Athena, formerly known as Ember Moon in WWE, isn’t limiting her options.
Back in Nov. 2021, Athena was released from her WWE contract. She was part of a wave of talent cuts that included Keith Lee, Nia Jax, Karrion Kross, Scarlett Bordeaux, and more.
Now that a few months have passed, the former Ember Moon is free to sign with another promotion.
Athena Sends Messages To Promoters
If there’s one thing Athena wants to make clear, it’s that she isn’t opposed to truly testing the market.
She took to Virtual M&G/Asylum Wrestling Store and said she’s ready for the call from AEW, IMPACT, and Stardom (h/t DraVen).
“If I knew [I would be going to AEW], I wouldn’t tell you.
“If they came a ringing, if IMPACT came a ringing, heck, if STARDOM came a ringing, I would answer the phone and I would be there in a heartbeat.”
Current AEW Women’s Champion Thunder Rosa expressed her desire in facing Athena back in 2021.
Earlier this year, Athena and reigning TBS Champion Jade Cargill traded barbs on social media, leading many to believe that eventually, the two would clash in the ring.
WWE has plans to increase the size of its Performance Centers, according to company President Nick Khan.
The Orlando Performance Center opened its doors in 2013 and serves as WWE’s state-of-the-art facility that offers in-ring training, promo classes as well as gym facilities.
In 2020, the Center became the home of WWE NXT which had previously been filmed at Full Sail University.
It was briefly called the ‘Capitol Wrestling Center’ a reference to the Capitol Wrestling Corporation that was run by Vincent J. McMahon, but that name was dropped with the launch of NXT 2.0.
WWE also has a Performance Center in the UK located in Enfield, London, England.
Expand & Improve
During this week’s Q1 2022 financial call to investors, WWE President Nick Khan told those on the call that they’re looking at “expanding and improving on” the Performance Centers.
The comment about ‘global expansion’ is in reference to WWE trying to set up NXT brands across the world, with NXT Japan being one of the ideas floated around.
In 2020, Dave Meltzer reported that the plans for NXT Japan were “dead in the water.”
WWE also plans on launching a Performance Center in India in 2022 as part of the NXT India brand but little has been confirmed about the show.
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door is a supershow that All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling will present together next month. Fans have been waiting for the two promotions to collaborate ever since AEW launched three years ago.
On Thursday, pre-sale tickets went live for purchase which saw 11,000 tickets sold under 40 minutes. The remaining 3,000 tickets available for sale today sold out almost instantly.
Thank you amazing wrestling fans who purchased tickets to@AEW x @njpwworld#ForbiddenDoor ppv! We sold over 11,000 tickets today, with a small allotment still held back for the general sale tomorrow!#AEWRampage is on TNT early tomorrow @ 5:30pm ET/4:30pm CT/3:30pm MT/2:30pm PT!
20,000 people were in the cue when the 11,000 pre-sale tickets went live. A limited amount of tickets, which we now know were 3,000 in number, went for sale and sold out today. This means that Forbidden Door will at least have 14,000 fans in attendance.
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door will take place at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois on June 26. The event will be available live on PPV, the B/R app, and FITE.
During the April 20 episode of Dynamite, Tony Khan and NJPW President Takami Ohbari announced the event together.
“Traveling between Japan and the U.S. is no longer a significant problem,” Ohbari said. “If Japanese fans are invested in this event and the demand is there, then there will absolutely be the impetus for us to take the next step of holding an event in Japan.”
The WWE release of Malcolm Bivens reportedly took NXT creative by surprise.
As we’ve noted, Bivens was let go from the company late last month as part of several names that were also handed their walking papers. Other names released included; Dakota Kai, Malcolm Bivens, Dexter Lumis, Harland, Blair Baldwin, Draco Anthony, Mila Malani, Persia Pirotta, Sanjana George, and Raelyn Divine.
According to a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the NXT creative team was caught off guard by Bivens being amongst the names that were cut. Bivens was in the midst of a storyline with his Diamond Mine stable, who had some tension with Roderick Strong.
NXT creative was working on ways to further the angle upon Bivens’ release. Bivens broke into the professional wrestling industry back in 2014 for Ring Of Honor (ROH). He worked the independent circuit for the next several years, including appearances for EVOLVE, and Major League Wrestling (MLW).
Bivens addressed his WWE exit during a recent comedy show (via POST Wrestling):
“All right, so here’s the truth: There’s a lot of rumors, a lot of speculation. Was I offered a contract in February? Yes. Did I say no to said contract? Yes. Was I offered to be with Omos? No. No one said a word to me about managing Omos. Was I told about the main roster? Yes, and people, they think I’m crazy. Like, ‘Malcolm, you threw away millions potentially, you walked away.’ Yeah, I did, because I didn’t wanna do it anymore and unfortunately, I wasn’t happy.“
In 2019, Bivens inked a WWE deal and joined the Performance Center before making his NXT TV debut soon after. Now, it will be interesting to see where Bivens lands next after departing from the company. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more about what Bivens plans to do next.
Apparently WWE was very impressed with W. Morrissey’s performance on last Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite.
The IMPACT star took on top AEW prospect Wardlow in singles-action as a favor to Wardlow’s current rival, MJF. The two behemoths had a competitive encounter, with Morrissey dominating most of the action early, but would eventually fall victim to a Wardlow powerbomb.
According to Andrew Zarian from the Mat Men podcast, Morrissey caught the eye of his former employer WWE was curious to know when Morrissey’s contract will come to an end with IMPACT, adding that there was no guarantee that they would take him back, but that there was interest.
Morrissey joined WWE in 2011 and joined Florida Championship Wrestling, the company’s former developmental territory. He was paired with Enzo Amore in NXT and the duo eventually made it to the main roster.
Morrissey battled his demons during his run with WWE and was eventually released in 2018.
He signed with IMPACT back in 2021 and wrestled his first matchup at Rebellion 2021.
Morrissey has publicly detailed his battle with substance abuse, depression, and attitude issues in the past, but has done a great job at rebuilding his personal brand, which includes getting into tremendous shape.
Former Impact World Champion Moose says he was incredibly close to signing with WWE last year. His previous contract with Impact was set to expire in June 2021. At the time, it was rumored that WWE was interested in his services.
During a recent interview with Fightful, Moose reveals that he was extremely close to jumping ship.
“I was pretty much about to walk into WWE,” he said. “I was literally gone. The last talk I had with Scott D’Amore really showed me how much they wanted me. I talked to my wife about it. I was like, ‘You know what? I still have a lot of things I haven’t accomplished at Impact. So leaving to go to WWE right now would not be fair to myself and not fair to Scott.”
Moose on Impact Morale
Moose compared his current deal with Impact to the one he joined the company with in 2016.
“I’ve been there since when people weren’t getting paid. I remember my first contract I signed with Impact under the Dixie Carter era. I got paid when I first signed and I didn’t see another paycheck until like four or five months later.
“Scott taking over has really turned the locker room and turned Impact around. He’s made it an actual company people want to come work for.”
In addition to being a former Impact World Champion, Moose is a former TNA World Heavyweight Champion and two-time Impact Grand Champion.
WWE reportedly never had plans for a tag team title unification match at WrestleMania Backlash.
When The Usos first started their feud with RK-Bro, it was centered around trying to unify the Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships. Roman Reigns specifically gave Jimmy and Jey an order to lay claim to the Raw tag team gold.
While the stage was set for The Usos vs. RK-Bro at WrestleMania Backlash, Reigns interrupted the contract signing. Randy Orton and Riddle were ambushed, and the contract was destroyed. Drew McIntyre then hit the ring and sent Reigns packing with an overhead belly-to-belly suplex.
Now, it’ll be a non-title six-man tag team match. The Bloodline will take on McIntyre and RK-Bro.
Title Unification Never In The Cards
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that WWE never had the intent of booking a tag team title unification match. Simply put, WWE didn’t have a challenger lined up for Reigns at the WrestleMania Backlash event.
It had been reported previously that WWE didn’t want to rush a Reigns vs. McIntyre program.
WrestleMania Backlash will take place inside the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island on May 8. Here is what the lineup looks like just a couple of days away from the event:
The Bloodline vs. Drew McIntyre & RK-Bro
WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship: Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey (“I Quit” Match)
Candice LeRae is a free agent after her WWE contract expired, as first reported by Fightful.
LeRae’s husband, Johnny Gargano, also left the company when his deal expired in late 2021. He has been free to sign elsewhere for months but hasn’t done so as he’s been more focused on being a father. LaRae gave birth to the child back in February.
Candice LeRae’s WWE Run
During her time with WWE, Candice LeRae performed under the NXT brand. She captured the NXT Tag Team Championship with Indi Hartwell.
LeRae made her NXT TV debut back in May 2017. She was unsuccessful in a battle royale to determine the number one contender for the NXT Women’s Championship, which was held by Asuka.
She then competed in the Mae Young Classic just two months later. At that point, she hadn’t signed a contract with WWE. LaRae put pen to paper for Vince McMahon’s empire in Jan. 2018.
Eventually, Candice became a part of The Way. The faction featured LeRae, Gargano, Hartwell, and Austin Theory. With LeRae’s pregnancy, Gargano’s WWE departure, and Theory’s callup to the main roster, the stable disbanded.
SEScoops will keep you posted on the future of LeRae and Gargano as that information becomes available.
Big E has received some less-than-ideal news regarding his neck injury.
On the March 11 episode of WWE SmackDown, Big E suffered a scary injury that could’ve been even worse than it was. The New Day member took an overhead belly-to-belly from Ridge Holland outside of the ring. E landed right on his head and neck and had to be stretchered out of the arena.
He ended up suffering a broken neck. The good news for E was that he was initially told he’d be able to avoid surgery but since that time, the recovery process hasn’t been smooth sailing.
Big E Provides Latest Update
Big E shared an update on the situation with his neck and it isn’t what he was hoping for.
“For those desirous of an update, my C1 apparently isn’t healing optimally. I’ll spend another 4-6 weeks in a brace in hopes that I can avoid a fusion. But don’t you fret! I’ve got a tremendous support system & what shall be shall be.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CdOJ_LyunLK/
The former WWE Champion has shown a tremendous amount of positivity throughout this scary ordeal. He was even out walking with his neck brace on shortly after the injury occurred.
Obviously, Big E’s health is the number one priority but some have wondered if he will ever be able to wrestle again.
Former WWE physician consultant, Dr. David Chao, told Outkick that E’s in-ring career could be over as a C1 fracture often doesn’t heal completely.
As expected, AEW will likely be introducing trios titles in the future.
Taking to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that fans can expect AEW to roll out the championships sometime in the future. He says the titles have already been created. Here’s a quote from Dave courtesy of Bodyslam.net:
“Trios titles have been made so now it’s just a matter of when they pull the trigger.”
AEW Trios Titles: Who Is In Contention?
Kyle O’Relly, Adam Cole & Bobby Fish
While some believe having too many titles dilutes things, trios gold in AEW seems to make sense. After all, the promotion has a slew of factions and puts on plenty of trios tag team matches. The seeds may have already been planted in that regard.
As far as exactly when AEW fans will get to see the trios titles, while there isn’t an exact timeframe many feel it won’t happen until Kenny Omega returns. Having Omega and The Young Bucks hold the trios gold seems too good for AEW to pass up.
Omega is currently healing from multiple injuries. The “Best Bout Machine” had surgery on his knee and was dealing with a sports hernia. He had also been pretty banged up in other areas.
Of course, there are plenty of other worthy options for the trios titles as well. One can’t rule out the Blackpool Combat Club, which features Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, and Wheeler Yuta. There’s also Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly, and Bobby Fish.
Diamond Dallas Page says that WWE’s new hires aren’t even given a chance to succeed.
Last week, WWE released ten Superstars from NXT, with Dakota Kai, Harland, Malcolm Bivens and Dexter Lumis all being cut.
Harland was a notable release, as he had received a lot of hype prior to signing with WWE and had been compared to former WWE World Champion Brock Lesnar.
Amid reports that WWE is giving talent 90 days to show improvement before being at risk of release, Harland is one trainee that was not progressing fast enough.
DDP appeared on The Bro Show podcast this week and expressed discouragement with WWE’s approach to talent development.
Page thought Harland in particular had a good luck, but “you never know.”
“It’s so different today. You don’t even have a chance to get stuff over.”
– DDP on recent WWE releases
Contrary to most wrestlers, DDP entered the wrestling profession in his 30s and wouldn’t debut for the WWF until he was 45 in May 2001.
Page was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017 and has worked as a wellness coach in recent years, helping transform the lives of Jake ‘the Snake’ Roberts and the late-Scott Hall.
One WWE Hall of Famer thinks Tony Khan should be rushing to the phone to call Dakota Kai.
WWE has been known for having waves of talent releases. The promotion’s most recent one took place in late April. In total, 10 members of the NXT roster were cut. Among the names released was Dakota.
DDP Urges AEW To Sign Dakota Kai
During an appearance on SportsKeeda‘s The Bro Show, WCW legend DDP explained why he thinks AEW President Tony Khan should reach out to Dakota Kai.
“I was surprised they got rid of Dakota [Kai]. She’s good-looking, her work is really good, I was expecting to see her up there, but she never got that shot. If I was Tony Khan, I’d pick her a** up.
“They have some good talent there with the women now. WWE’s women’s talent is off the charts. Most of the girls are better than the guys.
“If I was Tony, I’d pick her up. But it’s a different world now bro.”
AEW hasn’t been afraid to snag former WWE talent. Some feel that Kai could be at the top of Khan’s list as far as female talent is concerned.
During her time in WWE, Dakota became a two-time NXT Tag Team Champion alongside Raquel Gonzalez, now known as Raquel Rodriguez.
Kai also won the 2021 Dusty Rhodes Classic with Raquel. In 2019, Dakota won the NXT Year-End Award for “Future Star of NXT.”
WWE Hall of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts is preparing to undergo hip surgery, the wrestling legend has confirmed.
In February, Roberts gave an update on his health, saying he had recently tested positive for COVID-19 and that he no longer needs to use an oxygen tank.
Speaking to SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio, Roberts discussed his health issues and confirmed the upcoming surgery, adding that he now needs to use oxygen again from time to time.
“There’s no warranty on those damn things.”
– Jake Roberts on needing another hip surgery
“When you’re getting to the age that I am, which is too old, you’re gonna have problems,” said Roberts. “Because your parts are breaking down. You know, if I’d have known I was going to live this long I would have taken better care of myself, but to tell you the truth, I’m about to get my third hip.
“There’s no warranty on those damn things, that’s bullsh*t, but anyway. You have little issues here and there. Unfortunately, may mom gave me a few diseases that there’s no cure for in my lungs. I have to do a little oxygen here and there.”
In more positive news, Jake revealed that he has reconciled with a former partner that left him years ago due to his drug and alcohol problems:
“In the last year, we’ve gotten back together, which is an amazing story. I mean for all the crap that I did, for her to forgive me. Our love is so strong now.”
Jake and his partner will be at 80s Wrestling Con, which will take place this weekend at the Mennen Sports Arena in Morristown, New Jersey.
Chris Jericho’s heavy-metal band Fozzy has released its latest album, Boombox.
This marks Fozzy’s eighth studio album and its first in five years after Judas in 2017. Boombox consists of 12-tracks including Sane, I Still Burn and Ugly on the Inside.
Fozzy: Boombox Track Listing
Sane
I Still Burn
Purifier
Army of One
Ugly on the Inside
Relax
Nowhere to Run
My Great Wall
What Hell Is Like
Omen
The Worst Is Yet to Come
The Vulture Club
Listen to Fozzy: Boombox
You can listen to Boombox by Fozzy now on on iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music and other major streaming platforms.
You can also listen to the full album here, courtesy of Fozzy on Youtube (12-song playlist):
Fozzy
(via Freeman Promotions)
Jericho began Fozzy in 1999 with himself as lead singer, Rich Ward on lead guitar, and Frank Fontsere on drums.
The band currently consists of Jericho, Ward, Billy Grey, P.J. Farley, and Grant Brooks.
Jericho’s work with Fozzy has kept him from AEW programming in the past, as he missed last month’s Battle of the Belts 2 event, due to a show in Stroudsburg, PA.
In March 2022, Judas was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America after surpassing 500,000 units sold.
In a tweet celebrating the achievement, Jericho said it was a “huge honor” and a “dream come true for me.”
Former WWE Raw and NXT Tag Team Champions Authors of Pain aren’t done dishing out punishment in the ring.
It appears Akam and Rezar are poised for a return to the squared circle. This according to a report from Fightful Select. There is currently no word on which promotion the two are eyeing.
Authors of Pain
Authors Of Pain: A History Lesson
Authors Of Pain made their NXT TV debut back in June 2016. The powerhouse tag team, led by manager Paul Ellering, attacked American Alpha. The duo ended up winning their first match on NXT the following week.
AOP defeated DIY back in Jan. 2017 to capture the NXT Tag Team Championship. They held onto the gold for 203 days. Eventually, AOP made it to the main roster and won the Raw Tag Team Championship.
The team aligned with Seth Rollins and Murphy before Rezar suffered a biceps injury. AOP was released from WWE in Sept. 2020.
While the team has been away for a while, they confirmed that they aren’t done with the industry last year.
WWE will be tackling the RPG genre with its video game division.
WWE has long seen the value in using gaming to market its brand. WWF WrestleMania was the company’s first officially licensed game and it was released for the NES back in early 1989. Just a few months later, WWF Superstars hit Arcades.
Today, WWE still releases multiple video games. The promotion takes full advantage of the mobile market and is partnered with 2K Games for console releases.
WWE Enters RPG Space
During the Q1 2022 earnings call, WWE CBO Stephanie McMahon announced that the promotion is taking a dive into the world of RPG video games (h/t Wrestling Inc).
“We continue to see strength in the performance of our mobile games, with 2K and Scopely’s Supercard and Champions, and recently signed a new deal in the role-playing game space that will be announced soon.”
Stephanie further discussed WWE’s commitment to gaming for over 30 years.
“Gaming is a priority for WWE to reach our next-gen audience with over 80% of WWE’s audience self-identifying as gamers, and nearly 60% of the gaming audience in general being 34 years or younger.”
There are plenty of RPGs in the mobile, console, and PC markets. Time will tell if WWE can draw in a solid player base for its soon-to-be-announced role-playing title.
WWE’s latest major video game is WWE 2K22. SEScoops reviewed the game, which you can see here.
Charlotte Flair has a long list of accolades to her name, but this one could put things over the top.
There’s no denying that Charlotte is a future WWE Hall of Famer. She is one of the top performers in WWE and is recognized as a 13-time world champion in the company. Could undisputed gold be in her sights down the road?
Charlotte Unifying Titles?
During an appearance on El Brunch de WWE, Charlotte was asked about potentially unifying the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Titles. After all, Roman Reigns is the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
“The Queen” answered by saying she’d be all for it (h/t POST Wrestling).
“Absolutely [I’d be up for unifying the Raw and SmackDown Women’s Titles]. Yeah, but I don’t feel like I need the Raw or SmackDown Title to be the queen of both divisions [Flair laughed].”
Surpassing Father’s Achievement
Charlotte went on to say that her next big goal is to break Ric Flair’s record of holding 16 world titles in WWE.
“I think it’s just continuing the legacy, beating my dad’s record. I’m a 13-time champion, so I’m getting close to 16-time. I think that’s probably next.”
The SmackDown Women’s Champion is currently in a feud with Ronda Rousey. She’ll put her gold on the line against “Rowdy” at the WrestleMania Backlash event in an I Quit Match on May 8.
Do you think WWE should consider unifying the women’s titles?
The brackets for the men’s side of the first-ever AEW Owen Hart Memorial tournament is complete, with the promotion revealing that there will be one mystery competitor, codenamed “The Joker,” facing Samoa Joe in the opening round.
As accustom for AEW, Joe’s opponent will not be revealed until they square-off in a couple weeks, leaving plenty of room for exciting speculation as to who the mystery man will be. While there is a strong possibility it is a non-AEW talent, there are still a good number of options from the promotion’s already stacked roster. Below, in no particular order, are what I think are the four best possible scenarios.
Johnny Gargano
The former triple-crown NXT champion has been very missed since his departure from the brand last year, and has remained relatively quiet from the wrestling scene as he enjoys life at home as a new dad. However, an appearance for AEW, whether it’s a run just for this tournament or a full-time contract, could ignite this next chapter of his career. Also if there is one person who knows how to wrestle the AEW-style, Gargano is your guy.
Miro
Prior to his minor injury Miro had become one of the company’s hottest acts, whose Amadeus inspired Redeemer gimmick separated him from any memory of his WWE character. While Miro was mainly depicted as a heel the dedicated AEW faithful would certainly welcome him back with open arms, which could help catapult his gimmick into the main event scene. Furthermore, a Joe vs. Miro hoss fight seems like the most fitting war to kickstar this first-ever tournament.
Claudio Castagnoli
AEW on paper is the perfect home for Claudio. His body of work in WWE, especially inside the ring, has stood out for years, and kept him very popular with fans even when his push didn’t match what he could offer. We saw a glimmer of the babyface Swiss-Superman when he was going after the Tribal Chief, but what could that look like without any of the restrictions? Also he befittingly has been doing the sharpshooter for years.
Kenny Omega
If anyone really needed some time off in this industry, it was Omega. His run as the belt collector is even more impressive when you consider the number of lingering injuries, including vertigo, he had to work through during his 11-month reign. A return here not only gives AEW fans one of their all-time favorites back in active competition, but can serve as a layer to the eventual civil war in the undisputed elite. What happens if Omega beats Joe and has to potentially face-off with Kyle O’Reilly, or better yet, Adam Cole?
The Owen Hart Memorial tournament officially begins next week in Long Island, which will see Darby Allin battle Jeff Hardy and Dax Harwood face Adam Cole in the opening round. The other two first round matchups are Kyle O’Reilly against former tag champion Rey Fenix, and of course, Samoa Joe against our mystery man.
Nikki Bella will be back on USA Network but it won’t be for WWE.
Deadline reports that musician Blake Shelton and Carson Daly will be teaming up to start a new game show titled, “Barmageddon.” The show will be airing on USA Network. On the show, celebrities will compete in a series of bar games.
Nikki Bella Hosting Barmageddon
Nikki Bella will serve as the host of the upcoming game show. Shelton will be on stage with his house band, while Daly will be behind the bar.
Here’s an official description of Barmageddon:
“In each episode, two celebrities will play a unique set of five games in the bar to win a much-needed prize for a viral Internet sensation each has chosen to support. Plucked from obscurity following their epic misadventures on the Internet, these now-infamous stars find themselves at Ole Red hoping to be redeemed.
The competition heats up when the losing rival of each round has a chance to even the score by spinning the Wheel of Redemption, a risky move with hilarious consequences. Shelton and Daly will offer words of encouragement – and heckling, of course – to their celebrity friends.
On occasion, they might even step in to show off their skills and play a game or two. Ultimately, the winning team takes home a prize while the losing celebrity must accept the shame of defeat. But this is Barmageddon – even if they did not win, at least they had a ton of fun trying.”
The show will be filmed in Blake Shelton’s own bar, Ole Red, in Nashville.
Bella made waves back in April when she said she’d be open to a WWE return during a Q&A session for America’s Got Talent: Extreme. She said that if the doctors give her clearance, then she won’t rule out the possibility.
Darius Martin, one-half of the tag team Top Flight, is injured and is sidelined from in-ring action.
He previously missed a year of action when he tore his ACL. Darius returned on AEW Dynamite as part of the AEW World Tag Team Title Number One Contendership Casino Tag Team Royale. The Young Bucks won the match to head into AEW Revolution as Martin was eliminated last.
Martin performed short of a dozen matches since his return, only to suffer another injury. There were reports of him suffering from a leg injury and missing significant ring time. Martin cleared up the air and said that his injury has nothing to do with wrestling by writing on Twitter, “What I’m currently dealing with had NOTHING to do with wrestling but I’m glad everyone else out there seems to know more about my health than I do.”
There was still no other information available about his injury until Malakai Black finally gave us an update about him.
Appearing on The Universal Wrestling Podcast, Black said (as transcribed by SEScoops): “I’ve wrestled Dante Martin, but his brother, unfortunately–I wish him a speedy recovery–he had a really nasty car accident. He’s out for another, like, six to nine months.”
Malakai Black was speaking about working with young talent and when speaking of working with Dante Martin, he gave an update on Darius’ health.
Chyna passed away on April 17, 2016, at the age of 46 due to an accidental drug overdose. Her body was found on April 20 at her home in Redondo Beach, California when her manager got concerned over Chyna’s inactivity on social media and decided to give her a visit.
Now Chyna’s mother, Jan LaQue, has come out and said that she believes there is more to the story regarding her daughter’s final moments.
Posting on Facebook, LaQue revealed that a woman named Dee J Ben (Dee Joy Bendoy) called her after Chyna died and told her that she spent the last Sunday with her. This was the last day that Chyna was in contact with anyone.
LaQue further continued that the woman told her that she and her boyfriend spent the Sunday afternoon drinking with Chyna in her condo. LaQue has been trying to get more details on what happened to her daughter right before she died but the woman refuses to speak to her.
LaQue thinks that the woman is hiding something about Chyna’s death. Right after Chyna’s death, she personally spoke to the LA coroner investigator, Christy McCracken, and the Redondo police detective investigator.
Chyna’s mother says both of them told her there was no evidence of alcohol in her condo. The examiner informed her that two types of alcohol contributed to her death and her blood level was “way over the top.”
Since there was no alcohol found in Chyna’s apartment, LaQue suggests that evidence at the scene was tampered with and someone must have “cleaned up” things. Since the woman was last in contact with her, she must have known about her condition. Her refusal to give more details to Chyna’s mother does not help her case either.
Chyna
Facebook Post
In the post, LaQue urged people to let her know if anyone knows the woman or what happened during that time. You can read the post in its entirety below:
“So many of you have contacted me recently and told me that you hoped that some day I would find the answers to what really happened to Joanie right before her death and how she really died. This woman in these pictures, now going as Dee J Ben on Facebook, (she has been called Dee Joy Bendoy) called me after Joanie died telling me that she spent that last Sunday with Joanie. That was the last day that anyone saw her.
She told me that she and her boyfriend and Joanie spent that afternoon drinking in Joanie’s condo. Since then I’ve tried to contact her several times to learn more, but she keeps ignoring my requests to speak with her. Is she hiding something? It would seem so. I spoke to the LA coroner investigator, Christy McCracken, and the Redondo police detective investigator personally, right after Joanie’s death. Both of them told me that there was no evidence of alcohol in Joanie’s condo. Then the LA medical examiner told me that contributing to her death were two types of alcohol and her blood level was WAY over the top.
So how does that make sense? She was obviously under the influence of massive amounts of alcohol, yet nothing was found in the apartment. What happened? Did this Dee remove all the evidence? And if so, why? She had to have known that Joanie was in terrible shape. Why did she go away and leave her in that condition? And if she didn’t remove any bottles or evidence, then who did? Someone had to have “cleaned up” things.
As more and more time goes by, I’m more and more convinced that this Dee Bendoy knows the truth about what happened. But getting her to come clean with what she knows about that last day is another story. If you know this woman and/or what happened, please please let me know so I can put this mystery to bed. Not knowing what happened is honestly heartbreaking. I promise that I will keep anything you share in confidence.”
John Cena says WWE fans have taught him many lessons that they are not even aware of. He says these lessons have helped him shape into a better person.
John Cena said this when he appeared on an episode of Backstage’s In the Envelope where he talked about his acting career. During the interview, he also thanked WWE fans for teaching him a lot of values and said that he can’t wait to let them know.
“There will come a time where I’ll be able to thank the WWE audience for all that they have taught me. That’s not just from a professional standpoint. They made me into the man I am, straight up, especially in lessons like humility and failure, persistence, countless things that they will never understand,” Cena said (as transcribed by Fightful).
“When I hear something from you like, ‘I watched WrestleMania 21’ or Austin Theory, for example, ‘I watched John Cena as a kid and Never Give Up got me through a lot of stuff and that’s why I’m here now.’ I don’t think he realizes what he did for me,” Cena continued. “It’s not just from a profession. I reference WWE in my daily life, it’s something I’m forever grateful for, because it’s made me into the man that I am.”
Austin Theory has said before that John Cena is his inspiration and the reason why he got into wrestling. Theory suffered bullying growing up and Cena’s way of handling himself have him encouragement to push through the harder times. “For me growing up, I was bullied in school, and I didn’t have my dad in my life, so it kind of helped me, like just his attitude and the way he was and the way he carried himself, no matter what the situation was. John Cena just gave me that encouragement, and even if it sounds cheesy, just to never give up. I mean it’s true, and that’s what’s gotten me here so quick,” Theory has said about Cena.
While it’s no secret that WWE is pushing Theory as the next big thing, some reports are claiming that WWE is trying to make him the next Cena. Theory is even teasing a SummerSlam match with his icon.
Theory recently taunted a fan at ringside who was wearing Cena merch and claimed that he is a better United States Champion than Cena was. Cena responded by giving him some advice along with a warning.
Ahead of last night’s Dynamite broadcast on TBS AEW taped several matches for their weekly Youtube episodic Dark: Elevation, which featured a new debut for the men’s division.
That man was indie sensation and former Ring of Honor Television champion Tony Deppen, who wrestled John Silver from the Dark Order. Reports had surfaced earlier in the day that Deppen had been spotted backstage, but it was not certain what his role would be at that time. You can see a photo from his matchup below. (Thanks to @darbygargano for sharing)
Deppen made his debut for ROH in 2020 in their Pure title tournament, where he would eventually be eliminated by PJ Black. This was right in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak so ROH was running taped shows in front of zero fans.
He would unsuccessfully challenge for the ROH TV title several times before finally dethroning Tracy Williams. Aside from ROH Deppen has wrestled for Chikara, CZW, PWG, and has become a regular for the very popular, GCW.
Deppen’s match with Silver will most likely air on next Monday’s AEW Dark: Elevation. As of this writing it is not known whether Deppen will continue appearing for AEW, or if he has possibly signed with ROH now that they are owned by Tony Khan. We will keep you updated on Deppen’s status in the competitive wrestling market.
“When you’re talking about somebody that you don’t know, that right there for me is taking it to another level… I have no problem or personal issues with Ryback or anything like that but I’m not someone that hides up under a rock or anything or that’s afraid to tackle a situation like this one right here. My thing is this. Ryback didn’t make it in the WWE, right? That’s a fact, he didn’t make it in the WWE.
“A person that says something like that, I just do not have a whole lot of respect for him. The thing is, if I saw him in his face, I’ll tell him, ‘I don’t have a lot of respect for you at all if any.’ Seriously, that’s just the type of person I am. I do know if I ever was to run across Ryback ever again in any form, he would not be receiving a handshake.”
Despite claiming to stand by the comments he made, Ryback has since deleted the tweet where he insulted McMahon’s mother.
Kurt Angle has four wrestlers in mind when it comes to his favorite he’s worked with.
The WWE Hall Of Famer recently took to his podcast, “The Kurt Angle Show,” to discuss several professional wrestling topics. During the show, Angle touched on the similarities shared between former WWE Champions AJ Styles and Shawn Michaels.
Angle noted that the two men’s athletic abilities, their in-ring work, showmanship, and more make them so similar. He threw in that both Styles and Michaels are amongst his four favorite wrestlers he’s ever worked with, along with both Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero.
“Shawn and AJ, they have so many identical ways about them, especially their in-ring performances, their athleticism, the way they were showmen. Very identical styles.
“Of the guys I worked with, I would say AJ, Shawn Michaels, and Chris Benoit were my three favorites to work with. And Eddie Guerrero is in there too.”
Angle has had some great matches with all four men mentioned. Of course, Styles and Angle had some run-ins with one another during their days under the TNA banner. And who could forget Angle’s amazing WrestleMania 21 match with “HBK” in 2005?
The Olympic Gold medalist also shared the ring many times with Chris Benoit, who, despite the dark ending to his life, is regarded as one of the best in-ring performers of all time. And finally, Angle and Guerrero also put on a match for the ages at WrestleMania 20 for the WWE Championship.
All four of those men are undoubtedly some of the best in-ring talents professional wrestling has ever seen, and Angle can certainly count himself in that bunch as well.
