In a post on Instagram, WWE Hall of Famer Bret “Hit Man” Hart revealed that revealed that he has prostate cancer and will be undergoing surgery in the next few days.
Calling it his toughest battle out of many hard battles, Bret hopes that with surgery he will be “defeating this nemesis once and for all.” Throughout his career, Bret suffered a career-ending concussion, two knee replacements, two hernia operations, surgery on his right elbow, four-corner fusion on his right wrist and numerous surgeries that come with being a wrestler.
“I beat the odds when I suffered my stroke in 2002, but it is now yet again, that I…stand unafraid and face the tough road ahead of me, I will march toward this destiny with his spirit chanting in my ear,” Bret wrote. He vowed to wage a “fearsome fight” against the disease with a shield in one hand and a sword carrying his “determination of my fury of life” in his other.
According to the Wrestling Observer, people backstage at Raw were not thrilled with The Rock going off the script and go ringside to talk to the four fans who were dressed as himself, Hulk Hogan, Macho Man, and The Undertaker.
Fans in the arena started a “Randy Savage” chant after the guy who was dressed up as him kept standing up doing Macho Man mannerisms. Instead of ignoring the obvious, The Rock decided to have a little fun and talked to the guys who just said their name and who they are playing. The fans loved it, but the element of being live made a few people backstage sweat.
WWE Superstars and Divas rarely go off script during their promos unless there are some extraordinary circumstances or you are a top guy who can afford to take the backlash. The Rock, who doesn’t work for WWE, can certainly afford to do it and credit to him, made the whole thing work.
Addressing what happened on Twitter, The Rock himself said going off script is what he lives for as it’s fun for the fans. “Nightmare for Vince,” he added, with a smiley at the end.
The four individuals who were responsible for the whole thing were then given different seats by WWE security to avoid any repeats.
WrestleMania Axxess tickets will go on pre-sale tomorrow on Ticketmaster.com at 9AM EST and will run till February 5 at 11:45PM CST. Codes you can use to purchase tickets are TWEETME, ALLMANIA, and TWAXXESS.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Saturday, February 6 at 9AM CST. There will be three different prices for Axxess including $55 for general admission, $110 for VIP, and $190 for Premium VIP. Superstars and Divas appearing for photo ops and autograph signings differ depending on which ticket you purchase.
There will be six Axxess sessions in total starting on Thursday, March 31. There will be one session on that day between 6PM and 10PM and one session on Friday, April 1 between 5PM and 9PM. Three sessions will take place on Saturday, April 2 with the first one between 8AM and 12PM, second one between 1PM and 5PM, and third one between 6PM and 10PM. The third session will conflict with the Hall of Fame ceremony. The final session takes place on Sunday, April 3 between 8AM and 12PM.
WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon will be on ABC’s Good Morning America tomorrow morning during the 8AM hour.
McMahon will be interviewed by GMA news anchor Amy Robach to discuss WWE business, female leadership, and WWE’s philanthropy work. McMahon received some heat last year when she retweeted Twitter’s co-founder remark that “philanthropy is the future of marketing” and that “it’s the way brands are going to win.”
TNA wraps up its Maximum Impact Tour in the United Kingdom today with one final show in Birmingham at the Barclaycard Arena which will also feature Kurt Angle’s last match in TNA against Bobby Lashley.
TNA taped several shows during the tour including Impact, One Night Only pay-per-view and Xplosion matches which will be used in future broadcasts. With the Impact tapings they did it will take them till the end of March until they run out of footage.
So far there are no further tapings scheduled on the TNA website although that will obviously change as weeks pass by and shows taped start to run out.
TNA’s Executive Vice President of Creative and Talent Relations John Gaburick addressed the backstage incident between Awesome Kong and Reby Sky from yesterday’s show in Manchester on Twitter.
“Prior to the Impact Wrestling TV tapings at the Manchester Arena, Kia Stevens (Awesome Kong) was involved in an incident involving Rebecca Hardy (Reby Sky). Subsequently, Kia was removed from the tour and returned to the United States,” Gaburick wrote.
He also added that the incident is being reviewed to see if “additional disciplinary action will be taken.”
Unable to hold back tears both in the ring and afterward while doing interviews with the press, Shinsuke Nakamura said goodbye to New Japan Pro Wrestling with his final show at the Korakuen Hall today in Japan.
His last match was a six man tag team match where he tagged along with Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii to defeat Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuyori Shibata. The packed crowd inside the Hall showed their respect to the former IWGP Intercontinental champion and fellow NJPW stars filled the ring to shake hands and hug. He was then paraded around the ring on shoulders.
Nakamura will start with WWE in February and will be relocating to Orlando to train at the WWE Performance Center. He will make his official debut at the NXT Takeover: Dallas.
You can see Nakamura’s last ride in New Japan from today below.
Wrestling-Online.com today launched the Instant Push Notifications for web browsers Firefox, Google Chrome, and Safari, a free service that can be used instead or with the Instant News Alert Service.
Instant Push Notifications is another free service that will alert you as soon as news is posted on Wrestling-Online.com on your desktop. A small box will appear with the headline of the news and a link to instantly access the post.
The service is only compatible with the three mentioned web browsers and you can easily subscribe or unsubscribe through our website or else through the preferences of your chosen browser.
To subscribe simply click on the red icon found on the bottom right corner of your screen when accessing Wrestling-Online.com.
The WWE Network gift cards are now available at GameStop locations as well in the United States, the second brick and mortar shop to carry these cards after Walmart.
The card is sold for $29.97 and includes a three month subscription to the WWE Network for the regular price of $9.99 a month. Once the card is purchased and redeemed on the WWE Network page, there’s no need to input any credit card details and it will simply expire three months after redeemed.
It can also be added to an active account by going to the “My Account” section and click on the Redeem link. You can subscribe to the WWE Network at http://w-o.it/wwentwrk and get the first month for free which includes the Fastlane pay-per-view. The free month will not be available for WrestleMania and the only way to watch that show is by paying the $9.99 fee.
The March to WrestleMania WWE Network special at the Ricoh Coliseum in Toronto got its first glimpse of who will be appearing on the show thanks to an update on the Coliseum’s website.
The show looks like it will be headlined by Roman Reigns taking on Sheamus, a match which obviously can change depending on Sheamus’ injury. Brock Lesnar is also on the card and from the looks of it will be wrestling Luke Harper. Y2J Chris Jericho will be hosting his highlight reel and the highlight for most Canadians in town will certainly be the arrival of AJ Styles who makes his Toronto debut.
Others listed as appearing include The New Day, The Usos, The Miz, Brie Bella, and Paige. WWE is running another show on March 12 head to head with this live event so not the full roster will be on hand for the taping.
WWE and NXT will be represented at the 2016 Summer Olympics with NXT developmental wrestler Adrian Jaoude, who will be representing his country of Brazil in the freestyle wrestling competition.
Jaoude has been part of NXT since October of last year and was part of the new group of recruits that also included some Tough Enough competitors. He was named Best Brazilian Wrestler in the junior category in 2000 and the senior category in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, and 2012.
“Adrian’s come into the group and his natural ability has shone through,” NXT coach Robbie Brookside told WWE.COM. “It’s still very early in his career, but thus far, he’s come in and picked things up – footwork, balance, attitude, application and holds. He’s got a great appreciation and understanding of what it’s all about and puts it to great use.”
WWE Performance Center strength and conditioning coach Matt Wichlinski is helping the Brazilian to get in perfect shape before the Olympics. Wichlinski praised Jaoude’s work ethic, a sentiment echoed by NXT head coach Matt Bloom.
“It’s kind of breathtaking,” Brookside added. “I think it’s a great thing for everyone down here to turn around and go, ‘One of us is going to the Olympics.’ It’s not very often you can say that.”
Awesome Kong’s working holiday in the United Kingdom was cut short as she was sent home from the TNA Maximum Impact Tour following an altercation with Reby Sky, the wife of TNA World champion Matt Hardy.
The altercation took place in the locker room but details are still sketchy at this point with different stories floating around. What is known for sure is that things got physical and Kong was punished for it since she was the one who started the confrontation.
This is the second time that Kong has been involved in a backstage fight as back in 2010 she got into it with Bubba “The Love Sponge” who was doing work as a backstage interviewer. The 38 year old asked for her release on that day as well but was denied although she eventually was released from her contract later on. She later went on to state that she would never work for TNA again however she made her return to the company in January 2015 following a disastrous stint in WWE a few years earlier.
It’s unclear what her status with TNA will be once everyone is back in the United States.
Alberto Del Rio is suffering from an undisclosed injury, putting the whole League of Nations out of action with injuries. There were several rumors earlier this week that another top level WWE Superstar was dealing with an injury and that has now been confirmed to be Del Rio by PWInsider.com.
Del Rio participated at the Royal Rumble however he did not wrestle on Raw and just like his fellow LON members, he did not appear on Smackdown the next night. Barrett is out with a neck injury, Sheamus is out with biceps tendonitis, Rusev looks like he has been written off WWE television for the time being and now Del Rio completes the group. There were reports that Rusev had a knee injury but Rusev himself shot down these rumors even though he wrestled with his knee taped up during the non-televised shows.
The WWE injured list currently consists of Sting, Seth Rollins, John Cena, Cesaro, Tyson Kidd, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan, Wade Barrett, Sheamus, Del Rio, Sin Cara, Nikki Bella, and Naomi.
Smackdown yesterday did a total of 2,720,000 viewers which is pretty much the same number the broadcast did last week. Last week the show did 37,000 viewers more compared to last night. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Former WWE Divas champion Nikki Bella said on Twitter that she’s “feeling better every day” following her risky neck surgery which was performed on Wednesday.
Unlike most WWE personnel who travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to undergo similar surgeries, Nikki’s surgery was held at the Tampa General Hospital in Tampa, Florida, under the care of neurosurgeon Dr. Juan Uribe.
The Bella twin had a C6-C7 bone fusion and had to repair a herniated disc which went behind her vertebrae. The surgery is performed by making an opening on the front of the neck with a steel plate and bolts inserted to hold everything down.
Nikki will now spend three months stuck at home in Tampa with minimal movement to her neck hoping for the best outcome in six months time when doctors can then figure out if she can resume her wrestling career. There is no form of rehab for this injury except for resting.
If you are a T-Mobile subscriber in the United States and part of its Binge On program, the WWE Network has been added to the list of participating services so now anyone using the service can stream unlimited Network video on their mobile device.
The Binge On program allows unlimited streaming without counting towards their monthly data caps however the video will not be in HD and will be scaled down to 480P which is regular standard definition.
The WWE Network joins services such as Netflix, Hulu, Watch ESPN, HBO Go, Sling, and others on T-Mobile’s Binge On.
Thursday Night Smackdown! TV Report for January 28th, 2016
Introduction Segment: Video Promo and Welcoming
The event of the Royal Rumble match and Raw are shown; the regular Smackdown! opener plays and the pyro explodes in the arena of Tampa, Florida. Mauro Ranallo greets us, then he and Jerry “The King” Lawler go over the line-up. Chris Jericho will have Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns, who will collide at Fastlane with Brock Lesnar, on the “Highlight Reel;” as well, Adrian Neville will challenge Kalisto for the United States Championship!
Segment #2: Arena Promo
Tag-Team Champions The New Day make their way out; their confrontation with The Rock and Usos from Raw is aired. Xavier Woods, Big E., and Kofi Kingston berate Rock for his choice of words in describing New Day’s unicorn attire, then The Miz walks out and does the same since Rock hurt his feelings too. Miz doesn’t get far when The Usos interject.
New Day take over though, reminding Jimmy and Jey that they don’t have any championships, and have been “riding your cousin’s coattails.” They also remind them of the numbers game, where there is four of them in the ring, and only two on the outside. This is until Titus O’Neil and Dolph Ziggler join up.
Commercials.
Match #1: Eight-Man Tag-Team – Tag-Team Champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston, Big E., and Xavier Woods) and The Miz VS. The Usos (Jimmy and Jey), Titus O’Neil, and Dolph Ziggler
The faces control for a little while, particularly with The Usos double-teaming and Titus slapping Kofi on the chest a couple of times. New Day gain domination after Big E. overhead-belly-to-belly suplexes in the corner.
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New Day are still governing with the Triple-Corner-Stomps, but Ziggler comes back with a leaping-tag to Titus. He and The Usos clean-house on New Day and Miz, with The Usos soaring over the top rope onto New Day as Dolph held the ropes down. They also hit a double-superkick on Miz, then Titus slams him with his Clash Of The Titan spinebuster and covers for the victory!
Winners via Pinfall: The Usos, Titus O’Neil, and Dolph Ziggler
Commercials.
Match #2: Single for the United States Championship – Neville (Challenger) VS. Kalisto (Champion)
After formal in-ring introductions, the two circle each other and Neville flips out of a monkey-flip. They trade jumping moves, with Kalisto doing a handstand and walking on them! He headscissors Neville to the outside, then tries a hurricanrana off the apron, but Neville holds on. He runs Kalisto into the corner, but the U.S. Champ reverses it into a hurricanrana into the barricade! The referee starts the count, but both men slide in before ten!
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Neville counters a springboard-senton into a sit-down powerbomb! Later, Kalisto hurricanranas Neville from the top turnbuckle and almost takes this! Kalisto goes for the Salida Del Sol, but Neville shoves him off and kicks him hard a few times. Neville waistlocks Kalisto, but the champ reverses into a victory roll for two! Neville boots Kalisto and goes back to the waistlock, but Kalisto reverses into the S.D.S. (thanks Mauro for the short-name!) and gets the 1 – 2 – 3!
Winner via Pinfall and STILL United States Champion: Kalisto
Up next is the “Highlight Reel!”
Commercials.
Segment #3: Arena Promo
Chris Jericho is out first and puts over the Royal Rumble and Raw, including A.J. Styles’ debut match against him. He then brings out both Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns. Dean has brought a plant to decorate the “Highlight Reel” set, and Roman gives a stool to help. Jericho asks about their friendship when Fastlane comes, and both confirm that it will remain despite doing what they have to to win. “Y2J” asks about Brock Lesnar, and Ambrose and Reigns disagree on “The Beast Incarnate.” Reigns warns Dean about what he’s already gone through with Lesnar.
The Wyatt Family suddenly appear on stage and Bray dares them into a Six-Man Tag-Team later tonight!
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Match #3: Single – Curtis Axel (with Social Outcast mates Heath Slater, Bo Dallas, and Adam Rose) VS. A.J. Styles
A.J. waistlocks Axel then leapfrogs and dropkicks him to start. He kicks, but is kicked and clotheslined back. Curtis stomps viciously in the corner and drops him with a backbreaker. He misses an elbow from the corner, then gets clotheslined and kicked. Styles runs at Axel in the corner with a clothesline, then hits the Pele Kick in the corner. He goes for a springboard move, but is yanked on the ankle by an Outcast. A.J. fends them all off, then gets out of a Perfect-Plex attempt and gives Axel another Pele Kick. He finishes this with the Styles Clash!
Winner via Pinfall: A.J. Styles
Commercials.
Match #4: Single – Divas Champion Charlotte (with Ric Flair) VS. Natalya (Non-Title)
They lockup and Charlotte wristlocks Nattie; Natalya reverses into a hammerlock and roll-up. She snapmares Charlotte then hits a running front-dropkick, but is booted out of the corner. Charlotte repeatedly slams Nattie’s head against the mat, then chops away, but Natalya ducks and forearms back. Nattie suplexes Charlotte who goes to the floor, then looks at Ric who is “whooing.” As Natalya climbs back in, Charlotte chops her at the knee, then locks on the Figure-8, forcing Nattie to give in.
Winner via Submission: Divas Champion Charlotte
Post-match, Charlotte clamps on a Figure-4 until Becky Lynch charges out. She cannot get her hands on Charlotte though, as the Divas Champ escapes and walks away with Flair.
The main-event is next!
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Segment #5: Video Promo
R-Truth is stretching outside when Goldust runs up to him in workout gear. He still wants Truth to be his TAG TEAM partner, but R mistakes this for more homosexual innuendos and walks away. Goldust realizes his mistake and yells after Truth to try and make up for it.
The Wyatt Family make their entrance for the Six-Man Tag after the break!
Commercials.
Match #5: Six-Man Tag-Team – The Wyatt Family (Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, and Erick Rowan) (with Wyatt Family member Braun Strowman) VS. Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns, and Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose
Rowan and Jericho begin with “Y2J” chopping and punching away. Ambrose is tagged in and hits Rowan numerous times, then switches with Reigns who does the same. Chris is back in but is shoved into The Wyatt’s corner. Harper enters and takes over, but Jericho hops over the top rope and ascends the turnbuckle, diving off with a one-arm smash. He hits Luke with a clothesline in the corner and signals for punches. Harper slaps him before ten are hit, then drops Jericho with a suplex for a two-count!
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Bray is now in and splashes Jericho in the corner, then tags in Rowan who kicks at Chris’s face. He presses against the sides of Jericho’s head with his fists, then gives him a pump-handle backbreaker for two! Harper stomps on Chris, then ties him up with a leg-lock. Jericho works his way out, but is clamped with a chinlock. He tries a splash, but Jericho moves and brings him down with the Codebreaker. “Y2J” makes the hot-tag to Ambrose!
The Intercontinental Champion is all over Rowan, rocketing off the top turnbuckle with an elbow! He springboards onto Bray on the outside, pulls down the ropes which tumbles Erick to the floor, and follows with a dive-through-the-ropes! He jumps off the turnbuckle again, but is taken down with a spinning-kick by Rowan! Bray is tagged in and goes for Sister Abigail, but it is countered.
Dean switches with Roman, who dominates Luke by giving him ten clotheslines in the corner. He boots Harper but the pin is broken up! Jericho dropkicks Bray to the outside, then he and Ambrose slingshot over the top rope onto Bray and Rowan. In the ring, Roman soon Superman Punches Harper and covers, but Braun Strowman pulls him out, causing the dq.
Winners via Disqualification: Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns, and Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose
Post-match, The Family assault Ambrose and Reigns until The Big Show marches out. He scoop-slams Rowan on the floor then clotheslines Harper down. He goes into the ring and faces off with Strowman, but Luke and Erick attack, allowing Braun to also do the same.
Roman tries to make the save, but is grabbed by Braun. Show saves him and puts Strowman to the outside, then Reigns and Jericho get rid of Bray and Rowan. Show, Jericho, Ambrose, and Reigns take out Harper, then pose in the ring as Bray and Braun look on to close the show.
Tickets for the two NXT shows that will happen in conjunction with the Arnold Sports Festival weekend went on sale today.
First up will be Columbus, Ohio, with a show on March 3 at the LC Pavilion. Tickets for this show are $20, $50, and $75 and are available on Ticketmaster.com.
The second show will be on March 4 at the Agora Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio. Prices are $25, $50, and $75 and are available at Ticketweb.com.
AJ Styles’ arrival in the WWE has been met with a lot of positive comments from fans who have long been waiting to see The Phenomenal one in a WWE ring and anything associated with Styles is skyrocketing.
His debut at the Royal Rumble on the WWE YouTube channel has been played over 2.3 million times, more than any video showcased on the main page of WWE’s YouTube.
His shirt on the WWE Shop website sold out in a matter of hours with WWE expecting a new wave of stock to arrive on February 26 while his new theme song by CFO$, titled Phenomenal, cracked the iTunes Top 200 chart and is currently sitting in #70. The song was uploaded on iTunes yesterday. There are no other WWE themes on the chart.
On Friday, April 1, the NXT Superstars and Divas will be rocking the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Arena with the hottest ticket in town being NXT Takeover: Dallas. During the NXT television tapings held yesterday at Full Sail University in Orlando, the full card for the event was revealed.
The show will be headlined with Finn Balor vs Samoa Joe for the NXT title, their second match for the title following their battle at NXT Takeover: London. The NXT Women’s title will also be on the line as super fan favorite Bayley takes on the Japanese sensation Asuka. The NXT Tag Team titles will be defended by Dash and Dawson as American Alpha, the team of Jason Jordan and Chad Gable, go for their first gold.
The other two non-title matches on the card feature NXT newcomer Austin Aries vs Baron Corbin and the debut of Shinsuke Nakamura vs Sami Zayn.
The show sold out immediately as soon as it went on sale. Some additional tickets might be released after production space is figured out.
