17/2/2018

Orton in heat online:

Randy Orton has waded into the guns vs religion argument that has sprung up in the wake of a school shooting in Florida this week, which took 17 lives, one of whom was a family member of X-Pac. Anti gun campaigners and victims of the attack have called for more controls on guns, while defenders of the American right to own them have offered thoughts and prayers to the dead and their loved ones. This has caused a lot of offence to those that want tighter regulation, as they point out thoughts and prayers cannot stop bullets. Randy Orton aired his views, and is on the side of the gun, which led to him getting involved in some heated arguments with fans on social media. It started when he shared a graphic which read...

''Dear God, why do you allow so much violence in our schools? signed a concerned student.

Dear Concerned Student, I am not allowed in schools. God.''

This led to endless posts from people on both sides of the argument, he furthered his point in reply to one person mocking the religious reference...

''(Thoughts and prayers) would help. But what really needs to be done is every school have cameras in classrooms and an armed guard former special forces somebody who can put a bullet between the kids eyes before so many lives are lost. If these kids are told to huddle together in a group on the floor when an intruder comes and shoots up their school, shouldn't they be able to pray with each other too?''

From there the heat went nuclear, with people asking where they were going to be able to find enough people to sit in every class room in the country, how you can think or pray a bullet away, why he wouldn't accept that getting rid of the guns might be an option, and how it is so ordinary in America that he just assumed that this is going to happen again, along with lots of name calling and emotive debate from his followers.

Paige:

Paige is opening a new clothing store for her Saraya brand in Anaheim, California.

Heat on Road Dogg:

Someone found a seven year old tweet that Road Dogg made calling Billy Gunn gay on Twitter, forcing the WWE Alum to make an apology and delete the offending post.

NJPW stars on TV show:

NJPW will send two of their wrestlers to take part in 'Ultimate Ninja' this year.

WWE for sale:

Stephanie McMahon has confirmed her family have considered selling the promotion...

"We've certainly thought about it. It would be foolish not to."

PPV schedule reworked:

WWE have confirmed all PPV events post Mania will be dual branded. They have also cut two events, Payback and Battleground, from the calendar.

Apologise:

Mark Henry says Hulk Hogan needs to apologise before he comes back into the WWE family...

"I think after an apology to all of the existing African-American talent that he would-- we're a forgiving world."

16/2/2018 **

WWE TV:

WWE will air on free to air TV in New Zealand for the first time. The company have announced a new deal in the country, with M?Ori.

New baby:

Lio Rush is a second time father to a new baby boy.

Indy great ill:

One of the greatest female indie stars, LuFisto, is battling cervical cancer and needs life changing surgery to have a chance of beating it. She is also struggling with depression.

New star:

Mark Andrews has officially been added to the 205 Live roster.

New 4 Horsemen:

Ric Flair has named his modern day Four Horsemen.

• Dolph Ziggler
• Seth Rollins
• Roman Reigns
• Randy Orton

Ronda Rousey:

WWE have a list of stars under consideration to team with Ronda Rousey at Mania, they are, in order of preference...

1. The Rock, to continue the angle from 2 years ago.
2. Kurt Angle, a possible battle for authority on Raw.
3. Shane McMahon, inter-brand sibling rivalry.
4. Seth Rollins, to pick up the feud he had at last years Mania vs HHH.

Alum loses family member in school shooting:

X-Pac lost a family member in a school shooting in Florida earlier this week. 17 staff and pupils were killed in Parkland when a former student attacked the building. Gina Montalto was the 14 year grand-daughter of one of his mothers siblings.

JBL:

JBL has launched a new Major League Rugby team in New York. Rugby United NY will play exhibition games this year, before officially becoming a recognised competitive team in 2019.

Titus O'Neil:

Titus O'Neil took a school full of 200 kids to see 'Black Panther' at the cinema today.

*********************************************************************************

15/2/2018

WWE women vs Rousey:

Mickie James is the latest female talent to take to social media to have a pop at Ronda Rousey...

''Please 😂 1) this is a wrestling ring darling... not an octagon!!! 2) this game is played VERY different! 3) don’t insult 20yrs of mastering my craft by assuming any woman on our roster is chopped liver to... an outsider. 4) she’s been beat before, more than once, has she not?''

Impact star joins PC:

Mahabali Shera has started working at the WWE PC today.

Big E reacts to heat over attire:

Some fans did not like New Days ring gear on TV this week, Big E has responded...

''Yes, we’re wearing kente because it’s Black Panther season & Black History Month. No, you should not come for us because you think we’re being divisive & schismatic. Yes, we’re going to take some time to acknowledge our dreads, our Afro puffs, and our chocolatey skin.''

Hogan prices himself out of return:

Bullet Club offered Hulk Hogan a debut with NJPW recently, and he was excited to accept, but he asked for more than the club were willing to pay, $750,000 for a one shot appearance.

Austin reveals WWE did not go with him to hospital:

Steve Austin says no one from WWE went with him to the hospital when he broke his neck at SummerSlam 97, and he had to rely on fans who had gone to see how he was to get a lift to his hotel...

"There I go, I get x-rayed and there were no MRIs. Nothing's broken. I bruised my spinal cord. I've got a bunch of stuff going on. I walk outside the hospital, and ain't nobody from the company come with me. I'm sitting there, I'm all messed up, and three girls had followed the ambulance to the hospital. I walked out to no support there! 'Steve, do you want a ride back to the hotel?' 'Yeah!' I got in the car with them. They took me by the liquor store. I got my 12-pack of Budweiser. They took me back to the Holiday Inn right by the Newark airport there. You stay there, dude. And I remember, I was effed up, dude, I was traumatized! I just sat there and drank that 12-pack of beer. I'll never forget it. I thought a lot of things about my career, but I drank that dang 12-pack and I was thinking, 'holy s--t! That was a rough ride!'"

New deal:

Mojo Rawley has signed a new WWE deal.

WWE star robbed:

Xavier Woods car was broken into last night. He says he did not lose anything of value.

Alum apology:

X-Pac has apologised for a disgusting shoot interview he did talking about female wrestlers and their sexual promiscuity. He and a rancid little twirp host, who fed him the names of female talent and goaded him into trashing them, talked through a segment he called 'Ho bag'. During the segment he called Chyna a ''Cunt'' mocked Lilian Garcia and Tori's personal hygiene and attacked Ivory. He complained about her talking too much before quickly turning to sex, saying he couldn't imagine anything worse than making love to her because she wouldn't shut up. The reporter then added that if he were making love to her he could put something into her mouth to quieten her.

He has apologised to the new HOF'er for his comments...

"I can't tell you where it was I made comments but I remember back when I was in not the best place and doing some shoot interview. I made negative comments towards her, about being a big mouth and running her mouth and blah blah blah. You know, I wish I could take those words back. You know? Shoot interviews you do for money... Problems that you think you have with somebody or that are really problems you have with yourself. So, I think about that and if she knows I said those things and she's listening to this, I sincerely apologize for that."

Here is the interview, but be aware if you have any respect for women. The language is uncouth and classless from the start...

Binned on your birthday:

Despite no further action being taken against Rich Swann over claims of domestic violence against his wife, he will not return to WWE. The company announced today, on the former Cruiser champs 27th birthday, that they have agreed to mutually part ways.

14/2/2018

Valentine's Day... bummer!!!

Shane pulled:

WWE have cancelled Shane McMahon's craziest matches DVD.

Fastlane:

Dolph Ziggler and Baron Corbin have both advanced to the World title match at the next blue brand special. It is now a 5 way match.

Nattie takes over:

Natalya read the morning weather report in California today.

Hall Of Fame:

WWE officials were talking about what may be seen as a shock addition to this years HOF class at the TV's this week. Jeff Jarrett, who recently went through a period of WWE sponsored rehab. He has had success with the promotion, at one time being the most decorated IC champ in history, but has had lingering heat there too, so it would be a strange one if it were to come to pass.

NXT promotion:

Former NXT Tag champ Buddy Murphy is stepping up to 205 next week for a Cruiser title tourney match.

Legends talk WWE gagging talent:

Steve Austin and Chris Jericho have talked how tough it is to get a good interview with an active WWE star...

SCSA...

"Most of the times when WWE comes through town, some of the guys or girls give me a head's up to let me know they're coming through, people from our business, it's like if they're currently in the system employed, well, Jericho is kind of a free agent, but someone that's in the trenches, well, Big Show, who I talked to on the Stone Cold Podcast, he'll straight up tell you, 'I ain't being booked worth a s--t!' and get away with it. Yeah, but you can't do that with everybody."

Y2J...

"You've got to watch what you say at all times because they're watching you even when you don't think they are. They'll find out. The boss will find out. I often wonder… It's not even wondering - I'm sure it happens. He probably gets a report every day. 'Here's the social media report, here's the Twitter report, here's the podcast report. This person said this' or 'that person said that.'"

Mania to murder:

Former WWE star Billy Jack Haynes has come out with a shocking claim. The wrestler that made his name with a match at WrestleMania 3 claims that just months after being a part of what was the biggest event in wrestling he was witness to one of America's most brutal unsolved murders. School boys Kevin Ives and Don Henry were stabbed to death and had their bodies dumped on a train track, where they were horribly mutilated by a mile long train running over the corpses, destroying any chance police had of finding clues in the case, in August 1987. The case has gone on to be known as the boys on the track mystery. Now, more than 30 years later, the former grappler has made public what he had already told the family of one of the boys, he says putting his own life at risk by doing so. He claims he was there when the boys were killed, along with a local politician, police officers and business men. He did not say who committed the act. He claimed he was there acting as muscle for the politician, who was on a drug buying run, and was worried about his own safety. It seems the two youngsters, who were illegally hunting in the woods, stumbled over them, and they were silenced. You can read more on the case here and here is Billy Jack telling his story...

Mick Foley:

Mick Foley says charity commitments will keep him from attending Mania this year.

John Cena vs Ford:

Car company Ford have made good on a promise to take legal action vs John Cena over him selling a prototype car he had bought from them on condition he did not re-sell for 24 months. He claims he did nothing wrong and wants the case throwing out.

Top star signs big money deal:

Dolph Ziggler has signed a new two year deal with WWE worth $3 million over the length of the contract.

13/2/2018

Elimination Chamber:

Ronda Rousey will sign for Raw at Elimination Chamber. Seth Rollins and Finn Balor have taken the last spots in the chamber match, which will have 7 entrants, making it the biggest chamber match ever..

Brand split stopping:

WWE are looking at ending single brand PPV events. They are unhappy with ticket sales, PPV revenue intake and merch sales for the shows and from Backlash are rumoured to going back to having both brands compete at each monthly special, as they do at the traditional big 4.

JJ out of Mania:

Jason Jordan's scheduled match vs Seth Rollins at WrestleMania is off. WWE say he won't be back in time from his surgery. He is not giving up however.

Ric Flair pulls merch:

A sexual consent contract signed by Ric Flair has been removed from his online store after causing offense. The description of the item read...

"By Signing This Compromise, both parties involved agree to ride Space Mountain and engage in sexual relations on this night. This contract adheres to guidelines of informed consent, and both people in the relationship must be present and not in an intoxicated state before signing. No party shall be pressured or persuaded into something that they do no want to do, and they reserve the right to terminate the contract if need be. This contract has the signed and sealed approval of The Nature Boy Ric Flair, who has taken many women for a ride on Space Mountain, and has the utmost respect for women."

WWE reward themselves:

WWE execs, including Triple H and Stephanie have received bonus payments from their stock portfolio's after the high WWE share price since the XFL relaunch.

Hall Of Fame:

Ivory is the latest star confirmed for this years class...

Ellsworth talks WWE locker room invite:

"Bray Wyatt's like, 'yeah, Ellsworth, stop dressing in that extra talent dressing room. I was wrestling AJ for the world title and I was still dressing in the extra talent dressing room! I didn't want to make anyone mad about walking into the WWE locker room, so Bray Wyatt was the one to say, 'no, you're with us now.' He was the one. And I think when I got released, I texted him, 'hey man, you're the one who did this for me and I won't forget that.'"

SD teaser:

• Dolph Ziggler to face Baron Corbin tonight on SmackDown LIVE in a battle with WWE Fastlane implications
• Charlotte Flair continues her quest for payback against The Riott Squad
• Bobby Roode issues a United States Open Challenge
• The New Day take on Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin

Paige moves on:

Paige has gone public with a new relationship. She is dating a member of Atilla.

Aries vs WWE:

AA has talked about his reported bad attitude with WWE...

"I'll bet you writers probably didn't like working with me very much because understand that in that environment, when I'm given something that the writers hand me, if I have any things that I think should be adjusted or things that I wouldn't personally say, as someone who's been doing this for 17 years and as a writer it's not easy for us to just go and change those things, but then to have to march back into the office and have those things changed for them. So the process is a little tedious, and to me it really takes a lot of the artistic and creative freedoms away from the wrestlers. I don't know any writer that would know my voice better than myself, I've been doing this a long time. I'll say this: if there's any writers that had any issues with me while I was in WWE, they certainly never expressed that to me. That's something that was never brought to my attention, so I can't speak on anonymous reports."

12/2/2018

Alum to NWA:

James Ellsworth is number one contender to Magnus' title.

JoMo talks WWE future:

"There's a lot of cool matchups that are waiting for me in the WWE. I'd love to teach Roman Reigns how to work. Just kidding. Seth Rollins. Unfinished business with The Miz. It'd be fun to get back in there and maybe do some Dirt Sheet episodes with him. Me, Miz, Ziggler and Zack Ryder would have a hell of a faction I think. I've never really had a long program with Cena. That'd be a fun one. I have a feeling that Daniel Bryan will be back when he gets cleared."

Chris Jericho interview:

On first meeting with Steve Austin...

"I met Austin on a plane one time and he gave me the greatest line of all time, no, it was a great line! I was walking on the plane. It was one of those rare moments when you would see WWE and WCW on the same plane. And he walked by me and said, 'hey'. I only knew Steve Austin. I was like, 'hey,' he was like, 'hey, there's a gay guy on the plane.' I said, 'really?' He goes, 'yeah, give me a kiss and I'll tell you who it is.'"

On problems in early days with WWF...

"I came in as a heel, so I had no problem I didn't know you weren't supposed to talk s--t about The Undertaker in a promo or talk bad about Steve Austin in a promo! That's what heels do to babyfaces! Right? But I learned very quickly that that's not what heels do when they first come in. I had no idea! Nobody ever taught me that in WCW. They didn't even tell me how to bump and feed a comeback. I had been in WCW for three years and I had no idea what that even meant as crazy as it sounds right now. I knew I can't win with Triple H and DX, and Rocky was always cool and Austin was in and out. Austin was always on your own, but always cool to me. But what I did was I worked really hard always, but I knew if I could get over with the bullpen, with the mid level guys, that would bleed up to the top. Bob Holly, those type of guys, JBL, Bradshaw at the time, working with those types, Rikishi, having great matches night after night, after night, with those guys, where I was programmed, word gets around, 'hey, that guy's not an asshole. You guys are talking s--t about him, but he's really good and he's a really good guy.' That really helped to alleviate some of the tension that was there."

He talked his plan to raise profiles of mid card talent, which WWE shot down...

"My initial idea was learning from one of the greatest, I don't know what you would call him, backstage interviewers, was Gene Okerlund who could lead you through a backstage promo even if you didn't know what you were doing. Right?, My idea when I started the Highlight Reel was I wanted to be the Gene Okerlund, have guys that didn't get promo time, and let me do an improv promo. Let's see what they've got. Of course, that did not fly with Vince. He wanted an actual promo segment with top level guys."

He also revealed his Mania angles were changed by Goldberg sticking around...

"It was in November maybe, Vince said, 'Okay, at WrestleMania it's you and Kevin Owens for the Universal Title. You're gonna win the world title at WrestleMania.' 'Wow, winning the world title at WrestleMania?' Vince goes, 'Yeah. You'll lose it the next pay-per-view to Brock.' I'm like, 'That's cool!' and for me I'd never won the title as a babyface either, ever. It's been six times but always as a heel. So this was kind of like, ya know, we're not marks here, but it's a pretty cool thing. Let's be honest. but one week later Survivor Series happens, Brock versus Goldberg. Goldberg beats Brock in a minute. And that's when Brock went, 'I can work with this guy. I want to work with him. I'll lose in a minute, but only if I can beat him for the title at WrestleMania.' And Vince had to make a decision: what's the bigger box office? Ya know and obviously it was Brock and Goldberg, and Chris and Kevin take back seat."

Raw tease:

• Final Superstar in the Men's Elimination Chamber Match to be determined
• Braun Strowman stands tall, even in defeat
• Have Alexa Bliss and Mickie James forged an alliance?
• What's next for Seth Rollins?
• Is Nia Jax primed to end Asuka's undefeated streak?

Hall Of Fame:

Ivory will be confirmed for the WWE HOF tonight on Raw.

Why I quit:

ECIII has revealed why he left Impact...

"My decision to leave Impact had nothing to with their business or finances and everything with me wanting to challenge myself to something new," he said on January 23. "Leaving Impact was a very difficult decision as I had six months left on a very lucrative and talent-friendly contract. Anthem lived up to that contract and always treated me with the utmost respect as a businessman and a person."

WWE star inducted:

Drew McIntyre will be inducted into the ICW HOF tonight. HHH personally signed off on him appearing at the event to accept the honour.

11/2/2018

Alum returns to ring:

Kaitlyn wrestled her first match since leaving WWE 4 years ago last night, she won.

Feud squashed:

Booker T and Corey Graves have confirmed their online feud was a prank on Michael Cole, who fell for it completely.

Hurricane talks Rumble return:

"That reaction kind of caught me off guard. I had never worn that cape in WWE. That cape is kind of inspired by Randy Savage. I have it hooked to my wrist so that I have a full wing span. I planned to spin around in a full circle and let everybody see the whole cape and everything, but I couldn't hear my music anymore. I heard 'Stand back,' and the crowd was so loud that I couldn't hear my music. I thought they cut it off. In my mind, if they cut it off, that means I have to get my ass in the ring. So that's why I cut my entrance short."

Billy shares Bart road story:

"I've heard so many stories of him cleaning places out. I've seen him clean out one club in Orlando and I think it was like 15 guys till he get a bottle stuck in his side, he already whooped 10 guys. He looked down and goes, 'oh, where did that come from?' Like, he's that guy!"

He also revealed he told the office not to put him into the Brawl For All, but they didn't listen...

"Of course, they did want Dr. Death to win. And I told JR from the get-go, 'don't put Bart in it.' I told him from the start. I said, 'don't put him in it because he's going to crush everybody,' when they were putting that all together and he was in, I just started laughing. And, of course, JR, and I love JR to death, this was a Steve Williams thing, just because he was just coming into the business and he had that reputation, but I just think he was just in too deep."

Pete Gas recalls two legit beatings he took in WWE:

From Hardcore Holly...

"I did a signing over the summer time and it was myself, Kevin Thorne and Bob Holly and we did the signing and we go to leave, I put the books I didn't sell in the car and go in to say goodbye. Bob grabs my wrist and he goes 'You are one tough son of a b---h.' He said, ' I don't know if you know this, but we used to say would try and break you guys and who would make you moan, we hit you with everything we had and we get backstage and you're laughing, I couldn't break you and I got my balls busted by JBL.' There was a whole crew of guys who used to try break us and he said to me that day I earned his respect."

From Kane...

"We would be playing and one of the stories in the book I talk about one game. Every time Kane threw a domino in this specific game I would score points off him and Taker was getting on at him, and we are getting close and he looks at me and said if you score on me again I will chase you and beat your ass. He puts it down and Taker knows so finally I slammed it and said 'Domino Mother F-er!' and he chased me and he wouldn't stop and he caught me and pounded me. That's the part you miss the most."

WWE vs Impact:

Apollo Crews wrestled Moose for PCW in the UK this weekend.

WWE spoil main:

WWE posted a graphic on their site showing Finn Balor on the Elimination Chamber main event page today. It was quickly removed.

Hogan wants return:

Hulk Hogan has confirmed he wants to return to WWE...

"A lot of the wrestlers I stay in contact with, I have a lot of friends up there. A lot of people in the office, they all know who I am. For me, I'd love to change that last story that was told with the Hulk Hogan career. I'd love to get back in the fold, get back on the inside and correct a lot of stuff. It has to be the perfect timing for both sides. We're all on good terms, we're all working towards the same goal. Hopefully, I'll be able to be back with my wrestling family some day soon."

Flair needs op:

Ric Flair says he needs more surgery, but not until the summer.

WWE vs TSA:

For the second time this week a WWE star has called out US air security officials, this time Mick Foley...

''Hello TSA - even though the yellow patch was on my lower back, the agent went up my inner thigh and pressed the back of his hands firmly against my boys. Standard operating procedure? as a Delta MillionMiler who (with ONE exception) has been patted down before EVERY one of my flights in the past year I DO KNOW what to expect. Today’s agent was FAR more exploratory of my inner thighs/scrotum than any agent in the past. Not uncomfortable. Degrading.''

Enzo Amore:

Enzo Amore's rape accuser has been released from a mental facility after, she claims, attempting to kill herself over heat on social media since she went public. She also says she has multiple personality disorder.