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Smackdown Live TV report for 04/17/2018

By
Magnum DA
-

Look who’s back to talk some Smack! 😀 It’s @TheMagnumDA with my first SmackDown Live TV report! Today is Day 2 of the Superstar Shake-up, and while Raw had three hours to showcase the shake-up, SmackDown Live tried their best to fit a lot of changes into two hours. Unfortunately, that affected the match quality, as you’ll see in the summary below.

Before I go any further, I’d like to send my condolences to the family of Bruno Sammartino: Without question, one of the most popular superstars of the WWWF era. No one will ever touch his record as the longest reigning WWE Champion of all time. Rest well, Bruno.

The Results:

Non-title match: WWE Champion AJ Styles defeated Rusev (w/Aiden English) via DQ in under thirty seconds. No stars.

Non-title match: U.S. Champion Jeff Hardy made his return to SmackDown, defeating Shelton Benjamin (**1/2)

Luke Harper (w/Erick Rowan) defeated Jey Uso (w/Jimmy Uso) in under one minute with a discus clothesline. No stars.

Samoa Joe debuted on SmackDown, defeating Sin Cara in under two minutes with the Coquina Clutch. (1/2*)

Charlotte Flair (w/Becky Lynch) defeated Billie Kay (w/Peyton Royce) (**1/2) After the match, Asuka made her debut on SmackDown, making the save for Charlotte.

WWE Champion AJ Styles & Daniel Bryan defeated Rusev & Aiden English via DQ when Shinsuke hit yet another low blow on AJ Styles. (**1/2)

The Superstars involved in the “Superstar Shake-up”

Moving from Raw to SmackDown Live: Asuka, Big Cass, Cesaro, WWE US Champion Jeff Hardy, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Mandy Rose, The Miz, R-Truth, Samoa Joe, Sheamus, and Sonya Deville.

Moving from NXT to SmackDown Live: Alexander Wolfe, Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas, Eric Young, Killian Dain, and Zelina Vega.

The Good

SmackDown is Stacked: When I compare the two brands’ roster changes, I’m stunned at the amount of talent on the SmackDown side. Raw had more additions to their roster (they got 18 stars, SmackDown only got 12 stars). But take another look at the depth on SmackDown Live: I’ll definitely take a brand with Daniel Bryan, AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy, The Miz, The Bar, Asuka, and Charlotte Flair as the foundation. Combine that with new stars like the Iconic Duo, Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas and SAnitY…and you’ve got a formula for a really strong show. I’m definitely interested in what happens next for the blue brand.

Returns Making Things Fresh: Another realization that came to light…there have been a lot of returns to WWE television recently. SmackDown is a huge benefactor of those returns. Having Daniel Bryan, Jeff Hardy, Samoa Joe, and Big Cass come back to SmackDown after WrestleMania is a savvy move to keep things fresh. That gives the brand a really positive outlook heading into the rest of 2018. Tuesday nights will definitely turn into must-see TV.

Brand New Match-Ups: This is basically an extension of the first two positives, but it’s worth noting that we will certainly see some fresh match-ups on SmackDown. Personally, I’m looking forward to Daniel Bryan vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe, the Good Brothers vs. the Bludgeon Brothers, The Bar vs. The Usos, and Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas vs. Jeff Hardy. The additions of Absolution and the Iconic Duo will make for many different combinations of Women’s matches. We might even get to see Zelina Vega mix it up with Asuka or Charlotte! There’s a lot to look forward to.

The Bad

No Longer Rusev Day: I was convinced last week that Rusev’s “Bury me softly, Brother” tweet struck a raw nerve with some higher-ups in WWE. After watching last night, I still believe that’s the case. Yes, his match with The Undertaker is back on for the Greatest Royal Rumble, but boy did he look like a geek on SmackDown. AJ had him in a position to tap out within 30 seconds in the opening segment, and even though English made the save, Rusev still looked weak. I’ve heard some rumblings about Rusev’s desire to possibly leave WWE when his deal comes due…if that’s true, McMahon would be letting go of one of the most popular superstars in WWE.

Cass vs. Bryan Feud: I’m trying my best to wrap my head around this one. From a storyline standpoint, it makes sense. I understand that Cass wants to make a name for himself, and he wants to do it at Bryan’s expense. From an in-ring standpoint, though…I don’t think it’s too bright to have Bryan return to face a guy who uses a “Big Boot” as a signature move. Sheamus taught us three years ago: It only takes one errant kick from a relatively inexperienced wrestler to put Bryan out for good. Let’s hope that history does not repeat itself.

The Ugly

Time is Not on Their Side: The Superstar Shake-up has made for some compelling TV, but some of the match-ups have been really short and disappointing. Look at tonight’s show…three of the six matches went two minutes or less! I think some of these guys should receive a five-minute showcase to really put them over. A good example is Jeff Hardy — Most of the wrestlers debuting/returning to SmackDown should have received the same amount of time (with the same quality of wrestlers) that Hardy did. I understand that’s probably going to happen in the coming weeks, but I would’ve loved to see someone like Almas debut last night.

Shinsuke’s Heel Turn: To be honest, I’m glad that Nakamura turned evil. I went crazy at WrestleMania when he turned on AJ Styles (“KICK HIM IN HIS DAMN MOUTH!”), and I thought it was a great direction for him to go. Since then, he’s done nothing except ball shots to AJ Styles, while telling Renee that he doesn’t speak English. It worked as a follow-up last Tuesday. This week, he needed to do more. The fact that he didn’t…shows a lack of imagination on WWE’s end. This heel turn could quickly become a disaster.

That’s going to do it for the SmackDown Live portion of the Superstar Shake-up! Until next week, this is @TheMagnumDA signing off.

WWE Hall of Famer Bruno Sammartino dies at age 82

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE Hall of Famer and professional wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino passed away today at age 82.

Sammartino, who has been in poor health over the past few months, died with his wife and two children by his side according to Pittsburgh CBS affiliate KDKA-TV. He is survived by wife Carol and three sons, David, Danny, and Darryl. He lived in Ross Township, Pennsylvania for most of his life after he moved from Italy in 1950.

The Italian-born former champion made his professional wrestling debut in 1959 and after a rocky relationship with Vince McMahon Sr., he returned to WWWF in 1963, winning the WWWF title from Buddy Rodgers in 48 seconds. He lost it to Ivan Koloff at Madison Square Garden in 1971 before he regained it in 1973 from Stan Stasiak. Sammartino dropped the belt three yers later to Superstar Billy Graham and his two title reigns lasted a total of 4,040 days, or 11 years, 3 weeks, 3 days.

After retiring from wrestling in 1981, Sammartino returned to the WWF for four years from 1984 to 1988 but he left as a critic of the company and Vince McMahon in particular due to the company’s stance on steroids and drugs. He remained estranged from the company for many years until 2013, when he finally agreed to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. His close friend Arnold Schwarzenegger inducted him and then two years later Sammartino returned to induct Larry Zbyszko.

A look at the NXT stars who moved to the main roster during Superstar Shake-Up

By
Colin Vassallo
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During the Superstar Shake-Up, six stars from the NXT brand graduated to the main roster: Drew McIntyre, Andrade “Cien” Almas, Zelina Vega, Eric Young, Killian Dain, and Alexander Wolfe.

McIntyre returned to NXT at NXT Takeover: Orlando in April 2017, appearing ringside before the main event. It was revealed afterward that he signed a new WWE deal and he showed up on NXT television two weeks later. He won the NXT title at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III by defeating Bobby Roode but then lost it to Andrade “Cien” Almas a few months later at NXT Takeover: WarGames on the night before the Survivor Series. Unfortunately, he also suffered a bicep injury during the end of the match which kept him out until Monday.

Andrade “Cien” Almas joined WWE in November 2015 and made his NXT debut in January 2016. His television debut came at NXT Takeover: The End in June 2016, defeating Tye Dillinger. The man formerly known as La Sombra in the world of lucha libre received a much-needed boost to his NXT career when Zelina Vega was introduced as his new manager in 2017, shooting to the top of the pack and winning the NXT title by defeating McIntyre. He kept the title until NXT Takeover: New Orleans earlier this month, losing to Aleister Black after 140 days as champion. Almas made his first main roster appearance during the Royal Rumble as one of the surprise entrants.

Zelina Vega, real name Thea Trinidad, joined WWE in June 2017 as Almas’ manager. Her televised debut came in July of last year but then returned a month later under her new name. Vega is known for interfering in matches and performing moves on Almas’ opponents. The former TNA Knockout plays the role of AJ Lee in the upcoming movie Fighting with My Family, produced by Dwayne Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions and WWE Studios.

Eric Young made his NXT debut in May 2016 in a one-shot deal and then signed a contract a few months later, returning to the company in October. Alexander Wolfe started training at the WWE Performance Center in April 2015 and made his TV debut three months later. Killian Dain joined WWE in June 2016 and made his non-televised debut at a live show in November that year. He originally wrestled under the name of Damian O’Connor and switched to his current name a few months later. The trio joined forces in October 2016 under the name of SAnitY which also included Nikki Cross. Cross did not join the group on Smackdown and has stayed in NXT.

These six individuals join the main roster along with Ember Moon, The Authors of Pain, No Way Jose, and The Iconic Duo who debuted on the post-Mania shows.

Smackdown adds 17 Superstars in night two of Superstar Shake-Up

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Smackdown added 17 WWE Superstars including five from NXT and the United States title during night two of the Superstar Shake-up.

The five NXT call-ups were former NXT champion Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega along with three male members of SAnitY: Eric Young, Killian Dain, and Alexander Wolfe. Nikki Cross has remained in NXT.

Those who made the switch to the blue brand in alphabetical order are Alexander Wolfe, Andrade ‘Cien’ Almas, Asuka, Big Cass, Cesaro, Eric Young, Jeff Hardy, Karl Anderson, Killian Dain, Luke Gallows, Mandy Rose, The Miz, R-Truth, Samoa Joe, Sheamus, Sonya Deville, and Zelina Vega.

Raw rating for 04/16/2018

By
Colin Vassallo
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The Superstar Shake-Up night one on Raw drew 3,622,000 viewers, the third-best number of 2018 so far. It was down 299,000 from the post-Mania Raw.

Hour one did 3,634,000 viewers, followed by 3,754,000 in the second hour, and 3,479,000 in the third and final hour.

Raw was #2, #4, and #5 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic as the NBA playoffs on TNT took the #1 and #3 spot. The show was #3 in overall viewership for the night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

WWE films awesome music video to celebrate dual-brand PPVs coming to WWE Network

By
Colin Vassallo
-

As all of you are aware, WWE has canned the brand-specific pay-per-views and will once again present a joint, monthly show with Raw and Smackdown Superstars starting from Backlash in May.

To commemorate this, WWE filmed an awesome music video titled The Best of Both Worlds, showcasing WWE Superstars dancing and singing, or in most cases, lip syncing and having a great time. Those who appear in the music video telling us they’re not afraid to “dream big” are The Bar, Sasha Banks, Finn Balor, Elias, The Usos, AJ Styles, Carmella, Naomi, Nia Jax, Alexa Bliss, The New Day, Aiden English, The Miz, Matt Hardy, Mojo Rawley, Kalisto, Dolph Ziggler, Becky Lynch, Shinsuke Nakamura, Jeff Hardy, Bayley, and Erick Rowan.

While there are several who had an A+ performance, the current Smackdown Women’s champion Carmella must be the MVP of this music video. You should definitely spare 1 minute 54 seconds of your life to watch it below.

WWE holding four-day tryout for Saudi athletes this week

By
Colin Vassallo
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WWE will be holding out a four-day tryout in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia starting tomorrow, April 18 and running through April 21.

25 athletes from Saudi will be attending the tryout at the King Abdullah Sports City Sports Hall and those selected will be invited to start training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The talent pool will be comprised of elite performers with a diverse background in sports, including soccer, powerlifting, volleyball, boxing, jiujitsu, gymnastics, CrossFit and taekwondo.

“WWE is dedicated to recruiting the most talented athletes and entertainers from around the world and developing them into global Superstars,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative. “In partnership with the General Sports Authority, we look forward to bringing the Greatest Royal Rumble to Saudi Arabia while showcasing this historic event to the world.”

Jeff Hardy makes WWE history with United States title win

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Jeff Hardy made history last night on Raw after he won the United States title, winning a total of nine different titles in WWE, more than anyone in the company. The nine different titles resulted in a total of 20 title reigns during his career and that is not counting the WCW Tag Team title he won once during the Invasion storyline.

Hardy won the WWE title once, the World Heavyweight title twice, the European title once, the Hardcore title three times, the Intercontinental title four times, the United States title once, the Light Heavyweight title once, the World Tag Team title six times, and the Raw Tag Team title once.

Jeff is also the 10th Grand Slam champion and the 18th Triple Crown champion in WWE.

Hardy is expected to return to the Smackdown brand tonight with the United States title in the second night of the Superstar Shake-Up.

Two title matches and casket match change announced for the Greatest Royal Rumble

By
Colin Vassallo
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Following the events that happened on Monday Night Raw last night, two title matches were confirmed for the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Jeddah in ten days time.

Jinder Mahal, who came to Raw last night and lost the United States title in his first match back on the brand, will get his rematch for the title now being held by Jeff Hardy. Also, Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt won the tag team eliminator after defeating the Revival on the show, earning a shot at the vacant Raw Tag Team titles against The Bar. The original advertised match was The Bar versus The Hardy Boyz for the titles until WrestleMania happened.

Meanwhile, the casket match has been changed yet again and is now back to The Undertaker versus Rusev. The match was changed to Taker vs Chris Jericho last week after Rusev was pulled from the match but yesterday WWE made the change and reverted to the original match. Chris Jericho will now be part of the 50-man Rumble match.

Monday Night Raw TV report for 04/16/2018

By
Magnum DA
-

Oi! 😀 I bet you didn’t see this one coming. It’s @TheMagnumDA and I am BACK for the Raw Report. But that’s not all…starting tomorrow, I’ll also be doing the Smackdown Live TV reports, as well. These won’t be your typical move-by-move TV reports, like before…we’re going to try a new format.

We’re going to give you a summary, which includes:

The Results: Who won the match?

• Jeff Hardy defeated Jinder Mahal to win the United States Championship. This was Mahal’s return to Raw via the Superstar Shake-up. **

• Sasha Banks vs. Bayley – No contest, match ended when the Riott Squad interfered. This was The Riott Squad’s debut on Raw via the Superstar Shake-up. *1/2

• Authors of Pain defeated Heath Slater & Rhyno in a rematch from AOP’s debut last week. *

• Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt defeated The Revival to win the Tag Team Eliminator. They will face The Bar at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia for the vacant Raw Tag Team Championship. **

• Ember Moon defeated Mickie James with the Eclipse. *3/4

• Natalya defeated Mandy Rose with the Sharpshooter. After the match, Ronda Rousey took out Sonya Deville. *1/2

• Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Bobby Lashley, and Bobby Roode defeated The Miz, Bo Dallas, Curtis Axel, Sami Zayn, and Kevin Owens in a 10-man tag match when Braun Strowman hit the Running Powerslam on Miz. **1/4

The Superstars involved in the “Superstar Shake-up”

Moving from Smackdown Live from Raw: Baron Corbin, Bobby Roode, Breezango, Chad Gable, Dolph Ziggler, Jinder Mahal, Kevin Owens, Mike Kanellis, Mojo Rawley, Natalya, Sami Zayn, The Ascension, The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan), and Zack Ryder. Drew McIntyre also made his return to Raw from NXT.

The Good: The best parts of Raw.

• Big Time Shake-up: I can appreciate that 18 people are switching from Smackdown to Raw. I’m sure that means there’s going to be a lot of Raw guys coming to Smackdown. This is a good thing, but one thing I noticed about the Raw pickups…there’s a LOT of heels here. Even the guys who are babyfaces, like Bobby Roode, aren’t getting HUGE good guy reactions, so eventually he’s going to turn evil too.

• Old Names, New Team: I really dig the Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre pairing. They looked good destroying Titus Worldwide, and the crowd really reacted to their tag team finisher.

• Ronda: I loved Ronda Rousey this week. From her angry march to the ring, to that SICK takedown on Sonya Deville, Ronda seems like a natural to pro wrestling. Yeah, the punches didn’t 100% connect on Deville, but who cares? She looked like a badass, plain and simple.

The Bad: Self-explained…basically, what sucked?

• Kurt.Angle@NoFreakingWay.com – Dude, 1999 called. They want their .com joke back. I love Kurt, but he should be careful…this was almost ugly.

• Wait, what happened at WrestleMania? With Jinder Mahal losing the US Championship in his return to Raw, this means he’ll probably get a push and a chance at the WWE Universal Championship. Or he’ll return to 3MB. Either way, this is now the third Championship that has changed hands since WrestleMania. Thanks to this booking, people are quickly going to forget the US Title Fatal 4 Way from that show, as well as the Raw tag team championship match and the Smackdown women’s title match.

• Scary lack of support for Lashley and Roode: During the 10-man tag, I could feel the crowd get behind Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, and Finn Balor. I could hear a pin drop when Lashley and Roode got in the ring. I know Vince is paying attention to that. I think a turn should be in order for these two: It will take them to the next level.

The Ugly (or worse…the Fugly and the dreaded PUG FUGLY): If I could sum these three categories up, I would say…try to avoid these. To quote the great author RD Reynolds, this would be considered WrestleCrap worthy.

• Nothing too awful this week! That’s a good thing. 🙂

Alright, we’ll see you tomorrow for the Smackdown Live portion of the Superstar Shake-up! @TheMagnumDA, signing off.

Raw brand off to South Africa for four-day tour

By
Colin Vassallo
-

The Raw brand will be doing four non-televised live events in South Africa this week, a small tour compared to the grueling two-week European tour that usually follows WrestleMania.

The first show will be on Wednesday at the Grand Arena at Grandwest in Cape Town, followed by another show in the same location on Thursday. On Friday, the Superstars travel to Pretoria for a show at the Sun Arena in Times Square and then a final stop in Johannesburg at the TicketPro Dome.

The next tour will then commence on Wednesday, May 9 following the Backlash weekend as both brands travel to Europe.

19 WWE Superstars move to Raw on night one of Superstar Shake-Up

By
Colin Vassallo
-

A large number of WWE Superstars swapped brands last night during night one of the WWE Superstar Shake-Up. Along the way came the United States title with Jinder Mahal which is expected to go to Smackdown again with the new champion Jeff Hardy.

There was only one NXT call-up and that was former NXT champion Drew McIntyre.

Those who moved to Raw from Smackdown are Baron Corbin, Bobby Roode, Breezango, Chad Gable, Dolph Ziggler, Drew McIntyre, Jinder Mahal, Sunil Singh, Kevin Owens, Mike Kanellis, Mojo Rawley, Natalya, Sami Zayn, The Ascension, The Riott Squad, and Zack Ryder.

Nikki Bella called off wedding and relationship after Cena couldn’t commit to having children

By
Colin Vassallo
-

PEOPLE.COM is reporting that it was Nikki Bella who called off the wedding and ended the relationship with John Cena after it was clear that Cena once again changed his stance about having kids.

“They have had an on and off relationship for years. It’s no secret that they didn’t see eye to eye on a lot of things, but, when you’re in love, you turn a blind eye. And that’s what Nikki did,” a source close to the couple said.

The same source said that everyone was surprised when Nikki originally changed her opinion on having kids and everyone knew that it wasn’t really her. “You can’t take motherhood away from a woman,” the source added. But Nikki did it to keep her relationship with Cena alive and eventually the former champ agreed to marry her and even have kids.

But something changed over the past few weeks and he started having cold feet as their May 5 wedding date was approaching fast.

“John acted more and more like he was doing her a favor by somehow conceding to go ahead and marry her,” the source continued. “Nikki doesn’t need a pity proposal, a pity wedding, a pity husband. She’s a phenomenal, tremendous woman.”

WWE stocks reach new 52-week high, nears $40

By
Colin Vassallo
-

With an encouraging Network subscribers count and a stronger than anticipated performance in the first quarter of 2018, WWE hit a 52-week high today of $39.56 which is the highest WWE stocks have reached in its history.

Things could look even better when WWE announces the Q1 2018 results on May 3. Last week, WWE said that it was exceeding its previous guidance by around $4 million. 2018 is looking to be WWE’s best-ever year with record revenue.

Vader shows off huge scar from open heart surgery

By
Colin Vassallo
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Former WWE and WCW Superstar Vader showed off his new permanent scar on his chest from the open heart surgery of a few weeks ago.

The huge and nasty scar runs across his torso and while it does not run across a straight line, Vader joked that it’s because his surgeon admitted that he had “a few too many” before he operated on him. “They had me but I KICKED out 2,” Vader wrote, once again thanking his surgeon for saving his life.

The man nicknamed as “The Mastodon” is now out of hospital and facing a long road for recovery.

https://twitter.com/itsvadertime/status/985673724568440832

Nikki Bella “heartbroken” and “devastated” over split from John Cena

By
Colin Vassallo
-

PEOPLE.COM is reporting that Nikki Bella is heartbroken and devastated by her split from John Cena which happened just weeks before they were supposed to get married. A wedding date was never officially announced to the public.

A source close to the duo told PEOPLE that Cena was getting “cold feet” as the wedding date got closer. “She never gave him an ultimatum. He talked a really good game about having changed, about having his priorities straight, about knowing what’s important, and that it was her. But as the day got closer, it was like he just went back to who he’s always been — which is someone who puts himself first, always,” the source said.

Cena always said that he never wanted to get married again or even have kids before he made a u-turn and eventually proposed to Nikki. “And for the longest time he said he didn’t think he had room in his life for a spouse or kids. It seems like in the end that was still the truth,” the same source added. “This was supposed to be the happiest time of her life. He ruined it and blew everything up.”

On Twitter, Cena wrote that hardship, loss, and humility are extremely difficult waters to navigate. “But perseverance thru them builds a strength to withstand anything life throws your way,” he continued.

Superstar Shake-up 2018 starts tonight on Monday Night Raw

By
Colin Vassallo
-

The first of a two-night Superstar Shake-up will take place tonight on Monday Night Raw with most major stars from Smackdown attending the broadcast as well.

This is the second time that WWE will be doing a shake up of their roster following the initial draft in July 2016. Some Raw stars will be appearing on Smackdown tomorrow although the big ones will be absent as they will be heading to South Africa for a four-day tour.

Last year, Apollo Crews, The Miz and Maryse, Dean Ambrose, Curt Hawkins, Bray Wyatt, Kalisto, Heath Slater and Rhyno, Alexa Bliss, and Mickie James moved to Raw and Ambrose took the Intercontinental title with him as well. Moving to Smackdown were Jinder Mahal, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Primo and Epic, Tamina, Charlotte Flair, Sin Cara, Rusev, Lana, and The New Day. The United States titled which was held by Kevin Owens moved to Smackdown too.

Raw General Manager Kurt Angle and new Smackdown General Manager Paige will be doing the trades on behalf of the two brands.

John Cena and Nikki Bella announce the end of their relationship

By
Colin Vassallo
-

In somewhat of a surprising news, John Cena and Nikki Bella announced the end of their relationship yesterday six years after they started dating. The duo got engaged last year at WrestleMania 33 in the middle of the ring.

“While this decision was a difficult one, we continue to have a great deal of love and respect for one another. We ask that you respect our privacy during this time in our lives,” a statement published read.

In a post on his Instagram account, Cena posted a meme with the words “Worst day ever” after the news was published online.

Cena was an integral part of the Total Bellas television show as well so it will be interesting to see how this breakup impacts the show moving forward.

The former 16-time world champion never wanted to re-marry and have kids but that changed over the past two years which led to Cena asking Nikki to marry her during a surprise segment at WrestleMania last year, a segment which only a few people were aware of despite the rumor going on for a while.

Rampage movie with Dwayne Johnson opens in #1 but with disappointing numbers

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s Rampage movie got its #1 spot in the box office this weekend with an estimated $34.5 million from 4,101 theaters according to data released by BoxOfficeMojo.com.

The movie, which was also released in several international locations this weekend, pulled in $114,100,000 and now has a worldwide box office revenue of $148,600,000. With Avengers: Infinity War coming out, realistically Rampage only has one more week of fight in the box office chart as once Avengers is released, it’s game over for all the other movies.

The $34.5 million opening weekend is a disappointment for the studio considering the movie cost $120 million to make. It was also the widest-ever release for a Johnson movie with 4,101 theaters. It still pulled less than the opening of Jumanji which was in 3,765 theaters and it sits in 14th place in terms of opening weekend for The Rock.

Rumored ESPN/NBCU deal for UFC can clear path for WWE to move to FOX

By
Colin Vassallo
-

Earlier this week, sports blogger Terez Owens posted a story saying that ESPN and NBCUniversal will be acquiring the rights of UFC from FOX, which if true can have major implications on WWE’s upcoming television deal.

The alleged deal is worth $320 million per year with ESPN and NBCUniversal paying for production for UFC shows, with a decrease in UFC pay-per-views in return of more shows on the two networks throughout the year. Officials from ESPN, NBCU, and UFC’s parent company WME all declined to comment.

A move for the UFC from FOX to ESPN and NBCU will clear the path for WWE to move its properties to FOX as NBCU is unlikely to afford both WWE and UFC programming. This would end WWE’s relationship with USA Network, which has been the home of Raw since 1993 apart from five years between 2000 and 2005.

FOX executives have been ringside at some shows lately and some of their TV and radio personalities alluded that WWE is moving to their network come fall 2019.

NBCUniversal has the right to match any offer for WWE programming to keep it on its network in the current television negotiations.

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