WWE SmackDown's Three-Hour Format: Is It Here to Stay?
In early 2025, WWE SmackDown expanded its runtime from two to three hours, initially presented as a temporary change. However, recent developments suggest that ...
WWE
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WWE
WrestleMania 42: New Orleans Snub Sparks Global Bidding War
WrestleMania has always been WWE's crown jewel, traditionally held in the United States. However, recent developments have thrown a curveball. Initially slated ...
WWE
Why WWE Might Be Ready to End Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio’s On-Screen Romance
The romantic angle between Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio has been a rollercoaster, but like all rides, it eventually comes to a stop. Initially, the storyline...
NEWS
Stronger Still: Great News On Health Status Of Hospitalized Wrestling Legend
That’s a big upgrade. Wrestlers have rather physical jobs and there is almost no way to prevent some kind of wear and tear on their bodies over the years. At the same time, there are other things that can make their health situations worse after they leave the ring. This gets worse as they get up there in years, but this time we are seeing some better news after a string of bad. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WRESTLING RUMORS: WWE Plans Two Huge WrestleMania 39 Matches Earlier this month, WWE Hall Of Famer Superstar Billy Graham’s wife Valerie announced that he had been put in the ICU (intensive care unit) on a breathing tube after going into cardiac arrest. In a new update, Valerie has announced that Billy is no longer in the ICU as his heart rate and blood pressure are strong enough to be moved to the PCU (progressive care unit). Billy, 79, was initially hospitalized due to an infection in his ear which spread to the bones in his ear. Graham is a legend. Check out some of his time in wres..
NEWS
That’s Big: D-Von Dudley Reportedly Nearly Fired Over Recent Independent Show Situation
That’s a bit more serious. There are a lot of people who come together to make a WWE show work and several of them are rarely seen on camera. In addition to the wrestlers who get all of the spotlight, there are all kinds of people who work hard to make the show a success. Those are people who help get the wrestlers ready, but WWE almost let one go over a recent incident. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: They Need Plans: WWE Looking For Backup Plan If Rock Cannot Work WrestleMania 39 Earlier this month, a story broke about D-Von Dudley being pulled from the Battleground Championship Wrestling “Tribute To The Extreme” event in Philadelphia. The promotion has said that the issue was a misunderstanding, but according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dudley was nearly fired over the incident. WWE reportedly did not want Dudley to risk his health during the show, even though the only thing he would have done was get the tables. The appearance was initially shut down by Bruce Prichard, with Tri..
NEWS
RKNo: Another Bad Randy Orton Injury Update
That’s rather serious. Injuries are one of the worst things that can happen to a wrestler as you never know how bad something is going to be at first. Then comes the waiting, as you have nothing else to do but see just how long someone is going to be out of action. Sometimes that can be for a good while and in worse cases, it can be indefinite. Unfortunately an all time legend is dealing with the latter. Back in May, Randy Orton left WWE TV to deal with a back injury and has not been seen since. According to Fightful Select, Orton underwent some sort of back fusion surgery at some point this year. WWE sources have reportedly said that the company will be lucky to have Orton back after his recovery. However, when he was initially injured, Orton said that he would be back at some point. There is nothing in the way of a guess about when Orton could return to the ring. Orton is amazing when he is able to be in the ring. Check out what he can do when he is around: [This post contains vid..
NEWS
Jake Paul Gives Hopeful Injury Update on Logan Paul After Crown Jewel
After an inspired performance against Roman Reigns at Crown Jewel, Logan Paul gained a lot of notoriety from the greater wrestling community. Even with no real expectations that he would have defeated Roman Reigns, the consensus is Logan Paul stepped up to the moment in Saudi Arabia. The performance would have catapulted Logan Paul into something big for Survivor Series, the Royal Rumble or even WrestleMania 39. Unfortunately, it was initially reported that the WWE superstar had torn his ACL, MCL and meniscus during the match with Roman Reigns. Related: Logan Paul Suffers Major Injury At WWE Crown Jewel, Could Still Get Worse However, Jake Paul revealed during an interview with DAZN Boxing that Logan’s injury is not as bad as it was originally disclosed after Crown Jewel. According to Jake, his brother is “doing better than expected” and is “rehabbing the injury in Los Angeles. The report details that Logan Paul did not severely injury his ACL. The injury is still significant for hi..
NEWS
One More? Huge Update On Steve Austin Possibly Wrestling For WWE Again
He might be worth a look. Back in the late 1990s, Steve Austin took the wrestling world by storm and went on to become an all time legend of the sport. Austin was one of the few names who became known to the masses outside of wrestling and continues to be a legend today. That was clear earlier this year at WrestleMania 38 and it might still be taking place in the future. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WRESTLING RUMORS: WWE Reportedly Believes Steve Austin Could Wrestle Again Austin wrestled his first match in nineteen years back in April at WrestleMania 38, defeating Kevin Owens in the main event of the show’s first night. According to Fightful Select, WWE has made an offer for Austin to wrestle again at some point in the future. While not confirmed, Fightful’s sources believe it would be for WrestleMania 39 in April 2023. However, the two sides were said to initially be “far apart” on terms, though there is no word on if they had come closer to working out a deal. He still had it this year..
NEWS
Backstage Update On CM Punk’s Popularity In AEW
He’s not a favorite. There have been a lot of stories taking place throughout the wrestling world this year and some of them feel like they could drag on for a good while. That is the case with the set of issues involving CM Punk and AEW, many of which involved statements made by Punk. The situation has caused quite the set of issues all over the company and now it has caused a change of reality behind the scenes. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the ordeal has caused Punk to become very unpopular in the AEW locker room. Most of the wrestlers are now said to be “anti-Punk” as he initially spoke badly about the “very popular” Hangman Page. Punk’s comments were said to make AEW look bush league as he said that Page, then the AEW World Champion, had not done anything in his career. Punk is not expected to return to AEW, who is reportedly attempting to buy out Punk’s contract. Opinion: To say this has been a huge mess for everyone involved would be a total understatement a..
NEWS
Big Damo, AKA Killian Dain Debuts in AEW
The Giant has arrived. On tonight’s episode of AEW rampage, Big Damo, known as Killian Dain in WWE, made his debut for the company. He would go on to lose in a squash against Shawn Spears. Damo was part of several releases by WWE in June 2021, after being with the company since 2016. He was initially part of the group known as Sanity in NXT from 2016 to 2018, and after a brief call-up to the SmackDown brand in WWE’s 2018 Superstar Shake-up, Damo returned to the NXT brand in 2019 Damo debuted for NJPW earlier this year and has remained active on both the international and American independent scenes since leaving NXT. He also appeared for the Control Your Narrative promotion earlier this month, winning both of his bouts for that company. He is married to WWE wrestler Nikki Cross (Nikki A.S.H.), and the two have been wed since January 2019. Editor’s Opinion: I am unapologetically not a fan of All Elite Wrestling, so I simply look at this as the company not worried about finding its ..
NEWS
WATCH: Roman Reigns Reacts To TikTok Parody Entrance
The Tribal Chief was impressed. Over the weekend, a TikTok video went viral of a fan of Roman Reigns’ doing a parody of his entrance. This caught the attention of The Bloodline, who made a reaction video to this interpretation. You can see the parody and the reaction side by side below: @iamdikeh my brothers killed this imitation ??? @ebukadikeh & @realspecialnedu ???????? ? original sound – Tribal Chief. @iamdikeh We global now ?????! Congrats @ebukadikeh & @realspecialnedu . Thank you everyone for the tags. Thank you @WWE ? original sound – Dikeh [This post contains video, click to play] Paul Heyman and the Usos initially seem upset at this parity in the reaction. However, Reigns seems impressed, and once he expresses his approval, the rest of The Bloodline immediately begins to agree with the Tribal Chief. Reigns and The Bloodline recently defeated Drew McIntyre and RK-Bro at Wrestlemania Backlash. As of now, Reigns is not scheduled to appear at Hell in a Cell, but that m..
NEWS
RUMOR: Problems Between Kota Ibushi and NJPW
This is only a rumor, so take it for its worth. According to Brian Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Radio, some further drama is taking place between Kota Ibushi and New Japan Pro Wrestling. Apparently, Ibushi is not happy with NJPW as he feels the company is trying to get him back in the ring before he is fully healed. Ibushi suffered a shoulder injury after taking a hard landing during his G1 Climax finals match against Kazuchika Okada in October 2021. Ibushi was initially planned to participate in this year’s New Japan Cup. He was pulled from the tournament as he wasn’t ready to return to action. This adds to the potentially current drama, as he recently posted a series of cryptic tweets in Japanese. This left many foreign fans confused, due to mistranslations, as some shocking terms were seen through the translation tool on Twitter, such as “sexually harassing bosses.” Ibushi signed a “lifetime contract” with NJPW back in 2019. [h/t to SEScoops] Editor’s Opinion: While rushing h..
NEWS
AEW Star To Miss Three Months Due To Broken Collarbone
It might be a bit. There are all kinds of ways for a wrestler to be taken out of the ring for either a short or a long time. Most of those things tend to be due to something negative, mainly including injuries. Unfortunately those situations can put someone on the shelf for a good while and that seems to be the case again, as an injury seems to be a bit worse than it initially seemed. Earlier this month, Riho was injured in a match against Britt Baker at AEW Battle of the Belts. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, Riho suffered a broken collarbone during her match and will be out of action for about three months. The injury occurred early in the match and Riho finished the match as planned without once complaining about the injury. Riho has returned to Japan, where she will be recovering. Opinion: It is impressive enough that Riho finished the match but the fact that she did not complain about it is all the more impressive. That is the kind of thing that you almost never hear take..
NEWS
Dream Title Match Officially Set For WWE Elimination Chamber
I’d call it a dream match. The WWE Women’s Revolution changed the way the wrestling world worked in a great way. After so many years of women’s wrestling being treated as little more than a joke, it was becoming something a lot more interesting and important, which was certainly a big upgrade. The change would not have happened without the stage being set though, and now those two generations are clashing. This week’s Monday Night Raw ended with an unscheduled showdown between Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and Lita. After coming to the ring to confront her, Lita challenged Lynch to a title shot at Elimination Chamber on February 19. After initially backing down, Lynch agreed to the match. This will be Lita’s first WWE singles match since she defeated Heath Slater on the July 23, 2012 Monday Night Raw. Lita is a four time Women’s Champion and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2014. She and Trish Stratus were the first women to main event an episode of Monday Night Raw, with..
NEWS
LOOK: AEW’s Britt Baker Appears In Sneaky Freaky Segment, Lockjaws Host
It comes with the job. A company’s champions tend to be its biggest stars, which makes a lot of sense. Most of the time, the more popular and successful wrestlers will be holding the gold, though that does bring some extra responsibility. Some of these responsibilities can include making various media appearances, which was the case for an AEW star this week. This time though, things got physical (in a way). AEW Women’s World Champion Britt Baker appeared on a recent episode of the Nick Cannon Show during the Sneaky Freaky segment. Baker was initially announced as a dentist, before also revealing that she was a professional wrestler. She would go on to talk about getting into wrestling and balancing her two careers, as well as putting Cannon in her Lockjaw finishing hold. Thanks for the invite @NickCannon ? D??M??D?? @NickCannonShow pic.twitter.com/wZmGE95ZjK — Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. (@RealBrittBaker) January 21, 2022 Opinion: The more you think about it, the more amazing Baker r..
NEWS
AEW Star To Miss Time Due To Controversial Statements
You have to take this stuff seriously. Wrestling has changed a lot over the last thirty years and that is a good thing in some areas. The industry has expanded to a much more national model and promotions are now able to reach more fans than ever before. That can also have some setbacks though and one wrestler has learned that you have to be careful what you do with so many watching. Last week, Max Caster performed a rap during the Acclaimed’s entrance for a match. The rap contained controversial lyrics addressing both Simone Biles’ mental health issues as well as the Duke University lacrosse case. AEW edited the rap out after initially airing it but things are not over. According to Fightful Select, Caster is currently being held off of AEW programming and it is not clear when he will be back, though Caster has not been officially suspended. There is also the chance that he will have to undergo sensitivity training. It is not clear if Caster will be paid while he is away. This is a ..
NEWS
WWE Trying To Trademark Name Of Released Wrestler
Can they do that? WWE is a rather large and rather powerful wrestling company but there are some things about it that can make you scratch your head. Every now and then, something happens that does not paint them in the best light and it usually involved one of the wrestlers. That is the case again this time, but in this case, the wrestler isn’t part of the company anymore. According to PWInsider.com, WWE is trying to maintain the trademark on the ring name Chelsea Green, despite Green being released from the company earlier this day. WWE was initially denied the trademark in February, as Green did not sign the agreement needed due to Chelsea Green being her real name. WWE attempted to file the trademark again on August 5, but was based on a letter provided while Green was still with the company. Green is currently in the process of trademarking her own name. Green signed with WWE in 2018, making her debut in NXT at the March 13, 2019 television tapings. However, she broke her wrist ..
NEWS
Charlotte’s WWE Return May Be Delayed By Outside Projects
A slight delay. There are stars in WWE and then there are THE stars in WWE. The company’s biggest names are the people that you know by sight or even by nickname and those are the people that WWE is going to push the hardest. Those wrestlers have star power that can’t be manufactured but one of those big names is not going to be around for a little longer than expected. Back in June, Charlotte took a hiatus from WWE, which really did shake things up a bit. The timing did not help things as Charlotte’s departure came only about a month after Becky Lynch went on maternity leave, meaning that the two biggest stars of the women’s division were both gone within a few weeks of each other. Neither are back yet and it might be a bit longer before we Charlotte again. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, there is no word on when Charlotte will be back. While Charlotte initially left to have a cosmetic procedure, she is also missing time due to work outside of WWE. Charlotte has signed with t..
NEWS
UFC 249 Results: Upset Occurs in Main Event, Retirement Occurs
The surprises never stop. Last night, UFC made its return to The Octagon, after initially being canceled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The main event featured Tony Ferguson vs. Justin Gaethje for the Interim UFC Lightweight Championship. Below are the results, courtesy of MMA Fighting: Main Card Justin Gaethje def. Tony Ferguson via fifth-round TKO (3:39) Henry Cejudo def. Dominick Cruz via second-round TKO (4:58) Francis Ngannou def. Jairzinho Rozenstruik via first-round KO (0:20) Calvin Kattar def. Jeremy Stephens via second-round TKO (2:42) Greg Hardy def. Yorgan De Castro via unanimous decision (30-27 x3) Preliminary Card Anthony Pettis def. Donald Cerrone via unanimous decision (29-28 x3) Alexey Oleinik def. Fabricio Werdum via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) Carla Esparza def. Michelle Waterson via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 30-27) Vicente Luque def. Niko Price via third-round TKO (3:37) (doctor’s stoppage) Bryce Mitchell def. Charles Rosa via unanimou..
NEWS
Bully Ray Gets Involved in Feud Between Usos & Hardy Boyz
Bully Ray is currently employed by ROH. Despite this, the wrestler is in the WWE Hall of Fame alongside D-Von Dudley. For this reason, it came as a surprise to many when he joined in on the WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championship conversation on social media. The feud on social media initially kicked off with a video-tweet by Matt Hardy. He tweeted that he and brother Jeff were watching McMiz and The Usos as they were ringside for SmackDown Live last week. Hey @WWEUsos, @mikethemiz & @shanemcmahon.. WE’RE WATCHING. #SDLive pic.twitter.com/JcPPXyqwo8 — The MULTIFARIOUS Matt Hardy (@MATTHARDYBRAND) March 6, 2019 Ray wouldn’t enter yet. However, Hardy’s tweet would prompt The Usos to respond. The Champions would welcome the two Hardy Boyz and note that they haven’t been “locked down” into the Uso Penitentiary yet. THE ONE TEAM WHO HAS NOT BEEN LOCKEDDOWN……”WELCOME” https://t.co/zuUzcbU66s — The Usos (@WWEUsos) March 7, 2019 Hardy would, of course, not back down. Mentioning Ray among se..