78 result(s) found
Ever wondered why some WWE segments just drag on forever especially the explosive ones with The Rock or The Bloodline? CM Punk has let the cat out of the bag: i...
Cena's Take on Modern Romance John Cena, the 17-time WWE World Champion and star of the upcoming film Heads of State, recently shared his straightforward yet i...
That’s a special moment. While wrestling is scripted and the results are known ahead of time, there are certain things about it that are more realistic than others. At the end of the day, these wrestlers are out there doing their jobs in front of millions of people. That can make for some tricky situations as they try to do their work while keeping their minds right. Sometimes that needs a boost, and that was the case in an infamous moment. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Not Yours: WWE Facing Possible Legal Action Over New Nickname Back at WrestleMania 35 in 2019, Bayley and Sasha Banks lost the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles. This reportedly led to a situation where the two threw a fit, including rolling around on the floor of the locker room while complaining about their creative direction. Bayley has tweeted a photo of herself and Trish Stratus, talking about how Stratus talked to “us” after the loss, revealing secrets of her personal life, the business and her strengths and weaknesses. Bayl..
Money money? One of the biggest criticisms that you will hear of professional wrestling is that the endings are planned out in advance as the entire presentation is fixed. While this is true, the stories are built up in a way to leave fans wondering what they are going to see in a match or story. That can make things all the more interesting, and it could potentially make some money. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: They Could See Him: Backstage WWE Reaction To John Cena’s Monday Night Raw Appearance According to CNBC, WWE is attempting to legalize betting on its matches in Colorado and Michigan. The company has hired accounting firm Ernst & Young to help with the pitch. The firm has helped legalizing betting on the Emmys and Oscars, with WWE claiming that their results are kept secret in the same way. One potential solution would be for WWE to have storylines and results locked in place in advance, with wrestlers only finding out the results just before a match takes place. However, CNBC is a..
That’s a look. There are several aspects to a wrestler’s overall presentation and one of the biggest is how they appear. A wrestler has to do something to catch the fans’ attention and looking a distinct way is one of the best. Changing appearances can make a big difference and that is what took place this week, as a top WWE star debuted something of a fresh appearance. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: All For One? More Details On WWE’s Interest In Signing Kenny Omega This week’s SmackDown featured an edition of the Firefly Fun House. During the show, Bray Wyatt played a news anchor, game show host and weatherman while asking if you could keep a secret. Wyatt then appeared in a mask to ask the question again. This appears to be the same mask that he put on after his match at the Royal Rumble, though it is the first time it has been seen close up on camera. IMG Credit: WWE Wyatt is…something. Check out the Fun House, plus some more of his recent exploits: [This post contains video, click to p..
That’s some secret keeping. Wrestling receives a lot of criticism for being planned in advance. There is some truth to that, but at the same time, there is a lot of work and effort that goes into making fans believe that what they are seeing is at least somewhat realistic. Every so often you see a genuine response in wrestling though and that was double the case this weekend. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: LOOK: Popular AEW Star Backstage At WWE Royal Rumble Last Saturday, WWE presented its annual Royal Rumble event. The show opened with the surprise return of Pat McAfee to the commentary team, ending a four month hiatus. According to PWInsider.com, WWE made McAfee’s return as much of a surprise as possible, with co-commentators Michael Cole and Corey Graves having no idea he would be back. There was also a “quick scramble” to get McAfee a chair and headset. It is currently unknown if McAfee’s return is full time or just for the Royal Rumble. It was a big night. Check out some of the show’s..
He has earned it. There have been a lot of wrestlers over the years and many of them do not stand out for the most part. It takes someone special to receive additionally positive treatment but in most cases, they have earned the status. That was the case last week when an all time great made a return, and now we know just how differently he was treated upon return. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Even Them? How WWE Is Going Incredibly Far To Protect Uncle Howdy’s Secret The main event of last week’s SmackDown saw John Cena return for his first match of the year, teaming with Kevin Owens to defeat Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE’s booking of Cena was “very carefully done” This included keeping Cena out of the ring for most of the match, as he had not wrestled in over a year, and making sure that he looked strong and hit the Attitude Adjustment. There is no word on when Cena is expected back in the ring, but WWE has been working on WrestleMania pl..
That’s some dedication. There are all kinds of ways to present a new wrestler but one of the most consistently used over the year is a mask. A new star will appear but there is no way of knowing who is behind the mask, leading to quite a bit of intrigue. WWE is utilizing the idea again today, but this time around they are doing something pretty unique with the concept. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: She’s In: WWE Star Makes Long Awaited In-Ring Debut On SmackDown Over the last few months, Bray Wyatt has been attempting to escape his path but is also dealing with someone named Uncle Howdy. The man appears in a mask and has either stared at or attacked Wyatt. It is not clear who is behind the mask and according to Fightful Select, that is the case backstage as well. Howdy reportedly never takes off his mask and costume backstage, leaving no one to know who he actually is. There is no word on when or if the identity will be revealed on television. Howdy doesn’t have much to go on but he is som..
Welcome to KB’s Old School (and New School) Reviews. I’ve been reviewing wrestling shows for over ten years now and have reviewed over 5,000 shows. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I’ll be posting a new review here on Wrestlingrumors.net, starting today. It could be anything from modern WWE to old school to indies to anything in between. Note that I rate using letters instead of stars and I don’t rate matches under three minutes as really, how good or bad can something that short be? Mayhem 2000 Date: November 26, 2000 Location: Wisconsin Center Arena, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Attendance: 3,800 Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Stevie Ray, Mark Madden These dying days of WCW are a scary place. Things are about as bad as they’ve been since Russo left, including a rather uninteresting main event of Booker T. defending his World Title against Scott Steiner (again) in a match that really isn’t the biggest secret. Let’s get to it. We open with Booker arriving and being mobbed by the fans that..
She doesn’t sound pleased. Wrestling is a lot of things, but at the end of the day, it is not a secret that the match results are planned in advance. The wrestlers are real athletes and are putting in the effort whenever they are in the ring. There are a handful of stars who can legitimately take down just about anyone they care to, and now one of them does not seem happy with a fellow star. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: It Could Happen: WWE Ready To Name WrestleMania 43 Venue If Major Condition Is Met Last week on SmackDown, Raquel Rodriguez interrupted the Shayna Baszler vs. Shotzi match, resulting in Baszler getting distracted and rolled up for the pin. This came after Baszler’s friend, Ronda Rousey, interfered in the match multiple times. Rousey and Baszler were interviewed later in the night on SmackDown LowDown, with Rousey saying that Rodriguez disrespected herself and Baszler. Rousey went on to say that for interfering in their business, she would have to pay. Rousey is currently sc..
That’s a different way to go. Wrestlers need to have the right gimmick to make things work out for them as well as possible. Having the wrong name or character can wreck a wrestler’s potential and that is one of the worst things that can take place. Unfortunately it happens more often than it should, but WWE is making an adjustment to one of its newer stars. Last week on SmackDown, Max Dupri walked away from the Maximum Male Models after being sick of them not being serious enough. Dupri also used his former “YEAH” catchphrase from his time as LA Knight in NXT. According to PWInsider.com, Dupri is internally listed as Knight and will be using that gimmick going forward. The rest of the Maximum Male Models will be continuing without Dupri. Opinion: Good, as the Dupri stuff never really worked out for Knight. I’m not sure what the point was in having Knight become someone completely different when he could still be his old self and do the Models stuff. This might not be the big secret ..
That’s the reason. Wrestling is a lot of things, but it is supposed to be presented as a sport. That means following various rules and regulations, with most matches following the same ones. On occasion there will be a match with something changed for a special situation, but this time around things were even more out there, as a match ended due to a rule that few know about. This week on Monday Night Raw, AJ Styles and Ezekiel defeated the Miz and Ciampa via disqualification when the illegal Ciampa attacked AJ Styles. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, this was due to a secret rule in WWE. In a tag match, a wrestler is allowed to make one illegal save, with the second drawing a disqualification. Ciampa was making his second save and was disqualified as a result. Opinion: I’m not sure I get why this is a secret rule. If someone is making an illegal save, isn’t that breaking a rule by definition? This doesn’t sound so much like a secret as much as it sounds like being a bit tediou..
An interesting pair. There are all kinds of wrestling stories going on in the world, but there are a lot more that take place outside of the industry. Sometimes though those worlds combine as wrestling is connected to the outside world, which can often lead to some interesting situations. That was the case again in one of the biggest stories in the world of any kind. One of the biggest international stories of the week has been the collapse of Boris Johnson’s government in the United Kingdom. This included the resignations of over sixty members of Parliament, including Michelle Donelan, who was named Secretary of State for Education, only to resign in protest of Johnson about thirty six hours later. Donelan is a former WWE employee, having worked as International Marketing Campaign Manager from 2010-2014. Opinion: This is one of those things that you do not see happen very often but it makes for a bit of an interesting note. Donelan is not someone most would remember from her time wi..
Maybe he’s next. There are a lot of stars in WWE today and some of them have been in their spots for a long time. That can be quite the benefit to have as WWE knows what they have available and what works, but at some point something needs to change. Eventually you need a new crop of talent and now WWE might have its sights on someone else who could move up the ranks. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, there are some in WWE who are interested in pushing Montez Ford as a singles star. This is partially due to Ford’s new physique, which has become more prominent in recent weeks. Ford has never been a singles star on the main roster, as he has always teamed with Angelo Dawkins as the Street Profits. There is no word on if or when such a push would take place. Opinion: I don’t think there is any secret to the fact that Ford has the potential to be a top singles star sooner rather than later. He is in his early 30s, has more athletic ability than he knows what to do with and is a ball..
NXT UK Date: June 30, 2022 Location: BT Sports Studios, London, England Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Andy Shepherd We’re back in England and the big story this week is the explanation from Trent Seven, even if it might seem pretty obvious why he turned on Tyler Bate. Other than that, we have Fallon Henley vs. Emilia McKenzie, as the NXT invasion continues. I’m sure this won’t be anything that annoys long term NXT UK viewers so let’s get to it. We open with a recap of Ashton Smith and Oliver Carter vacating the NXT UK Tag Team Titles last week, with Josh Briggs and Brooks Jensen winning them in the show’s main event. Opening sequence. Blair Davenport vs. Angel Hayze This is Davenport’s first match since injuring her ankle in November. Davenport throws her down to start but Hayze grabs a front facelock. That doesn’t last long as Davenport hits a basement dropkick and we hit the chinlock. Some running knees give Davenport two as Nigel gets in a Chamber of Secrets reference. Hayze c..
He has a history there. Celebrities have been a part of wrestling for a very long time now and it makes a good deal of sense. Fans of the celebrities care about what they are doing and wrestling fans get to see what happens when someone famous comes into their world. It turns out that some of them are quite the athletes too, and that might be the case again with a celebrity coming back at Summerslam. This week on Monday Night Raw, the Miz was asked about Logan Paul training at the WWE Performance Center. Miz said that the two of them would be teaming together again at Summerslam on July 30. This comes after Miz attacked Paul after their victory over the Mysterios at WrestleMania 38, which Miz referred to as a lesson to Paul. There is no word on what Paul and Miz will be doing at Summerslam. Opinion: I don’t think it was a secret that Paul would be back in WWE in some way, but at least now we have an idea of what he is going to be doing. Above all else, it helps to have someone with h..
Never mind. We are less than a month away from one of the most unique shows on the wrestling calendar as AEW presents Forbidden Door. The show will feature a series of matches between AEW and New Japan Pro Wrestling stars, with the first match being announced this week. While CM Punk vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi is set, another match that was rumored will not be taking place. On Thursday, a story reported by Dave Meltzer began circulating that IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada will be defending his title against Hangman Page. However, according to Meltzer, the match is not going to be happening as the lineup that he saw for the show was not accurate. The rest of the card other than Punk vs. Tanahashi is being kept secret, with the June 26 card still to be announced. Per @davemeltzerWON, his WOR note last night that Hangman Page vs. Okada was tabbed for Forbidden Door based on a lineup he had seen was incorrect. That match is not planned for the PPV as the lineup is being kept a secr..
It’s no secret that WWE has considered Roman Reigns their top superstar for several years. He has headlined several Wrestlemanias, won multiple championships, and has been involved with every significant storyline in the company’s recent history. That has been amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic; in the Thunderdome era, he became allied with Paul Heyman and had a fantastic feud with his cousins, The Usos. As a result, the Bloodline has become the most dominant faction in professional wrestling. Reigns is the longest reigning Universal Champion of all time, the Big Dog, the Tribal Chief, the Head of the Table, The One, and in my opinion, has established himself amongst the greatest of all time. I lump him in with Stone Cold Steve Austin, the rock, Triple H, the undertaker, John Cena, Randy Orton, and others of that caliber. He is that good. However, as we know, all things and professional wrestling must come to an end, and at some point, he will lose the universal championship. But..
Make up your mind. While it might not be as popular as it once was, there is no bigger wrestling promotion in the world than WWE. The company has been the industry leader for over twenty years and that will likely be the case for a long time to come. Getting to a prominent spot in WWE can mean the world to some wrestlers, but there are other things out there. Now a prominent WWE star might want one of those other spots. During an appearance on the Impaulsive podcast, WWE’s Sasha Banks spoke about having to choose between a WWE career and going to Hollywood. Banks said that she wants to take over the world, but that might be in Hollywood, WWE, or another place entirely. This comes after Banks made some appearances in the Mandalorian on Disney+ and received critical acclaim for her performance. Banks is a seven time Women’s Champion and three time Women’s Tag Team Champion. Opinion: I don’t think it’s a secret that Banks is considering something outside of WWE, as she has been willing ..
It’s always great to take a look. WWE has posted a new video to its media channels in which they show a behind-the-scenes look at Cody Rhodes’ return to WWE on Night 1 of WrestleMania 38. You can see the video in its entirety below: [This post contains video, click to play] The video shows Cody waiting on the bus for most of the afternoon and secretly making his way through the backstage area to the gorilla position before going out for his match with Seth Rollins. There is also footage of Brandi, his wife, who is there to support him and his return. You can also here is their new baby in the background and see him getting dressed and ready to go. There is also a post-match interview, where are you can see the emotion as he is thrilled to be back in WWE. Editor’s Opinion: I love stuff like this, and I’m so glad that we got a behind-the-scenes look at Cody’s big return. The fact that he had to be hidden for so long, which I would imagine only adds to the nurse, makes this return ..