Randy Orton was the original opponent for Roman Reigns at SummerSlam but that plan went out of the window when Orton’s back injury was more serious than originally thought.
In fact, during his promo on Friday night, Riddle announced that Orton would be needing surgery, something that was rumored a few days before, effectively taking out the Viper for at least the rest of 2022.
The former multi-time champion last wrestled on the May 20 Smackdown when he and Riddle lost the Raw Tag Team titles to The Usos in a title unification match.
His injury comes at a bad time for WWE as they also lost big fan favorite Cody Rhodes to a torn pec earlier this month.
Orton celebrated his 20th year in WWE this year and has been going at full speed ever since he returned from a month off in August 2021.
The ROH Tag Team and IWGP Tag Team titles will be on the line at the upcoming AEWxNJPW: Forbidden Door pay-per-view in a winners-take-all match.
The triple threat match will see FTR, currently the ROH Tag Team champions, versus United Empire, the IWGP Tag Team champions, and Roppongi Vice. The winners of the match will walk out of Chicago with both set of title belts.
This is the sixth match on the Forbidden Door card and a few more are expected to be added in the next week. The show takes place on June 26 so AEW has two more shows – Dynamite and Rampage – to announce further matches.
The wrestling world reacted to the death of legendary referee Dave Hebner, who passed away yesterday at the age of 73.
WWE issued a statement on its WWE.COM website and social media, writing that the company is saddened to learn that the long-time referee has passed away, mentioning some of his memorable matches he officiated and of course the whole Andre/DiBiase angle.
“Following the conclusion of his impressive officiating career, Hebner would work for WWE in a backstage capacity until 2005. WWE extends its condolences to Hebner’s family, friends and fans,” the statement concluded.
Impact Wrestling added, “Impact Wrestling is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dave Hebner. We offer our sincere condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time.”
Hermie Sadler, a big family friend and former race car driver who published a photo of Dave a few weeks ago, wrote “I am heartbroken to hear of the passing of Dave Hebner. Good man. Great husband and father. Great friend to many. I am so glad I got to see him recently. This man touched a lot of peoples lives and he will be missed.”
Longtime friend Gerald Brisco said the two have been friends since 1970 when the Hefner’s were setting up rings. “Had much respect for the Hebner’s. They were part of the company biggest angle both are deserving to @WWE HOF.”
Referee Charles Robinson wrote that it was sad to hear about the passing of Dave Hebner. “Certainly one of the nicest people I met in this business,” Robinson said. Former referee Tony Chimel also said that Hebner was a nice man and someone who will be missed.
Former WWE Executive Director and WCW President Eric Bischoff replied to Earl Hebner’s tweet and wrote, “Very sorry to hear this Earl. Thoughts are with you and the rest of your family. RIP Dave.”
The Iron Sheik, who worked with Dave Hebner during his time in WWE, wrote in his typical all caps, “Dave Hebner my heart break bubba I love you forever.”
Matt Hardy wrote, “RIP Dave Hebner – You & @TheEarlHebner were always so kind & supportive towards myself & Jeff. I have lots of love for the entire Hebner family. My thoughts go out to your family & friends. Godspeed, Dave.”
WWE producer Hurricane Helms also wrote how Dave was always kind to him while WWE Hall of Famer Sean Waltman described the Hebner twins as two of the nicest people he’s ever crossed paths with in pro wrestling.
“I am so saddened to hear about Dave Hebner’s passing. I adore this whole family so much,” added Gail Kim, who worked with Dave in TNA. “I’ve been so fortunate to be able to work with Dave, Earl, Brian and Katie and I’m thinking of them all today at this sad time. Let’s celebrate Dave’s life. Love to the Hebners.”
Mickie James, who also worked with the Hebner family many times, wrote, “My thoughts and prayers are with all of the Hebner family right now. I’m so saddened to hear of the passing of Dave Hebner. Sending you both @TheEarlHebner
& @babyhebner every bit of my love. Our condolences to your family, friends & all his loved ones. Im so sorry.”
Three more individuals qualified for the Money In The Bank men and women’s ladder matches, one of whom had to go through a match while the other two were, well, just added.
In the men’s match, both Drew McIntyre and Sheamus advanced to the match after Adam Pearce announced his decision to include them despite their qualifying match ending in a double disqualification. The two now join Seth Rollins in the match.
Meanwhile, former NXT Women’s champion Raquel Rodriguez earned her spot by beating fellow former NXT champ Shayna Baszler on Smackdown. Rodriquez now joins Lacey Evans, Alexa Bliss, and Liv Morgan in the match.
Marc Raimondi of ESPN reported that former TNA President Dixie Carter will make an appearance at tomorrow’s Slammiversary pay-per-view, celebrating Impact’s 20th year anniversary.
Carter ran the promotion between late 2002 and 2016 after Panda Energy, her father’s company, purchased 71% of TNA from the HealthSouth Corporation for just $250,000. She was officially appointed President in early 2003.
In August 2016, she moved as Chairwoman of TNA when Billy Corgan took over the president role. But the promotion was sold to Anthem Sports & Entertainment in late 2016, with Carter only retaining 5% of the company. She sold her remaining shares in early 2017.
Carter was a very polarizing character on television after she became an on-screen figure but was mostly liked backstage despite having no knowledge how to run a professional wrestling promotion.
She last appeared for the company on Impact in January 2016 when they made their debut on Pop TV.
The main event of SummerSlam 2022 has been set and it will be another rematch between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar in a last man standing match for the title(s).
This will be the seventh time the two will headline a premium live event in a one-on-one match, having previously wrestled at WrestleMania 31, WrestleMania 34, The Greatest Royal Rumble in 2018, SummerSlam 2018, Crown Jewel in 2021, and WrestleMania 38.
Reigns was originally scheduled to take on Randy Orton at SummerSlam but Orton is out injured and with Cody Rhodes out as well, the “in case of emergency” button had to be hit with Lesnar.
SummerSlam is only at around 24,000 tickets sold so far and the Nissan Stadium in Nashville holds way, way more than that. The match, the first one announced for the show, should move a few thousand more tickets now that there’s a clear direction where the title picture is going.
Lesnar has not been seen on WWE television ever since he lost the WWE title at night two of WrestleMania 38 in Dallas.
Coming off a much-improved Dynamite, it’s Saturday morning, and you know what that means… it’s time for our Rampage Review!
Jon Moxley vs Dante Martin
Backstory: Dante & Sydal made the challenge in a vid package on Dynamite, the former’s tired of the ‘potential’ label
William Regal joined Excalibur, Taz & Jericho on comms, labelling the latter a ‘troutslapper’ – despite having relatives in Blackpool, even I’m lost with that one. Sidenote, Dasha’s a better ring announcer than Justin. Livelier and way more charismatic.
Mox slapped Dante’s outstretched hand away as Regal addressed Zack Sabre Jr’s challenge to Bryan Danielson, so it sounds like that will be happening.
We got started with joint manipulation, Mox working the arm, Dante twisting his way out, and repeat. Transitioning into a headlock, Moxley ran right through Dante after being sent into the ropes, leading to a go behind, headlock, takedown sequence as the pace slowed, setting things up nicely for Dante to explode with a hurracanrana, stiff kicks, a shotgun dropkick and a fake-out springboard after the vet had bailed to the outside.
Back in the ring, Mox challenged Dante to chop him, and after three had no effect, decked the youngster, following up with more chops in the corner and then introducing him to the buckle on the opposite side.
Groundwork greeted us as returned, a Texas clover leaf transitioning into a Regal stretch, culminating in a Regal knee as the first pin of the match brought a 2 for the dominant Moxley. A leaping hurracanrana with Mox atop the buckle followed, the vet returned fire with an underhook suplex from upstairs.
After Mox missed a sliding lariat, Martin took advantage with a kick to the head, a springboard dive to the outside and a cross body from the top back inside for dos.
Mox avoided a Nose Dive, clamping on a Bulldog Choke, but Dante fought out, propelling his way up the buckle with his feet to break the hold, striking with an avalanche sliced bread for another two count as the commentators continually put over how close the youngster was getting.
After exchanging kicks and strikes, Martin avoided the Paradigm Shift but was dropped by a cutter, then countered a king kong lariat attempt into a sunset flip for an exceptionally close count, only to turn around into a huge lariat. Hammer and anvil elbows followed, before the body capture hammerlock led the number one contender to victory.
So, the story here was that Dante Martin’s tired of being labelled as someone with ‘potential’. When Dante gave Kenny Omega a scare last year it was fresh and exciting.
Now, he needs to show growth. Fans need to see him win on TV. If he’s really a potential superstar, he should beat most of his opponents but come up short against the very best. And then slowly start to win even those.
Nonetheless, a fantastic match which seemed to be given a bit more time than the average Rampage opener.
WINNER: Mox
Tony was joined by Swerve and Keith Lee, the latter threatening to ‘Dismantle, no, beat yo’ ass’ after being eliminated by Strickland in last week’s battle royal. While Swerve protested that last week was singles, not tag. Lee seemed unconvinced but before it could be resolved they were interrupted by Hobbs & Starks who reminded the pair they’ve never beaten them.
H.O.B./Death Triangle video package hyping Malakai vs Penta next week.
Gunn Club & Max Caster vs Leon Ruff & Bear Country
Backstory: None
The Acclaimed Club have been wildly entertaining so far (the vid at the PPV being a highlight) and were certainly very over in St Louis, with several dudes in the crowd ‘scissoring’.
Short one: they dominated Ruff with Bear Country on the outside and Caster came off the top for the W.
WINNER: Gunn Club & Castor
Lexi was with Hook, who’ll be facing someone from the NJPW dojo next week. After Hook wouldn’t answer anything, Danhausen took over, saying that ‘we’ are excited about ‘our’ match, until Hook cut him off with an ‘I got this’.
Jade Cargill vs Willow Nightingale
Backstory: Willow interrupted Stokely Hathaway on Weds to challenge Jade
Willow showed more character and personality in 2 minutes on Wednesday than the majority of the female roster have all year.
Stokely Hathaway joined on comms. Jade got Sports Entertainer otw, causing Stokely to enquire whether Jericho wanted to be a baddie.
Kicking off, almost literally, with stomps and strikes in the corner, Jade then missed a pump kick, was hit with an enziguri, caught Willow on her shoulders and proceeded to get a few squats in, avoided a pounce and then hit a pump kick in a rapid sequence squeezed in before the ads arrived.
Jade kicked out of a roll-up at 2 as we returned and Willow hit a cannonball senton for a follow-up 2. Recovering quickly, the champ hit a pedigree (they didn’t call it that) and then Jaded, 1, 2, 3.
Which brought Kiera Hogan in to continue the beating, but she was quickly interrupted by Athena and drilled with the O Face (formerly the Eclipse), allowing Jade to take advantage until Kris Statlander made the save.
WINNER: Jade
Jay Lethal et al. cut a promo calling out Joe and hyping Satnav, who proclaimed ‘We’re just getting started’ in his best Chocolate Rain voice.
On Dynamite:
Malakai vs Penta, All-Atlantic Qual (even the TBS voiceover called it Mid Atlantic, whoops)
Ospreay & Aussie Open vs Orange Cassidy, Trent & Rocky Romero
Mox & Tanahashi VS Jericho & Lance Archer
Darby Allin vs Bobby Fish
Backstory: reDRagon injured Sting; O’Reilly beat Darby at D.O.N.
Striking from behind, Fish laid in shots in the corner, hit a dragon-screw leg whip and then rammed Darby back-first into the ring apron. A crazy sequence followed where every other move brought the pair back in or out of the ring: a pescado from Darby, tilt-a-whirl backbreaker from Fish, Darby replied with a suicide dive which came perilously close to hitting a fan. Finally, things slowed with a pair of dragon screws on the outside as the final break came.
Both guys were down in the middle as we returned, fighting their way up. Darby struck with a code red for 2 and after selling his leg landed a Coffin Drop from the top to the outside where a standing Fish had retreated.
Attempting to return inside, Fish threw himself at Allin, leading to both crashing back outside where Darby was hurled into the steps. Boy he really takes a beating. Continuing the assault, Fish worked the knees and the spine before transitioning to an ankle lock and a German on the apron, from where Darby crashed back to the floor. Boy he really takes a beating.
Returning to the ring, Fish transitioned from a superplex into an avalanche falcon arrow for a close count, immediately slapping on an ankle lock after the kickout, which Allin converted (see what I did there?) into the Last Supper to steal the win from a dominant Fish.
Some really cool moves, and a hard-hitting match that both guys will be feeling over the weekend but not on a par with the opener, which felt more coherent.
Post-match, the winner of last week’s prestigious battle royal came out to double-team Darby.
Even-ing the odds, it’d be nice to believe that even backstage Schiavone still did the ‘IT’S STIIIIIING’ thing as the Icon returned, fighting off Fish and O’Reilly – the latter taking a baseball bat to his babymaker – leading to Allin wrapping Fish’s leg in a chair and nailing it with a Coffin Drop, fulfilling his pre-match vow to break Fish’s leg.
Maybe Allin was asked for his honest opinion of last week’s Dynamite, but it’s strange how much trouble a star the company’s protected for three years has had with a workhorse tag-team. Clearly, the higher ups see big things in reDRagon.
WINNER: Darby
Tony Khan knows the basketball was Thursday right? Because this was a running scared line-up, a barely better than Dark line-up. After Wednesday’s rating plummeted, it’ll be interesting to see how this one does. Some really good action though.
The Icon Sting returned to AEW last night during Rampage which was originally recorded on Wednesday night following the conclusion of Dynamite.
The former WCW champion saved Darby Allin after he was about to get double teamed by Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly. Sting’s entrance came just before O’Reilly hit the ring, with the lights going out, and Sting appearing right in front of O’Reilly next to the ring when the house lights came back up.
O’Reilly tried to hit Sting with a chair but Sting hit him in the nuts with a baseball bat. Sting took the chair and gave it to Allin, who wrapped it around Fish’s ankle and then did the Coffin Drop.
Sting has been out of action since the May 18 episode of Dynamite with an injury and was written off TV following an attack by The Undisputed Elite. Sting had to miss the meet & greet sessions at Double or Nothing as he was not cleared to travel and was not part of the pay-per-view at all.
Smackdown opens with Mr. McMahon. He welcomes everyone to Smackdown and says its good to be in a WWE ring in Minnesota, then he goes on to say the four words in the opening: Then, Now, Forever and most importantly, Together. He leaves the ring.
Riddle is out next and says before he kicks Roman Reigns in the head and takes the WWE unified Universal Championship, he wants to take a stroll down memory lane and a recap is shown with all the issues between RK-Bro and the Bloodline.
Riddle says he has been waiting a long time for this opportunity and he knows his family and our friend Randy is watching at home. He wishes Randy well in his upcoming operation and says he misses him and tells Randy he loves him as the WWE Universe chants “Randy, Randy.”
Tonight, he faces Roman Reigns, and he is dedicating this match to his best friend Randy Orton. And says he is going to play something we haven’t heard in a long time and hopes we can hear it again real soon when Randy returns and Randy’s theme plays.
Madcap Moss VS. Happy Corbin in a Last Laugh match
Madcap Moss hits the punchline, then another punchline for the win.
Winner: Madcap Moss
After the match Madcap gets a microphone and says Hey Corbin then starts laughing.
The Street Profits are shown in the back hyping the championship match.
Corbin says he has something to say and wants the whole world to hear it. He yells at Pat McAfee about criticizing him after he was done McAfee stands up and says with the help of the people in Minnesota, he wants to laugh Corbin’s sorry ass out of this arena. And everyone starts laughing at him as he walks out.
We are shown a clip of 20 years ago on Smackdown when Edge and Hulk Hogan won the tag team championship.
We are then shown the issues between Natalya and Ronda Rousey.
In the back Natalya is interviewed and says she is going to make Ronda Rousey tap out and become the new Women’s champion for the second time.
The New Day VS. Jinder Mahal and Shanky
At one point Woods was blowing the trombone and Shanky, who was legal in the ring, was dancing. Jinder smacked him to tag in but gets hit with Kofi’s Trouble in Paradise for the win.
Winners: The New Day
Another preview for the returning Viking Raiders Next Week on Smackdown
Drew McIntyre is out next for Adam Pearce’s decision on who is going to the Money In The Bank match, Drew or Sheamus.
Sheamus in the back with Ridge and Butch and he tells them they have to stay in the back tonight and Sheamus makes his way to the ring.
Adam Pearce starts explaining why he knows the Money In The Bank match and Drew interrupts him and says he wants in the match, or someone is going to get a beating, Sheamus said he has successfully cashed in before. Pearce says he has watched the footage and counselled WWE management and Sheamus is in. And Sheamus began agitating Drew and Drew clotheslined him out of the ring and Pearce said, “Drew my next sentence was about to be ‘Drew you’re in too.’” And Sheamus came running back into the ring only to get a Claymore.
In the back Sami Zayn is shown attempting to knock on Roman Reigns’ door and Kayla Braxton walks up and asked if he thinks there is any ill feelings since he is the reason Reigns has to defend the championship tonight. Zayn says no and then looks worried and says he has to go to the bathroom and walks away.
Raquel Rodriguez VS. Shayna Baszler in a Money In The Bank qualifying match
Shayna worked on Raquel’s left knee, Shayna goes for a sleeper hold but Raquel got to the corner then picks Shayna up for her one-armed powerbomb for the pin.
Winner: Raquel Rodriguez
In the back Dupri is yelling at Pearce about the lighting and says you will not see anyone until the lighting is fixed.
We are then shown Gunther winning the Intercontinental Championship last week, Gunther is then interviewed backstage, but Ludwig takes the microphone and does all the talking until Gunther says he is the new Intercontinental Champion.
Riddle VS. Roman Reigns for the WWE Unified Universal Championship.
Riddle hits an RKO, but Reigns kicks out. He goes for a knee but Reigns ducks and they both run into the ropes, Riddle gets on the second rope to jump at Reigns who hits Riddle with the Spear in mid air and pins the Bro.
Winner and Still Unified WWE Universal Champion the Tribal Chief Roman Reigns
After the match the Bloodline stands with all the championships and Roman says there is no one left. He said he said he is here to wreck everyone and leave, so he has wrecked everyone now they are leaving but he needs one more thing for Minneapolis to acknowledge him.
Brock Lesnar’s music hits and the beast is back!
In the ring they stare down each other and Lesnar laughs and removes his cowboy hat and offers Reigns a handshake, Reigns goes for the shake and Lesnar hits an F5. The Usos come in for the save but each received an F5.
Former WWE referee Dave Hebner passed away yesterday at the age of 73. The news was announced by his nephew and fellow referee Brian Hebner.
“I’m so sad. Just don’t really know what to say. Today we lost one of the good ones,” he wrote. “My uncle David. He was one of the best humans in the world. Thank you all for all the outpouring of messages and support. This is a tough one. I Love You Uncle David. God got a good one.”
His twin brother Earl also addressed Dave’s death on Twitter. “Yesterday I had to say my last goodbye to my other half, my partner in crime, my road buddy for years, my brother for 73 years. I love you David, I’ll never count you out,” Earl wrote.
A photo of Dave Hebner was recently published by Hermie Sadler, showing the legendary referee in bad state, suffering from dementia and Parkinson’s.
The Richmond-native began working for the WWF in 1986 and became the top WWE referee at the time, officiating the biggest main events.
Perhaps the most famous one came in early 1988 when he was supposed to referee the Hogan vs Andre match on The Main Event and his brother Earl took charge, quickly counting the pinfall on Hogan, declaring Andre the new champion. At the time, no one knew Dave had a twin brother, who eventually also became one of the most famous WWE referees.
Hebner’s time as a referee in WWE came to a stop after a knee replacement surgery and became a producer until he was released in July 2005 along with his brother after both were accused of running a scheme where they sold fake WWE merchandise.
After Roman Reigns successfully defeated Riddle to retain the Undisputed WWE Universal title, Reigns cut a promo saying he went through and wrecked everyone and now The Bloodline is leaving.
Reigns asked the Minnesota crowd to acknowledge him, and they did so by booing him out of the building. But just as about they were about to leave the ring, a familiar theme song hit the speakers.
And the fans went absolutely bananas. Enter cowboy Brock Lesnar to a huge pop.
Reigns told The Usos to leave the ring and Brock and Roman had a short face off. Then Lesnar offered a handshake to the champion, which Reigns accepted.
That was the wrong move as the handshake quickly transitioned to an F5. The Usos attacked, but both of them received another F5 for their trouble, leaving Lesnar standing tall.
Vince McMahon opened Friday Night Smackdown and came out to the ring to his usual theme song and a large ovation from the Minneapolis crowd.
Under investigation and losing his Chairman and CEO titles, McMahon smiled and said it’s always a privilege for him to be standing in a WWE ring and went for the cheap pop saying especially when it’s in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
He then said that the opening WWE video features the then, the now, the forever, and most importantly, the together.
McMahon welcomed everyone to Friday Night Smackdown and headed back, high-fiving fans at ringside along the way.
It is going to be a blockbuster Smackdown tonight live on FOX as Mr McMahon will be appearing tonight addressing the WWE Universe, just hours after he stepped down from his role as Chairman and CEO of WWE.
But that’s not the only big news for tonight as finally, the Undisputed WWE Universal champion Roman Reigns will be in the house to defend the title against the number one contender Riddle.
Also, Max Dupri, the man formerly known as LA Knight, will be unveiling his first Maximum Male Mode client. The reveal was supposed to happen last week but it was pushed back to tonight’s broadcast.
The Vince McMahon hush money story and the subsequent stepping down from role as Chairman and CEO has taken major news websites by storm.
Mainstream news outlets such as CNN, Yahoo!, Business Insider, New York Times, The Athletic, CNBC, Los Angeles Times, Politico, FOX News, Bloomberg, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and many others all covered the story yesterday and this morning.
McMahon was even trending on Google Trends with over 100,000 searches to his name and was also a big hit on social media website Twitter.
Wall Street did not punish WWE much – yet – and as of this writing, stocks are down almost 3% from yesterday.
Smackdown commentator Pat McAfee addressed the Vince McMahon story on his Pat McAfee Show yesterday and described the situation as “incredibly problematic.”
Admitting he knows less than everybody else, McAfee said that he flies in, says hello, does the work, and flies out that same night.
“This is just me, I don’t know sh*t about f*ck over there. I go in, do my thing…say hello to everybody, and I’m out. I’m in maybe the most awesome situation in the history of WWE for anybody,” McAfee said, adding he has no locker room, he is not part of any cliques, and not part of anything else, and it was designed that way for a reason.
McAfee said he’ll be at Smackdown tonight and he’s excited to hear the chatter.
“Now obviously, what is being alleged is not fantastic at all, it’s terrible. There will be full investigations,” he said.
McAfee hosted McMahon for his first live interview in 15 years earlier this year and the two worked together at WrestleMania 38. At one point during the interview, McMahon refereed to Linda as his “wife at the time” before he tried to correct himself.
“There are going to be a lot of investigations,” McAfee said. “There will be investigations about the investigations too. And those investigations will contradict other investigations. Will you ever get the truth? No. Hopefully, we get part of it though. And I think that’s what everybody’s hoping for. That’s what everyone is hoping for at some point.”
Mike Tyson, who earlier this week was announced for the Roast of Ric Flair, has pulled out of the event just days after Starrcast announced his participation.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances, Mike will not be participating in the roast,” a spokesman for Tyson said.
Tyson and Flair are business partners with Tyson’s company Tyson 2.0 to start producing and marketing cannabis products featuring the likeness of the Nature Boy in the United States.
The roast, as part of Starrcast V and taking place from the Nashville Fairgrounds, will happen on Friday, July 29, on the eve of SummerSlam. Diamond Dallas Page and Eric Bischoff have been announced as guests.
The Road Rager episode of Dynamite this week drew 761,000 viewers, down 178,000 viewers from the previous week. It was the least-watched Dynamite in its regular time slot since April 7, 2021. The show faced competition from the Stanley Cup final on ABC which drew 4.2 million viewers. Dynamite did a 0.28 in the 18-49 demo, down 0.06 from the prior week and placed #2 for the night on the top 50 cable chart. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Weeks after surprising his mother with a brand new home, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson surprised his cousin, WWE Superstar Tamina, with a brand new home as well.
Johnson uploaded a video of the surprise on his Instagram and Tamina, real name Sarona, was super emotional by the gesture.
“I’ve known my cousin Sarona since we were little kids growing up together. Man this girl’s gone thru some tough times, but regardless of what life’s thrown her way – she was ALWAYS determined to break the cycle and become a strong and inspiring single mom example to her two greatest inspirations — her daughters, Milaneta & Maleata,” Johnson wrote.
Johnson added that it’s hard to make it as a pro wrestler and it’s way harder to make it if you’re a woman.
“Sarona (like many amazing women in pro wrestling) made her mind up long ago that she was gonna walk the walk and earn her respect in pro wrestling and make sure that the hard times she’s experienced were always her REASON to WORK HARDER and never let it become the EXCUSE to GIVE UP,” he continued.
Rather than staying behind the scenes, Vince McMahon is doing the most Vince McMahon thing ever and tonight will face the fans live on Smackdown.
The announcement was made in a very short press release issued today, and Vince was referred to as Mr McMahon, his WWE character.
McMahon voluntarily stepped down from his role as Chairman and CEO of WWE after the Board opened an investigation into a $3 million payment to a former employee who he had a consensual affair with. The money was paid to keep the unnamed paralegal from talking about the affair or say bad things about him.
Vince will retain his creative duties during the investigation and will most likely return to his previous roles once the investigation is complete.
Stephanie McMahon’s leave of absence was cut short just weeks after she announced her temporary departure from the company and is now back into the thick of things as the most powerful person – interim Chairwomen and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment.
Stephanie, who until she left had the role of Chief Brand Officer, becomes the first woman to chair the WWE Board of Directors and the second female CEO following her mother Linda McMahon.
On May 19, McMahon announced that she would be leaving WWE to take care of her family but vowed to eventually return as WWE was a lifelong legacy for her. McMahon endured a rough six months due to her husband’s health which took a toll on her and her whole family.
But in times of an emergency, the WWE board appointed her as interim Chairwoman and CEO to replace her father Vince, who is now being investigated for a $3 million payment in hush money to conceal an affair with a former WWE employee. John Laurinaitis, the head of WWE Talent Relations, is also involved and likely to lose his job as well.
In an e-mail sent to WWE staff this morning, McMahon informed them that she will be returning from her leave and assuming her new role.
“I love our company and am excited to continue to work with our President & Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan and our Chief Financial & Administrative Officer Frank Riddick,” Stephanie’s e-mail read. “And of course, I look forward to working with all of you. My door is always open.”
In the press release issued by WWE, McMahon said that she is committed to work with the independent directors of the WWE board to strengthen the culture of the company, saying that having a safe and collaborative workplace is extremely important to her.
Stephanie also said she will do everything in her power to help the investigation proceed and implement the findings of the special committee.
