Home Blog Page 1963

Update On Rusev’s Shoulder Surgery & How Long He’ll Be Out, Lana Continues Training

Scott Lazara
-
18

As noted earlier this week, Rusev is out of action with a shoulder injury and won’t be competing at WrestleMania 33. Following up on this story, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Rusev underwent shoulder surgery back on 3/9 and is expected to be out of action for two months.

It was known for a few months that Rusev needed the surgery and he was reportedly trying to put it off a little longer so he could work WrestleMania. His most recent match took place at Fastlane (3/5) when he suffered a decisive loss to Big Show.  The surgery and subsequent recovery period is the reason his team with Jinder Mahal was split up so abruptly.

While Rusev is out of action, Lana is continuing her in-ring training. She was spotted at the WWE Performance Center last week and we’ll probably see her working occasional NXT live events.

The Rock Hosting Saturday Night Live Season Finale

Staff
-
12

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will host the season finale of Saturday Night Live. The episode airs Saturday, May 20th on NBC. This will be his fifth time hosting SNL.

Below you can see The Rock’s announcement on highlights from his most recent gig hosting the show.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRtXX0UlB7F/?taken-by=therock

WWE RAW Viewership Up This Week

Scott Lazara
-
5

Monday’s WWE RAW from Detroit drew 3.232 million viewers, up from last week’s 3.216 million viewers.

The show featured an appearance by Brock Lesnar but the only match advertised was Sheamus and Cesaro vs. Enzo and Cass in a #1 contenders bout. The main event segment featured Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon, leading to Triple H and Seth Rollins appearing.

Here’s the hourly breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:

  • Hour 1: 3.176 million viewers
  • Hour 2: 3.323 million viewers
  • Hour 3: 3.197 million viewers

RAW was #2 in viewership and #2 in the 18-49 demographic on cable for the night.

Current Plan For The Main Event Of Next Year’s WrestleMania 34

Staff
-
135

Earlier this week, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross pitched Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns as the main event of next year’s WrestleMania. In a blog at JRsBarBQ.com, JR wrote,  “I like it as it would give Lesnar a one year run as champ which also would necessitate Lesnar working a few more dates on his last year of his current contract. Seems logical to me. Lesnar could defend the title monthly, if required, quite easily on an enhanced albeit manageable schedule.”

As it turns out, that’s exactly what WWE has planned. According to the the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE is hell bent on positioning Roman Reigns as “the next John Cena” and he’ll get another crack against Brock Lesnar in the main event of WrestleMania next year. From the Observer:

“The plan is to once again build for a year and have the big coronation at WrestleMania. The idea between now and then is for Reigns to be the face, not just when he wins the title, but to fully replace John Cena as the lead babyface of the company.”

“The goal is very much to make Reigns the next Cena, which was the plan for Santa Clara two years ago, until they decided to delay it based on fan reaction.”

In just a few weeks at WrestleMania 33, Brock Lesnar challenges Goldberg for the RAW Universal Championship and Roman Reigns faces The Undertaker. It’s widely expected that Lesnar will finally get revenge on Goldberg and capture the Universal title at Mania. Lesnar defending that championship against Roman Reigns at 34 doesn’t necessarily mean that Lesnar will have a year-long title reign, but it would be an interesting way to elevate that title and build up the significance of whoever dethrones The Beast.

WWE has been positioning Roman Reigns as the company’s next top babyface for 3 years now.

WrestleMania 34 takes place on Sunday, April 8, 2018, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Visit f4wonline.com for details on how you can subscribe to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

John Cena To Induct Kurt Angle Into The WWE Hall Of Fame

Staff
-
62

WWE announced on Thursday that John Cena will be the man to induct Kurt Angle into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania weekend.

John Cena and Kurt Angle have a lot of history together. Cena made his WWE television debut back in June of 2002 when he answered an open challenge by the Olympic gold medalist. 15 years later, we’ve come full circle and it will be Cena honoring Angle as he takes his rightful place amongst the sport’s top legends.

Since the announcement of Angle’s Hall of Fame induction, he’s done various interviews talking about who he wanted to induct him. On multiple occasions, he said that he requested The Undertaker, John Cena or Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Both Angle and Cena commented on the news:

The 2017 WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place on Friday, March 31st from Orlando, Florida.

American Alpha Talk About Wanting To Work With Kurt Angle

Staff
-
30

American Alpha recently spoke with the The Sun and gave their thoughts on Kurt Angle. SmackDown’s tag team champions acknowledged that they’ve been compared to Angle and sound excited about the prospect of working with him in some capacity.

Jason Jordan: “It would be great to work with Kurt. He paved the way for us amateur wrestlers. Also, his mind – the way he works in ring – it’s a thing of beauty. It’s amazing.

“There are all these stories we’ve heard about Kurt Angle ­– and obviously we’ve gotten some comparisons – but it would be really nice to work hand-in-hand with him, help get our game to the next level.

“Obviously he has so much experience that he can put upon us. It would be great to just sit under the tree of knowledge and let him talk with us and give us some pointers.”

Chad Gable: “We’re really looking forward to Orlando. Maybe we’ll get a minute to sit down with him and ask a few things.

“He did the exact path that we’re trying to do right now and succeeded in the biggest possible way. If there’s anyone that’s going to help Jason and I, he’s the man for the job.”

Kurt Angle takes his place in the WWE Hall of Fame on Friday night, March 31st from Orlando.

Hardys vs. Young Bucks At ROH Orlando (4/1) is Now a Ladder Match

Chris Stephens
-
6

The Hardy brothers and Young Bucks will continue their epic rivalry on April 1st in Lakeland FL at Supercard of Honor XI. The show is ROH’s annual event during WrestleMania weekend. The Bucks have confirmed the news Jeff Hardy first told us during our exclusive interview earlier this week: the ROH tag titles will be on the line in a Ladder Match.

https://twitter.com/mattjackson13/status/842129440704360448

ROH Tag Team Championship Rivalry

The Hardys defeated the Young Bucks at Manhattan Mayhem earlier this month, not long after announcing they were leaving Impact and joining Ring of Honor. At the company’s 15th anniversary show on Friday, the Hardys retained the titles in a triple threat street fight against both the Bucks and Roppongi Vice.

After the match on Friday night, Matt and Jeff stole the Young Bucks’ “Superkick Party” title belts as well. ROH still has two weeks of television to air until the show however, so more changes could still be to come.

Loser Leaves NXT Match Scheduled for Next Week

Chris Stephens
-
32

Following his unsuccessful NXT championship match against Bobby Roode this week, Kassius Ohno was confronted by Elias “the Drifter” Samson backstage. This led to a Ohno challenging Samson to a “Loser Leaves NXT” match for next week.

Main Roster Bound or Gimmick Change?

On the surface a loser leaves NXT match could lead to a main roster debut for either superstar. It seems unlikely the 37-year old Ohno would debt on the main roster anytime soon, having just debuted on NXT television. Stranger things have happened however.

As for Samson, two possibilities exist. If he loses to Ohno next week he could find himself on the main roster, where it is doubtful he would be placed in a high profile role. Samson could undergo a gimmick change and stay in NXT as well however. After WrestleMania is a common time for new wrestlers to debut on the main roster, so it is more likely than not the loser of this match next week ends up on Raw or Smackdown after WrestleMania.

Ring of Honor Television Report

Chris Stephens
-
1

ROH TV
air date: March 15th 2017 (on Comet and the Fite App)
Pittsburgh, PA

Ian Riccaboni & Alex Shelley on commentary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDCOwoZ-OQo

1. the Young Bucks vs. Coast to Coast (non-title match)

The young Coast to Coast team of Shaheem Ali and Leon St. Giovanni got in their offence but ultimately lost to the Young Bucks, who were tag team champions at the time of this match. Their tag title loss to the Hardyz took place after this match. The Bucks taunted Jeff and Matt Hardy during the match, even delivering a twist of fate followed by a Senton to their opponents. They also led the crowd in chants of “Delete! Suck it!”. Commentary hyped the Supercard of Honor match between the Hardyz and Young Bucks in Lakeland, FL over WrestleMania weekend. Bucks win after Nick Jackson hit a 450 splash and pinned Ali.
Winners: the Young Bucks 

Ian Riccaboni conducted an interview with Lio Rush regarding his relationship with the Rebellion. This brings out Kenny King who said Rush was a great aerial wrestler, but King “Gets live at 225lbs”. So something is building there between Rush and Kenny King, but nothing got physical during the interview.

2. 2017 Top Prospect Tournament
Preston Quinn vs. Curt Stallion

Preston Quinn is 40 years old and has been wrestling since 1996, proving the top prospects tournament is not just for young guys. He came out with a colourful manager, Andy Vineburg, who is living in the 1980s. Quinn wrestles on the indy scene mainly in Virginia and North Carolina. He looked good here too, with a lot of old school style offence. He missed an elbow however, and that was all the opening Stallion needed to hit a diving headbutt and get the pin.
Winner: Curt Stallion

Cody Rhodes cut a promo on Jay Lethal. He brought out Hangman Page to join him in the ring, and challenged Lethal to a Texas Bullrope match.

3. Dalton Castle vs. Jonathan Gresham

Commentary played up how Dalton Castle will receive an ROH world championship opportunity at Supercard of Honor. At the moment that match would be against Christopher Daniels, but a lot could change in a few weeks, especially considering ROH just taped 4 weeks of television this weekend in Las Vegas.
Castle picked up the clean win here after countering a diving attack into the Bangarang.
Winner: Dalton Castle

4. No DQ Match
BJ Whitmer and Punishment Martinez vs. War Machine

The sadistic team of Whitmer and Martinez, who we assume are mentored off camera by Kevin Sullivan, received a big opportunity here by taking on one of the promotion’s top tag teams. Martinez really stood out in this match and got the win by choke-slamming Hanson through a table. After the match he turned on his partner BJ Whitmer as well, choke-slamming him for good measure. Punishment Martinez is looking like he’s ready to make a move up the ROH rankings soon.
Winners: Whitmer and Punishment Martinez

NJPW New Japan Cup 2017 Night 5 Results

Chris Stephens
-
0

The New Japan Cup 2017 continued Wednesday in Japan. Unlike previous years the company is placing each quarter-final match on separate shows during the tour. With Evil and Bad Luck Fale already moving to the semi-finals, the 3rd quarter-final match took place on this show. The final quarter-final match, between Sanada and Tomohiro Ishii, will take place Friday.

New Japan Cup 2017
Night 5
March 15th 2017

Results:

Taka Michinoku and El Desperado (Suzuki-Gun) defeated Hirai Kawato and Tiger Mask

Non-Title
Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Tomoyuki Oka and Jushin Liger

Tanga Roa and Tama Tonga (Bullet Club) defeated Yuji Nagata and Katsuya Kitamura

Jado, Gedo, Toru Yano and Hirooki Goto (CHAOS) defeated Taichi, Kanemaru, Iizuka, and Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-Gun)

Hiromu Takahashi, Bushi, Evil, Sanada, and Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables) defeated David Finlay, Taguchi, Kushida, Michael Elgin and Hiroshi Tanahashi

New Japan Cup 2017 Quarter-Final
Katsuyori Shibata defeated Juice Robinson

Yoshi-Hashi, Tomohiro Ishii, and Kazuchika Okada (CHAOS) defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale, and Kenny Omega (Bullet-Club)

This means Shibata will face the winner of Sanada and Ishii. The other semi-final, Evil vs. Bad Luck Fale, is already set. While Juice Robinson was eliminated here, making it to the second round in his first New Japan Cup is a pretty big accomplishment for the 27-year old.

 

Goldberg Not Scheduled For RAW, Aries On Making It To Wrestlemania, Jerry Lawler’s Dream Final Opponent

Robert Lentini
-
14

Goldberg is currently not scheduled to appear on this coming Monday’s RAW (3/20) from Brooklyn, New York. WWE’s reigning Universal Champion is slated to appear on RAW the following week (3/27) in Philadelphia, the final RAW before Wrestlemania. Brock Lesnar has been booked for both of the remaining episodes of Raw before Wrestlemania.

Goldberg has appeared on one episode of Raw since winning the Universal Championship on March 5th at WWE Fastlane. It looks like he will only be on one more episode before he likely loses the title to Brock Lesnar at Wrestlemania 33.

Tuesday night on 205 Live, Austin Aries won a Fatal 5 Way Elimination Match to earn a match against Neville at Wrestlemania 33 for the Cruiserweight Championship. Aries sent out the following posts on social media about making it to Wrestlemania 33.

https://twitter.com/AustinAries/status/841857819041226752

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRp4_ljjXst/

On Jerry Lawler’s podcast Dinner With The King, Lawler revealed that he wanted to wrestle a farewell match. Lawler believes that the WWE would never clear him to wrestle again, but if they did he would like to wrestle Dolph Ziggler at Wrestlemania. You can listen to the entire episode by clicking here.

Top Matches Confirmed For NXT TakeOver: Orlando

Scott Lazara
-
6

The top 3 championship matches are now official for NXT TakeOver: Orlando next month. The current card looks like this:

– Bobby Roode defends the NXT Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura

– Asuka defends the NXT Women’s Championship against Ember Moon

– The Authors of Pain defend the NXT Tag Team Championships in a Triple Threat against DIY and The Revival

TakeOver takes place on 4/1 from the Amway Center in Orlando during WrestleMania 33 weekend.

NXT Results and Highlights

Chris Stephens
-
3

March 15th 2017
Winter Park, Florida
Full Sail University

1. the Ealy Brothers vs. the Authors of Pain (non-title)

the Authors of Pain attacked the Ealy brothers from behind not long ago on NXT television, so the young tag team challenged Paul Ellering’s duo here. The AOP didn’t take long to take care of the Ealy brothers however, in what was basically a squash match. After the match Ellering cut a promo which brought out both Team DIY and the Revival. Then Regal came out and made it official that the tag team championship match at Takeover: Orlando would be a triple threat between the AOP, Revival and Team DIY.

Winners: the Authors of Pain

2. Macey Estrella vs. Nikki Cross (Sanity)

Estrella might not look like it, but she is a former US Marine and member of the Marine Corps Swat Team. The 26-year old was just fodder for Cross here however, as the Scottish brawler looks as though she will be starting a run in NXT’s women’s division. 27-year old Nikki Cross began her career as a teenager 9 years ago. She had a WWE tryout in 2015 and has been going through developmental ever since.
Even though Cross had Estrella beat, she continued to use a swinging fisherman’s neck breaker over and over again, approximately six times in total, before finally pinning Estrella.

After the match No Way Jose and Tye Dillinger hit the ring to payback Sanity for their attack on Roderick Strong last week. The numbers game was too much for Dillinger and Jose however, as Sanity left them laying. Later in the night, William Regal would confirm that next week 3 members of Sanity will take on Dillinger, No Way Jose, and a returning Roderick Strong.

Winner: Nikki Cross

An ominous vignette aired for a superstar who has yet to debut.

3.NXT Championship Match
Bobby Roode (c)(0 title defences) vs. Kassius Ohno

Kassius Ohno, better known to indy fans as Chris Hero, returns to NXT and got a championship match right out of the gun. Ohno is 6feet 4inches and 270lbs. He wrestled in NXT from 2012-13, and now at 37 years old he’s back for another run. Ohno got in his offence but ultimately wasn’t able to take the title away from Roode. The finish of the match came when Ohno had Roode trapped in a submission but Roode scrambled into the ropes, Ohno hit the top rope awkwardly which allowed Roode to hit the “Glorious DDT” for the pin.
Shinsuke Nakamura was shown in the back watching the monitor. It was announced last week that he would face the winner at NXT Takeover: Orlando

Winner: Bobby Roode (1 title defence)

* title defence statistics do not include house shows

Southpaw Regional Wrestling Coming This Friday

Staff
-
29

Southpaw Regional Wrestling is coming this Friday. You don’t remember the glory days of SRW from this mid 80’s? That’s because it’s a fictional promotion that will be the subject of a new sketch comedy series.

Top WWE Superstars featured in the trailer below include John Cena, Rusev, Lana, Chris Jericho, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows and Cesaro.

Here’s a first look at Southpaw Regional Wrestling. WWE may have struck gold with this one.

AJ Styles’ WWE Profile Moved to Alumni, Natalya Declares Herself The Leader Of The Locker Room

Robert Lentini
-
52

AJ Styles attacked Smackdown Commissioner Shane McMahon last night on Smackdown and slammed his head through a car window. Smackdown GM Daniel Bryan then “fired” AJ Styles shortly after that. Smackdown went off the air with Shane McMahon stating that Styles now has an opponent for Wrestlemania 33. Today, the WWE has removed Styles from their active roster on their website and placed him in the Alumni roster. Styles clearly isn’t actually fired but it appears that Smackdown will be continuing with the storyline that Styles is off the Smackdown roster, even after Shane McMahon challenged him to a match last night.

Carmella and Mickie James were on Talking Smack last night and were interrupted by Natalya and Becky Lynch. Natalya declared herself the leader of the Women’s division on Smackdown and nobody bought it. Alexa Bliss then showed up and blamed Daniel Bryan for causing all of this chaos. Daniel Bryan announced last week that Alexa Bliss will be defending her Smackdown Women’s Championship against “every available woman on the Smackdown roster” at Wrestlemania 33.

The Rock Comments on Attending WrestleMania 33

Chris Stephens
-
26

WrestleMania 33 is less than three weeks away and the card is close to finalized. As of this writing, 10 matches have been confirmed for WWE’s biggest show of the year. With April 2nd fast approaching, there have been no indications that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson will be attending. Earlier this week, 2017 WWE Hall of Fame Warrior Award recipient Eric LeGrand tweeted The Rock and said he hopes to see him in Orlando.

The Rock replied, congratulating LeGrand and saying that he hopes to make it.

Rock at WrestleMania

We know The Rock has one of the busiest schedules in Hollywood and the fact that he does not have set plans to attend is not a great sign for fans hoping for a Rock cameo. That said, The Rock’s last three WrestleMania moments have all been unadvertised. He defeated Eric Rowan in an unadvertised match last year, participated in an angle with Ronda Rousey two years ago, and took part in a legends in-ring segment with Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin 3 years ago.

From WrestleMania 27-29, he played a key role, hosting WM27 and then main event’ing the show with John Cena at 28 and 29.

Brock Lesnar vs. Kevin Owens Highlights from MSG (Video)

Chris Stephens
-
15

WWE has released video highlights of Brock Lesnar’s recent match with Kevin Owens from Madison Square Garden.

WWE regularly puts on stacked house show cards at Madison Square Garden, though these events hardly ever see the light of day, even on the WWE Network. Such was the case on Sunday when WWE brought their road to WrestleMania to Madison Square Garden.

Here are quick results from the show. Above, you can see Brock Lesnar making short work of former Universal Champion Kevin Owens.

March 12th WWE MSG Results:

  • Randy Orton defeated AJ Styles
  • Rhyno, Heath Slater and Kalisto defeated Curt Hawkins and Breezeango
  • Dolph Ziggler defeated Apollo Crews
  • Dean Ambrose defeated the Miz, Baron Corbin and Luke Harper in a 4-way for the IC title
  • Brock Lesnar defeated Kevin Owens
  • Nikki Bella, Tamina, Becky Lynch and Asuka defeated Natalya, Mickie James, Carmella and Alexa Bliss
  • American Alpha defeated the Usos (retained Smackdown Tag Team Championships)
  • Bray Wyatt defeated John Cena to retain the WWE Championship

WWE returns to Madison Square Garden on Friday night, July 9th as part of the SummerSlam Heatwave tour.

NXT Preview for Tonight, Ohno vs. Roode for the NXT Championship

Chris Stephens
-
0

It’s a big night on NXT tonight. In addition to the scheduled Kassius Ohno vs. Bobby Roode NXT Championship match there are several other big time matches on the show.

NXT March 15th Matches (non-spoiler)

Non-Title
Asuka vs. Priscilla Zuniga

Andrade “Cien” Almas vs. Oney Lorcan

Non-Title Match
the Ealy Twins vs. Authors of Pain

Roderick Strong, No Way Jose and Tye Dillinger vs. Sanity

NXT Championship Match
Bobby Roode (0 title defences) vs. Kassius Ohno

205 Live Results and Highlights

Chris Stephens
-
1

205 Live
March 14th 2017
Pittsburgh, PA

Neville Addresses the Cruiserweight Division

Current cruiserweight champion Neville cut a promo about breaking his ankle 3 weeks out of WrestleMania last year in the same building they are in tonight. He said it was irrelevant who wins the 5-way elimination match to face him at WrestleMania, as he will make them regret it.

1. Mustapha Ali vs. Drew Gulak

Ali picked up the win with a 450 splash. After the match Gulak cut a promo about how he’s great and doesn’t need to change, it is 205 Live the needs to change.
Winner: Mustapha Ali

2. Rich Swann & Jack Gallagher vs. Noam Dar & Ariya Daivari

Noam Dar picks up the pin for his team, hitting a front kick on Swann and covering him for 3. That’s a big win for Dar. After the match Dar let Alicia Fox know that the victory was a gift for her. Then someone delivered a teddy bear for her and Dar claimed responsibility for that gift as well. He then said Alicia’s last name in a real funny manner.
Winners: Dar and Daivari

3. 5-Way Elimination Match for Cruiserweight Title Shot at WrestleMania
Austin Aries vs. Tozawa vs. TJ Perkins vs. the Brian Kendrick vs. Tony Nese

This is the second time now that the #1 contender for the cruiserweight title has been determined via a multi-person elimination match. Last time Jack Gallagher won the match.

Order of eliminations:
Tony Nese- eliminated by TJ Perkins
Tozawa – eliminated by Brian Kendrick
TJ Perkins- eliminated by Brian Kendrick
Brian Kendrick – eliminated by Austin Aries

Not surprisingly it will be Austin Aries who goes on to WrestleMania to take on Neville for the cruiserweight championship. It will be Neville’s 3rd televised title defence.
Winner: Austin Aries

NXT Returning To The UK In June

Staff
-
11

NXT is returning to the United Kingdom in June for a series of shows that will run from June 5-11th. Here’s the tour schedule, with tickets going on sale Friday at 10 AM GMT.

  • 6/5: Aberdeen’s GE Oil & Gas Arena
  • 6/6: Manchester Arena
  • 6/7: Leeds First Direct Arena
  • 6/8: Brighton Centre
  • 6/9-11: Download Fest 2017

It’s worth noting that Shinsuke Nakamura is conspicuously absent from the artwork hyping the upcoming UK tour.

C68pR dWsAEV4hm

WCPW Announces New Gimmick Match: ‘The Magnificent Seven’

Jake Skudder
-
6

WCPW General Manager Adam Blampied has announced a new match for the ‘Bulletproof’ event taking place on March 20th in Manchester. The ‘Magnificent Seven’ match will see seven competitors battle it out in an elimination style bout where the eventual winner will receive a Championship bout at a time of his choosing.

The lineup for the first ever M7 match is as follows:

  • Martin Kirby
  • Marty Scurll
  • El Ligero
  • Travis Banks
  • BT Gunn
  • Doug Williams
  • Ricochet

Check out the video below for more information

Lucha Underground Arrives On Netflix

Staff
-
15

Lucha and chill? Today’s the day: Seasons 1 and 2 of the El Rey Network’s hit series Lucha Underground have arrived on Netflix. To view Lucha Underground on Netflix, simply search for “Lucha Underground” or navigate to the TV Shows section.

As of late 2016, Netflix boasted over 93 million subscribers, so this presents an opportunity for Lucha Underground to reach a large new audience. If you haven’t seen Lucha Underground or want to catch up on all the action from the very beginning, here’s your first class ticket to the Temple:

WATCH: Lucha Underground Season 1, Episode 1 on Netflix

Hulk Hogan Scheduled To Be In Orlando During WrestleMania Weekend

Eric Lynch
-
17

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xX4W6M4lzg

Hulk Hogan will be in Orlando during WrestleMania weekend. The wrestling legend will be expanding his Hogan’s Beach Shop by opening a location in Orlando, FL. The grand opening is on March 30th, and Hogan will be in town doing autograph signings through April 4th.

Hogan has reportedly been in talks with WWE about how they can reconcile after his 2015 firing for the racial slurs on his leaked sex tape. Hogan successfully sued Gawker Media for publishing the sex tape, and reportedly received a settlement in December.

WrestleMania 33 takes place on April 2nd at the Camping World Stadium.

  • Discussion: Do you want to see Hulk Hogan make a surprise appearance at WrestleMania 33? Sound off with your opinions in the comments!

Why Kurt Angle Was Backstage At SmackDown, Brie Bella Maternity Shoot (Video)

Eric Lynch
-
4

– 2017 WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle was backstage at Tuesday’s SmackDown Live, which took place from his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. Angle was on hand to film content for the upcoming “WWE 24” WWE Network special as well as material for social media.

https://twitter.com/randyperkins65/status/841783394858070016

In case you missed it earlier this week, check out this video of Kurt Angle’s recent reunion with Vince McMahon after 11 years.

– The Bella Twins’ official Youtube channel has published the following behind-the-scenes video from Brie Bella’s recent maternity photo shoot. Brie and her husband, former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan, are expecting their first child in the spring. They’re expecting a girl named Birdie Joe Danielson.

– Speaking of The Bella Twins, Nikki Bella took part in a photo shoot in Pittsburgh while she was in town for Tuesday’s SmackDown. She shares some images on Twitter from the shoot:

– David Otunga and Mauro Ranallo were both absent from this week’s SmackDown broadcast, leaving announcing duties to the duo of JBL and Tom Phillips. Otunga had the night off to film a movie, and Ranallo had travel complications due to the storm in the Northeastern United States. Otunga is believed to have been filming for either Days Like This or Sandy Wexley, both upcoming comedy films.

Dean Ambrose Appears After 205 Live, Trailer For John Morrison’s New Movie w/ Rampage Jackson

Eric Lynch
-
6

– After 205 Live went off the air on the WWE Network, the live audience in Pittsburgh, PA got to see a dark match main event. WWE Intercontinental Champion Dean Ambrose came out to surprise the crowd and successfully defend his title against Baron Corbin. Ambrose didn’t appear on SmackDown this week in order to sell Corbin’s forklift attack last week.

– Former WWE star John Morrison, real name John Hennigan, stars alongside Quinton “Rampage” Jacksonin a new action comedy film coming soon to VOD and Walmart. Boone: The Bounty Hunter features Hennigan as the main character Boone, a fame-seeking reality show bounty hunter who gets in over his head. Below is the trailer for the movie, which was directed by Robert Kirbyson and produced by Hoplite Entertainment and Killon Street.

1...1,9621,9631,964...3,153Page 1,963 of 3,153