Search Results: "culture"

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Mystery Solved: Missing WWE Star Explains Her Four Month Absence

January 27, 2023

That’s a good reason. There are all kinds of reasons for a wrestler to miss time from the ring and some of them are a lot more serious than others. Sometimes a situation can cause a wrestler to just vanish from the public eye out of nowhere and there is not much that can be done about it. That seems to be the situation again with a WWE star who has been missing for a long time. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Double Shot: Two More Possible WWE Returns For The Royal Rumble WWE star Doudrop recently spoke with Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture and revealed that she has been absent from WWE TV due to a bout with Covid. Doudrop said that she had serious symptoms that caused worries about her heart, but every test came back “clean as a whistle”. While she said that she would be around the Royal Rumble in some capacity, she stopped short of saying she would be taking part in the match. Doudrop has not wrestled since September 2022. Doudrop being back would be an impressive return. Check out what ..

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Nope. Wrestling Legend Confirms His In-Ring Career Is Over

December 25, 2022

He’s done. Retirement is a tricky subject for wrestlers as it can be hard to hang up their boots for the final time. While more mainstream athletes have to complete one more season, wrestlers are able to go out and have one more match at almost anytime they want. That makes officially retiring harder than it seems, but one legend seems pretty sure he is out. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: He’s Still Got It: John Cena Proves His Drawing Power In WWE During a recent appearance on the Culture State podcast, WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels was asked if he would be coming out of retirement for one more match. Michaels flat out said that he was done, saying “I’ve had that final match” and that he was happy with his career and wanted to see the next generation get their chance. Michaels, 57 years old, last wrestled at Crown Jewel 2018, ending an eight year retirement. He now runs the NXT developmental program for WWE. Michaels had an amazing career. Check out the full interview, plus some of his ..

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REVIEW: WCPW Pro Wrestling World Cup Finals: The Big Finish

September 27, 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? WCPW Pro Wrestling World Cup Finals Date: August 26, 2017 Location: Sport Central, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England Commentators: Dave Bradshaw, James R. Kennedy So back in 2017, What Culture Pro Wrestling (later Defiant Wrestling) set up a massive tournament with wrestlers from around the world taking part. As you can guess, this is the big final, with both the semifinals and finals taking place. This was a cool concept and I didn’t get to see any of it but here’s the big ending. Lets get to it. Opening sequence. S..

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Vince McMahon Has Already Lost Something Due To Recent Allegations Against Him

July 9, 2022

So much for that. There are a lot of powerful and influential people in the wrestling world and then there is Vince McMahon. No one in the history of wrestling has come close to his level of authority and it is likely no one will ever get close again. That is the kind of status that can change the industry and now something McMahon has been accused of doing is changing something in another company. According to Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture, the McMahon Netflix documentary series has been pulled and will not be airing. The documentary was in post production with interviews filmed several months ago and millions of dollars spent. This comes after new allegations of hush payments made by McMahon to various female WWE employees over affairs with McMahon over the years. Sources tell me that the Vince McMahon Netflix documentary has been pulled & is off the programming spreadsheet at Netflix. A source at Netflix confirmed it no longer being listed on their spreadsheet, another source..

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Bring Her In: Bellator Fighter Announces She Has Signed With WWE

June 30, 2022

You need to bring someone in. One of the biggest WWE stories over the last few years has been the amount of releases the company has made. WWE has let all kinds of wrestlers go and the roster is far more sparse than it was before. At some point WWE needs to bring someone else in, which is what they are doing now, albeit from a sport outside of professional wrestling. Former Bellator fighter Valerie Loureda has announced that she has signed a deal with WWE. Loureda is the first Cuban American woman in WWE and wanted to represent Latin culture. This comes after Loureda trained in the WWE Performance Center back in May, leading to speculation that she could sign with WWE. There is no word on when she will start working for WWE full time. I am honored to become the first Cuban American woman in history to sign with the WWE. I come from a family of immigrants, now it’s my time to represent our Latin culture, I was destined for this. Thank you for this opportunity @WWE @WWENXT I will make ..

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NBCUniversal Developing A New Scripted Wrestling Series

April 4, 2022

That could be interesting. Professional wrestling is about telling stories and there have been some very interesting ones told over the years. This has made for some fascinating television as you can see how all of the characters come together to make something work. Now we might be seeing a twist on it though, as we could be seeing a show about the business itself. According to Deadline, NBCUniversal is developing a series called Pinned, which will be set in a fictional wrestling promotion. The series will have FOX Sports’ Tom Rinaldi and Vince McMahon as executive producers and is described as: “…an “adrenalized” upstairs-downstairs soap that gives a behind-the-scenes look at a fictional wrestling promotion and the “unforgettable” characters that populate it. Pinned offers a front-row seat into the eccentric wrestling culture and the mayhem that exists between the locker room and the boardroom.” There is no word on when or where the series will air, as NBCUniversal has not tied it..

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AEW Star Confirms He Will Not Be Re-Signing With The Company

March 17, 2022

Catch him down the road. The AEW roster is quite the mixture of young stars, up and coming wrestlers and legends. The grouping has turned into a unique mixture, which has allowed AEW to present a wide variety of matches. AEW keeps bringing in new names though, meaning some wrestlers are going to have to leave. Now we know another one who won’t be back for the time being. During an interview with Instinct Culture, AEW’s Joey Janela announced that he will not be re-signing with the company when his contract expires on May 1. This comes after Janela had said that he would be re-signing in previous interviews. Janela said that while he is satisfied with his time in AEW, the company goes radio silent on wrestlers they are not going to renew. While he wishes AEW would talk to him more, he considers AEW President Tony Khan to be a friend and appreciates his time with the company. Opinion: This doesn’t seem to be the biggest surprise as Janela has not appeared on Dynamite or a pay per view i..

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Former WWE Group Reuniting On Independent Circuit

February 23, 2022

The band is back together again. WWE has been shaken up so many times over the last few years, with most of the changes stemming from the company’s releases. There have been all kinds of wrestlers released from up and down the roster and some of them have been more surprising than others. Some of the more surprising releases are still doing their thing on the independent circuit and that will be the case again on a big stage. AJ Gray, formerly known as Top Dolla in WWE and NXT, has announced that some of the Hit Row stable will be reuniting over WrestleMania weekend at GCW For The Culture. Gray will be appearing along with Briana Brandy (B-Fab) and Tehuti Miles (Ashante Thee Adonis) though it is not clear what the trio will be doing. The team, along with Shane Strickland, was released from WWE in November 2021.. Time to make some hits! Tickets available:https://t.co/fzBLE5ovmG pic.twitter.com/Zum9gEnLRT — Aj Gray (@RichHomieJuice) February 22, 2022 Opinion: Hit Row was one of the ..

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AHH! AEW’s Keith Lee Has Done Something Awesome After Debuting

February 12, 2022

Well that’s clever. There are a lot of wrestlers in the world but only a few manage to stand out. Some of them do this because of their ability to talk while others are able to get over because of what they can do in the ring. One thing that will always get some attention is an impressive physical accomplishment, and now one of the more awe inspiring moves is getting a pretty funny name. This week’s edition of AEW Dynamite featured the surprise debut of Keith Lee, who signed with the company after being released from WWE last year. Lee defeated Isiah Kassidy in his debut match, which featured Lee bieling Kassidy across the ring. The match has received some attention online, which prompted Lee to officially dub the move the Uncle Phil Biel. The move is named after the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, where Uncle Phil would throw Jazz out of his house as a running gag. Opinion: That is the kind of thing that I like about non-WWE promotions as WWE would never allow some kind of a pop culture re..

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WWE Announces 2K22 Video Game

January 20, 2022

It’s that time of year again! WWE has announced the arrival of its WWE 2K22 video game, produced by Visual Concepts. The game includes a number of new features and features Rey Mysterio on the cover. Below is the official trailer for the game: [This post contains video, click to play] From WWE.com: “Representing the culture of lucha libre as the cover Superstar for WWE 2K22 is a moment of great pride for me,” said Rey Mysterio. “I’m looking forward to sharing the stories behind the big moments of my career with a dedicated community of players and connecting with WWE fans in a whole new way as they play through my 2KShowcase.” “Throughout his career, Rey Mysterio has staged multiple comebacks to prove his resiliency time and time again, and through it all, has cemented his legacy as a living legend of sports entertainment,” said Alfie Brody, Vice President of Global Marketing Strategy at 2K. “In that same spirit of resiliency, WWE 2K22 strikes back with a slew of upgrades and com..

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WWE Executive Boasts About Events Having….Bottled Water

November 24, 2021

Well that’s certainly something. WWE is the largest and most powerful wrestling company in the world and they have been for quite some time. They have their hands in so many different things in multiple industries but ultimately everything they do is centered around wrestling. Part of that includes live fans having a good time, but WWE seems to have an interesting take on what that might entail. Last week, WWE held an upfront session for advertises before the weekend’s Survivor Series event, according to Variety. One of the speakers was WWE’s Head of Global Sales and Partnerships Claudine Lilien, who spoke on how WWE permeates the culture in a variety of ways. Lilien said that “Whether it’s Bad Bunny or bottled water, WWE creates immersive experiences for our partners.” That’s quite the pairing. Check out WWE’s success with Bad Bunny and…. water: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] Opinio..

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VIDEO: WWE Stars Take A Squid Game Challenge

October 17, 2021

That’s a sweet one. Every now and then, something in pop culture will capture the attention of all kinds of people at once. It might be a movie, a song or something else, but it is all anyone is talking about for a long time. You will often see a wrestling promotion try to tie something into such a trend, and WWE has done that as well in connection to a popular new show. WWE has released a video showing some of its stars taking the Honeycomb Challenge from the Netflix series Squid Game. The goal is to be able to cut a shape out of a piece of honeycomb without breaking the middle piece. Various wrestlers attempt to do so, with the majority being able to succeed. Of the group of wrestlers trying, only one of them fails to make it work. It’s a pop culture thing. Check out the Honeycomb Challenge, plus some other WWE challenges: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: Sometimes you need ..

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RUMOR: WWE Taking Summerslam International

September 29, 2021

Air trip? WWE is the world’s biggest wrestling company and that is a spot they have had for a very long time now. They go around the world on a regular basis and have shows in various countries. Some of these are bigger than others, but you do not see the most important shows of the year take place overseas. That might no longer be the case next year. According to Whatculture.com, WWE is looking to run a major event in the United Kingdom in September 2022, with hopes of a stadium that holds over 90,000 people. There is a chance that this could be Summerslam, which would be celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Summerslam 1992, which was held in Wembley Stadium in London, England. According to talkSport, WWE is in discussions to hold Summerslam in the United Kingdom, with Wales’ Principality Stadium being WWE’s preferred destination. WWE has yet to announce any plans for the show. WWE has gone international before. Check out some of their bigger shows outside of the United States: ..

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VIDEO: Controversial NXT Character Is Back After All

September 29, 2021

Not so fast? Wrestlers and characters come and go in wrestling almost every week. You never know when you are going to see someone go away for the last time and not see them again, which can make for some interesting final moments. That seemed to be the case last week but things have changed in the last week, as the character not only returned, but made another step forward. Last week on NXT, Joe Gacy debuted a new character based on “woke” culture. Following the appearance, Gacy erased all mention of the character from his social media, with WWE doing exactly the same. However, Gacy was back during this week’s edition of NXT, saying that he has not been canceled and that he was trying to make NXT a better place. Gacy did not wrestle on the show. Gacy is an interesting character. Check out what he has done in WWE and NXT: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: This is one of those t..

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Long Retired WWE Star Planning In-Ring Return

August 30, 2021

Not so fast? Injuries can be one of the most devastating things in all of wrestling as they can take someone out of action all of a sudden. Some are far worse than others and the very worst can put someone on the shelf for the rest of their lives. However, one interesting trend as of late has been wrestlers returning from career ending injuries. Another wrestler seems to be teasing joining the club. Back in 2018, Paige was forced to retire from in-ring competition due to a series of neck injuries. As a result, her wrestling career was over but she has since returned to various other on-air roles. However, over the weekend, Paige sent out a tweet saying that she was “not done yet”. According to Instinct Culture’s Denise Salcedo, Paige said that she was training for an in-ring wrestling return, but would not be telling anyone when the return would happen so that it could serve as a surprise. Paige has not wrestled since December 2017. I’m not done yet. ?? — SARAYA (@RealPaigeWWE) Augu..

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WOO? Ric Flair Comments On Alleged Sex Act Photo

August 19, 2021

It’s not his style. There are wrestling legends who have become stars around the industry and even have a bit of fame outside of it. Then there are names who are just a step above almost everyone else. Then there is Ric Flair, who has become something of a pop culture icon over both his personality and legendary status. Now though, he is having to deny being famous for something else. On Wednesday, a photo of a man and a woman engaged in a sex act (which we will not be posting here) on a train began circulating online. Comments on the photo suggested that the man, whose face cannot be seen, is Flair. However, Flair himself commented on the photo, saying that it was not him on the grounds that he does not ride trains. Flair included a photoshopped photo of himself on the train from Dumbo. I think we’ll move on to ANYTHING else. Check out some of Flair’s better, and less risque, moments: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post..

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RUMOR: WWE Quietly Releases Hall Of Famer

July 30, 2021

So long. There are a lot of people on the WWE roster and each of them plays a role. Some of those roles might be a lot more notable than others, but there is often something for most of the people to do. This includes some retired wrestlers who are doing something other than getting in the ring again. WWE has quite a few of them, but now they have one less. According to Whatculture.com, Jeff Jarrett was released from WWE in April 2021, though it was not announced at the time. Jarrett has been looking for independent bookings outside of WWE, though it is not clear how long his no compete clause could last. Jarrett had been working for WWE as a producer, though there is a chance that he could be brought back into the company somewhere down the line. Jarrett has had a nice career. Check out some of his better moments: [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] [This post contains video, click to play] Opinion: This is a bit of a surprise, ..

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NXT UK Results – July 22, 2021

July 23, 2021

NXT UK Date: July 22, 2021 Location: BT Studios, London, England Commentators: Andy Shepherd, Nigel McGuinness This was supposed to be the big showdown between Walter and Ilja Dragunov but the injury bug struck, meaning the match has been postponed. Instead, we have to settle for Subculture challenging Pretty Deadly for the Tag Team Titles. I’d call it a downgrade but they can probably make it work. Let’s get to it. The opening video recaps the NXT Title match being canceled and a look at the Tag Team Title match. Sid Scala opens things up and we go to William Regal (fine after being laid out on Tuesday), HHH and Shawn Michaels (the birthday boy), who announce Walter vs. Dragunov II will take place at Takeover 36 on August 22. Eddie Dennis says Symbiosis is ready to destroy Moustache Mountain. Laura DiMatteo vs. Nina Samuels Samuels works on the arm to start but gets pulled down for a front facelock. That’s reversed back into a wristlock but Samuels reverses into a cradle, which D..

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WATCH: Shaquille O’Neal Ready For Dream Match In AEW

July 2, 2021

That would be a big one. Celebrities have made appearances in wrestling for decades now and that will always be the case. It is the kind of thing that makes all kinds of sense, as wrestling fans want to see what happens when an outsider comes into their world. If it is someone who has an athletic background of their own, it can be made even easier. That might be the case again, in a rather big way. During an interview with Pop Culture, Shaquille O’Neal talked about wanting to face AEW’s Paul Wight in a match at some point in the future. The match was hinted at in WWE in 2016 but never took place, reportedly due to WWE thinking O’Neal would not have taken it seriously enough. Since the, O’Neal has wrestled in a tag team match in AEW, teaming with Jade Cargill to face Cody Rhodes and Red Velvet in a losing effort on March 3. There has been no suggestion of such a match from AEW. O’Neal has some experience. Check out his time in the ring: [This post contains video, click to play] [Th..

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NXT UK Results – June 10, 2021

June 11, 2021

NXT UK Date: June 10, 2021 Location: BT Studios, London, England Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd It’s a title night as Meiko Satomura is challenging Kay Lee Ray for the Women’s Title. The two of them had quite the showdown back in March and it could be great to see what they could do again with the stakes at a high level again. Other than that, Walter is back and that means we could be in for an important appearance. Let’s get to it. Opening recap. Opening sequence. Here is Walter for the first time in about two months to get things going. Walter talks about his title defenses in two days on two continents. Now he is the longest reigning champion of the modern era but his mission has never changed. His goal is to make this title prestigious and keep the ring sacred. And that’s it. Subculture is ready for Jinny and Joseph Conners next week. Jordan Devlin vs. Saxton Huxley The bigger Huxley powers him into the corner to start and hits a knee to Devlin’s ribs. A headlo..