against Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan’s possible retirement match against Sid Justice. Le..

NEWS

MJF Star Praised WWE Television, Says He Loves Every Show

March 25, 2022

That’s a different take. Most of the last twenty years of professional wrestling have been dominated by WWE. The company has been so far and away ahead of any other promotion that it has lapped the field. Then in 2019, AEW made its debut and instantly became one of the biggest promotions in the world. The two companies have competed since then and taken some shots at each other, but now one prominent AEW wrestler has some nice things to say about WWE. During an interview with Ariel Helwani, AEW’s Maxwell Jacob Friedman praised WWE programming and its wrestlers, talking about how he much he enjoyed seeing WWE’s stars develop. He praised Roman Reigns, Paul Heyman, Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard for the work they have been doing, while saying that the only think the company was missing was himself. Friedman had a lot to say. Check out the full interview: [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: While you never can tell exactly how serious or sincere Friedman is, he does s..

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WRESTLING RUMORS: Monday Night Raw Said To Be Worse Than Ever Backstage

March 14, 2022

That’s a bad place to be. WWE has been on top of the wrestling world for a very long time now and that seems likely to be the case for the foreseeable future. That being said, there are still problems within the company that have to be addressed on a daily basis. Some of these are things that you will not see take place in front of the camera, which seems to be the case again with WWE’s flagship show. According to Ringsidenews.com, Monday Night Raw is said to be “the worst mess it’s ever been” behind the scenes. Vince McMahon is said to make decisions leading up to the show, tells Bruce Prichard, John Laurinaitis and Ed Koskey about them, and then the rest of the team finds out the day of the show. It was also noted that this situation could change at any time, as McMahon can often change how he makes decisions. Opinion: I can’t bring myself to be surprised by this as Monday Night Raw has turned into quite the mess most of the time. There are weeks when it seems like they have a plan..

NEWS

Update On Triple H’s WWE/NXT Status Amid Health Issues

January 29, 2022

It might be a bit. There have been a lot of changes in the wrestling world over the last year and a half but the most impactful might have taken place in NXT. The promotion barely resembles what it once was, which is the case both in front of and behind the camera. Some of the backstage changes have been even bigger than those in the ring, and now we have an update on one of the biggest. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE has no current plans to bring back Triple H in any capacity. This is due to Triple H’s health issues, following a cardiac event suffered last September. Should Triple H’s health improve, he could be allowed to come back as plans could change. Triple H has lost most of his authority in WWE in recent months, with John Laurinaitis and Bruce Prichard taking over his responsibilities. Opinion: This isn’t the biggest surprise as there was nothing to suggest that Triple H was going to be back anytime soon. Ultimately, he has very little authority at the mo..

NEWS

Another Major Change In NXT Leadership And Creative

January 12, 2022

It’s all about control. WWE is a huge company and has varying levels of authority. While Vince McMahon has the final say in everything, there are several people beneath him with various responsibilities. Some of those are rather important names, and now two of them will be taking charge of something rather big, which we can see every single week on television. According to PWInsider.com, Bruce Prichard and Christine Lubrano (Senior Vice President of Creative Writing Operations) will now officially oversee NXT’s creative, as is the case with Monday Night Raw and SmackDown. Johnny Russo will serve as NXT’s head of creative after serving as lead writer since July 2020. This comes after most of Triple H’s creative team was let go from the company last week in the latest round of releases. There are three of the same. Check out all of the shows Prichard and Lubrano oversee: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, ..

NEWS

Healthy Days: More On Recent WWE Absences

December 30, 2021

Did they get a doctor’s note? The wrestling world is currently being rocked by the Coronavirus pandemic and there is no reason to believe that it is going to be getting much better in the near future. There have been cases throughout WWE and there is no reason to believe that it is going to get any better anytime soon. It has already caused WWE to take some cautions, and now we know a bit more about what happened this week. Vince McMahon, Bruce Prichard, Michael Hayesand Kevin Dunn all missed this week’s edition of WWE Monday Night Raw, which took place after a Coronavirus outbreak hit the company. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Prichard has been dealing with an ongoing but undisclosed health issue. The other three missed the show as a precautionary measure to make sure that all three were healthy and in attendance for this weekend’s WWE Day One pay per view. Those are some important people to have missing. Check out what the three of them can do when they are around: [This ..

NEWS

Several Top WWE Names Not Present At Monday Night Raw

December 28, 2021

Maybe it was for the better. There have been a good number of complaints about WWE TV in recent months and years. A good many of them are focused in the same areas and have to do with the way the show is presented. It doesn’t help when it is a similar style every week, but this time around we got a bit of a change of pace. There is a pretty big reason for the change. According to PWInsider.com, Vince McMahon, Bruce Prichard, Kevin Dunn, Michael Hayes and Adam Pearce were all missing backstage from this week’s Monday Night Raw. There is no word on why they were not at the show and nothing to suggest that they have tested positive for the Coronavirus. With the group being gone, the show was run by John Laurinaitis and Ed Koskey. There is no word on when everyone will be back. That is a lot of people missing. Check out what they can do when they are around: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] ..

NEWS

Interesting Note On Vince McMahon And This Week’s Monday Night Raw

September 7, 2021

Did you miss him? Like him or not, there is no one more influential in wrestling than Vince McMahon. As the most powerful person in all of wrestling, McMahon’s decisions and whims can instantly change the industry. That can be both good and bad, though your individual tastes may vary. McMahon’s influence was felt again this week, though not quite in the way you would expect. According to PWInsider.com, McMahon was not present at this week’s Monday Night Raw. With McMahon not around, Bruce Prichard ran the show in his place. However, also according to PWInsider.com, despite McMahon not being around, he had quite a bit of influence on the show and stayed in contact with the show, offering criticisms and various changes. There is no word on why McMahon missed the show. McMahon has spent some time on Monday Night Raw before. Check out some of his better moments on the show over the years: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post ..

NEWS

Not So Much? Update On Vince McMahon Running NXT

September 3, 2021

Just how bad? Vince McMahon wears a lot of hats in WWE and it is rare to find someone without some kind of an opinion on him. In addition to running the entire company, McMahon also has his hands on a lot of the WWE television product, which will be growing even stronger as he and Bruce Prichard will be producing NXT. Now we know a bit more about how that is expected to go. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, there is a possibility that McMahon and Prichard will mainly be focusing on the bigger picture of NXT and not every single aspect. It is not clear if this will include the Takeover specials as well. According to the WrestleVotes Twitter account, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, William Regal and Matt Bloom will continue to handle the day to day operations. However, NXT will have a “Vince & Co” stamp on the product. The changes are expected to begin taking place later this month. After talking to sources regarding NXT: the day to day operation isn’t changing that drastically. Still v..

NEWS

Vince McMahon To Be Directly Hands On With New NXT

September 1, 2021

There it goes. The recent changes to the WWE roster have shaken up all kinds of things around the company and it does not seem like they will be changing anytime soon. Some of the biggest changes have been taking place in NXT, mainly due to the insistence of Vince McMahon. It turns out that there is another major change coming and McMahon himself will be involved. According to Wrestling Observer Live, McMahon and Bruce Prichard will produce NXT when it relaunches on September 14. The show will be shifting back to how it was in the original era of the Full Sail University shows with a new logo and new theme song. There will also be a focus on younger talent and homegrown stars with less attention paid to independent wrestling names. Call it a flashback. Check out what NXT is heading back to: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: Just in case Monday Night Raw wasn’t long enough you s..