Today's News

Rock ride:

The Rock is designing a new jungle ride for Disney theme parks, to coincide with a film he is starring in.

WWE:

WWE have announced a weekly Arabic show. Stephanie McMahon made a trip to Dubai to announce the new show. It will be a recap show, but will also feature content specific to the market, like women's matches, but with the ladies dressed more demurely.

Payback:

Tonight is WWE Payback. WWE have already taped some of the house of horrors match, which was recorded in an actual creepy house. The rest of the match will be in the ring live.

Mauro in UK:

Mauro Ranallo called a big boxing match in London last night.

Wrestling at sports event:

Jerry Lawler and Buff Bagwell, who subbed for Scott Steiner, ran a series of wrestling skits during a basketball game in Memphis last night.

No-shows:

X-Pac and Alberto Del Rio have been criticised for no-showing bookings this weekend.

Vince sends indie stars message:

The Young Bucks say Vince McMahon sent them a message before WrestleMania...

"Matt Hardy comes up to the ring and he's like, 'Vince McMahon called me this morning and said, 'hey I know these Young Buck kids are good, but could you please tell them to take care of you guys? We actually felt a lot of responsibility there too. We knew what they were doing the next night. We were two of the few guys in the world that actually knew about it. Nobody else in Ring Of Honor that night knew about it except us. So we were like, 'we can't hurt these guys.' What would that look like on us? That was definitely weighing on our hearts. We were like 'we gotta take care of these guys.' They've got a big night tomorrow."

Swagger talks leaving WWE:

''I had been with the company for 10 years. I'm very fortunate for the career that I had. What it really was is a business decision. I valued myself at a certain price, they valued it at another. I've gotta move forward. It was just time for a change; time for Jack Hager/Jack Swagger to go out and see other opportunities. I'm kind of green all over again on this side. It's so exciting. It's the best time to be a wrestler. Transcending countries, languages. It's really cool to be a part of that movement. I'm grateful for the brand that we created together. I'm home more, I have 2 young kids. If I could be Mr. Mom, I would. Packing lunches, I could take my son to school. I'm a big family man. Now we are putting the family first. 200 days a year out there in a car every night it's really gotta be in your heart. Now that I'm on the outside of it I could see where I was making mistakes and how I could've handled things differently. I'm excited to put my nose to the concrete and grind. Independent wrestling is so big and with social media now and the internet we could brand ourselves. I really don't like the term indies, because it's not indies anymore. I'll go anywhere. Japan would work perfectly the way I wrestle. It's a new movement of territories coming up again. People are working together to put on good shows and put on good wrestling."

Japanese star makes strides:

Tomoaki Honma is able to walk again, following a ring accident.

Old boy blasts NXT:

CJ Parker says of his time in WWE...

"Yeah. That's the problem with WWE. I felt like nothing there. Just a number. I didn't affect anything. But here I feel like I'm on a small team making a big difference. I feel like I contribute. I can feel New Japan growing and myself growing. I'm excited. I'm happy. It's great."

Today's News

WWE bully:

Rich Brennan has talked about Tom Phillips' dirty tricks to get ahead during their time coming through the PC together...

"I'll address that real quick. That tweet was sent to her by somebody. And to be honest with you, that was more in reference to someone else at the Performance Center than it was to me, or than it was with me… you know, if you want to say giving people a hard time or making it difficult for somebody to get ahead. There was somebody else who was at the Performance Center who was basically handcuffed from doing anything that the announcers were supposed to do at the PC, because… you know what…? To hell with it. Tom made it difficult for a friend of mine who was there. Quite honestly, my friend Alex who was hired, who was there. Now, at that point, I wasn't at the PC on a day-to-day basis but I know Alex and I know he works hard and I know he's enthusiastic and into the product and whatever. But there were certain things… for instance, when I got to the PC that I was allowed to do and that I was told to do because that was part of the learning process that, now that this guy is there, my friend is there, and he's supposed to be going through that whole process, except he's being told, 'No, you can't do this, this, this, this and this.' Then what is he supposed to do? So that had more to do with that than it did with me. But politics... that's part of it. Do I blame Tom and some of the other people involved? They wanted their guy. I wanted my guy. He won, so there you go."

NXT return:

Sawyer Fulton returned from injury last night, at an NXT live.

Legend has no respect for HOF'er:

Ronnie Garvin says he does not like Ric Flair's lifestyle...

"I have never seen him since 1987. I don't like being in that kind of world. It is bullsh*t. But to each his own. It is his life and you live it the way you want to. But I don't respect it because to me you are a goof. When you blow your money away and you wind up down the road broke and if you look in sports and entertainment you see folks that had everything and the last part of their life is just misery. Why go through that at the end of your life and go through that financially. I've heard all kinds of stories that I don't know are true or not but I wish him the best and he's never done anything to me but I respect people that are down to earth, people that are accomplishing things without having to brag about all of their feats in the world, how many women they slept with, how many drinks I can have in one night and driving the Mercedes and taking limos. I got in the ring with him, I never sat a table and had a meal with him or met him in a bar or had a long conversation or even travel with him. I never did that."

Hogan's collection:

Hulk Hogan says he has collected every bandana he wore through the big nights of his career...

"I was counting this morning, and I counted one row of black bandanas that had twenty plain black ones in a row and there were ten rows of black ones only...I've got some bandanas that I've found that I've had for like twenty years. No! They're really cool, they got a 'memory thing' to them or something, ya know, somethin' really cool happened that night."

Naomi reveals how close she came to missing Mania:

"Yes, it was literally the week before. And even then it was still a possibility, 'I don't know if you want to risk it or give it more time.' I fought and fought and fought and begged. Just had to really get them to trust me. 'Trust me, I know my body. I can go, I can do this.' And it was literally a week before. I for sure thought I wasn't going to make it."

Alum goes home:

Shinsuke Nakamura and Akira Tozawa accompanied Tajiri to the airport for his flight back to Japan, as he leaves WWE for the second time, this week.

UK delay:

The 10 episode run of World Of Sport was due to be taped next month in Manchester, but has been delayed. New dates will be announced next week.

Pete Dunne:

WWE UK star Pete Dunne used a child as a weapon this week. He picked a young boy up from his seat in the crowd and used his body to dropkick his opponent from a chair, then swung him onto his shoulders and made as if to throw him back into the crowd, but instead sat him on his shoulder and paraded him around, while the other fans cheered him.

Hall Of Famer picks:

Bruno Sammartino named the NFL draft picks for his local team this week.

Alum recalls Mania misery:

Bill DeMott has recalled his Mania debut. He says an in ring angle was planned at WrestleMania 17 in 2001, where, before he wrestled his father, Shane McMahon was to bring the WCW roster into the ring. However, one of the stars that had been flown into Texas for the spot, Shawn Stasiak, told a reporter every one of the 10 stars that were there, before they made the trip, and it was all over the dirt sheets by Mania day. This angered WWE to the point they fired all 10, as Stasiak would not take the blame, and instead of them being in the ring, they were shoved in a sky box, and only got a brief mention on air. They were also not allowed into the locker rooms...

"We debuted in the SkyBox, the darkened out SkyBox in the Houston Astrodome. I think it was Houston. There was 10 of us who got called when the buyout happened, I tell this story all the time, Shawn Stasiak still gets mad at me for telling it but I know in his mind he didn't do something wrong, but the night before we were supposed to debut in the ring with Shane McMahon at Wrestlemania, one of us did an interview and gave all the names away, and we got fired that morning. John Laurinaitis called my room and said 'what the hell is going on?' We all got fired. But they decided to flew us out there so they took us in the back alley, we walked up the stairs in the Houston SkyBox, Shane stood in the ring alone and said there are my people. We were all pissed off and just sat there with cheese and crackers while everybody else had martinis and filet mignon. There was no beer. If there was one beer to be had, I think Sean O'Haire was gonna beat somebody's ass. That was my Wrestlemania moment."

Today's News

Christopher Daniels says WWE chances are gone:

"I don't think so man. Honestly, I'm sure the WWE's not looking for 47-year old rookies and that's fine with me. The timing of my career worked out where when I might have been interesting to them, were times that I was under contract with TNA or Ring of Honor and that's fine with me. I'm happy to build up Ring of Honor as best I can."

Sting talks career regret:

"I regret not being able to get in the ring with Taker one time. It would have been great.''

Cody chooses new home:

Cody Rhodes is set to sign an exclusive deal with ROH.

Photo:

Mick Foley shows off his new scar... and an idea for some ink.

WWE ready to talk:

WWE are reportedly planning on entering into talks with Mauro Ranallo. They hope to get him to reconsider his departure, and want him back at work.

Cody reveals why he quit:

Cody Rhodes has revealed a creative idea by Road Dogg Jesse James that he was set to do last summer, but it was pulled at the last minute, and led to him making an admittedly emotional decision to walk away. Road Dogg had suggested that he play a split personality, separated by the brands. He would have played the Stardust gimmick on the blue show, and revert to Cody Rhodes on Raw.

Young recalls lying to legend:

Darren Young says he lied about his sexuality to Mark Henry in his early days in WWE...

"When I first came up on the roster I had I had hair like Enzo kind of it was spiky and stuff like that. So, Mark Henry, you know how he is. He's just sitting there in the locker and he's like, and this is a couple months on the road and he's like,"Boy" and he's long winded. "Boy why you got your hair like that?" Again I can say this story because he's going to be putting this in his book so I told him, "Hey when I have an opportunity to tell this story I'm going to tell it because I don't want to at first offend him but he's okay with it so again he's sitting there, "Boy why you got your hair like that?" I said, "Mark, Mark I'm just trying to be different. I'm just trying to stand out." "Well you know it makes you look gay." And this was before I came out so I'm just stuttering like I am now. Mark, I'm just trying to be different man you know. Fast-forward to when I like came out. The morning I came out he called me, this was in LA at the hotel, he called me and said, "Come down to the green room." This was during SummerSlam… I went down to the green room and he gave me the biggest hug and he was like, "Man how come you didn't tell me?" I was like, "Mark I didn't tell nobody. You know how hard it is for me." And Mark said you know in his book when he writes a book… one of the chapters is going to be about me and the caption is going to be, Insert foot in mouth."

Goodness gracious, PPV changed:

WWE have dropped plans to bring back Bad Blood, and will instead debut a new PPV this summer, entitled Great Balls Of Fire. Brock Lesnar will have his first Universal title defense at the show.

Family feud:

Paige's father and husband, Alberto Del Rio, will wrestle each other in the UK next month.

Diva in hack:

Alexa Bliss says nude images of her on the internet are ''Bogus'' and have been digitally fooled with to make them look like her.

Today's News

Charlotte makes history:

Charlotte became the first woman to main event PPV and both flagship TV shows for WWE this week.

Curtis goes to school:

Curtis Axel read a book to his son's school class today.

Orton talks landmark:

Randy Orton has done a sit down interview with WWE's website to mark 15 years as a WWE star...

''How does it feel? It feels like, "Where did the time go?" to be honest. I've been around a long time, and it seemed for the longest time like I was the young guy. Now, all of a sudden, I've got fans with beards telling me, "I used to watch you when I was a kid." So, I don't know what happened to all those years, man, but the little bit I do remember? It was definitely a fun ride. I've always been kind of the same guy. Whether I was The Legend Killer, The Viper, The Apex Predator, nothing's really changed. When I look at [Superstars] who've had 10 different personas … it's amazing to me. These guys are very talented that they're able to do that. Would I be able to do that? I don't know. Maybe, maybe not. But I think the fact that I've never really had to change is a testament to what my persona is on the show. Whether you're sick of it or love it, you know what you're gonna get with me. Youngest champ; I think I've won more Survivor Series Matches than anything else, maybe I'm tied with Ultimate Warrior; won two Royal Rumbles; won Money in the Bank; I've main-evented WrestleMania; I've wrestled in 13 WrestleManias — those are all up there. I've stolen the show numerous times. I've wrestled in Seoul, I've wrestled in Auckland, New Zealand. There's not one thing, there's a bunch of things.''

WWE sign deal:

WWE have signed a new TV deal in the Philippines.

Alum enters bullying debate:

Pete Gas is the latest star to discuss the JBL media storm...

"I remember being at my house with my girlfriend and we were sleeping at like 12:30 at night and my phone rings and it's JBL. He was in town doing some stuff for the studio and he was down at the bar and when I answered the phone I thought I was dreaming. He goes, 'Come on down to the bar you son of a b---h and have a drink with me.' He's just that type of guy and that's his personality, but in no way, shape or form do I feel like he's a bully. If people don't understand his personality and that's where he can come across as a bully, but he really isn't. He's a guy that likes to have fun and is loud. He's a big guy and very intimidating size wise, but it's all about having a good time. Sometimes like I said, people were brought up differently and just don't get it. Bullying to me is you just ride someone so much and you're mean to them and you are nasty. You make the person feel like absolute s--t. Whether it's Mauro or whoever made those comments and felt like they were bullied, their interpretation could be a lot less severe. Their line is not in the same spot. I'm not wording it properly, but the bottom line is the guys not a f--king bully at all."

WWE on TV:

Eva Marie and Shaq will compete against each other on 'Celebrity Showdown' tonight.

Vince gains control:

Vince McMahon has accepted that a movie of his life is going to be made, but has secured the right to give the final OK to the script.

Hardyz sign off:

The Hardy Boyz will be working their final indie gig this weekend.

Today's News

Not tough enough:

WWE have cleared a couple of PC students off their books in the past couple of days, most notably Josh, who was one of the two winners of the last series of Tough Enough. Both champions have now apparently been cut, however there are conflicting reports about him. The company also confirmed that Andrea DiMarco, who was taken off their official roster earlier this month, has also left their employ.

Backstage incident:

A row at last nights Impact left long term staffer Bob Ryder out in the cold. Karen Jarrett was furious about a mistake in the booking of her hotel room and Jeff Jarrett demanded that he leave the building. He is though still employed by the promotion, despite many reports to the contrary.

SmackDown:

Breezango have earned a shot at The Uso's Tag gold for Backlash. Jinder Mahal stole the WWE gold and Baron Corbin was suspended last night.

ROH make WWE change:

WWE have informed Crazzy Steve of Impact and Kyle O'Reilly and Lio Rush, amongst others, that they will not be offered WWE contracts until 90 days after their departure date from their previous employer. This is because ROH recently sent them a cease and desist letter, demanding they stop entering into contract talks with their talent.

Rusev:

Rusev may return at Money In The Bank. He said on TV last night that he did not agree with being moved from Raw, and would not compete for SmackDown, unless they give him a World title shot at MITB later this summer.

Injury:

Noam Dar returned from injury last night.

HOF auto wreck:

Ric Flair's fiance Fifi The Maid has been involved in an auto wreck, and is in hospital.

Jeff Hardy:

Despite an 8 year break from WWE Jeff Hardy is still one strike from being fired. His two strikes for wellness fails in the past still stand, and a third would mean instant dismissal. He has however reportedly been offered the chance to have one taken away, by entering into the WWE redemption programme. This would mean he would need to subject himself to many more random drugs checks than the usual, but, if he can stay clean for 18 months one of his two fails would be removed from his record.

Bram sent home:

Impact star Bram has been suspended by Pro Wrestling NOAH after posting a picture of himself lying in a supermarket cold storage freezer.

WWE:

WWE have won a webby award for their WrestleMania social media coverage.

Renee reveals how wedding to Dean Ambrose happened:

"We were going to bed! We were going to bed and he like busted out the ring and we were like, 'Oh man I guess we should do this now.' So we ended up going on Yelp and we found a 24-hour pastor to come to our backyard. It was so handy and his name was Pastor Pete and he lived around the corner from us, so he was there. They were very concerned by the way because it was 1 o'clock in the morning, so technically it was Sunday and they were very concerned about us calling, they were like, 'Is everything OK? Have you guys been drinking? What's happening?' We're like, 'It's fine, you can come down.' So we had to get a witness and we called and woke up a friend of ours and got it done."

Today's News

Vin vs Rock:

A UFC fighter has claimed that Vin Diesel told him he would beat Rock in a fight...

"Vin Diesel yelled at me yesterday at the party because I said in a fight versus him and The Rock, I gave it to The Rock. So he pulled up on me. Not in a violent way but he said 'come on man, I would flex on The Rock.'"

Why Jinder is getting chance:

WWE are giving Jinder Mahal a push because they hope to grow their business in India this year, and feel having a top star representing the region will aid their quest.

SmackDown tease:

• Shinsuke Nakamura opens the show
• Charlotte Flair vs. SmackDown Women's Champion Naomi
• No DQ Match: WWE Champion Randy Orton vs. Erick Rowan
• AJ Styles vs. Baron Corbin
• Beat The Clock Challenge: The Colons vs. The Ascension vs. American Alpha vs. Breezango

Payback:

The Club vs Cass & Enzo will be the kickoff match at Payback.

New baby:

Roderick Strong has become a father to a baby son called Troy.

Mauro Ranallo had heat:

Backstage reports from WWE sources suggest Vince McMahon was tired of Mauro Ranallo, and did not like his style. He reportedly told him to be like Michael Cole.

JBL bullying:

Another story of JBL bullying has made it into the public domain. He recently attacked an unnamed star who had missed two shows because they were at home with a relative that was dying. He reportedly chewed them out for missing the events because he had worked the shows despite having a hernia injury. He went on for so long that the talent was reduced to tears, even carrying on with his tirade after the star told him why they had been away.

Ryback accuses WWE star of roiding:

Ryback says Jinder Mahal is clearly on juice...

"Speaking of tits, who I noticed had tits this week on RAW, Jinder Mahal. I noticed… they did a close up of his f--king chest and I just noticed it right away. I've never had that or anything because I don't… like, there's no reason to. When you get gyno, red flags right off the f--king bat, Dr. Black. Jesus Christ, that s--t don't happen on its own, and I like Jinder and whatnot and he looks great, but I am pointing out the obvious, that that doesn't just f--king happen from f--king drinking your protein shake."

TNA to WWE:

Gunner is in talks with NXT.

WWE:

WWE have won a shorty award for their YouTube content.

Titus O'Neil:

Titus O'Neil has revealed he was conceived after his mother was raped when she was just 11 years old. He has joined a campaign against sexual assault...

"I'm very passionate about making sure that the same thing that happened to my mother doesn't happen to other women or young men around the world,"

Seth steals:

Kenny Omega says Seth Rollins has stolen his finisher.

Bischoff snubbed WWE:

Eric Bischoff says he rebuffed a chance to go to WWE during the invasion...

"They had called about a year before and people don't know this ya they called me about a year before you know Vince called me in whatever it was 2002. In 2001 I was in Wyoming in the summer and I got a call from JR, and JR wasn't exactly excited to call me at the time you know he still had a chip on his shoulder a little bit and he called me and said, "hey you wanna come in and work a program?" and I said, "well, whats the program?" and he said, "well we're working on it" and I said, "well sure, when would you want me to start?" "you gotta be here Monday" well this is like Friday and I had a house full of people, it was over the 4th of July, I had like twenty five or thirty people, friends and relatives that had driven in from all over the country for a family reunion and I'm thinking ya I'm not just gonna pick up go up there for a Monday Night Raw to participate in something what they're not really sure what it is quite yet, it wasn't right you know, so I politely passed and when I did I thought well that will be the last time they call me."

Injury:

Eddie Edwards will be having knee surgery this week. He was hurt over the weekend.

Impact ban:

Impact have banned Reby Hardy's F**k that owl shirt from their tapings.

Katsuyori Shibata:

Shibata is handicapped down the right side of his body, and will need further surgery in May. He still hopes to wrestle again.

Vince the movie:

A new wrestling film has been confirmed. 'Pandemonium' will tell the story of the life and career of Vince McMahon, and will be produced by Tristar.

Today's News

ODB welcomes change:

ODB is glad that the old regime are gone from Impact...

"I love it, I'm glad the old management is out. Yeah I said it."

Impact signing:

Scott Steiner returned to Impact last night.

HOF'er critical of top star:

Steve Austin says Seth Rollins must do better...

"Rollins is somewhat over, not all-the-way over, not by a long shot. Now, I don't mean that in a bad way. That's just being honest. He relied on his sequences and his athleticism to carry him. To take him to the next level, he'll have to get more character development. When you say 'Seth Rollins' or if you want to say 'Seth Freakin' Rollins', I still don't have a sense of what or who this guy is. And so, that rests on Seth Rollins' shoulders, as an individual, as a performer, to define or create that as well as the WWE because I still don't get a sense of what kind of personality he is."

He went on to tell him to use Bret Hart as his inspiration...

"Bret wasn't an over-the-top guy. He was a pretty humble and a very quiet individual outside the ring, so in many regards kind of somewhat like Seth although Bret's an entirely different animal, but there's a case of a guy who's not a showy kind of guy, but very conservative, but just a highly defined gimmick, a badass gimmick, and a world class worker, so Seth needs to work on this."

JR:

Jim Ross' book is now available for pre order on Amazon.

Raw tease:

• Braun Strowman to battle Kalisto in a Dumpster Match on Raw
• Alexa Bliss closes in on the Raw Women's Title
• Will The Miz retaliate against Dean Ambrose?
• Bray Wyatt brings true "Horror" to Raw
• Business gets "personal" between Seth Rollins and Samoa Joe

Dreamer calls for one more match:

Tommy Dreamer says WWE need to get Undertaker back in the ring one more time...

"I was shocked. I love the Undertaker both professionally and personally. When I left WWE's ECW, I took off my shirt and laid it in the ring. I knew that ECW wasn't coming back. People still ask when did I retire from WWE. Well, I didn't retire, I just retired from that chapter in my life. From a business standpoint, if I was Vince McMahon, I would build the next WrestleMania as Undertaker's last match and then have him retire."

WWE poach Impact star:

WWE have signed Crazzy Steve. The former TNA Tag champ was approached whilst still under contract to Impact, but quit to accept the WWE offer.

Animal vs Steiner:

Animal has reacted to Scott Steiner saying he and his brother would kill LOD in a shoot fight...

"Oh bullsh*t. By the time they'd go for a single leg they'd be knocked out. As soon as you dive we'd punch you down in the back of the head. Listen, Just cause Hawk and I were street guys, doesn't mean I didn't do ammeter wrestling when I was younger. Now was I at a level of Scotty or Rick at ammeter wrestling wise? They would kill us and Scotty is right. But if it's real I'm not gonna sit there and let a guy go leg dive on me. I'm either gonna kick him in the face or punch him in the head, and so is Hawk. So a street fighter any day of the week you'd see - look at UFC. A lot of the guys that win are not wrestlers. Some guys are though. Steiner brothers are two good guys man I will never have anything bad to say about either one of them."

Punk on TV:

CM Punk has signed on as a pro on an MTV reality show. A group of amateur athletes would compete in various challenges vs real athletes to win $50,000.

Sin Cara:

Sin Cara has debuted new glow in the dark ring attire.

Shaq reveals why Mania did not happen / blames WWE:

"Because they kept playing. First, they said it was me and Big Show. Then, they said it was going to be 3 and 3. Then, they cancelled it so when they cancelled it, I made other arrangements. And then they tried to call back and tried to get it done, and I just said, 'I'm not going to do it.' They messed it up."

He disputed that he refused to lose, and said that he would of course have lost the match.

Today's News

I'm not done:

Sexy Star says she is not retired...

"I never said that in any interview that I gave. I think it was a misunderstanding on the media's behalf. When it happens that I present myself unmasked and make my real name known, it's because I have a dream that I am fighting for and want to accomplish. If God allows it, it will happen on the 22nd of April, to be able to box. I never said at any moment, some media outlet around there were the ones that mentioned or reported that 'Sexy Star leaves the mask for the gloves' or something like that. That was what led to the confusion, because I never made the comment that I was going to leave wrestling.Yes, I had to get away from it a little and I've been on only a few shows. I thank all the promoters and people that have called from companies that have wanted to take me to their country. I just haven't been able to, because I've been focusing on my boxing training. I have had only a few appearances for wrestling because those were dates I had already agreed to work from a long while back and I decided to fulfill those, because I don't like to take back what I had agreed on. But all that talk about me going to retire? No. I think wrestling saved my life. I owe it everything. I can say that the ring is my life. It is not my house. It is my life. Right now I don't feel any motive to do it. I made a comment about it in an interview, that if I'm in boxing - a sport that demands a very strong physical preparation - then I think that my body is ready for the day that I return to wrestling and it will be with no problem."

Angle regrets leaving WWE:

"I had some regrets, because I was just starting to get good when I quit WWE in 2006. I was just starting to come into my own, where I was- not that I didn't have incredible matches there, I did, from 2001 to 2006, but I started really becoming a 'seasoned veteran' six years into my career and that was right around 2006. So, I had a better career in TNA, unfortunately most of the WWE Universe will never see those matches, but at the same time, I'm really happy that I had that kind of impact in six and half years in WWE, where they induct me into the Hall of Fame 11 years later."

Legend leaves:

Tajiri has gone back to Japan. He says WWE decided they could not let him return to the ring after injuring his knee, so he decided to resign. He had been, and says enjoyed, working at the PC for four months.

Four score Cena:

John Cena is celebrating his 40th birthday.

Swagger on tour:

Jack Swagger is in Australia with HOH.

Big E:

Big E is marrying people again this weekend.

The Bunny:

Adam Rose has revealed the original plan for The Bunny...

"We were in a meeting for two hours before Raw, saying 'Who is going to be The Bunny?' and they couldn't decide. I wanted Gabriel to do it, he was my friend from when I was 15 and he was 16, his Dad trained me and we've known each other our whole lives. 'Let him do it,' they were like 'Well, nobody really knows him anymore and they won't really get the reaction they want.' Then there was a suggestion of Vince McMahon do it, and I was like 'What's the payoff? I don't get it' and they're like 'Well, we don't really know where to go, so why not just have crazy billionaire just do it?'"

Today's News

'Swoggle remembers 6 hour shift:

Hornswoggle has recalled hiding under the WWE ring for hours during an angle...

"When it comes to being under the ring, I'd either go under before the doors opened or would get snuck under in the dark while a video package played on the screen. There were times when I was underneath for six-plus hours because it wouldn't work out to sneak me under later in the show. I'd get dressed under there, have plenty of waters, and would normally bring my phone or PSP. Thankfully, I never had a bathroom emergency under the ring."

HOF'er committed suicide?:

Animal says he could well believe his old school friend and fellow HOF'er Ravishing Rick Rude took his own life in 1999...

"You know I knew Rude since high school and - God you know what, it wouldn't surprise me. I don't think it was that, but I knew Rude had a little bit of a depression problem. For the way he looked, all ripped up and looked good, he had a little bit of a self conscious issue. He was wondering how he looked and how he was. So that kind of doesn't surprise me. I know for a fact cause I know Rude real well, yeah he smoked a lot but he was Percocet guy, I knew that for sure. I think that's one of the drugs he OD'd on. I never read a toxicology report, I don't know what exactly he died from, but he and I found some Greek place and we got to talking a lot. I see the tendency - I see what you're talking about. I can see that can be a possibility, but I really can't say for sure man."

Brother Love tells the story of the Fake 'Taker's fake tats:

"We had a tattoo expert come in. We had tattoos put on Brian Lee's arm, the exact same tattoos as The Undertaker. As a matter of fact, Jerry Lawler sat at the makeup station with Brian Lee and drew and put color in the tattoos because we didn't think the tattoo artist didn't do a good job putting on the temporary tattoos. They didn't look good enough and Lawler sat there and he said, 'I can fix that.' Lawler sat there with a pen and put tattoos on Brian Lee's arms.We had Brian Lee come to the studio and get in the ring and work with Undertaker, get his mannerisms down pat, as close as we could." 

He also says he told the real 'Taker off for getting his first tattoo, and demanded he didn't get anymore...

"When Undertaker got his first tattoo, I told him, 'dude, you probably just ruined your career right there. Why would you do that? Whatever you do, don't get any more tattoos!' That was my advice to him in Binghamton, New York. I'll never forget it. You can tell he listened to me, it was a tattoo of himself with the skull and crossbones and everything, and I thought, 'now, you can't do anything else if this Undertaker gimmick doesn't work out for you, kid. You're now branded with this f--king tattoo. What are you thinking you big, dumb, redheaded son of a b---h?' Yeah, needless to say he didn't take my advice and I think I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I think it worked out alright for him. Everything worked out okay."

He then recalled a fall out from the night of the two 'Takers, between the real one and Bret Hart...

"Pretty f--king hot. He was hot. No, he was f--king hot. Nobody was there for the confrontation because no one wanted to be there, but Taker did go and talk to Bret just to let him know, hey, he wasn't happy with it. I mean, I don't know. It wasn't heated. Taker's not that kind of a guy, but he did have a conversation with him that night. And, no, no one was there, so there's no witness. The only people that know what happened in that are Undertaker and Bret."

Injury:

Dash Wilder has had his surgery on his damaged jaw.

Sandow moves on:

Damien Sandow has landed his first movie role, but says he has not burnt his boots yet...

"I assure you the boots are not burnt. You know, will I ever lace them up again? I don't know. I'm a very transparent person, especially with the fans. I'm not going to lie and say, 'oh I'll be back.' You know I don't know if I'll be back maybe I will maybe I won't you know. But the one thing is I miss the interaction with the fans, I miss the crowds, and I miss being able to kind of like entertain you know. Just put these weird twists on characters I genuinely do miss that. But again where I'm at in life right now it's just kind of taken me in a different direction not to say that I won't end up in a ring again."

Why Eva is still active:

WWE and Eva Marie will not confirm her departure from the company until the current run of 'Total Diva's' ends.

Announcer leaves WWE:

Mauro Ranallo has confirmed he has left WWE, but will still be contracted until SummerSlam season. JBL has apologised for any upset he caused, and claimed that WWE investigated the accusations against him, but did not reveal their findings...

"Admittedly, I took part in locker room pranks that existed within the industry years ago. WWE addressed my behavior and I responded accordingly, yet my past is being brought up because of recent unfounded rumors. I apologize if anything I said playing 'the bad guy' on a TV show was misconstrued."

Alum criticises WWE women:

Vickie Guerrero says the women of WWE cannot cut a promo...

"I look at some of the girls and they can't do a promo and it just amazes me. Some are very talented, don't get me wrong. Some girls can do a great promo, but when I was there I do believe that I was the only one that could do a promo."

Samoan dynasty say goodbye:

Rosey was laid to rest in Florida today.

Today's News

WWE on TV:

Chris Jericho will be on 'Animal Planet' tonight.

Impact comings and goings:

Crazzy Steve left Impact last night, ending three years with the group, but others returned, including Low Ki, who debuted a gimmick similar to video game character 'Hitman.'

Reigns goes home:

No member of the Samoan dynasty, including Roman Reigns, will work this weekend. A memorial service for the recently deceased Rosey will be held in Florida.

Scary incident in Japan:

Vader collapsed into unconsciousness in the ring after a match in Japan last night. He blamed a bang on the head for the incident, not his heart issues.

Austin talks WWE heat:

Steve Austin has angrily shot down rumours he has heat with WWE...

"Jesus Christ, I just can't be at every single WrestleMania. I had a lot of personal stuff going on, and good stuff and professional stuff I was trying to take care of when all that WrestleMania stuff went down. I got an invite from WWE to be there. We never talked about me being a part of the show, just as far as being there for Hall Of Fame, an event that I really enjoy, but all of a sudden all of this because I wasn't there, because I had a busy schedule, there are all these reports that I'm at odds with the company when it couldn't be further from the truth. I'm fine with the company. I had a bunch of s--t I had to take care of, bottom line."

Career over:

Dave Meltzer claims to have received conformation from WWE sources that Paige will not be brought back after her injury because of ''Everything that has happened'' including two drugs bans, the sex tapes, Alberto Del Rio's anti WWE rants, her family threatening legal action, and on, and on. He however says there is one chance she will save her career, and it will depend on The Rock's film of her family. If it sells well, she will likely be kept around to play off the success, if it tanks, she will sink with it.

Title shot pulled:

Bray Wyatt's shot at Randy Orton's WWE title at Payback is seemingly now a non-title match, after Bray switched shows. All reference to the gold being on the line has been removed from advertising.

Impact land ''Major name'':

WWE Alum Evan Bourne is reportedly set to debut with Impact tonight.

Legend in surgery:

The Sandman has had surgery on a hernia.

Rock spins off:

The Rock is in talks to take his role in the 'Fast' franchise into a new series of films following his character. Jason Statham will also be involved in the new series.

Today's News

NXT injuries:

Drew McIntyre (bust open) and Ember Moon were injured during last nights NXT taping. Ember so badly that a battle royal she had just been eliminated from had to be stopped so she could receive medical help. She was thrown from the top of the ropes and crashed down onto the guard rail, smashing her shoulder as she hit the barrier. She was in pain and in tears at ringside.

Cody looking for new home:

Cody Rhodes says he has had fun roaming the world on the indie scene, but is now looking to settle down with a single promotion. He also says he forgives WWE for taking his surname off him.

NXT - Chicago:

The number one contenders to the NXT championships were decided at the NXT taping last night. The results will play out over the next few weeks of the show, so I will not name the winners, for SPOILER!!! reasons, but I will tell you that the Tag match will be a ladder match and that the women left in the ring when the battle royal was stopped will compete for the title in a multi woman bout.

TNA to make impact with NXT:

Rosita will make her debut as an official NXT star in the coming weeks. Her appearance taped last night.

Booker T talks JBL / Ranallo feud:

Booker T has spoken out about fans trying to get JBL fired over the bullying issue between Bradshaw and Mauro Ranallo. He is not happy with them, Ranallo, his friends, or that the story made it into the public...

"Right now, the backlash towards a friend of mine, a colleague, 'JBL' John 'Bradshaw' Layfield, a guy that I have been knowing for 25 years… Man, it's crazy. I don't know if you saw SmackDown just last week, the chants were, 'fire JBL' and that right there, this flashmob takeover from the fans sometimes, getting into the business side because of social media now and everybody knows everything the wrestling fans have never been so close to the business than they are right now in 2017 and I'll tell you it's a good thing. It's a great thing because, as sports entertainers, we need our fans. We do. We definitely need our fans, but as far as the hashtag, #FireJBL, I'm like, it should go away. We should move on. Men fight! That's what we do! A lot of people like Ranallo. A lot of people really and truly like what he does as a journalist, what he does as a commentator for New Japan for many years, what he does for Showtime Boxing, Strikeforce. He has done it all. He has been around for a long time and, like I said, a lot of people love him. But the business, the wrestling business is different from any other entity that you are ever going to encounter on this Earth! I think Mauro, and I say again, I like Mauro even though he blocked me or unfollowed me on Twitter. I mean, I didn't do anything. Do you know what I mean? We talked boxing all the time, but Mauro obviously had a problem with JBL and the way they did their work. Now, JBL is what is called a heel commentator. That's just something we do and that's something that has been done since the beginning of time. It's going to go on throughout the history of professional wrestling. One guy's going to be for the good guy. One guy's going to be for the bad guy. Or just vice versa. It's just part of the game. I'm going to be straight up as far as this 'bullying' term. Let's take that bullying term and put it back in preschool and our junior high schools and our high schools. When you're out of high school, I think the bullying rule stops. Do you know what I mean? I think the bullying rule pretty much goes away when you're a grown man and you're able to take up for yourself and throw hands or go and talk to someone and say, 'hey, I don't feel like I'm being treated right with this commentator here. Maybe you need to move me somewhere else and put me on another show. Otherwise there could be problems therefore ramifications.' But I don't think the bullying rule falls under grown men having an issue with each other. Look, I've been in the business 26 years and I have yet to have been bullied by anybody. I'm going to tell you right now, I was around The Steiner Brothers; I was running Nasty Boys. 'Flyin' Brian Pillman, one of the most notorious ribbers I've ever seen in the business, God rest his soul, if Brian Pillman would have ribbed me, I would have beat the hell out of him. You'd still be hearing about that beating. People would still be talking about the beating Booker T gave Brian Pillman. When something is done on television in front of the world, it's open season. And we're talking about bullying right now. If it's something that's done in the back, if I'm being disrespected there, I feel like it should be handled a little bit different as opposed to going on social media and talking about it. That's first and foremost to me is it something that should be public to the public? I mean, if you worked at McDonalds and you [were] mad because you [were] on the fries and you wanted to be doing the burgers, are you going to go on social media and say, 'boss ain't letting me go over and do the patties, man. I want to advance now. I want to do patties.' Are you going to go on social media and talk about that?"

He then blasted MMA fighters for threatening violence against JBL...

"Childish. That's exactly what it is. It's childish. It boggles my mind as far as people going to Twitter and social media as their first line of defense. What are the true facts as far as this saga goes? I mean, who's right and who's wrong in a situation like this? There are two sides to every story and we've got to look at it that way I think it is locker room talk and that's where it should end. As far as social media, as far as JBL/Mauro Ranallo, who was wrong? I don't know if anybody was wrong or right in this situation, but I hope it gets resolved and I hope that it gets resolved very, very soon."

Cornette says he does not hate KO / Zayn:

But you wouldn't think so given his choice of language...

"Once again everyone said that Cornette must be hanging himself in his closet and slitting his wrist because they are so successful. Which is ridiculous. Kevin Steen and El Generico were both pains in the asses to deal with. It was the 80/20 principle where you spend 80% of your time dealing with 20% of your talent's problems. Part of it is that they are French Canadian and I'm sorry but French Canadians in wrestling have always been pains in the ass except for Pat Patterson. But part of it was we are paying them to play professional athletes on television so Steen, we'd like you to lose some weight, f*cking buy some new clothes and f*cking trim your beard up and look a little neater. El Generico a television company has just bought the promotion you work for so we'd like you to be able to do interviews instead of being a mute and we'd like you to take the God damn mask off, I didn't even broach that with him because OH MY GOD it would have been like I sodomized his f*cking mother if I would have said take the mask off. But you've got a French Canadian Muslim with red hair trying to play a Luchador and nobody understood it."

He does though, really hate, Kenny Omega...

''They've (KO / Zayn) never embarrassed the business by beating up grade school children or having matches with blow up dolls. Kenny Omega, I don't care if he discovers the cure for cancer in his spare time, brings Lou Thesz back from the grave and stretches him in a shoot..he is still a piece of sh*t that should never be in the business because he had matches with nine year old girls and blow up dolls. I don't care how good he is. I don't have any time for him, don't want to look at him, don't want to hear about him and if I had complete control over pro wrestling I would have Dan Severn go and beat the f*ck out of him and leave him laying in a f*cking ditch.''

Young Bucks blame TNA (Impact) for Hardyz going to WWE:

The Young Bucks have revealed their feud with Hardyz for ROH was set to go into the summer, but the Impact lawsuit to stop them using the broken gimmicks meant ROH felt they had to kill it early, leaving the extreme brothers free for the Mania returns they made at the start of this month.

Next top star:

WWE are set to push Baron Corbin to the stars this year. Officials have more faith in him moving up to be the top heel in the company than Braun Strowman on Raw. They are working on new music, new gear, and a bit of a re-package.

Foley has op:

Mick Foley has finally had his hip replacement surgery.

Chyna:

Chyna's movie has been completed. Here is the trailer for the film that was being recorded at the time of her death this time last year...

The film will be released later this summer.

Simon Gotch talks release / backstage incident:

On release...

"They brought it to me and I agreed. It was one of those things where I was unhappy, and they basically felt like the character had run its course. I said I agreed, and they said they wanted to exercise the termination clause in my contract. I agreed with that as well and we went from there. This wasn't exactly an unwanted thing on my part. I wasn't happy, and I actually felt that was the best move. In any situation, sometimes if you see the opportunity, you take it."

On backstage incident...

"The actual story is that it happened at WrestleMania. I was sitting in catering and the chair I was in was kinda flimsy. I go to shift in it and it just collapses underneath me. Being a ham, my immediate reaction was to demand someone pin me. 'Someone pin me quick.' The guy who comes over, I think he works for us. I didn't realize he was a local technician and was not a WWE technician. He was someone who worked on the set at 'Mania. He came to help me up and I'm like, 'Nope, you gotta pin me. C'mon, man.' And he's not going along with the bit. He thinks I just fell and he's trying to help me. I see the bit's going nowhere so I take the chair and I just kick it off to the side, drop it like a little punt and let it lay where it lands. That was it. I saw the story online, saying that I fell in the chair and made this big scene and was yelling and screaming. No part of that is accurate."