TNA

Conflicting Reports on Braun Strowman’s WWE Status

While PWInsider reported earlier today that Braun Strowman was cleared to return to action and is just waiting for WWE creative to pencil him in, Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet says otherwise.

Satin mentioned on Twitter that he came across this story and confirmed with his sources that the information PWInsider reported was not accurate.

“Just read an incorrect report on Braun. While he IS close to coming back, my sources say Strowman has NOT been cleared for return yet.” Satin added, “The report today said cleared to return and waiting for creative plans though, which isn’t accurate.”

Interesting Fact on Brock Lesnar’s Title Defense at Great Balls of Fire

As seen at Extreme Rules last Sunday, Samoa Joe won the fatal 5-way match against Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Roman Reigns and Bray Wyatt to earn a shot at Brock Lesnar’s WWE Universal Championship title.

The match is scheduled to take place between Joe and Lesnar at the July 9th Great Balls of Fire event. What’s interesting about the match is it’s date, as it is exactly one year to the day after Lesnar returned to the UFC and controversially defeated Samoan knockout artic Mark Hunt at UFC 200.

Unless plans change, Lesnar is expected to go over Joe at the event and move on to a new challenger at the next pay-per-view event.

Jeff Hardy Says “BROKEN” Gimmick Will Be The Most Exciting Thing To Hit WWE Programming

WWE has footage of Matt and Jeff Hardy being interviewed by Corey Graves on the WWE Network. Graves asks about the “Broken Hardys” gimmick and Matt had the following remarks to say regarding the chances of it re-surfacing in WWE:

“I definitely think there is a chance. It’s a work in progress. Unfortunately, because of legal reasons, I really can’t go into it right now but I find it very flattering and humbling that every time we come and wrestle in front of the WWE Universe, they chant and they address it and they acknowledge it.”

Matt added, “When it happens, and I’m not even going to say if, when it happens, it’s going to be the most exciting thing to hit WWE programming in a long, long time. We’ve got to keep people guessing.”

Opening for Tonight’s RAW Revealed

WWE has announced that Brock Lesnar calling out Samoa Joe will open tonight’s episode of RAW. Here is what they wrote on their preview for the event:

Will Brock Lesnar bring the pain to Samoa Joe?

You should never intentionally provoke Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, and you definitely shouldn’t put your hands on his advocate, Paul Heyman. And yet, Samoa Joe accomplished both of those feats last Monday night on Raw when, in a difficult-to-watch show of force, he viciously locked Heyman in the Coquina Clutch.

The Samoan Submission Machine’s message was received by the Universal Champion, who will respond to his No. 1 contender’s sadistic attack tonight when Raw goes on the air at 8/7 C on USA Network. The juggernauts’ Universal Title clash at the debut WWE Great Balls of Fire pay-per-view event is still weeks away, but someone’s going to get burned tonight. Will it be Joe or Lesnar?

Bray Wyatt’s Wife Accuses Him Of Adultery with WWE Co-Worker — Files for Divorce

Bray Wyatt’s wife has filed for divorce, according to a report by the Daily Mail.

The story is that Samantha Rotunda filed for divorce in a Florida court after she discovered that her husband Windham Rotunda (Bray Wyatt) committed adultery with WWE ring announcer, Jo Jo Offerman. Samantha’s lawyer told Daily Mail that he has obtained phone records that indicate that Wyatt is still maintaining “continuous contact” with Jo Jo.

Samantha and Windham were married back in 2012 and separated in March after Wyatt allegedly walked out on her and their two daughters, 6 and 4.

Windham’s attorney made the following remarks regarding the divorce:

“I do represent Mr. Rotunda in his dissolution of marriage case in Hernando County, Florida. As you know, these cases involve the private lives of the participants and sometimes unpleasant disputes. I would ask that you respect the privacy of both litigants in this matter and I have no other comments to make.”

In his counter-petition for divorce, Windham requested an injunction to force his wife to keep quiet about the situation. He claims she made ‘defamatory statements about the husband to several people in the community in an effort to ruin his reputation.’

Vince Russo’s The Brand Recap – Russo as WCW Champion, Changing Landscape of the Wrestling Business, Undertaker Returning? More!

Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host Jeff Lane and Glenn Gilbertti (Disco Inferno).

Russo comments on the growing speculation online, that WWE’s promotional image for the upcoming ‘Great Balls of Fire’ PPV resembles a penis and two testicles. Sasha Banks even tweeted this week that she actually agrees with the speculation and can see the resemblance. Russo doesn’t understand why WWE would blatantly do this given their ‘PG’ environment, and the fact that their target fanbase is mostly children.

Gilbertti points out that there was a recent study which concluded that the median age of WWE’s fanbase is 54. Russo is shocked by this news but it proves what he’s been saying for a long time now, that WWE isn’t making new fans. Gilbertti says that this number has nearly doubled from 28 in 2000, and today’s fans are mostly attitude era leftovers. He adds that WWE’s fans are literally dying off.

Russo says that wrestling isn’t ‘cool’ anymore, and teenagers aren’t watching today’s product. In turn, WWE is unable to generate and maintain new fans. Gilbertti says that WWE had the biggest increase of median fan age from 2000 to 2017 out of the 25 sports that were studied.

Dash Wilder Cleared to Return to Action

Dash Wilder has been cleared to return to action, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet.

For those that don’t remember, Dawson suffered a fractured jaw back in April and was expected to miss up to six weeks of action. He is now healed and returning slightly ahead of scheduled. Both members of Revival have been appearing on RAW in recent weeks with Wilder being close to recovered from injury.