Former WCW champion Vader underwent open-heart surgery yesterday and is now recovering in a hospital.
His son Jesse wrote on Twitter that the surgeon said it was a success but the damage was worse than they all expected and the road for recovery will be long. Last week Vader said that doctors told him his heart is functioning at 30% only and full surgery was the only way forward.
Vader, real name Leon White, is considered to be one of the best super heavyweights in the world of professional wrestling although his success in the ring has yet to earn him a much-deserved spot into the WWE Hall of Fame.
There are two Raws left before WrestleMania comes around and one of the biggest matches on the card is still not “officially” confirmed.
John Cena finds himself still without a dance partner as The Undertaker, who just turned 53 this past weekend, has not responded to Cena’s request yet. Instead, it’s Kane who showed up last week and chokeslammed Cena. The two will go one-on-one tonight on Monday Night Raw.
This would not be the first time that The Undertaker has not appeared in person to promote a match for WrestleMania. His WrestleMania 31 match against Bray Wyatt pretty much went the same way and it was only on the actual pay-per-view that the Dead Man made his first appearance since he lost the streak a year earlier.
At last year’s WrestleMania, everyone took it for granted that it was The Undertaker’s final match considering the way it was presented to the audience. To WWE’s credit, they never said that Taker was retired, leaving the door open to an eventual return down the line. The Undertaker appeared at the Raw 25th anniversary episode in January.
Former WWE champion Dean Ambrose will no longer be appearing at WrestleMania Axxess.
Ambrose was scheduled to be the Premium VIP Superstar appearing on WrestleMania Sunday at 10AM. Now, WWE Hall of Famers Sting and Ric Flair will be taking his place, a more than adequate replacement for WWE fans.
While we have no information regarding tickets, it’s assumed that those who are already in possession of an Ambrose VIP ticket will be able to stay in line for Flair and Sting.
The Superstars advertised were always subject to change. Ambrose is still recovering from surgery and has not appeared in front of WWE fans since mid December 2017. He is expected to be out of action for up to nine months.
Less than two weeks away from WrestleMania 34, we look at Daniel Bryan’s potential schedule now that he’s cleared to return to in-ring action, discuss Ronda Rousey’s upcoming debut match and ponder what to make of Bray Wyatt’s deletion by “Woken” Matt Hardy.
The impossible is possible
Former WWE Champion Daniel Bryan was cleared to wrestle again last Tuesday. Bryan was forced to retire in 2016 after a series of concussions took a toll on his health and now he’ll finally be able to return to the squared circle.
Bryan underwent comprehensive neurological and physical evaluations during his two years in the sidelines and WWE announced he can return to in-ring action, however, the popular superstar will have to undergo impact testing and a neuropsychological evaluation after every match.
How often will Bryan wrestle? A report from Wrestling Observer Newsletter suggests that he will probably not compete full-time with WWE, though he will wrestle more often than part-time superstars like Brock Lesnar.
Bryan’s schedule could look like Randy Orton’s, he will work some house shows or live events but appear at all big pay-per-views. I can’t wait for Bryan’s first match back, which could take place at WrestleMania 34. Check out different Betting sites to grasp the best odds
Rousey is one of the best female athletes in the world, so she should make a smooth transition over to wrestling. Still, none of that potential matters unless she really commits to learning the ropes, which she’s clearly doing based on her training videos.
The videos, which have been released by WWE in recent days, are short but show that Rousey has her timing down inside the ring and she also looked explosive in her slam.
Obviously the newest WWE superstar is doing a lot more behind closed doors, but seeing these little snippets have gotten wrestling and MMA fans excited about her debut on April 8, when she’ll team up with former Olympian and WWE champion and current Raw General Manager Kurt Angle against Stephanie McMahon and Triple H.
Has Bray Wyatt been Broken/Woken?
It seemed that Bray Wyatt was deleted by Matt Hardy at the end of The Ultimate Deletion on the March 19 episode of Monday Night Raw, but the Eater of Worlds appeared at WWE’s live events over the weekend and based on his interactions with Hardy, he might be getting a new name and his character will change.
Wyatt has been poorly booked since winning the WWE Championship over a year ago and he’s been feuding with “Woken” Matt Hardy for a few months, with things coming to a head at The Ultimate Deletion, when Wyatt lost and was pushed into the Lake Of Reincarnation… hinting that that he would get repackaged.
Based on his appearances at WWE live events this weekend, Wyatt’s character hasn’t changed yet, but it seems he’s about to. Hardy even hinted that change was coming even referred to Wyatt as “Woken” Wyatt.
It could all be part of a slow-burn by the WWE and Wyatt’s face turn might take place after a match at WrestleMania but whatever the case may be, both characters getting so much focus can only help them as long as WWE keeps the story creative from this point forward.
While Johnny Gargano lost his loser leaves NXT match several weeks ago, the company is running angles between Gargano and Ciampa online, with the most recent one seeing Gargano attacking his former tag team partner at the parking lot outside the WWE Performance Center.
Ciampa has played a big role in Gargano’s dismissal from NXT and the plan is that the two will have an “unsanctioned” match at the upcoming NXT Takeover: New Orleans next week.
“Do you see what happens when you encourage a child’s poor behavior? This happened on YOUR property,” Ciampa wrote on Twitter. “First you get me a piece of garbage rental car…then security allows HIM to show up?!? I’ve moved on. It’s time he does too…”
Some of the matches for The Greatest Royal Rumble event have been announced, including Triple H taking on John Cena for the first time in eight years.
As previously reported, WWE is going all out for this event which will be taking place in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in hopes of filling every single seat in the 60,000-seater stadium. Other matches also announced include a ladder match for the Intercontinental title between Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, The Miz and Samoa Joe, and a Raw Tag Team title match between The Bar and The Hardy Boyz.
In total there will be seven WWE titles on the line plus the 50-man Royal Rumble event which will headline the card. Unfortunately, no WWE women will be participating in this event after Sasha Banks and Alexa Bliss made WWE history last year by wrestling in Saudi.
Tickets for this historic event are available this Saturday, March 31, at Midnight AST via ticketingboxoffice.com. Tickets will also be available at 10AM AST at Virgin stores throughout Saudi Arabia. Ticket prices start at 20 SAR.
WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has made the move to Westwood One, the largest audio network in the United States, after leaving PodcastOne several months ago.
His new weekly podcast, titled The Jim Ross Report, will debut in early April.
Westwood One Podcast Network will provide ad sales representation and promotion for the show, delivering relationships and expertise with brand marketers with unparalleled scale and reach.
“This proud partnership is an impressive match between two legendary brands – Jim Ross and Westwood One,” said Suzanne Grimes, EVP Marketing, Cumulus Media and President, Westwood One. “Jim always brings it, which is why he has such a passionate fan base and massive social media following. We can’t wait to share the first episode of The Jim Ross Report with his highly-engaged audience.”
Former WCW President and the man responsible for creating the Goldberg gimmick, Eric Bischoff, commented on the news that it will be Paul Heyman who will be inducting his biggest WCW star.
Replying to a fan tweet that said that Bischoff should have been the one to induct Goldberg, Bischoff somewhat disagreed.
“If the goal is to have the most articulate, passionate and experienced person available induct @Goldberg, then there is no better choice than @HeymanHustle,” Bischoff wrote. “Paul will do an amazing job framing this moment for Bill and for all the fans in the WWE Universe.”
As most of you are aware, Bischoff and Heyman have not always been cordial with each other and there was bad blood between the two during the days of WCW and ECW.
“Thank you. Wow,” replied Heyman. “I’m blown away by this tweet, and even more appreciative of it…”
The advocate of the WWE Universal champion, Paul Heyman, will be inducting Goldberg into the WWE Hall of Fame in two weeks in New Orleans during WrestleMania weekend. The news was announced today by WWE.COM.
This is an interesting pick considering Heyman never managed Goldberg and this will be Heyman’s first time inducting someone into the WWE Hall of Fame. The two grew a bit close during Goldberg’s second run in WWE and it was Heyman who coached the former champion when it came to promos when he returned in 2016. The two have not publicly commented about the news yet.
Heyman joins Molly Holly and Edge and Christian for the Hall of Fame so far, with Holly inducting Ivory and E&C doing the honors for Bubba Ray and D-Von.
WWE champion AJ Styles returned to the ring last night at the non-televised live event in Trenton, New Jersey.
Styles has been out of action for a few weeks due to a leg injury and was kept from any physical altercations until he was cleared. There was a fear initially that this injury might disrupt his WrestleMania plans but during an interview, Styles said nothing will stop him from taking on Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania.
Despite returning last night, Styles kept his in-ring time to a minimum and teamed up with The New Day to take on Rusev, Aiden English, Shelton Benjamin, and Chad Gable. Styles tagged in during the last few minutes of the match and delivered the Phenomenal Forearm to Aiden English for the pin and the win.
PWInsider.com reported that Rey Mysterio traveled to Birmingham, Alabama this week and met with doctors for an evaluation of his bicep injury in preparation for a WWE return.
Mysterio injured his bicep at an indie event a couple of weeks ago while he was in the middle of negotiations with WWE. Anyone who competes in a WWE ring must undergo a series of medical tests to make sure they’re in good physical condition and that there are no hidden injuries.
Mysterio made his first WWE appearance since 2014 at the Royal Rumble this year, entering at number 27 to a large pop from the crowd.
He was recently revealed as one of the new owners of AroLucha, a Tennessee-based company that will promote lucha libre shows.
The Greatest Royal Rumble event from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia will also be airing live in Australia.
Apart from airing on the WWE Network and on Sky Sports Box Office in the United Kingdom, Australia’s premium PPV service Main Event announced that The Greatest Royal Rumble will be screened live on their service on April 28 at 2AM local time.
The show will start at 8PM in Jeddah at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium so that means a 1PM EST start time in the United States.
Speaking to WWE’s UK broadcaster Sky Sports, Ronda Rousey said that she’s having the time of her life in WWE and it’s the happiest she’s been since her wedding day.
Rousey described that she remembers how WWE made her feel when she was a little kid and watching the likes of Hulk Hogan on television. Then her wrestling passion slowed down a little bit until her friends Shayna Baszler and Jessamyn Duke moved in with her, “and they always put WWE on the TV, it seemed like every single night!”
Rousey explained that to master something new is one of the greatest pleasures in her life and it’s way better than just sitting there doing something that she knows how to do.
But training at the WWE Performance Center is not easy and Rousey said that she’s mentally exhausted from everything she’s learning and her body is aching all over. But all this makes her happy.
“I want to be mentally pushed and challenged every day and it’s hard to not be in this world and not be totally obsessed and engrossing by it,” Rousey said.
VIP Suites tickets for NXT Takeover: New Orleans are available for purchase for a cool price of $750 per ticket.
The package contains VIP suite seating during the show, visits from NXT Superstars while the broadcast is going on, photo opportunity with NXT stars, group photo on the Takeover: New Orleans entrance ramp, access to the merchandise stand before doors open, and a Takeover: New Orleans collectible VIP poster.
Tickets are available from NXTTickets.com and there’s only limited seating available.
WWE will be hosting a veterans career panel networking event in conjunction with Hire Heroes USA in New Orleans.
The free event will take place on Tuesday, April 3 from 8AM to 2PM CDT at The National WWII Museum located at 945 Magazine Street and is available to U.S. military members, veterans, and spouses.
The event will tackle career coaching, an industry panel Q&A session and a networking event attended by recruiters, hiring managers, and human resources professionals from more than 20 companies. Attendees will receive a WWE branded resume portfolio, opportunity to take a professional LinkedIn profile photo and more! Breakfast and lunch will be provided.
WWE Superstars will be onsite for a meet and greet during registration.
Impact Wrestling announced that they will be returning to the United Kingdom during Wrestling MediaCon 2018, Britain’s wrestling convention on Sunday, September 9 at the Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester.
Champion Austin Aries, Alberto El Patron, Johnny Impact, Eli Drake, Moose, Sami Callihan, Eddie Edwards and Matt Sydal are all advertised to appear along with others. Tickets go on sale next month although no specific date was released.
Tickets can be purchased as standalone tickets or along with a Wrestling MediaCon ticket. Wrestling MediaCon attendees must purchase a separate ticket for the Impact show unless they are a Platinum VIP ticket holder. Tickets for Wrestling MediaCon 2018 are available at wrestlingmediacon.com. Prices start at £22.50 for a standard one-day ticket. Two-day tickets, gold packages and Platinum VIP packages are also available.
Speaking to USA Today regarding Daniel Bryan’s return, Triple H said that it was “unbelievable” watching him back in action from backstage at Smackdown Live this week.
Triple H said that one of the hardest part of his jobs is telling talent that they can’t wrestle anymore due to injuries. “And for somebody like Daniel, man, it was soul-crushing. He went through a lot to try to get back to where he was, without any guarantee that it would ever work,” HHH recounted.
He added that Bryan got a “second lease on life” after the same doctors that told him he couldn’t wrestle now cleared him to compete. “Really excited, really happy for him.”
Triple H shared a pretty lengthy feud with Daniel Bryan leading up to WrestleMania XXX as part of The Authority against the “B-plus player” which eventually climaxed in New Orleans with Daniel Bryan beating Triple H in the opening match and earning his spot in the main event and winning the WWE title in a triple threat way.
Impact Wrestling this week with the Feast or Fired reveal pulled in 362,000 viewers on POP, up 12,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Dr. Robert Cantu, one of the leading neurosurgeons in the United States who examined Daniel Bryan in his bid to get cleared again to wrestle, spoke to Newsweek about the process and why he determined that Bryan should be given another chance to get back in the ring.
Dr. Cantu said that he examined Bryan on February 26, 2018 and noted that his medical records came with multiple evaluations by renowned concussion clinicians.
“I determined that Bryan is currently asymptomatic, has a normal detailed neurological and cognitive neuropsychological examination, normal EEG, and an MRI that showed no definite evidence of a prior brain injury,” Dr. Cantu said. “It is my medical opinion that there is no absolute contraindication to his return to in-ring action in WWE.”
The no prior evidence of brain injury is a statement that Bryan has revealed in some of his media interviews before.
Dr. Cantu is one of the three neurological experts who diagnosed what is believed to be the first case of CTE in professional wrestling in Chris Benoit.
Molly Holly will be inducting Ivory into the WWE Hall of Fame in a few weeks time.
The two share a long history together and were part of the WWE during the same time in the early 2000s. Molly Holly returned to a WWE ring during the Royal Rumble as one of the surprise entrants.
She is the second one confirmed for the Hall of Fame after earlier this week, Edge and Christian were announced as the ones inducting The Dudley Boyz in the Hall of Fame.
