Search Results: "richard"

NEWS

A Rare Breed: Rhea Ripley Reveals Special Privilege WWE Grants Her

March 14, 2023

That’s something special. There are all kinds of things that need to come together to make a wrestler a success. At or near the top of the list is the ability to talk, as it can make the fans care about you in a way that almost anything in the ring just cannot do. Being able to use the right words help, and now another WWE star is revealing a special privilege that she has when it comes to talking. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Oh No: Former Impact Wrestling Star Arrested For Violating Order of Protection Involving Wife During a new interview with Sports Media with Richard Deitsch, Monday Night Raw star Rhea Ripley revealed that she has some creative freedom with promos. While there are promos where she is required to say certain things to get points across and cannot change much, she has “free range” on backstage segments. Such freedom when it comes to promos are not common in WWE, with only a handful of wrestlers being granted such permission. Ripley is quite the star. Check out her rece..

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Get Well Soon: Wrestling Legend Reveals Recent Health Issues

February 22, 2023

That’s never good to hear. Wrestlers work very hard to make their matches look as good as possible, which can be rather taxing on their bodies. At some point, the physical issues begin to take their toll and it can slow their careers down. Unfortunately that is not something they can turn off once they retire, and now a wrestling legend is dealing with such troubles. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Not So Much: Update On Backstage Atmosphere In WWE With Sale Looming Via his Instagram, former WWE star Stevie Richards has revealed that he is suffering from unspecified health issues. The photo shows Richards using a walker and wearing what appears to be a medical gown in a medical facility. Richards said that the last four weeks have been difficult but “hopefully the road to recovery starts asap”. He promised to explain what was going on via his YouTube channel and Instagram. PWInsider is reporting that Richards has been deling with back and spine issues. Richards last wrestled in August 2021. ..

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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

Current Wrestling Star Announces He Is Battling Cancer

December 7, 2022

That’s terrible. Wrestlers have all kinds problems to deal with on a day to day basis and you never know how things are going to go with their careers. At the same time, there are other issues that can come up outside of the ring which can be far more devastating. Now a young star has revealed a horrible situation, but things might already be taking a step in the right direction. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: In Name Only: Vince McMahon Mentioned On WWE TV Again During an interview with Sports Illustrated, major League Wrestling’s Richard Holliday revealed that he is undergoing treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Holliday, 30 years old, said that he began experiencing various health issues over the summer and was diagnosed in September. He promised to fight the disease and to return to the ring when he is able. Holliday last wrestled on June 23 and is a former MLW Tag Team Champion. Holliday has all of the tools. Check out what he can do in the ring: [This post contains video, click to play..

NEWS

John Laurinaitis Threatened To Fire A WWE Trainer Over Wearing Sweatpants

November 4, 2022

It’s a corporate thing. WWE is a rather large company and the biggest wrestling promotion in the world. They have their headquarters at Titan Towers in Stamford, Connecticut, which is run like any othe corporate office would be. This can make for some slightly strange issues though and now a former WWE star is explaining how serious things got for him at one point. During an appearance on Story Time With Dutch Mantell, former WWE coach Tom Prichard told a story about wearing workout gear to WWE headquarters. Prichard said that he felt it was appropriate since he was an in-ring coach. However, former WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis said that he needed Prichard to dress more professionally. Knowing that Laurinaitis would be out of the office the following Monday, Prichard showed up in his workout clothes again. Laurinaitis even called in to check on what Prichard was wearing and threatened to fire him for not dressing appropriately, resulting in Prichard changing. Opinion..

NEWS

Huge Title Match Takes Place After This Week’s SmackDown

October 1, 2022

To wrap things up. There are a lot of things taking place at any given WWE television taping. While you have the main focus with the television show, there are other matches going on throughout the night. This includes matches taped for later, but there are also matches just for the live crowd. That was the case after this week’s SmackDown went off the air. As noted on Twitter, a title match took place after this week’s SmackDown. Following the show, Gunther successfully defended his Intercontinental Title against Shinsuke Nakamura. After the match was over, Nakamura hit Gunther with a Kinshasa to send the fans home happy. Both Gunther and Nakamura appeared on the show, with Gunther and Imperium beating down Sheamus, while Nakamura appeared in a backstage segment with the Maximum Male Models. @sherantsmtl And that's the last one, Gunther wins, but Nakamura does a Kinshasa to clear him out, and that's a goodnight for everyone. pic.twitter.com/AGtL7aTzng — Richard Lee (@Suza..

NEWS

Ric Flair Appears at Tennessee Titans Training Camp

July 29, 2022

WOOOOOOOO! Earlier today, Ric Flair made an appearance at the NFL’s Tennessee Titans training camp as they are preparing to begin the NFL season. You can see the video of the appearance below, in which dismisses the team after the end of their practice: .@RicFlairNatrBoy breaks down the @Titans after practice. “Woooooo!” pic.twitter.com/JtmdRKlQnd — Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) July 28, 2022 Flair is in Tennessee in preparation for Starrcast V, which takes place on July 31. The event is being billed as his “last match” and will see him team with Andrade El Idolo to take on the team of Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal. Other matches on the card include: Jonathan Gresham and Nick Wayne vs. Alan Angels and Konosuke Takeshita The Bunkhouse Battle Royal Kerry and Rocky Morton vs. Brian Pillman Jr. and Brock Anderson The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs. The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) Rey Fenix & Taurus vs. Laredo Kid and Bandido Josh Alexander vs. Jacob F..

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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 ..

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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..

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WATCH: WWE And AEW Stars Pay Tribute To Impact Wrestling

June 20, 2022

With special guest stars! Wrestling companies come and go all the time and some of them take their leave without much fanfare. It can be quite impressive when a company manages to survive for a long time but even longer when they do so with some success. One major company was celebrating a milestone this weekend and they had some guest stars to help. Impact Wrestling held its Slammiversary pay per view this weekend in honor of the company celebrating twenty years since its debut. Several guest stars and surprises appeared on the show, including videos from Sting, AJ Styles and Kurt Angle. Also appearing were past company names such as David Young, Slash, Chase Stevens and Shark Boy, all of whom appeared in the Reverse Battle Royal on the Countdown show. Other previous stars appearing were Dixie Carter, Davey Richards, America’s Most Wanted and Christy Hemme. This is a lot of talent here. Check out the company legends talking about the company: [This post contains video, click to pla..

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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..

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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

WWE Locks Up Important Name In New Long Term Deal

March 29, 2022

He’ll be around for a bit. There are a lot of people who come together to produce an edition of any WWE television, with the wrestlers themselves often not being the most important parts. With so many different people in so many different roles, it can be very important for WWE to sign as many people up long term as they can. That is what they have done again with an important piece of the puzzle. During an appearance on the Sports Media With Richard Deitsch podcast, WWE performer Paul Heyman revealed that he has signed a new long term deal with the company. Heyman’s contract came up last year but he did not want to publicize his negotiations. The contract includes the ability for Heyman to work on outside projects, though he said his situation will always be “that WWE guy is doing an outside project”. Heyman is currently the special counsel for Roman Reigns and will be in his corner on Sunday at WrestleMania 38 against Brock Lesnar. Opinion: That is the kind of signing that WWE need..

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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..