Today's News

WWE Network:

Jeff Hardy will be the star of the first in a new series of WWE shows based on the social media site Reddit's popular AMA (Ask Me Anything) feature. They are also working on a Snapchat show.

Injury:

Kofi Kingston and New Day are back, this time on the blue show. They have been given a shot at the Blue tag gold for MITB vs The Uso's.

MITB history:

Shane McMahon has announced the first female MITB ladder match for the next SD special. It seems the winner will get a shot at Naomi's title, as she has confessed to being disappointed not to be involved. Lana may debut in the match.

This drew the ire of Nia Jax of Raw, who blasted her own brand for under using their women...

''Wow! First ever Money in the Bank Women's Ladder Match! Amazing how SmackdownLive uses their ENTIRE women roster every Tuesday!''

Cena's return:

John Cena will be back on WWE TV on July 4.

Ryback slates $1,000,000 promoter:

Ryback says the UK promoter that has offered CM Punk a million bucks to work for him is the worst he has dealt with...

"He just comes off like he says one thing and then says another thing. And then, like, out of all the promoters we've dealt with, he has been by far the worst. He showed up to one of the events in England when I was there, just like harassing me, essentially. I treated him beyond well for that, but if there was ever a delusional human being, he was one of them."

WWE left me homeless:

An NXT cut, Willie Mack,  has revealed he was made homeless after losing his WWE job. He is currently one of LU's top stars.

King defends Bliss:

King Jerry Lawler says Alexa Bliss should learn from Raw this week and then move on...

"Sometimes things happen that just don't turn out like you envision it. I'm sure that's exactly what happened there. Here's the other thing: it's live T.V. That's a double-edged sword, believe me. When something doesn't turn out the way you planned it, there's nothing you can do about it. It's there. It was live and everybody saw it. That was just one of those cases. You just gotta move on."

Today's News

Angle getting his angle:

WWE have started an angle with Kurt Angle, which is expected to lead to his ring return for WWE. Corey Graves is involved in a attempt to blackmail the Raw GM.

Injuries:

Lince Dorado hurt his knee on Main Event last night and Tommaso Ciampa is scheduled to have surgery this week.

No love like brother love:

Cody Rhodes was angered by someone on Twitter calling Goldust a career jobber, he replied with...

''3 time intercontinental champ, 3 time world tag team champ...replace "jobber" w/"future hall of famer" and kiss my ass while you're at it.''

Impact botch:

Impact aired the wrong episode of their show in the UK this week.

Alum to jail:

X-Pac says he may have to go to jail for a 13 year old DUI charge...

"I didn't go through all of the steps that I should have gone through. ...That's something that I need to take care of and I might have to do a couple days in jail over it, who knows. If that's the case, that's the case, I want to get square with the house on everything."

Summer listed:

Summer Rae has made the Maxim hot 100 list.

SmackDown tease:

• SmackDown Women's Title No. 1 Contender's Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match to take place tonight
• Will Sami Zayn be back in action?
• Can anyone stop The Usos?
• WWE Money in the Bank momentum at stake
• Will Mahal avoid The Viper's fangs?

Jinder reacts to Ryback drugs accusation:

"I've been tested plenty, and never failed one."

Title change SPOILER!!!:

Sonjay Dutt has taken the X title in India.

WWE cut segment:

WWE have cut Alexa Bliss' skit from Raw, it was said to be pretty awful.

Today's News

Flair urges strength:

Ric Flair has urged fans not to be cowed by the recent terror attack in the UK...

"I think if people are so enthusiastic, love sports - and those kind of events - and concerts, I don't think they should be intimidated. We just can't be intimated, you can't live your life like that."

Raw tease:

• Finn Bálor faces two diabolical Superstars in a Triple Threat Match
• Roman Reigns faces his former Shield "brother"
• Who attacked Enzo Amore?
• The Hardy Boyz get cagey
• Can Bayley go to the Extreme against Alexa Bliss?

Evan Bourne refuses to criticise WWE:

"No, it's different because I don't care about TV time. I see wrestling very different from other people. Maybe according to certain people, I've heard that as a commonality. I'll be honest; I never felt like I got a lack of time. Now they have their own TV show, and 205 Live didn't come out of nowhere. It's something WWE had been planning for ten years. You can't just make the show appear like that. They work hard to feature all their wrestlers, and they're trying to maximize the amount of money they can make out of everybody, which is what WWE does really well, and they've managed to turn that not only into their own feature, but they could possibly turn that into a brand which travels separately and earns WWE a fourth income. So it's in the best interest that they feature the cruiserweights. But sometimes there are the iconic people like Conor McGregor and George St. Pierre. You need the Bryan Danielsons, and Nevilles and even the bigger guys. What I'm saying is that there's no height or weight requirement to be an entertainer, and that's something that Austin Aries taught me when I was very young, and it shows right now with these incredible, eye-catching performers, and it's regardless of the height or weight, so that's my take on that."

Bella's on TV:

The Bella Twins will appear on comedy show 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' this week.

WWE star coming home:

Noam Dar will work an ICW show in July. He will also appear on the Extreme Rules card, teaming with Alicia Fox against Rich Swann and Sasha Banks.

Heat on Truth:

R-Truth is getting online heat for responding to a tweet in tribute of US troops by his current kayfabe rival Goldust with an in gimmick threat. Fans felt it was inappropriate.

Today's News

TE loser to WWE roster:

Patrick Clarke is the second loser of the last series of Tough Enough to beat the winners to the official WWE roster. He is The Velveteen Dream.

Cameron:

Cameron says she was fired by WWE over the telephone...

"I get this 'ding' and Mark Carrano says 'Can you call me?' And I just knew, so I called him and he told me. It was shocking, but at the same time, that's just where we were. I'd given my all and things just weren't progress, so, it hit me, and I thanked him for my time. This is one experience I'm never ever going to forget, unfortunately, it's not a fairy tale ending."

WWE vs ITV:

WWE have asked a World Of Sport talent to take part in this years women's tourney. This is a direct dis-regarding of her exclusive deal with ITV. They may be testing the waters, to trial the loyalty of WOS talent to the promotion, or may be a way of offering Viper a way out of the mire that things have gotten into since it was launched in December, including the debut block of taping's being cancelled last month.

Indie fight back:

A group of indie stars stopped a multi man top floor spot during a match in Texas this weekend. One shouted ''Wait, Wait, Randy Orton is on Twitter.'' Then they all jumped down, hit RKO's and posed ala Randy in the middle of the ring. This is clearly in response to Orton's dig at the indie scene last week.

Book gets wish:

Booker T will be staying on the Raw announce team for the rest of the summer. His initial 6 week run to sub for David Otunga was set to end at Extreme Rules.

JR admits addiction:

Jim Ross says he was addicted to drugs, but quitting smoking helped him stop...

"I was addicted to Ambien and Xanax, together, with Crown Royal. I was on Uranus, and Pluto, and Neptune, and everywhere else late at night. I had severe sleep apnea – and still do - I stopped breathing 99 times in an hour in a sleep test. So I wasn't in real great shape with that deal."

Bret Hart remembers 'Simpsons' appearance:

"They approached me about doing a voice as a wrestler, but not Bret Hart It was the Mad Russian or something. I said, "I don't want to be the Mad Russian, I want to be Bret 'The Hitman' Hart!" We went back and forth for a while and they eventually said, very politely, "This is the way it's written, take it or leave it." I agreed, and flew down to FOX Studios. They had blocked off this huge chunk of time for my three lines, and were saying things like, "We need you more mad," "Okay, not quite that mad!" I did my lines about 100 times in two minutes! I went outside to wait for my limo that had gone to get gas, and I signed autographs and took pictures for 45 minutes. The guy that was in charge of my episode came up to me and said, "I had no idea you were this big of a star! If we haven't already started the artwork, we're going to draw you in as yourself." That's why the voice doesn't really sound like me, because I thought I was playing a crazy Russian!"

Today's News

Wrestling murder:

WWE have released a statement on the murder of a 2 year old this week after it was revealed that a Batista bomb was reportedly the wrestling move that killed her...

"We are deeply saddened by this tragic death and hope that the guilty parties are brought to justice. There is no excuse or justification for the brutal and ultimately fatal beating of a 2-year-old child by a grown man. This is a clear case of criminal intent and a lack of parental supervision."

The parents are in jail with bonds of $2,500 for mum and $500,000 for her partner. It was also confirmed that the couple had tried to destroy digital evidence of their crimes against the child.

X-Pac:

X-Pac says he is glad his drug charges have gone away, but was critical of the whole incident...

"That just seems like a complete waste of money for the government. I mean just havin' customs checkin' people on their way out of the country is a complete waste of money, when we don't have money to waste."

Brie training for return:

Brie Bella has started to ride a bike, her first physical activity since giving birth. She confirms she is targeting a return to the ring.

President Rock:

Jim Ross says The Rock may come back for one more match, if he decides to run for US president, to get wrestling fans on board with his campaign.

David Otunga:

David Otunga is scheduled to come back at Extreme Rules.

Cody reveals inspiration:

"I kind of model my attitude backstage and towards the business after Kane. He's running for mayor now. He is the best example on how to be an older gentlemen, a veteran in our business. Everybody after two-four years goes through that phase where they think they are a veteran. After about six years in you start to think you're really a veteran, and then you realize that it never ends. You should always treat everyone with fairness, kindness and shake everyone's hand the same way you would shake Vince McMahon's hand. Everybody matters. We all do this together. From the fan out there in the street who may or not be a collector to Vince, never devalue anyone."

Network showdown:

Eric Bischoff, Jim Cornette and Michael Hayes will be on the Network together this week.

Jerry Lawler:

Jerry Lawler clotheslined a hot dog at a baseball game yesterday.

Nice day for a Rock wedding:

A video of a groom entering his wedding to Rock's theme music has gone viral.

Why the Dudleyz are not legends:

Animal says the Dudley Boyz aren't as good as people think they are...

"Let me sum this up. I got nothing against D-Von or Bubba, D-Von is a great guy. Love him. They were good back in ECW in their early years. I'm gonna say this. But here's the bottom line, you can say you're the greatest cause you won the WWE championship so many times, all the TNA championships, but come in my shoes where you've won 14 different world championships. I'm talking Australia, Mexico, six different Japanese company belts, AWA, NWA, WCW, WWF, WWE. Right there you got 12 championships. Not only are you going down to Portland and winning those titles, going to Mexico City - I've been a part of 14 different belts. Even Hawk and I have been at least 10, 12 different titles. The only team ever to take the international belts out of Japan, and defend them against the AWA, NWA, and not WWF, but those titles and the WCW titles, and made the international belts famous. They ain't done that. I have nothing against The Dudleys, but let's be real to all the fans out there. You got to be real when it's time to be real and be honest. Listen, Hulk Hogan is the greatest single thing to ever happen to the wrestling business and I'll be the first one to say it. When something is true you have to say it. The best entertainer to ever come out of this business is The Rock. Number one best entertaining guy ever and has set the wrestling standard that nobody will ever match. The guy did 170 million dollars in profit this year. No wrestler will ever do that ever in movies. I'm the first one to say it. So the Dudleys come out here and say that kind of crap, they really need to think about it and before they open up their mouth and say 'Okay, did we really do anything that was better than The Road Warriors?' The answer is simple, no. Are they great? Yeah, they're great. But they're not The Road Warriors. They're not gonna go down in history as a legendary status."

WWE song:

Hip Hop group Migos have created a tribute song for Scotty 2 Hotty.

Today's News

WWE community:

Dana Warrior has presented an Orlando school teacher with an NXT replica title to thank her for her charity work.

Injuries:

Ember Moon is back in action for NXT, but Tommaso Ciampa needs surgery after worsening his injury during the last NXT special.

Anderson in training:

Karl Anderson has posted a video of him training his 5 year old to wrestle, on social media.

Ryback mad at fellow Alum's for the stupidest reasons you will ever hear:

On Bad News Barrett liking ''Black girls'' too much...

"I popped because I didn't know Wade did commentary for the What Culture and I always liked to give Wade a hard time, good old Stu Bennett. He has been a big fan of the black girls over the years, which I guess we're allowed to say. I just did. But his girlfriend now is black and he's notorious for always having black girlfriends and that's the type of woman he prefers. And I really appreciated him getting a few… putting Brandi Rhodes over more than anything in a match numerous times during that. Then when Brandi took the bump through the table with Cody, I seriously thought old Stu Bennett was going to get out of the announcers' desk and help her to safety and leave Cody out there to set up for Stu Bennett's big in-ring return."

On Cody Rhodes telling people he did not know there was a 'Terminator 1' film...

"Old Cody did an interview with somebody in which I had a few tweets over, which he did a legit interview for one of the dirtsheets, which I hate people doing interviews with dirtsheets, first of all. But whatever. And in a serious interview, he does the thing, the Terminator 2 deal, where him and Daniel Bryan, and in this, he doesn't say anything about this being a joke, but he says that I believed that Terminator 2 was because there were two terminators. And it is f--king hilarious, absolutely. And because I didn't know there was a Terminator 1. I thought that was Terminator 1 and it was just T2 because the good guy/bad guy terminators. They're the reason why I quit riding with people altogether, it's just annoyed the f--k out of me. It makes me look like a dumb f--king piece of s--t. And I was like, 'Cody, like, I get it. It's funny, but say it was a f--king joke!' because you have to understand the audience you're playing to, they don't understand what is a joke or not and it doesn't help my reputation at all when you tell it."

Terror venue WWE show cancelled:

WWE have cancelled their NXT live at the Manchester Arena, the site of this weeks terror attack. They are offering full refunds, and fans can go to the Leeds show the next night and trade their tickets in for a free ticket to that event. The talent will still go to Manchester. They will visit victims in local hospitals, and will present a financial donation to the We Love MCR fund-raising campaign.

Broken setback:

Matt Hardy has had his bid to TM his broken gimmick refused.

TNA to NXT:

Gunner has seemingly confirmed he is joining NXT. He said he thought about retiring, but is now ready to takeover.

X-Pac:

X-Pac's drug charges have been dropped.

Today's News

Debut:

TE loser Patrick Clarke debuted as the Velveteen Dream on NXT last night.

Jinder Mahal talks title win:

"As soon as I walked through Gorilla, they are all standing there and giving me a standing ovation. It was one of the greatest feelings I have ever had. I don't think I ever got a standing ovation walking back through Gorilla before. I've been working for 15 years now, so half of my life has been dedicated for wrestling. So that felt great. It all felt worth it at the exact moment that I won. Coming back through Gorilla and getting all the respect from Vince and all the boys and the producers, it was really a dream come true."

WWE HOF'er Steve Austin says he believes the push came because of his change in physique.

World's best promotion:

Tetsuya Naito says he has no interest in joining WWE, because he works for the best promotion in the world...

"Of course, I know of them, but, unfortunately, I have no interest. To me, New Japan is the foremost pro wrestling in the world. Entering the ring here means you are the world's best, so to be a New Japan wrestler speaks for itself."

New streak:

Asuka has claimed the longest undefeated streak in WWE history.

Mae Young:

WWE are planning on having an all female announce team for the Mae Young classic. Renee Young, Lita and Beth Phoenix are expected to be on the comms desk, with Charly Caruso doing backstage interviews. Jim Ross had been announced to work the shows, it is not clear if those plans have now changed. They are also taking on female referees.

Wrestling murder:

The teenage mother of a 2 year old St. Louis child, and her 24 year old boyfriend have been arrested for the murder of the toddler. They had been performing wrestling moves on the child, and the boyfriend had been taping the abuse, with videos on his computer. The child was taken to hospital by the mother after starting to suffer seizures, but could not be saved. The mother was also arrested for not preventing the long campaign of violence the youngster had suffered.

Emma:

Emma is expected back in mid June.

RVD:

RVD has signed up to the tournament that CM Punk has been offered a million $ to take part in.

WWE UK tribute:

Triple H has recorded a message to UK fans in the wake of the terror attack this week in our country, to be aired on Sky Sports before their shows for the next week.

Spat sorted:

Seth Rollins and Kushida have settled their Twitter beef.

Jericho on tour:

Chris Jericho is going with WWE to Japan this summer.

Impact made UK:

Josh Mathews says Impact should be credited for the rise in the British wrestling scene...

"You can give us credit for the Mandrews of the world and putting Grado on a worldwide platform and all of guys that have come from there over here, I think we've done incredible things with them. It's allowed them to grow as individuals and grow as talent and we all help each other."

Alum banned from DX:

X-Pac says Vince Russo was going to put Val Venis into DX...

"Russo wanted to put Val Venis in DX, but we said no. We stuck to our guns because he wasn't right for DX. So, for Bullet Club, if New Japan or Ring of Honor wants Bullet Club to do something they don't want to do, Bullet Club needs to remember this is their creation and their baby. Stick to your guns. If you feel like someone is not right, then don't let it be done."

Today's News

Money In The Bank:

Dolph Ziggler, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura and Baron Corbin will contest this years MITB match.

Jinder Mahal vs Randy Orton will headline.

Impact fire salvo:

Impact's new boss has written an open letter regarding the situation with the Hardyz...

''Good afternoon,
In response to on-going speculation concerning our position with respect to the "Broken Brilliance" creative, I am providing this detailed log of our communications on the subject and the contractual structure of our relationship with Matt Hardy with respect to intellectual property matters (which is standard to our roster and in the industry).

There has never been any argument from Impact Wrestling that the Hardy's were key contributors to the development of the characters and story line, or that Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy executed on their roles in spectacular fashion. But the position taken by the Hardys is a massive disservice to the contributions of the rest of the creative team at Impact Wrestling, including Jeremy Borash, Dave Lagano (sic), Matt Conway and Billy Corgan, and is totally at odds with the terms of their contracts.

The Hardys would have you believe that Anthem is somehow avoiding their lawyers to address this. This is the log of our communications with the Hardys and/or their lawyers. It is clear that we have not been avoiding them.

• March 10 – EBN speaks with executives at ROH about "Broken Brilliance" being used in ROH shows. I indicated willingness to provide an arrangement that would allow the creative to be used in ROH shows and encouraged ROH to have Matt speak with me if he wanted to pursue that discussion
• March 11 – EBN spoke at length with Matt by telephone about the structure of an amicable arrangement for use of the Broken Brilliance creative
• March 14 – Matt sent text message to Ed Nordholm at 4:05pm: "Tried giving you a call, it rang & went busy. I'm open to working things out amicably as we spoke about. The lawyer who represent me is interested in seeing your offer. My lawyer's email is {redacted} which you could send the offer to for review. Thanks." And I responded by text at 6:41 pm: "Thank you Matt. I was supposed to be [flying] into NYC today and am a little twisted. I will pull something together with [our] lawyers and try to get it over to your lawyer tomorrow or Thursday at latest"
• March 16 – At 8:25 pm I sent an update text to Matt: "Hi Matt. My lawyer got me a draft too late to get reviewed for today. I will look at it in the morning. Sorry for the delay." And he responded at 9:16 pm: "Ok, he's ready for it. Thanks for the update."
• March 17 – counsel for Anthem Wrestling delivered draft proposal to counsel for Matt Hardy
• March 24 – counsel for Anthem Wresting followed up with Matt Hardy counsel requesting comments on the proposal
• March 27 – counsel for Matt Hardy responds that they have been away and have not reviewed the proposal but will be back "in the next few days"

After which no further communication until

• April 18 – counsel for Matt Hardy leaves a voice mail message for counsel for Anthem Wrestling asking to arrange a meeting
• April 20 – EBN contacts WWE by email to determine veracity of internet rumours concerning WWE interest in Broken Brilliance
• April 21 -- WWE respond by email that there "is no interest on our end" {redacted email exchange attached}
• April 21 – counsel for Matt Hardy sends a follow up message requesting a meeting
• April 27 – lawyers speak to arrange a meeting
• May 16 – lawyers meet but no agreement reached

Finally, I am attaching a copy of the relevant provisions of Matt's contract with Impact. The clause is virtually identical to the corresponding provisions of every wrestler under contract with Impact.

The facts are that we tried to accommodate the Hardys for their Ring of Honour engagements, and have tried to elicit an indication from WWE whether they have an interest in using the Broken Brilliance creative in WWE. We are not hoarding it from WWE; WWE is not interested in it.

We fully respect the decision of Matt and Jeff to return to WWE and appreciate all of their contributions to Impact Wrestling. We wish them every success.

Our focus is on the future and we will not have any further public comment on this matter.

Ed Nordholm.''

Wild child:

Shane McMahon says he was a bad lad in his youth...

"I had ADD and ADHD diagnosed and yeah. They tried to prescribe me medication when I was a kid, but when we grew up, they just thought we were disciplinary problems. Now, there's medicine for it. They tried me on the medicine, Ritalin. Back then, it was very experimental and it didn't work with me. Yeah, it made me more hyper. It wound me up and I was very irritable. Not a good thing, so it was tough."

He also put Steve Austin on the spot regarding his walking out of WWE in 2002...

''You were the guy that was drawing the houses and everything was built around you. So when you have that much equity at stake and you have your number one player in there and that's the one who draws money all of a sudden say, 'I'm out,' well, it's very devastating, obviously, to everyone else underneath and everyone felt it, just like, 'wow', so you specifically, you let a lot of people down. Vince was hurt professionally and personally because you guys had been building a good relationship. If you guys did have a disagreement, you'd settle it quickly and talk about it. But at the end of the day when it got down to 'alright, this is the vision we're going with when I said we'd paint the room blue, well, you didn't want to paint the room blue at that time, so you took your paint and went somewhere else.' So that was a big blow personally as well because, again, it's the machine and we all put effort into building 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, and the company, and everything else around it. And when that cog leaves, it's like, 'oh wow! Jeez, that didn't feel good!' It didn't make any of us feel good. You let us down, man."

He also revealed Vince almost came out to end his famous match with Kurt Angle...

"Vince almost came out about three times during that match. He was going to call it off. I had no idea. Chioda was the ref. Chioda was usually always my ref because we go back in the day, like I said. And it takes three, not just two. It takes three. In the IFB, I guess Vince is talking, saying something. Chioda's talking to me, but I think he's just saying gibberish because, again, I got whacked in the head a couple of times. So anyways, Vince thinks that I'm shooing him off, that I'm disobeying an order, that I'm ignoring the order from Chioda, but I never got the order because I would never disobey him. So gorilla was silent. Vince was going ballistic. I mean, throwing stuff." 

ROH UK:

ROH have announced a three night UK tour for this summer.

Seth seethes:

Seth Rollins is apparently unhappy with Kushida using his old finishing move, proven by him tweeting a series of angry emoticons at him.

Jinder praised:

Jinder Mahal was praised in the Canadian parliament today, by a politician from his home province of Calgary.

Mojo Rawley:

Mojo Rawley has appeared in a music video by 3Lau.

Kayfabe lives here:

Tommaso Ciampa has moved out of the home he was sharing with Johnny Gargano, after their split recently.

Terror Impact's wrestling:

Impact wrestling have cancelled their fan event for this weekend in the UK because of the terror attack in Manchester this week.

WWE vs fan:

Tony Nese has ranted about a fan using his phone instead of watching 205 Live last night, adding that he wasted a front row seat, and should have stayed at home.

Today's News

For Manchester...

Manchester Arena:

Manchester Arena was the site of a terrorist attack last night. 22 people, many of them children, attending a concert by pop star Ariana Grande were killed, along with the suicide bomber. This may have an effect on WWE. They have an NXT show booked at the venue early next month, and will have the next UK TV tapings, in November, at the same site. WWE say they are working with the arena to determine the best course of action.

Debut:

Elias Samson debuted on Raw last night.

WWE star victim of fake news:

Nikki Bella has threatened a website with legal action after they claimed she was fired by WWE for using a weight loss supplement.

Captain Charisma career killer:

Christian has revealed WWE wanted to re-package him as 'The Lock' in 2003...

"One day, I get home and I get this call. They're like, 'hey, they kind of want you to do this thing where you think you become The Rock.' And I was like, 'what?' 'Yeah, so basically, we want you to kind of do the eyebrow thing, maybe cut your hair real short,' and, I had long hair at this point. Did I? Yes, I did. 'What if you cut your hair real short? And, you know, The Rock wears black, so you'll wear white and you're going to use all of his catchphrases and you're gonna act like The Rock and pretend you're The Rock and you're going to be The Rock, but we're not going to call you The Rock.' I was like, 'okay…' No. They were going to call me, are you ready or this? Wait for it, wait for it, they were going to call me The Lock. The L-O-C-K, Lock because anytime I went to the ring, it was a lock I was going to win."

He says he managed to talk creative out of it, but was ''Stressed'' about it.

SmackDown tease:

• WWE Champion Jinder Mahal to throw Punjabi Celebration
• SmackDown LIVE Women clash in tag team battle following WWE Backlash melee
• Shane McMahon to make Money in the Bank announcement
• Who's next to challenge The Usos?
• Will AJ Styles continue his pursuit of the United States Title?

WrestleMania recap:

Jack Swagger is back in action after leaving WWE. His first match was in Mexico vs Alberto Del Rio.

WWE tribute:

Triple H has announced that this summer's all female tournament will be named the Mae Young classic, in memory of the HOF'er.

Rock show:

The Rock surprised a cinema full of people after a screening of his film 'Baywatch' last night.

Today's News

Backlash:

Results...

1. Tye Dillinger bt Aiden English (Pre)
2. Shinsuke Nakamura bt Dolph Ziggler
3. Uso's bt Breezango
4. Sami Zayn bt Baron Corbin
5. Natayla, Tamina Snuka & Carmella bt Charlotte Flair, Naomi & Becky Lynch
6. Kevin Owens bt AJ Styles
7. Luke Harper bt Erick Rowan
8. Jinder Mahal bt Randy Orton to win the World title

Impact claim ownership:

The boss of Impact continues to state they own the broken gimmicks made famous by the Hardyz...

"I think it's unquestionable that the ownership of the characters in the storyline resides in Impact Wrestling. I don't think even the Hardys would dispute that. They've all signed contracts. Their contracts are standard contracts. Not only in the wrestling industry, but in the entertainment industry, generally, the producer of the show owns the content and it doesn't really matter who in the creative team came up with the idea of what the character should be. The person that owns the storyline and the character is the person who invested to take that idea and put it on TV. That's what we did. Impact put those characters on TV, and the contracts with those people are indisputably contracts that provide their IP to Impact."

Raw tease:

• Will Bray Wyatt change the course of WWE's New Era?
• Will Bayley come out swinging against Alexa Bliss?
• Ambrose faces bizarre stipulation at WWE Extreme Rules
• Goldust shows his true colors

Poster boy names Vince actor:

John Cena says Tom Hardy should play Vince McMahon in his biopic...

"I think Tom Hardy would be a fantastic choice. I don't know if he has final say. I think the people making the movie do, but that's a fantastic choice. Vince is just so unique, man. I can't wait to see the movie. They already have my ticket money."

YouTube killing indies:

UK promotion WCPW have cancelled their upcoming shows due to financial difficulties, they say stems from YouTube changing their terms of use, and making wrestling unavailable to be watched by children and teens.

New Day:

New Day are scheduled to return to TV this week.

WWE owned indie league:

Luke Gallows has closed his indie promotion.

Today's News

NXT-Chicago:

Results...

1. Roderick Strong bt Eric Young.
2. Pete Dunne bt Tyler Bate to win the UK Championship.
3. Asuka bt Nikki Cross and Ruby Riot.
4. Bobby Roode bt Hideo Itami.
5. Authors Of Pain bt DIY.

Notes...

• Tommaso Ciampa turned heel on Johnny Gargano.

Backlash:

Tonight SmackDown will present their Backlash special.

Jericho tells WWE how to fix 205 Live:

"And here's what I think could work, I think if you put Enzo Amore as a Cruiserweight, and put Enzo vs. Neville for the title, have Enzo win it, watch people get interested in the Cruiserweight division. And people at home are going 'Ah Enzo can't work!' It's not about that. It's about getting people to care about the title. Get Enzo in there, have him win it, and watch people start to get involved in the 205 Live. Then Neville has someone to work with. He doesn't have a baby face to work with. He really doesn't, that's super genuinely over with the crowd. That will help."

Aries critical of WWE:

Austin Aries tweeted about WrestleMania coming out on DVD, but took a shot at them cutting his match off the release...

''WrestleMania 33 is now available on blu-ray in Canada. Too bad one of the greatest matches of the night was left off the US/Canada DVDs.''

HOF masterclass:

Alundra Blayze and Ricky Morton will be coaching at the PC next week.

Million Dollar Punk:

CM Punk has reportedly accepted the $1,000,000 offer to return to wrestling this summer in Liverpool, England. However the official announcement may not be as official as it seemed. The promoters Twitter may have been hacked.

Today's News

Rock responds:

The Rock has responded to a poll suggesting he could beat Donald Trump in a presidential election...

"I've really been blown away, it's so flattering. I think it's because a lot of people want to see a different leadership today - not different, but a better leadership today. I think more poise, less noise. I also think over the years I've become a guy a lot of people relate to. I get up early in the morning at a ridiculous hour and go to work. I spend time with the troops, I take care of my family, I love taking care of people. I think that kind of thing really resonates with people, especially today."

Chris Jericho talks Kevin Owens feud:

"I remember we did a TV taping in London after WrestleMania last year, so it could be April, I'm sure if you'll Google it you'll find it, random pairing of Jericho and Owens. After the match was done, you know you do a little bit of pop and circumstance, and we won the match and we were celebrating, just as a random tag team, and he ran down the aisle way and ran and jumped into my arms. I remember thinking this is a big dude. Like holy sh*t. I better plant myself. He jumped and I got him and he was like 'We're the greatest! We're the greatest!' then he's like 'You're the GOAT!' and I was like 'You're the donkey!' He was like 'Yeah you're the GOAT and I'm the donkey!' It was funny interplay and Vince thought it was hilarious. That's when I was like 'Dude, there's something with this guy.' He's super funny as a guy, very sarcastic and dry, a lot like me. So then I just kept an eye on it and I remember going to talk to Vince before SummerSlam and saying, one of my ideas was to work with Nakamura at WrestleMania cause I worked with him in Japan, and I said 'this guy's great.' He needs to be in WrestleMania, I want to introduce him to the world. Then about two weeks later I said I think we can do Jericho vs. Owens at WrestleMania, I think we have enough steam, we just started the team. I think SummerSlam was our first official against Enzo and Cass. That's how it started, was from there. The build and the improv, you just know when you have chemistry with someone. It reminded me of when I was working with The Rock or with Shawn. Or working with Edge, you just have that chemistry that's just there and when you've been in the business as long as I have, when you catch that lightning in a bottle you want to expand and take advantage of it as much as you can."

British TV star gets wish:

Reality star and former stripper Adam Maxted is in the States trying out for his dream job with WWE.

Baby Bella:

Nikki Bella has revealed that Brie had to have a c-section after failing, for 22 hours, to give birth naturally.

JR:

Jim Ross will call this summers female tournament for WWE.

WWE:

WWE have sent Chelsea FC a replica World title for winning the Premiership this season. (They cheated LFC all the way!!!).

Billy Gunn says WWE punished Bart for winning:

Billy Gunn has claimed WWE punished his tag team partner and kayfabe brother, Bart, for shocking everyone by winning the Brawl For All in 1999...

"I told everyone he was going to win it but nobody believed me. Then he got set up for the Butterbean fight. To go in and find a real fighter, what's going to happen? Bart is not a real fighter; he's just a real tough son of a b****."

NXT:

Tonight is NXT's Chicago special.

WWE wedding:

Drew Gulak of 205 Live was married today.

DH Smith talks JBL incident:

Davey Jr. has discussed the time JBL mocked his family being dead on WWE TV...

"No, you know what I think it was WWE's way of killing me off TV, but it was just like, 'Why did you have me debut on TV anyway?' It was just a s--tty thing but it wasn't really John's fault, had it been me now and we had done that match it would've been a shoot and he would've lost that one."

Today's News

NJPW land TV deal:

NJPW have landed a US TV deal with AXS.

Kenta disappointed:

Hideo Itami says he has not lived up to expectations since joining WWE, but hopes to put that right with his upcoming NXT title shot.

Injury:

Tommaso Ciampa was hurt on the NXT live tour this week. He damaged his left leg and the match had to be stopped. He was not happy with the medical response, he had to hobble to the back himself, and was heard to shout... "Get me the f--k out of here."

Triple H provided an update earlier. Ciampa was taken to hospital for an X-Ray which revealed no break to his ankle.

Christian shares Kurt Angle story:

"Maybe a little known fact that he stood up at my wedding. That's how good friends we are and Adam was obviously the best man. When he showed up, his face was like beet red and I was like, 'Kurt, are you alright?' He was like, 'I haven't put this tux on for a while. The button is too tight.' And it looked like Angle's head was going to pop. And he was like, 'hey, look at this,' and Angle put his leg up and ripped the crotch out of the pants on the way to the wedding."

Summer ready:

Summer Rae has been cleared to return after a long injury lay-off.

Ref talks HOF:

Earl Hebner says he will probably not go into the HOF, due to heat with Vince McMahon...

"It an honor and since I'll probably never go into the WWE Hall of Fame because we still have problems down the road and it doesn't really matter to me whether I do or I don't, anybody that knows me will know who I am. If Vince doesn't ever want to induct me into it that is fine. I really think I should be but the problems that we still have, it is what it is. If I never get in there that is fine and it is no problem to me but people know who I am and I'll let it be my legend of being a Hebner and I'll just base it on that."

X-Pac shot:

X-Pac has revealed he was shot by Rick Steiner once...

"Rick Steiner pulled a f--king like .45 or a .357 out and shot me in the chest with a blank," Waltman said. "Thought I got shot, too, when the wad hit me."

Why Alum left:

Victoria says she left TNA because they forgot to renew her contract.