WWE Superstar Naomi wrote in a post on Instagram that she underwent surgery to remove a massive fibroid that caused her several health issues over the past year.
“In the midst of hurricane Sally and COVID, I also underwent an unexpected 6 hour surgery to finally remove a massive fibroid that’s caused me severe anemia fatigue, horrible abdominal pains, and more problems I don’t even want to mention over the past year and a half,” Naomi wrote.
It’s unclear how long the former Smackdown Women’s champ will be out for. She last wrestled on August 21, losing to Sasha Banks and then beating Bayley in the Beat The Clock challenge.
AEW’s Ben Carter announced on Twitter that he tested positive for coronavirus, hours after Lance Archer also said he’s in quarantine for contracting the virus.
Carter was part of the AEW Dark and Late Night Dynamite broadcasts this week and previously wrestled Ricky Starks on Dark in his debut match.
“Man. You literally can’t write it. After this Tuesday I was on an all time high… and to be honest, I kinda still am,” Carter wrote in a social media post titled ‘I have tested positive for COVID-19’. “The outpouring of support recently has been utterly mind blowing and I can’t thank everyone enough.”
The 23-year-old continued, “Having said that, I had some really cool things lined up in the coming weeks that I now have to back out of. All of which really stings. But hey, I feel fine. I guess I don’t really taste my food as much as I normally do, but I feel fine. For now anyways.”
In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson talked about a possible match against his cousin Roman Reigns and said he was open to the idea to headline one more WrestleMania.
“Feels like the one that would make sense, right, would be Roman. In terms of box-office draw,” Johnson said. He continued saying that he knows how that conversation would go and it would include being asked to do the job for Roman.
“But you know what? The truth is I would be honored not only to share the ring with Roman and to go back to the WWE, but of course, I would be honored to have him raise his hand in that one,” he added.
Reacting to the interview, Reigns said that his responsibility is putting their family name on top of the card and at the center of the WWE Universe.
Earlier this year, Silicon Valley entrepreneur Andrew Yang threw his hat in the ring for a chance to secure the position as the Democrat nominee for U.S. President. People will remember the outspoken Yang as the man who pledged to give every U.S. citizen a stipend of $1,000 a month as a minimum living wage if elected. While his promise did not garner him enough votes to secure the nomination, it did give him a platform on the national political scene.
Something people did not know about Yang was he spent much of his young life as a fan of the WWE. As such, he has shown an interest in the plight of professional wrestlers, who he believes have been treated unfairly by companies like Vince McMahon’s WWE. In Yang’s mind, at issue is the treatment of WWE talent as independent contractors in violation of the nation’s employment laws. Today, he fully intends to work with the Joe Biden administration on this issue should Biden win the Presidency in the November election.
After several recent tweets calling out the WWE for this possible transgression, Yang followed up in an interview with Wrestling Inc. where he got an opportunity to elaborate on his position regarding this matter. Here are a couple of quotes from the interview as offered by Wrestling Inc. to Robert Defelice with WrestleZone.com.
When asked how he thought McMahon has been able to get away with treating WWE’s talent as independent contractors while still being able to exert complete control over their time and efforts, Yang stated:
“A lot of it, Nick, is that wrestlers are afraid to speak out, and I’ve had wrestlers past and present reach out to me and say that Vince has been getting away with exploitation of wrestlers calling them independent contractors while controlling their activities for years and years. A lot of it is just that they are a quasi-monopoly, and wrestlers fear that if they do try and unionize or organize in any way that Vince doesn’t like, that it will never work again.”
When questioned if he would intervene on this issue if invited to be part of the Joe Biden – Kamala Harris administration, Yang replied:
“I would, and we’re going to get it done. I mean there have been performers that have reached out to me, again both past and present, who have very direct experience and knowledge with how closely the WWE controls and manages performer activities while claiming, on the other hand, that, ‘oh, no, you’re an independent contractor, you’re free agent. You can do whatever you want,’ which really makes no sense on the face of it.”
At a time when sports fans seem more interested in betting on sports or playing an online slot like Goldenslot, it’s issues like this that seem to get forgotten. With that said, the integrity of sports depends on organizations like the WWE following the rules. It will be interesting to see what Yang will do if he gets the opportunity to pursue this issue in earnest.
A former NXT Superstar, possibly a former champion, will be returning at NXT Takeover on October 4.
A video aired yesterday on NXT on USA Network showing a mystery individual smashing a title belt display with NXT titles inside. The video was dark and shown with night vision effects.
An altered voice said, “I’m not sure what happened. I helped create something out of my own blood. Years and years of dedication, only to be taken over by paper champions. These NXT championships have been in isolation for far too long. Now I’ve come back…to take what is mine.”
At the end of the video, the date 10.4.20 is displayed. That date is the date of NXT Takeover 31, which is the name being used to promote the show right now.
Jon Alba from Spectrum Sports 360 and Fightful Wrestling reported last night that there was a coronavirus outbreak within All Elite Wrestling after the September 9 television tapings.
There were multiple talent who tested positive for COVID-19 following the show and there are some other individuals who are ill or showing symptoms but are not sure if they tested positive or not.
Sapp of Fightful Wrestling said that there were numerous wrestlers missing from last night’s tapings but only two individuals identified themselves as being positive for coronavirus.
Alba added that with the extensive testing that AEW has done over the months, it’s unclear how the virus still managed to hit the company and some of the talent who were not part of the tapings this week might have been kept off as a precaution.
A few months ago, AEW made fun of WWE for running a “sloppy shop” when the company was hit with an outbreak, forcing Jon Moxley to stay at home since his wife Renee Young tested positive.
Former TNT champion Cody returned on Dynamite last night, attacking The Dark Order as a payback from what happened the last time he was on AEW television.
Six weeks ago, Cody lost the TNT title to Brodie Lee and he was then attacked while he was being stretchered out. His wife Brandi was also taken out. Cody vanished from AEW TV after that and the angle was a way to explain his absence due to the filming of a new TBS show called Go-Big Show, where he serves as one of the judges.
Cody took out John Silver and Alan Angels on Dynamite yesterday after Brodie Lee successfully defended the TNT title against Orange Cassidy. He is now sporting black hair again after years of bleaching it.
Later in the broadcast, Brodie Lee then challenged Cody to a dog collar match. Cody did not reply to the challenge yet.
Two new number one contenders for the NXT and NXT Women’s titles were decided on last night’s NXT on USA Network.
Candice LaRae won the battle royal after eliminating Shotzi Blackheart, earning a shot at the NXT Women’s title at Takeover. Before the show started, Candice LaRae attacked Tegan Nox with a pipe, taking her out of the match.
Also, Kyle O’Reilly of The Undisputed Era won the gauntlet eliminator match to become the number one contender for the NXT title. O’Reilly and Kushida started the match and they were joined by Bronson Reed. Reed eliminated Kushida, and then Timothy Thatcher and Cameron Grimes came in next before O’Reilly eliminated Reed. O’Reilly then won the match by beating Thatcher via pinfall and Grimes via submission.
AEW’s Lance Archer is in quarantine after he announced on Twitter that he tested positive for coronavirus.
Archer was supposed to be on Dynamite last night in a six-man tag team match but the card was altered, resulting in a new main event featuring Jon Moxley taking on Eddie Kingston for the AEW title.
In a post on Twitter, Archer wrote, “When I returned from our last show, a family member was ill when I got home. I found out later a friend who had taken my family member to the Vet for our Dachshund was COVID positive. While at home, now I’ve also gotten sick tested positive. I feel ok, expect to see me in 2 wk.”
Archer will be wrestling for the AEW World title on October 14 against Jon Moxley during the AEW Dynamite one year anniversary show.
Two number one contenders for the NXT and NXT Women’s title will be decided tonight on a loaded episode of NXT on USA Network.
The NXT women will be entering a battle royal to see who will face Io Shirai at the upcoming NXT Takeover on October 4. Those announced so far for the match include Aliyah, Candice LeRae, Dakota Kai, Indi Hartwell, Kacy Catanzaro, Kayden Carter, Raquel Gonzalez, Rhea Ripley, Shotzi Blackheart, Tegan Nox, and Xia Li.
And the number one contender for the NXT title will be decided in a gauntlet eliminator match. Those in this match are Kushida, Cameron Grimes, The Undisputed Era’s Kyle O’Reilly, Timothy Thatcher, and Bronson Reed. The rules for this match are two individuals will start and new competitors join every four minutes. Pinfall or submission are the only way to be eliminated from the match and the last man standing wins, becoming the number one contender.
Also set for tonight is an NXT North American title match between champ Damien Priest and challenger Johnny Gargano.
The world of professional wrestling suffered another loss today as Joe Laurinaitis, known to fans around the world as Road Warrior Animal, passed away.
The Laurinaitis family issued a small statement on Twitter, reading, “At this time, we would like to confirm the passing of Joseph Laurinaitis aka Road Warrior Animal at the age of 60. The family is planning to release a statement later today. At this time we ask for you to keep everyone in your thoughts and prayers. #OhWhatARush”
WWE, AEW, and the NWA also reacted quickly to the news. On social media, WWE wrote, “WWE is saddened to learn that Joe Laurinaitis, known to WWE fans as Road Warrior Animal, has passed away. WWE extends its condolences to Laurinaitis’ family, friends and fans.” The company also added a tribute to Animal on its WWE.COM website.
AEW wrote, “AEW and the wrestling world mourn the passing of the legendary Road Warrior Animal, our thoughts are with his family, his friends and his fans.” And the NWA, where Animal spent some of his best years, also issued a statement saying, “The NWA sends its deepest condolences to the family & friends of Animal. Animal was a pioneer in tag team wrestling winning the inaugural Crockett Cup w/his partner Hawk. He truly embodied the tradition of the sport. He was a dominant force in the ring & a gentleman outside it.”
Several of his former colleagues also paid tribute to the multi-time tag team champion on social media. Paul Ellering, who is inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame with Hawk and Animal as their manager, wrote, “Today we lost the engine of the train LOD. Animal was a partner, warrior, and friend. He will be welcomed home by a waiting Hawk.”
One person who feuded a lot with the Road Warriors was Ric Flair, who formed part of the Four Horsemen. “I am more than saddened to hear of the loss of my good friend and GREAT opponent Joe Laurinaitis of the legendary Road Warriors,” Flair wrote. “They were iconic! The Road Warriors and The Four Horsemen drew more money and had more fun and entertained fans worldwide at the highest level. RIP”
Triple H added, “The Road Warriors were a team who personified excitement, physicality, and the undeniable ability to energize the crowd. @StephMcMahon and I join the Superstars, legends, and our @WWE fans in offering our condolences to the Joe Laurinaitis’ family at this difficult time.”
Bully Ray, who makes part of another legendary tag team, wrote, “I’ve often been asked … ‘Who is the greatest Tag Team of All Time?’ The answer has always been the same. Rest in Power brother.”
Jim Ross said that he was shocked to hear of the passing of Animal. “An iconic figure in our business who I was looking forward to seeing this Saturday night in Jackson, Tennessee at the @JerryLawler celebration. Condolences to Joe’s family and friends,” Ross wrote. Lawler himself also wrote how it was terrible to wake up to this news this morning. “Praying for Joe’s wife and family.”
Eric Bischoff added that he was also stunned to hear the news while Mick Foley said that this is a huge loss for wrestling and an even bigger loss to the family he adored. “He treated me like an equal from the first time we met. His example of kindness and humility made a huge impression on me,” Foley wrote.
John “Bradshaw” Layfield wrote that The Road Warriors are the greatest tag team of all time and were often imitated, but never duplicated. “Loved both of them as friends and idolized both as the GOATs. RIP Animal-love you my brother, my condolences to everyone affected by this tragic loss.”
WarnerMedia today announced that HBO Max has ordered an action-comedy series titled Peacemaker, starring former WWE champion John Cena. Cena will also be part of the upcoming Suicide Squad film as Peacemaker.
This is an eight-episode series which is written all by writer/director James Gunn. Gunn will also direct multiple episodes, including the first one. Based on characters from DC, Peacemaker will be produced by Gunn’s Troll Court Entertainment and The Safran Company in association with Warner Bros. Television. Peacemaker is scheduled to begin production in early 2021, prior to Gunn beginning work on the next Guardians of the Galaxy film.
The series will explore the origins of the character that Cena will play in the upcoming film, a man who believes in peace at any cost — no matter how many people he has to kill to get it.
“Peacemaker is an opportunity to delve into current world issues through the lens of this superhero/supervillain/and world’s biggest douchebag,” said Gunn. “I’m excited to expand The Suicide Squad and bring this character from the DC film universe to the full breadth of a series. And of course, to be able to work again with John, Peter, and my friends at Warner Bros. is the icing on the cake.”
John Cena added, “I have said before that it has been a tremendous honor and an incredible opportunity to be part of The Suicide Squad and to work with James on what is going to be a fantastic movie. I am unbelievably excited to have the chance to team up with him again for Peacemaker. We can’t wait for fans to see this.”
WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon unloaded 57,573 WWE shares on September 21 according to documents filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Sold at $39.18 each, McMahon had an extra $2,255,710 in the bank and remains with 76,324 Class A Common Stock.
WWE is not having the best time on Wall Street lately and at time of this writing, shares were down 3% to $38 a piece. WWE shares has lost 40% of their value from the beginning of the year.
The first thing that comes to mind when we hear of wrestling is physical contact and bodily harm. Hence, it may scare off many students, or rather parents may discourage their children from taking part in such activities. Wrestling, however, is fun, educative, and creates an emotional outlet. Here are some of the reasons why students should be encouraged to take part in wrestling.
Physical Fitness
Most students ignore their physical health or generally assume they are okay, and hence a surge in the number of obese kids. Therefore, with this rise in obese children, parents and teachers should include activities in school that promote physical fitness and athleticism. According to research done by Harvard school of medicine, an hour of wrestling can help one burn up to 600 calories.
Wrestling also increases muscle strength, which reduces a person’s vulnerability to injuries and muscle pains, especially when engaging in physical activities. Besides, this physical fitness will help the students avoid experiences such as backaches and other pains when they are older. Thus, if a student is taking a proper diet and taking part in wrestling, then physical fitness is easily achieved.
Scholarship Opportunities
Let’s face it. Before one starts earning from wrestling, it will take time, and possibly some people will not get to the level where they can earn enough. However, it can provide students with scholarships and sponsorship opportunities.
Generally, most colleges and educational institutions give athlete students a priority and even offer them a chance to study for free. Hence, if you research on wrestling programs, you will find that there are several institutions where you can further your learning and still build your wrestling skills.
Development of Discipline
Different sports have different rules, but one common rule is discipline. One has to learn how to obey the set rules. For example, you cannot show up for practice when you feel like it. Getting into a routine is mandatory. It is one of the best ways for students to attain discipline.
Indiscipline, in most cases, leads to poor results. Therefore, students always get challenged to put their best foot forward and achieve their full potential in the sport. It is the same analogy that applies to write essays; it takes discipline to meet essay deadlines even if it is with the help of a essay writing service uk.
Development of Athletic Skills
Skills such as balance and body control are necessary for any athlete or sportsperson. Moreover, for one to be a wrestler, they have to first perfect on athletic skills. There are several activities, such as tumbling and gymnastics, in wrestling that boost the students’ skills in athletics. Thus, it is usually easy for wrestling students to take part in other different sporting activities, which makes them versatile.
Dealing With Disappointments
During wrestling sessions, there are a lot of disappointments like losing to an opponent or not meeting the target. Setbacks in wrestling are painful, just like in normal life. Many people have not mastered how to deal with disappointments because they have never experienced them. Wrestling teaches students how to lose gracefully, how to move on quickly, and, most importantly, how to perform better next time. A defeat or loss is handled as part of the learning experience.
Emotional and Mental Therapy
Many young people are suffering from different mental illnesses, ranging from depression to anxiety. They have a lot of bottled up emotions, tensions, and insecurities that need to be released. Therefore, through wrestling, they manage to keep their minds busy and learn how to control their emotions.
Additionally, it can be a form of mindfulness therapy. When a person is wrestling, they acknowledge their current state and concentrate on their body movement without thinking of any past traumatic or painful experiences.
Builds Confidence
Most wrestling competitions have an audience, and thus to perform in front of the audience, one should be confident enough. Additionally, confidence is built through achievements or praise. Hence, mastering skills one has constantly been practicing or winning a match will erase any sense of self-doubt.
Summing Up
Wrestling provides an opportunity for a wide range of development for students that will be helpful not only in their lives as students but also in their future lives outside school. Parents and teachers should understand that there is more to wrestling than just physical contact. Hence, students should be encouraged to join such sporting activities. It will help them build their confidence, resilience, and emotional intelligence.
AEW’s newest acquisition, Miro, will be making his in-ring debut on tonight’s live Dynamite on TNT. The former WWE Superstar known as Rusev showed up two weeks ago as Kip Sabian’s best man but has so far not done any in-ring wrestling, until tonight!
Also set for tonight are Brodie Lee vs Orange Cassidy for the TNT title, a six-man tag team match between Jon Moxley, Darby Allin, and Will Hobbs versus Lance Archer, Brian Cage, and Ricky Starks, Hikaru Shida and Thunder Rosa team up to take on Diamante and Ivelisse, and Chris Jericho will also be making an appearance.
Monday Night Raw drew an average of 1,667,000 viewers this week, down 22,000 viewers from last week’s broadcast. This was the least-watched Raw since July 27.
Hour one started with 1,746,000 viewers, then dropped to 1,692,000 viewers for the second hour, and finished the night with 1,565,000 viewers.
Raw was #5, #6, and #7 in the top 50 cable chart among the 18-49 demographic with 0.51, 0.50, and 0.48 ratings. Raw was #27 in overall viewership for the night on cable. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
Joe Laurinaitis, otherwise better known as Animal of the Road Warriors and Legion of Doom, passed away at the age of 60. No cause of death was announced.
TMZ.COM reports that his wife dialed 911 yesterday at around 11:49PM from the Tan-Tar-A Resort in Osage Beach, MO., where they were staying but when they arrived at the scene it was too late and he was declared dead.
With a career that started in 1982, Laurianitis and his tag team partner Road Warrior Hawk, took the wrestling tag team division in any promotion they worked for by storm, with instant success in the NWA, WCW, and WWE. Their legendary feuds against The Four Horsemen, Demolition, The Steiner Brothers, The Midnight Express and many others are still talked about to this day. The Road Warriors remain one of the most decorated tag team in the history of professional wrestling.
Animal last appeared on WWE television on the Raw 1000th episode in July 2012. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame along with Hawk and Paul Ellering in 2011.
In 2016, Animal joined a class action lawsuit filed against WWE over traumatic brain injuries but that lawsuit was dismissed in 2018 and the judgment was upheld this year.
He is also the brother of WWE official John Laurainaitis.
In a Zoom call with Mania Club members to raise funds for Connor’s Cure, current Universal champion Roman Reigns said that he will be switching things up pretty soon when it comes to his wrestling gear and even theme song.
Reigns has pretty much been using the black cargo pants and vest and theme song of The Shield ever since he made his main roster debut in 2012.
Roman told fans who want him to get out in trunks to “get over it” but if you watch this Sunday at Clash of Champions, we will probably see him with his shirt off. The champ said that it’s the only modification he’s doing to his wrestling gear.
With five months on the sidelines due to the coronavirus pandemic, Reigns had enough time to bulk up and work on his physique and said now he’s confident enough to wrestle shirtless and still be scary-looking.
And as far as his theme song goes, new music will come with time as he progresses as a heel. Reigns admitted that he’s not a fully-fledged heel yet and his change is coming gradually so they’re saving his new theme music for down the line when “more drastic things” happen.
Wines That Rock and WWE announced the launch of WWE Wines with two specific wines featuring The Undertaker and The Ultimate Warrior.
The Undertaker wine is branded as a 2018 cabernet sauvignon while the Warrior one is a 2019 zinfandel. Both wines are on pre-sale and are limited edition.
The description for The Undertaker wine reads, “Limited-Edition 30-Barrel Series to honor The Phenom’s 30-year career. Each Undertaker bottle is marked with an individual bottle number as well as the barrel it came from,” and the Warrior one reads, “Each Limited Edition, individually-numbered bottle also features one of three unique corks produced with different images and sayings from The Warrior himself.”
A two-pack of each wine will cost you $100 plus $20 shipping and are scheduled for a late October shipment. You can pre-order at WWEWines.com.
Jon Alba of Spectrum Sports 360 in Orlando is reporting that WWE suffered a COVID-19 outbreak at the Performance Center this month.
“Source indicates some have gotten relaxed with mask wearing, especially in spots where some people congregate and there was concern over that,” Alba wrote in a post on Twitter, adding that several people still tested positive this past weekend and one of the WWE PC coaches is thought to be the one who accidentally spread it.
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Wrestling also adds to the story that PC classes were cancelled due to the outbreak and the incident may have “affected creative” for NXT. NXT stars train at the WWE Performance Center every day.
The outbreak happened on the week of September 9 and the spread led to several changes.
