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NXT’s Kairi Sane makes surprise appearance at Stardom event in Japan

By
Colin Vassallo
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NXT’s Kairi Sane returned home to appear at a World Wonder Ring Stardom event which featured the farewell of 31-year-old Yoko Bito who is retiring from in-ring competition for the second time.

Bito, and Sane, who used the name of Kairi Hojo in the promotion, were part of the first group to graduate from the Stardom wrestling school in 2010. The two are also former two-time Goddess of Stardom tag team champions. At the Stardom Year End Climax 2017, Sane made the surprise appearance and presented Bito with a bouquet of flowers.

You can see a video and photos from her appearance below.

Meanwhile, NXT’s Alexander Wolfe and Axel Dieter Jr. also showed up at a wXw event in Germany over the weekend which was celebrating their 17th year anniversary.

Christmas Day Raw from Chicago virtually sold out

By
Colin Vassallo
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The live Monday Night Raw tomorrow on Christmas Day from Chicago is virtually sold out, with only a handful of tickets remaining.

WWE is running back-to-back television tapings at the Allstate Arena with Smackdown also live from the same location on Boxing Day. The Raw crew will travel to New York for the usual post-Christmas show at Madison Square Garden.

There were some fears that the arena would not sell out considering it’s Christmas day but the fans in Chicago once again did not disappoint. Smackdown has still not sold out and there are tickets available for the show.

This will be the first time that WWE will present a live Raw on Christmas and the first hour will be commercial free. Raw will also be live on New Year’s Day.

Rey Mysterio ready for one more go in WWE

By
Colin Vassallo
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Speaking to ESPN.COM, Rey Mysterio has repeated the fact that he would love to go back to WWE for one final run, although he admits that there has been no communication between the two parties lately although anything can change in the last minute.

Mysterio said that he’s not under a contract to one particular company so he can start working for whichever promotion immediately. “That’s the beautiful thing about being on this side of the fence. You don’t have a commitment with only one company. You can go around and pretty much wrestle wherever you want. You can choose when you want your off-days to be. That was one of my main priorities when I left WWE,” Mysterio said.

It was in 2015 that Mysterio was officially let go of his WWE deal following 13 years with the company. He explained that he always thought that the day that he starts feeling hurt and having a hard time getting out of bed, it would be the day he has to think about quitting. “It came to the point where I was feeling like that constantly,” he said of his last months with WWE. “I didn’t want to fall into another phase of taking either medication to ease my pain. I wanted to use the rest way to heal my body up. Believe it or not, the last two years, I don’t think I’ve felt better.”

But the former champion now wants to come back and finish up his career once and for all with the company that gave him a lot during his career. “Whether it’s one year or whatever the case might be. Whether it’s a farewell. I owe a lot to that company. That company gave me such an amazing opportunity, and I took advantage of every single moment I was with WWE to the fullest,” Mysterio said. “I wouldn’t want to just be remembered as ‘Oh, man, he never re-signed and he never came back.’ I would definitely love to come back and do a last run and say goodbye to my WWE fans. Tell them goodbye in a proper way.”

Kane enjoying what could be his last run in the main event

By
Colin Vassallo
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In an interview with the New York Post to promote the Madison Square Garden event on boxing day, WWE Superstar Kane said he is making the most out of this main event run because he doesn’t know how many opportunities he has left.

“I have to take advantage of everyone that comes along. This might be the last one. I don’t know. I certainly think the match at Royal Rumble is going to be special for me,” Kane said. At the Royal Rumble, Kane will get his first WWE title match in several years, wrestling Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar in a triple threat match.

Kane won his last major singles title in 2010 during the Money In The Bank pay-per-view, first winning the briefcase in the ladder match and then cashing in later in the night against Rey Mysterio.

“I’ve been in WWE for 22 years and that’s a long time and I still think I perform at a high level,” he said. “But nevertheless, it’s a long time and I know I don’t have many opportunities like this left.”

The Big Red Machine will wrestle Braun Strowman on December 26 in Madison Square Garden.

Ethan Carter III files for EC3 trademark

By
Colin Vassallo
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Former Impact champion Ethan Carter III has filed for a trademark for the EC3 name. The application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office was filed on December 15, 2017.

The trademark was filed under Goods and Services: Entertainment services, namely, wrestling exhibits and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer; Entertainment services in the nature of live visual and audio performances by an actor; Conducting fitness classes. It was filed by Tracy A. Myers, an associate attorney at Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig, PLLC.

EC3, whose real name is Michael Hutter, seems to be interested in a new venture of fitness classes as suggested by the trademark filing.

There were rumors that he, along with Bobby Lashley, are expected to leave Impact as soon as their current contract wraps up in 2018. Anthem’s Ed Nordholm said that they will be allowing talent to use their Impact names even when they leave the promotion which is why Carter went ahead and filed for a trademark.

Anthem can still oppose the filing as they did not actually say talent can go trademark names that were created by the company but just use the name without any issues.

Rich Swann and wife seem to be back on good terms!

By
Colin Vassallo
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Rich Swann and his wife Vannarah Riggs seem to have reconciled after their domestic violence incident a couple of weeks ago in Florida.

“I can not wait to see my husband tomorrow! After such an awesome weekend of wrestling debuting in two different promotions across America nothing would be better than to see his face,” Riggs wrote on Facebook two days ago along with a photo of the two together.

Swann was arrested after his wife, an indie professional wrestler who uses the name of Su Yung, accused him of domestic violence and keeping her against her will. He was charged with battery and false imprisonment. The incident between the two occurred while in the car traveling back home after a wrestling event she was participating in. To get away from the angry husband, Riggs exited the vehicle while it was moving and after Swann followed her back, he forced her back in the car while holding her in a headlock. Several eye witnesses corroborated Riggs’ account.

His arrest led to his indefinite suspension from WWE. He remains suspended until all legal proceedings have concluded. The two have been married for nine months.

Randy Orton to miss majority of the first quarter of 2018

By
Colin Vassallo
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PWInsider.com is reporting that we won’t see much of Randy Orton in the first three months of 2018 as he will be taking some time off and will be skipping the European tour in May as well.

Orton will not be appearing at any Smackdown Live or non-televised live events in February and March and will only be doing two weeks out of four in January apart from television tapings. The former champion is advertised for the post-WrestleMania Smackdown in New Orleans but considering he won’t be at TV for the whole month of March, his WrestleMania involvement remains to be seen.

It seems highly unlikely that Orton would miss WrestleMania week if he’s healthy.

Orton, like other senior Superstars such as John Cena, Big Show, Kane, and a few others, have limited schedule when it comes to non-televised live events.

Filming of The Marine 6: Close Quarters wraps up filming in the UK

By
Colin Vassallo
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The WWE Studios movie Marine 6: Close Quarters, finished filming in the United Kingdom this week.

The movie features The Miz in the leading role of Sgt. Jake Carter and also has Becky Lynch and WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels. This is the fourth Marine movie which has The Miz playing the main character after he replaced John Cena and then Ted DiBiase Jr.

The Miz and Becky Lynch have not appeared on Raw and Smackdown in a month. Roman Reigns defeated The Miz for the Intercontinental title on the November 20 Raw and he was not seen since then while Lynch was attacked by the Riott Squad backstage to explain her absence from television.

The Marine 6: Close Quarters will be released on DVD/Blu-Ray and Digital HD in 2018.

Impact rating for 12/21/2017

By
Colin Vassallo
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Impact Wrestling on POP this week did 269,000 viewers, up 108,000 viewers from last week’s show. Last week, Impact went head-to-head with WWE’s Tribute to the Troops which took a large chunk of their audience. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Jeff Jarrett returns home from rehab

By
Colin Vassallo
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Jeff Jarrett has returned home after a two-month stint at a WWE-sponsored rehab facility.

His wife Karen posted a photo of the two at home on her Instagram saying “all is right in my world.” It’s been a difficult couple of months for the Jarrett family which included Anthem cutting all ties with Jarrett and his Global Force Wrestling business, effectively putting him out of a job. The planned Impact-to-GFW transition was also halted as the company decided to return to its Impact name following Jarrett’s dismissal.

It was Karen who reached out to WWE to seek help for her husband. As part of their Wellness Program, WWE offers free rehab to any past or present WWE Superstar. Jarrett and WWE were not on speaking terms ever since Jarrett decided to leave in 1999 and hold WWE “hostage” for a large sum of money before dropping the Intercontinental title to Chyna at No Mercy.

Five new XFL trademarks registered this month on behalf of Alpha Entertainment LLC

By
Colin Vassallo
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On December 16, Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment LLC, through attorneys K&L Gates LLP, registered five new fresh trademarks of the XFL with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Three of these trademarks cover the many different apparel which could be used as XFL merchandise. One of the other trademarks is for entertainment services in the nature of professional football games and exhibitions and broadcast via computer, mobile, cable, and satellite, and the last trademark was to cover downloadable software in the nature of mobile applications for displaying information relating to football exhibitions.

At the moment, Alpha Entertainment’s address is that of K&L Gates LLP in Philadelphia, which through attorney Christopher M. Verdini registered all the trademarks.

With a rumored relaunch announcement sometime in January 2018, the work to cover all basis legal-wise is going full speed ahead.

The news of McMahon selling that many WWE stocks did not go down well with Wall Street, with WWE down 8% over yesterday. WWE stocks was enjoying the best run since going public, reaching over $33 before the announcement of McMahon came.

Vince McMahon and his non-wrestling business failures: what’s next for Alpha Entertainment?

By
Colin Vassallo
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Vince McMahon’s success outside the world of professional wrestling is not very stellar. It’s safe to say that any business McMahon started that did not involve a squared circle, failed.

Alpha Entertainment LLC, the company created by McMahon which has nothing to do with WWE, was set up to “explore investment opportunities across the sports and entertainment landscapes,” according to a spokesman. The rumors of the relaunch of the XFL picked up steam earlier this week when several football-related trademarks were filed. The same spokesman said that some of that “exploring” also includes professional football.

McMahon said in the recent ESPN 30 for 30 documentary that he thought about restarting the XFL in some form. The XFL name and trademark is owned by WWE so those trademarks would have to be sold to Alpha Entertainment LLC if Vince McMahon intends to spinoff the league from WWE’s books.

But as history suggests, things never go well for non-wrestling related businesses.

In 1979, Vince and Linda McMahon purchased the Cape Cod Coliseum and the Cape Cod Buccaneers of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League. That venture only lasted until 1984.

In 1991, Vince started the WBF – World Bodybuilding Federation – but that was canned after a year. In 1992, McMahon marketed the ICOPRO bodybuilding supplements, which went bust in 1995.

In 1999, WWF New York opened in Times Square as a wrestling-themed restaurant. It was later renamed to The World but business wasn’t good and the company closed it in 2003. In the year 2000, there were plans to open the WWF Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas after the company purchased the old Debbie Reynolds Hotel. The plans were abandoned and WWE sold the property in the same year. Two years later, WWE Niagara Falls opened on the Canadian-side of the Falls as a merchandise store. That was also closed a few years later.

But the biggest loser remains the XFL, a joint venture between WWE and NBC which was created in a bid to go against the NFL. The league began in February 2001 but lasted only one season, with both NBC and WWE reporting a loss of nearly $40 million each.

Kalisto hospitalized after fan throws bottle at him during 205 Live

By
Colin Vassallo
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Abigail Rodriguez, the wife of WWE Superstar Kalisto, posted a tweet saying that her husband needed to go to the hospital after a fan threw a bottle at him while he was down during this week’s episode of 205 Live.

“The way you assaulted my husband was disgusting to say the least. Your actions caused harm and medical intervention was needed,” Abby wrote. “Second, I am in disbelief with those that think it’s ok to ridicule someone who lives their life to entertain others. if it was you in the situation, you wouldn’t be laughing now, would you?!”

Rodrdiguez added that it wasn’t how she planned to spend the holidays with her family. “Stitches, MRI, and possible fracture, we don’t know,” she added.

Along with the post there is also a photo of Kalisto holding his upper lip revealing severe bruising underneath.

You can see the photo and the video of the incident below.

https://twitter.com/1stladylucha/status/944032138252439553

Vince McMahon sells $100 million-worth of WWE stocks

By
Colin Vassallo
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Yesterday, WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon sold 3,340,000 shares of the company’s Class A Common stock for a transaction worth over $100 million. The shares sold represent approximately 4.3% of WWE’s total outstanding shares of Class A and Class B common stock.

According to the Form 8K form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, McMahon sold the stocks to fund a separate entity from WWE, Alpha Entertainment LLC, which Mr. McMahon established to explore investment opportunities across the sports and entertainment landscapes, including professional football.

McMahon has informed the company that he has no current plan to sell additional shares of the company’s stock and that he intends to continue in his capacity as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer for the foreseeable future.

After the sale, McMahon beneficially owns 32,193,375 shares of the company’s Class B common stock, which represents approximately 82.8% of the Company’s total voting power and approximately 41.8% of the Company’s total outstanding shares of common stock.

Total Divas S7 E7 rating

By
Colin Vassallo
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Episode seven of season seven of Total Divas, titled Fake It Til You Make It, drew a total of 612,000 viewers, up 95,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast and the second most-watched this season. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

First hour of Raw and Smackdown to be commercial-free on Christmas and New Year’s Day

By
Colin Vassallo
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The first hour of Monday Night Raw on Christmas Day and the first hour of Smackdown Live on New Year’s Day will be airing commercial-free.

Presenting a commercial-free broadcast will keep viewers from switching channels during breaks and is another marketing tool to bring in more eyeballs on a day that typically viewership isn’t as strong. This will be the first time that WWE will present live Raw and Smackdown shows on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

WWE has done two commercial-free Raws in the past, and it was not just for the first hour, but all of them. The first one was on June 22, 2009 in Green Bay, Wisconsin and it was the episode that Donald Trump took over the show as the new owner of Raw. The second one was on May 17, 2010 from Toronto, Canada, with astronaut Buzz Aldrin as the guest star.

Successful surgery for Dean Ambrose in Birmingham

By
Colin Vassallo
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Dean Ambrose underwent successful surgery Tuesday night to repair a high-grade triceps tendon injury according to WWE.com.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Jeffrey Dugas at Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, Alabama, and Ambrose was under the knife for around 40 minutes.

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“He tore some of the distal triceps tendon where it attaches to the forearm bone, called the olecranon,” Dr. Dugas told WWE.com. “He basically tore about 50 percent of the triceps tendon away from the bone. So yesterday we repaired that back down to the bone where it tore off of. The surgery was very straightforward; we removed all of the extra bursal tissue – all of that extra swollen stuff around his elbow.”

The former WWE champion has already started physical therapy and will leave Birmingham today. It’s still not determined how long Ambrose will be out for.

The Undisputed Era wins the NXT Tag Team titles

By
Colin Vassallo
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There are new NXT Tag Team champions following yesterday’s NXT broadcast on the WWE Network as Eric Young and Killian Dain of SAnitY were defeated by Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish of The Undisputed Era.

O’Reilly and Fish were somewhat helped by the other member of their faction – Adam Cole – who is now the only member who doesn’t hold gold around his waist. SAnitY’s reign came to an end after four months after they defeated the Authors of Pain at NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III back in August.

The team of O’Reilly and Fish are a veteran tag team and won the Ring of Honor Tag Team titles three times and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Smackdown rating for 12/19/2017

By
Colin Vassallo
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The post-Clash of Champions Smackdown this week drew 2,578,000 viewers, up 97,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. The show was #2 on the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic and #5 in overall viewership. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)

Total Divas episode preview for tonight: Fake It Til You Make It

By
Colin Vassallo
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Tonight’s episode of Total Divas on E! is titled Fake It Til You Make It and it is the seventh episode from the seventh season.

The synopsis for tonight’s show reads, “After surviving her first trip away from Birdie, Brie is inspired to make a comeback in the ring and in her business career, but can she balance it all while being a mom? Meanwhile, Trin introduces role-playing in the bedroom to spice up her sex life with Jon, and Maryse dares Mike to be a vegetarian for a week.”

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