“The Million Dollar Man” Ted Dibiase was once WWF Champion…sort of. Immediately after Andre the Giant defeated Hulk Hogan to win the title on The Main Event in 1988, he quickly surrendered it to Dibiase. The Hebner brothers were involved as well. It was a fairly controversial night.
Distinguished WWE figurehead Jack Tunney ultimately vacated the championship due to the controversy. A tournament to crown a new champion was set for WrestleMania IV, with Dibiase making it to the finals against the winner, “Macho Man” Randy Savage.
Dibiase now wants his ‘phantom’ title reign to be made official. This despite the fact he never actually beat anybody to win it. He has issued a petition to make his reign official.
“In February of 1988, Ted enslisted the services of the legendary Andre The Giant to assist with capturing the WWF Championship,” reads a description of the petition. “Andre was successful in pinning Hulk Hogan at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, IN. In the history books WWE has decided not to recognize this title reign even though Ted defended the championship at a live show against Bam Bam Bigelow.”
Dibiase did wrestle Bam Bam Bigelow at several WWF house shows in February of 1988 before Tunney had officially declared the title vacant.
“Support Ted by signing this petition asking WWE to #MAKEITOFFICIAL.”
#MakeItOfficial
Although WWE does not recognize Dibiase’s short WWF Championship reign, he has held several other titles. Along with IRS, Dibiase’s Money Inc team are 3x WWF tag-team champions. In 1989, he would declare himself the Million Dollar Champion. He even had his own belt commissioned.
Thousands of fans have signed the petition already and I didn’t buy a single one! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!
WWE NXT Superstar and former PROGRESS Champion Pete Dunne recently spoke to Mike Johnson of PWInsider. The Bruiserweight discussed a number of topics, including a potential bout between himself and the NXT Champion, Karrion Kross.
“With my style being as physical as it is, and the way the Kross wrestles, I think it does mesh together quite well” Pete Dunne would begin, discussing the potential match. “He’s somebody that I had my eye on just before he got to the company, and then seeing the way he’s come in, and he’s breezing through so fast.”
“Obviously, he had the injury” Dunne added, alluding to the injury Kross suffered after winning the NXT Championship for the first time. “But to come back and do it all over again is impressive; and I definitely would like to work with him down the line.”
Pete Dunne on Karrion Kross
“And for me personally, it’s just a case of, I’ve been in NXT now for coming up to five years, I had that obviously long run in the UK with the UK title; I had a brief run with Matt Riddle as the tag champion” Dunne added.
The Bruiserweight finished by discussing how his current work compares to his time in NXT UK and the independents; saying that he is producing the best work of his career.
“But I really do feel like now I’m here, I’m in the best shape of my life” Pete Dunne noted. “I’m doing the best work I’ve ever done, and it’s time to take that next step. And if Kross’ is who I’d do that against, then so be it. I can’t wait to get rolling” The Bruiserweight concluded.
WWE has been making some major changes over the past few weeks. With speculation that the company is looking for a sale, it comes as no surprise that even more cuts are expected to be announced any day now.
According to Fightful Select, multiple sources in WWE have confirmed that another round of releases is set to take place as soon as this week. Surprisingly, there are some “major names” on the chopping block this round.
“There is an ongoing list, though in the recent past, WWE has changed their mind on cutting certain people at the last minute,” the report states.
Out of respect to the talent involved, no names will be made public until the talent is informed.
Over the past few months, we’ve already seen big names depart including The IIconics, Andrade, Velveteen Dream, Samoa Joe, Chelsea Green and Mickie James, as well as broadcasters Tom Phillips and Adnan Virk.
For what it’s worth, Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcastsays he’s heard NXT UK will be letting talent go.
WWE Gearing Up for a Sale?
As mentioned, all of these moves could be considered as an early indicator that the they are looking to sell. It’s always been on the cards, but with the company having made record profits in 2020, now would be a great time to consider takeover discussions
WWE recently did a significant house cleaning, with dozens of employees fired and several divisions consolidated. It’s worth noting the recent ‘cost cutting’ measures did not yield positive results on Wall Street. The stock has dropped a few percentage points since news of the latest releases went public.
Earlier this week, WWE announced three new key hires to the executive leadership team. This has fueled chatter that WWE President Nick Khan is getting the pieces in place for an eventual ownership transition.
The story of Cameron Grimes in NXT has been an interesting one to follow. Since coming into money, he has been brought face to face with his greatest adversary yet. The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase. The pair have met in numerous situations over recent months, with DiBiase coming out on top each time.
Many believed it would be inevitable that Grimes would become a protégé to the Million Dollar Man. However, recent events added another name to that shortlist, LA Knight. Both men have caught the eye of DiBiase when each cost the other a match in consecutive weeks on NXT.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CPmThLRMQiY/
Now, the pair will face off, one-on-one, at the upcoming NXT In Your House PPV.
The prize will be more than a victory, it will be more than bragging rights. The pair are fighting for the right to carry on the Million Dollar Man’s legacy.
With Ted DiBiase watching the match, it is widely believed that the winner will earn his favour. An experienced ring general, his helping hand could be exactly what both men need to push ahead and take their career to the next level.
Both Cameron Grimes and LA Knight are heels in NXT, so working with a legendary bad guy like Ted Dibiase would be an easy transition. Great characters are always fun to watch, and they don’t come much larger or more entertaining than the Million Dollar Man.
Will the In Your House PPV finally see Cameron Grimes come out on top, or will Ted Dibiase once again be a thorn in his side?
WWE officials have told main roster talents to participate in workout sessions at the performance center to prepare for the company’s return to touring in July.
According to reports from PWinsider, wrestlers were told at Monday’s Raw that they are expected to take part in in-ring workouts at the performance center in the next several weeks.
These training sessions could begin as early as next week. Wrestlers will be taking part in drills and possibly even matches on days they are not booked for TV to make sure their ring work is sharper.
The edict is believed to have come from the WWE chairman Vince McMahon and everyone from top stars to people lower on the card are expected to be asked to partake in the training sessions.
Backstage Raw News On Jimmy Smith And Molly Holly
Many talents are looking forward to getting their timing and in-ring work ‘back to normal’ after only wrestling once a week for more than a year.
The report notes that the average person may have not been able to spot any noticeable changes in their performance, but many talents ‘who know better’ have felt that their timing has been somewhat ‘off’ in the recent while.
AEW star Joey Janela has revealed that he is dealing with an injury that is expected to keep him out of action for the whole month of June.
The hardcore star posted a video on his Twitter to make the revelation. Though he did not provide a lot of details on his condition and just said that he is currently not medically cleared to compete.
Janela confirmed that he won’t be able to compete at some upcoming announced dates. He noted that he will not be able to wrestle at Saturday’s GCW show in NJ, though he will be doing commentary at the event.
The AEW star also mentioned that he will be missing the GCW show in Laramie, WY on June 19 but he is ‘almost sure’ that he will be cleared for the July 10 GCW show from Dallas, Texas.
Joey Janela hasn’t been out of action for long and he wrestled at this past Friday’s episode of AEW Dynamite. Janela competed in a singles match against Adam Page and lost the bout.
There is no word yet on when or where he suffered the damage and the severity of his injury is not known yet. We will keep you posted on his health.
With 11 different reigns with the tag team championship in WWE with his partners at New Day, Xavier Woods has created a legacy for himself as one of the greatest tag team wrestlers of all time.
The UpUpDownDown host recently had an interview with Chris Van Vliet where he talked about a number of things including his gig with G4TV and more.
When asked which his own favorite tag team is, Xavier took an interesting name and he picked a forgotten tag team from the ending days of the Attitude Era:
“I’m bad at picking the greatest, my favorite is Billy and Chuck, mainly because of their matches with the Hardys. It was the first time I noticed that The Hardys are not huge but they could still knock the huge guys down. In my teen head I was like this is how wrestling should be.
This is where you put your ego aside and have this good match.” said Xavier Woods, “I’ve always been a fan of tag team wrestling. But I like groups too. I was into 3 Count in WCW too. I love so many teams for so many reasons.”
The New Day member also told the story of how and why he started playing the trombone on WWE TV, which has since become an iconic trope of his character.
Xavier Woods revealed that WWE actually wanted the trio to sing on TV after a big win. However, Woods asked if he could play the song on trombone instead and the rest is history.
Wrestling veteran Sting competed in his first live match since 2015 at the Double or Nothing PPV and after the bout, he not only received praise from fans but his fellow wrestlers as well.
According to reports from PWinsider, the Icon received a ‘huge pop’ from the wrestlers backstage after he returned to the locker room following his bout.
The people within AEW were said to be impressed with the 62-year-old Sting’s performance during his tag team match at the big show.
The wrestling icon made his AEW debut in December 2020, marking his first appearance on TNT since the final episode of WCW Nitro in 2001.
Sting aligned himself with Darby Allin. The former WCW star wrestled his first match for the promotion when he teamed with Allin to face Team Taz in a cinematic street fight at Revolution in March earlier this year.
The duo then started a feud with the team of Scorpio Sky and Ethan Page which led a match between the two on the company’s latest PPV this past Sunday.
Sting won this match for his team after hitting the Scorpion Death Drop on Sky. He received praise from fans for his performance in the match despite his age.
Former WWE and current Impact Wrestling star TJP revealed on Instagram that he suffered a nose injury recently and underwent surgery to repair the damage.
The high-flying star noted in a post that he had been performing with a fractured nose for a few weeks. According to him, he broke his nose about a month ago and had been wrestling with it being ‘broken and kinda loose’
TJP had held off the surgery because of his packed schedule in the past month and finally went under the knife after completing the latest set of Impact tapings:
The upcoming episode of Impact wrestling will see the former WWE cruiserweight champion competing in a historic 60-minute ironman match for the X Division title.
TJP will challenge the current Impact X Division champion Josh Alexander in the bout that will start on Before The Impact and culminate on the broadcast of the show on Thursday.
The former champion also has a scheduled match at the upcoming NJPW Strong show on Friday night where he will be facing Kevin Knight in a singles match.
The exact time for his recovery is not known. However, considering that TJP waited for his schedule to free up, it doesn’t seem likely that he will be off Impact programming for a significant amount of time, if at all.
When Mark Henry signed with AEW, he also ended his 25 year-long run with WWE and closed a chapter of his long-standing relationship with his former employer Vince McMahon. During the latest episode of Busted Open Radio, the former world champion opened up about his decision to leave the company and the conversation he had with the Boss about it.
Henry first discussed how his decision to leave the company came about. The former champion explained that after the expiry of his contract, he started feeling like he could do more. He wanted to join the office and be in an executive position as well instead of being just a talent:
“I felt like I wanted to do more. I always wanted to do more. You know me, I’m a busybody. If I’m not doing what I know I can do, especially if I feel I can do it better than somebody else. If I can’t get that opportunity, I have to start looking for that somewhere else. And I did.”
Mark Henry then discussed having the conversation with the boss and he claimed that their talk was not negative. He explained that whatever he said to Vince was like a conversation between two brothers.
— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) June 1, 2021
The world’s strongest man revealed the reply he got from Vince McMahon and according to him, the chairman told him that he was going to be successful:
“And man, it was just like the coolest thing. He was like ‘man, you know everything you need to know. You go and if you feel like you need to go, (I) don’t necessarily want it, but if you feel like you need to go, then go. I know you’re going to be successful.’ That’s what you want.”
Mark Henry made a surprise appearance at the AEW Double Or Nothing PPV this past Sunday. The company has since announced that he has signed a multi-year deal with the promotion as a commentator and coach.
Sheamus suffered a gruesome injury during this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw in his second match of the night against Humberto Carrillo.
Reports later revealed that the Celtic Warrior has broken his nose. This revelation made many wonder about the future of the US championship the Raw star currently holds.
Though now Sheamus himself has confirmed the fate of the title. He made a tweet to reveal that he will not be vacating the title due to his injury:
The Irish star pulled double duty on last night’s episode of Raw where he competed against Ricochet and then Humberto Carrillo in singles matches.
Sheamus got busted open from a hard strike from Carrillo during the second bout. He was seen bleeding heavily after this but he still completed the match as planned.
It has since been confirmed that he will not be requiring any time off due to the damage. The Raw star will only be off TV if the company decides to sell his injury.
There is no word yet on what the company is planning for him next. Considering the current storylines; it’s possible that we will see a triple threat match between Sheamus, Ricochet and Humberto Carrillo in near future.
The June 1, 2021 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center.
WWE NXT Results
Pete Dunne vs. Johnny Gargano vs. Kyle O’Reilly ended in a no contest.
Kushida def. Carmelo Hayes to retain the WWE NXT Cruiserweight Title.
The Way (Candice Le Rae & Indi Hartwell) def. Zoey Stark & Zayda Ramier to retain the WWE NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships.
MSK def. Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde to retain NXT Tag Team Titles.
Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:
Quick Title Match
The Way (Candice Le Rae & Indi Hartwell) defeated Zoey Stark & Zayda Ramier to retain the WWE NXT Women’s Tag Team Championships.
This was an unadvertised match that came across as a random match for the champions to win. It didn’t last long and while Stark and Ramier did have some offense, it was mostly a one-sided affair for the champions.
Stark continues to be a star that WWE pushes yet beats her on a regular basis.
Ember Moon called out NXT Women’s Champion Raquel Gonzalez and the champ answered the call so they started brawling. Moon got the better of her and Raquel was backed up by Regal as well as security.
This led to Dakota Kai coming out and attacking Moon from behind. Regal checked on Moon at ringside. While this was a random segment, it was a wild and fun way to continue the hot start to the show.
Clearly, it looks like Moon vs. Gonzalez is happening at TakeOver.
Eli Drake worked a match against Jake Atlas on this show. While making his entrance, Drake cut a promo about how he is facing a guy who beat Cameron Grimes two weeks ago in Atlas.
He bragged about dropping Grimes last week in a segment that also featured Ted Dibiase and said that he had it on good authority that the WWE Hall of Famer was watching.
They worked a solid match. Ted came out and watched on from ringside. Grimes also joined him. The two wrestlers had a lot of time to work for a TV match. Atlas went over with cartwheel DDT.
Legado del Fantasma’s Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde challenged NXT Tag Team Champions MSK for the titles on this show.
As expected, this was a chaotic match with the pace always moving faster and faster. MSK did some outside dives before the first commercial break. The heels beat down the champs for a few minutes. At one point, Santos Escobar got involved in a near fall. Bronson Reed took out Escobar at ringside. MSK made a comeback to retain their titles.
Johnny Gargano vs. Pete Dunne vs. Kyle O’Reilly in a triple threat match opened the show with the winner moving on to challenge for the WWE NXT Championship at TakeOver: In Your House later this month.
The match started with some early submission attempts by Kyle and Dunne. Gargano picked up the pace coming out of the first commercial with a few dives in and out of the ring. The fans were hot for this match. There was a cool spot where Dunne had a rear-naked choke in on Kyle, who sold it with his eyes rolling back into his head. In the middle of the ring, Adam Cole, who hasn’t been seen in several weeks, came out and laid out the competitors.
Karrion Kross had been in a feud with Finn Balor over the title with both times having the result which was Kross standing tall with the championship.
Heading into this bout, Gargano lost the NXT North American Championship to Bronson Reed in a steel cage match two weeks ago while Dunne was in action on NXT last week where he defeated Bobby Fish.
Adam Cole Speaks
Cole came out at the top of the second hour to do a promo where he talked about how he took out three of the top stars in NXT in one night. He said that he wants his title back and it wasn’t by mistake that he held the title for such a long period of time.
Scarlett and Karrion Kross came out to the ring. Kross said that he understands why Cole did what he did. He said that no matter what Cole does, it won’t change anything for him. Cole called Kross overrated and Kross isn’t him. Kross is willing to fight all four wrestlers and so it is.
Carmelo Hayes, who is formerly known as Christian Casanova, made his debut on Tuesday’s episode of WWE NXT. He did so by answering the opening challenge issued by Cruiserweight Champion Kushida.
The back and forth match happened in the second hour of the show. It was an impressive showcase for the promotional newcomer as he hit some signature moves before ultimately falling to Kushida, who retained his championship as a result, with his submission finisher.
After the match, Kushida shook Hayes’ hand to show that he earned his respect.
Hayes started his career back in 2014 where he worked for several promotions such as Game Changer Wrestling, Beyond, and Black Label Pro. The Massachusetts native won the Limitless Wrestling World Championship in December of 2020. Back in February, it was announced that he had signed with WWE.
This came after the pre-NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day media call where Triple H stated that Rick Steiner’s son, Bronson Rechsteiner, and former University of Central Florida football player Parker Boudreaux would be part of this Performance Center class. Franky Monet was also in the class, who has already been used several times on TV.
A triple threat match on this week’s WWE NXT was supposed to determine Karrion Kross’ challenger for TakeOver: In Your House.
Last week, general manager William Regal announced that Kyle O’Reilly, Pete Dunne, and Johnny Gargano would face off in a triple threat number one contender’s match, which kicked off Tuesday’s show.
The match was about who could top who with everyone having their moments to shine. There were “this is awesome” chants early on and throughout the match. Adam Cole came out and laid out all three wrestlers before leaving on the demands of William Regal.
Later in the show after a promo segment with Kross and Cole, it was revealed that Kross will defend the title against Dunne, Cole, Gargano, and O’Reilly in a fatal 5-way match at TakeOver.
Up until this point, Kross had been in a feud with Finn Balor for the title as he dethroned “The Prince” at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver last month to win the NXT Championship. Kross also beat Balor in a rematch on last week’s episode of NXT when Balor passed out in the Kross Jacket.
WWE presents the NXT TakeOver: In Your House event on Sunday, June 13, 2021 in Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center..
Jon Moxley will host an upcoming episode of his wife’s podcast, Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette.
Renee is 9 months pregnant and set to deliver their baby soon. She will be very busy in the weeks while she figures out the whole “mom thing.” The former AEW Champion is stepping up to the plate to ensure Oral Sessions doesn’t skip a beat when she takes a week off.
Renee is asking her Twitter followers to send relationship and general ‘life’ questions to her “darling husband” by using the hashtag #AskMox.
Alright guys. Big ask here- my darling husband @JonMoxley is going to be guest hosting an episode of Oral Sessions while I figure out this whole mom thing. Let’s ask him for relationship/ life advice to answer on the show! Use #AskMox@TheVolumeSportspic.twitter.com/pUk6WoMxJD
This week’s episode of Oral Sessions features a conversation with AEW star “Powerhouse” Will Hobbs.
SEScoops wishes Renee Paquette good luck with the remainder of pregnancy.
In addition to being soon-to-be-parents, Jon Moxley and Renee Paquette will both be published authors in 2021. Renee’s cookbook, Messy in the Kitchen, is now available. Jon Moxley’s autiobiograpy, MOX, is now available for pre-order and will be released later this year. You can get both books from Amazon:
Last week’s edition of AEW Dynamite drew only 526,000 viewers and did a 0.20 in the Adults 18-49 demographic. This was the ‘go home’ show before Sunday’s AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view.
The low numbers can be attributed to Dynamite airing in a different time slot than usual. The show was pre-empted due to the NBA playoffs on TNT. Instead of airing Wednesday night in prime time, Dynamite aired Friday at 10pm (Eastern).
The NBA playoffs are still ongoing and AEW will be pre-empted again this week. Dynamite will air this Friday, June 4th at 10pm (Eastern) on TNT. Additional scheduling changes are expected in the weeks ahead.
AEW is advertising the following items for this week’s show:
Christian Cage & Jungle Boy vs. Private Party
Joey Janela vs. Hangman Page
Mark Henry will discuss his new role with AEW
Dustin Rhodes will face Nic Comoroto in a Bull Rope match
New AEW Women’s Champion Dr. Britt Baker will have a Championship Celebration
Monday’s episode of WWE Raw had a long talking segment as The Miz and John Morrison welcomed Charlotte Flair and Raw Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley to further hype their match at the upcoming Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event.
This led to Nikki Cross coming out and stating that she beat Ripley last week. Thus, she wanted a title match. However, Ripley actually failed to beat Cross in the two-minute challenge match. Eventually, Cross ended up wrestling Flair in the same match.
Pwinsider.com reports the segment went about 8-10 minutes longer than planned. As a result, WWE had to cut time from other segments, which didn’t thrill Vince McMahon. However, WWE didn’t have to cut anything from the show, but several segments were shuffled around to different points of the broadcast instead of their original placement in order to accommodate time cuts.
It was added that Kofi Kingston vs. Drew McIntyre was always slated to close the show and it went about as planned in terms of length.
McIntyre ended up winning the match to earn the right to challenge WWE Champion Bobby Lashley for the strap at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event.
Mark Henry has signed a multi-year deal with All Elite Wrestling
He will pull “Double Duty” as Broadcaster and in Talent Development
WWE legend Mark Henry is All Elite. The World’s Most Dangerous Man made a surprise appearance on Sunday’s AEW Double or Nothing pay-per-view. As announced by Tony Schiavone, Henry will serve as a broadcaster and ‘coach.’
AEW sent out a press release on Tuesday providing more information on his roles.
Mark Henry joins the broadcast team for AEW Rampage, the new hour-long show premiering Friday, August 13th on TNT. Henry has transitioned from a hall of fame wrestling career to broadcaster. He is one of the regular hosts for Busted Open Radio on Sirius XM.
In addition to his new job analyzing the action on AEW Rampage, Henry is taking on some important functions behind-the-scenes. He’ll use his 25 years of experience in pro wrestling to coach and mentor AEW’s up-and-coming stars.
Last but not least, Mark Henry joins AEW as a talent scout. Henry brought several talented athletes to WWE over the years and will be a strong asset to AEW’s recruiting efforts.
Mark Henry on Signing With AEW
“I have been fortunate to experience a great deal of success in my pro wrestling career,” said Mark Henry. “From my own in-ring title runs and creative storylines, to identifying and scouting some of the top talent in pro wrestling business today, to my role as a broadcaster, I have long worked to stay ahead of the pro wrestling curve. The overall quality of professional wrestling has skyrocketed in the past few years, and I’ve been very impressed by the meteoric rise of AEW. I’m excited to join the broadcast team on AEW RAMPAGE, and I can’t wait to work with the incredible roster at AEW.”
Visit AllEliteWrestling.com to read the full Mark Henry press release, including quotes from AEW President Tony Khan.
Both Shanna and Awesome Kong’s bios were removed from AEW’s roster page over the weekend. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, both wrestlers’ contracts expired recently and were not renewed by AEW.
43-year-old Awesome Kong (Kia Stevens) has not wrestled since January 2020. In total, she only wrestled 5x with AEW. Kong’s 1st match with AEW was a fatal 4-way won by Britt Baker at Double or Nothing 2019. Her second match was in the Casino Battle Royale at All Out 2019. Kong then wracked up 3 straight singles victories while being managed by Brandi Rhodes but would be removed from television shortly after.
In February 2020, Brandi Rhodes explained Kong’s absence and how it played into the formation of the short-lived Nightmare Collective.
“Awesome Kong was not physically feeling great. And she’s my friend so I would never want to ask somebody to work in a capacity where I know they’re going to hurt themselves so what then happened was more of a greater group discussion of ‘okay well what do we do here’ and the Nightmare Collective came to be,” Rhodes said on Wrestling Observer Live in February of 2020.
As for Shanna, the 38-year-old last appeared on Dynamite in a loss to Britt Baker in January. She had been performing on episodes of AEW Dark and Elevation. Shanna dropped her last match in AEW to Leyla Hirsch on April 7th (aired April 12th).
Kavita Devi was reported to be amongst the names released by WWE last month.. According to Devi herself, however, she is still with the company. She took part in an interview with the Hindustan Times recently and clarified her status with WWE.
According to Devi, she has not been released. Rather, she returned to India in January to care for a family member who contracted COVID-19.
“I’ve read some of those reports, and they aren’t accurate,” Devi said. “I have been back at home in India since January. My husband contracted Covid earlier this year and I needed to be here with my family, I chose not to go back to America. Everyone at WWE has been incredibly supportive, I am filled with gratitude for everything they have done for me.”
Devi’s absence has also been due to an ACL injury.
“I have also had an ACL injury for over a year and have been unable to perform in the ring but WWE still supported me through all of that. They understand that India is where I need to be. We are working together on a new arrangement that allows me to be home, but still part of the WWE Universe,” she continued.
News of her release was reported by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter last month. Devi signed with WWE in 2017 after winning gold in weightlifting at the South Asian Games in 2016. She made her pro-wrestling debut in a losing effort to Dakota Kai in the 1st round of the Mae Young Classic.
Kylie Rae will make her NWA debut this weekend on the When Our Shadows Fall PPV. It will be Rae’s first professional match since taking part in Impact Wrestling tapings last October.
Kylie Rae will team with former Knockouts Champion Taryn Terrell to take on Thunder Rosa and Melina on the show. The match will also be Terrell’s first since 2017. She returned to wrestling on the March 21st NWA PPV, Back for the Attack in a commentary role.
Kylie Rae vs Thunder Rosa had been announced for a Warrior Wrestling show scheduled for June 5th. That match got rescheduled until August, however, due to Thunder Rosa’s NWA tapings schedule this weekend. This could potentially mean Rae will take part in the tapings for Powerrr as well.
NWA When Our Shadows Fall PPV Lineup
NWA presents When Our Shadows Fall on June 6th at 4PM est. The following matches have been announced:
NWA World Heavyweight Championship Nick Aldis (c) vs Trevor Murdoch
NWA Women’s Championship Serena Deeb (c) vs Kamille
NWA Tag Team Championships Aron Stevens & JR Kratos (c) vs The War Kings vs Chris Adonis & Thomas Latimer
Thunder Rosa & Melina vs Kylie Rae & Taryn Terrell
Tyrus w/Austin Idol vs Pope
The End vs Mecha Wolf & Bestia 666 vs Rockett & Slice Boogie vs Sal Rinauro & Rudo
After two years in production, Masked Republic has released their first full-length book today, Eat Like A Luchador. The book is published by Running Press, a division of Hachette Book Group, one of the three largest trade and educational publishers in the world.
Eat Like A Luchador Press Release
From the ring to the kitchen, celebrate lucha libre with popular Mexican dishes offering a modern twist from iconic athletes, legends, and superstars in this one-of-a-kind cookbook for wrestling fans and aspiring chefs alike now available from booksellers everywhere!
June 1, 2021 – San Diego, CA
Lucha libre—or, professional Mexican wrestling—is the most popular sport in Mexico after soccer and has become an international pop culture phenomenon all over the world. This officially licensed cookbook with the Legends of Lucha Libre includes more than 50 favorite Mexican dishes with a modern-day twist from the sport’s most celebrated luchadores and luchadoras including Solar, Super Astro, Penta Zero M, Rey Fenix, Tinieblas Jr., Lady Maravilla and Keyra. Professional wrestlers influenced by and whose roots trace back to lucha, including WWE Hall of Famer Amy Dumas (Lita) and Taya Valkyrie (new NXT Superstar Franky Monet) lead a number of international stars contributing their favorite Mexican dishes as well.
Mexico’s leading female lucha libre journalist, Mónica “Centellita” Ochoa, has interviewed some of the most well-known wrestlers in lucha libre, costume designers, and restaurant owners from around the globe to compile this must-have collection of recipes fit for hungry luchadores and their families.
Also included are fun stories and facts on championship details and family legacies, dozens of photos of wrestlers in the ring and in the kitchen, and illustrations of delicious food.
From Mónica’s introduction to Eat Like A Luchador:
Having grown up in a lucha family, one of my most favorite subjects to cover is that of the importance of family within the sport. While it is not uncommon for a child to follow in their parent’s footsteps in any career (many current WWE wrestlers in the United States are second- or third-generation wrestlers), in lucha libre, family and tradition are on a whole different level. Some families have ten or more members who have all become luchadores and luchadoras.
With this cookbook, I wanted to share the family traditions and favorite dishes of the stars of our incredible sport with recipe seekers and lucha libre fans and enthusiasts around the world. I wanted to collect the rich and varied stories of Mexico’s iconic sports entertainers—from multiple-branched lucha dynasty family trees and the luchadores who broke out of Mexico and became global stars in the 1990s to today’s hottest up-and-coming stars, to individuals who simply worked hard and per-severed to make it on their own, like my mother.
Masked Republic founder and CEO Ruben Zamora described the book as “1 part cookbook, 1 part lucha libre reference book (filled with bios, profiles and stories) and 1 part photo book. What it yields is a recipe for awesomeness!”
Kevin Kleinrock, Masked Republic President and COO added, “As we continue to expand our footprint in publishing, we could not have asked for better partners in producing our first full length book. The teams at Masked Republic and Running Press have truly put together a work of art well beyond any traditional cookbook. From the stories and histories to the images from more than half a dozen of the top photographers who cover the sport to the gorgeous illustrations by internationally acclaimed artist Bene Rohlmann, there simply is not another book on the planet like Eat Like A Luchador.”
WWE returns to the Capitol Wrestling Center tonight with an all-new episode of NXT on the USA Network.
We are now less than two weeks away from NXT Takeover: In Your House. The main event of that event will see Karrion Kross defend the NXT Championship. His opponent will be determined tonight on NXT.
The main attraction of this week’s broadcast is a triple threat match. We’ll see Johnny Gargano vs. Kyle O’Reilly vs. Pete Dunne. The winner will challenge Kross for the NXT title at Takeover.
NXT Tag Team Champions MSK will also be in action. They will defend against Legado del Fantasma’s Raul Mendoza and Joaquin Wilde.
Check back Wednesday morning for our NXT Takeover Results & Takeaways.
The next NXT Takeover, In Your House, takes place Sunday, June 13th.
WWE has announced the addition of 3 new executive members to its senior leadership team. This comes on the heels of mass releases to both talent and corporate employees.
Former Executive Vice President of Global Content for DAZN, Jamie Horowitz, has been hired. He will serve as the new Executive Vice President of Development & Digital for WWE. Horowitz will also serve as the head for WWE Studios in Los Angeles. Prior to joining DAZN, Horowitz was the Vice President of Original Programming and Production at ESPN from 2012 to 2015. He became the President of National Networks for Fox Sports after leaving ESPN.
Horowitz was fired from Fox Sports following allegations of sexual harassment in 2017. He began working for DAZN soon after.
Wow. #WWE just announced the hire of Jamie Horowitz, a successful but controversial name in the sports media landscape. The innovator behind First Take among other shows…and the breather of life for Skip Bayless, of course.
Workplace culture has been a longtime talking point within #WWE, especially the last two years with the cuts around the time of the pandemic. The hiring of Horowitz, whose success is marred by accusations of harassment and controversial content strategies, will be scrutinized.
Matt Drew has been hired as Senior Vice President of International. He will over see WWE’s brand and business outside of the United States. He will work with global media partners and devise an international strategy for live events, digital products, and new streams of revenue. As with Horowitz, Drew leaves DAZN to begin work for WWE. He had previously served as Executive Vice President of Rights Acquisition for the company.
The two hires from DAZN are likely to replace roles that were left vacant last week after WWE released several employees.
The hiring of Horowitz and Drew seem to replace roles vacated after last week's lay-offs. "Horowitz will also be responsible for WWE Studios in Los Angeles."
Susan Levison (former head of WWE Studios) and James Rosenstock (former EVP of International) left the company last week.
Samira Shah has been hired by WWE as the new General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. She will oversee the company’s legal affairs and be the principal legal advisor for WWE. She previously worked as the General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Moda Operandi, Inc.
The hiring of Shah looks to fill a vacancy that was left open months ago and not related to recent cuts.
Shah replaces Brian Nurse, who was reported to have left WWE several months ago. Shah comes from Moda Operandi. Her time there overlapped with current WWE CFO Kristina Salen.
Horowitz and Drew were both previously EVPs at DAZN.
AEW Spanish broadcaster Willie Urbina was caught mocking Hikaru Shida’s Japanese accent during Friday’s edition of Dynamite.
Urbina was fired for the incident.
Shida and Tony Khan have addressed the controversy.
An unfortunate incident took place during Friday’s edition of AEW Dynamite. During a commercial break, Spanish broadcaster Willie Urbina was caught mocking former Hikaru Shida and her Japanese accent.
— ?Heels Pops Chairshots? (@HPCBadGuys) May 29, 2021
Urbina was swiftly fired by AEW when they became aware of the situation.
Hikaru Shida has since taken to social media to address her brush with racism. The former AEW Women’s Champion said that she did not want to address the incident on Friday night when it occurred, because she did not want to bring it additional attention before Double or Nothing.
Now that the PPV has come and gone, she is speaking her mind. “I don’t give a shit what other people say about my race because I love it and I proud of it, and because I know which is fool. I don’t even feel anger. So don’t need to worry about me. Thank you.”
I didn’t wanna talk about this before my big day, so let me tell you now. I don’t give a shit what other people say about my race because I love it and I proud of it, and because I know which is fool. I don’t even feel anger. So don’t need to worry about me ? Thank you.
AEW President Tony Khan also addressed the Willie Urbina incident at the AEW Double or Nothing post-show media scrum. Khan says there is ‘no excuse’ for his conduct.
“I was not happy with it, so after I heard what was said and having talked to the other commentators involved about what was said about her, who I also apologized to, I thought it was best for the company to make the decision that we made.”
