Week in Wrestling #50
Wrestling News From the week of
September 9th - September 17, 2016
September 9th - September 17, 2016
The Face that Runs the Place
A.J. Styles became the first person to capture major singles championships in WWE, New Japan, ROH and TNA when he defeated Dean Ambrose to win the WWE title in the main event of the 9/11 Backlash PPV from the Richmond, VA Coliseum.
Styles’ WWE title joins his two reigns as IWGP champion, a run as the ROH Pure champion (at the time the No. 2 belt in the promotion), three runs as NWA champion (under the auspices of TNA), two runs as TNA champion and even a PWG title thrown in.
Now 39, Styles’ has remained at the elite level in the industry, coming back from back injuries in 2015 that threatened his career as a full-timer. This year, even working a full-time WWE schedule, he’s avoided serious injuries and had some of the company’s best matches of the year.
A.J. Styles became the first person to capture major singles championships in WWE, New Japan, ROH and TNA when he defeated Dean Ambrose to win the WWE title in the main event of the 9/11 Backlash PPV from the Richmond, VA Coliseum.
Styles’ WWE title joins his two reigns as IWGP champion, a run as the ROH Pure champion (at the time the No. 2 belt in the promotion), three runs as NWA champion (under the auspices of TNA), two runs as TNA champion and even a PWG title thrown in.
Now 39, Styles’ has remained at the elite level in the industry, coming back from back injuries in 2015 that threatened his career as a full-timer. This year, even working a full-time WWE schedule, he’s avoided serious injuries and had some of the company’s best matches of the year.
New Cruiser-weight Champion Crowned
TJ Perkins became the first-ever new school WWE cruiserweight champion, after beating two of the best wrestlers in the world, Kota Ibushi and Gran Metalik (Mascara Dorada) before a sellout of 400 fans on 9/14 at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL.
While never officially announced until right before the final match, the 32-man tournament that was a ten-week WWE Network series was to crown the first cruiserweight champion and top star of the division when it debuts on 9/19 on Raw. Perkins in some way became the winner by default, when the top two stars in the tournament, Zack Sabre Jr., and Ibushi, would not sign full-time deals and WWE made it clear that they didn’t want its wrestlers on Raw working or other promotions.
Perkins proved to be a tremendous all-around wrestler and it will be interesting to see the reaction to him this coming week on Raw. The show was one of WWE’s best major shows in recent years. The semifinal where Perkins beat Kota Ibushi was among WWE’s best matches of the year. And even though every match was “cold,” no WWE show had such a high bottom, in the sense that the four match show had four great matches. It was a level of depth and constant quality that even the NXT Takeover shows couldn’t match, and only PWG has been able to top in the U.S. Added was the commentary being the best U.S. wrestling has to offer as Mauro Ranallo and Daniel Bryan were able to improve throughout the series and really peaked at the last two tapings.
With the exception of Sabre and Ibushi, everyone on the final episode has been signed by WWE. Brian Kendrick, Rich Swann, Gran Metalik, Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, and Noam Dar are all headed to the Raw roster. But WWE didn't reveal which wrestlers will be in action when the revamped cruiserweight division launches next Monday.
Notably, the list seems to indicate that Akira Tozawa, Jack Gallagher, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa won't be headed to Raw immediately. All four were featured in videos hyping the division in previous weeks. Lince Dorado wasn't included in those videos, but will apparently be joining the division right away.
TJ Perkins became the first-ever new school WWE cruiserweight champion, after beating two of the best wrestlers in the world, Kota Ibushi and Gran Metalik (Mascara Dorada) before a sellout of 400 fans on 9/14 at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL.
While never officially announced until right before the final match, the 32-man tournament that was a ten-week WWE Network series was to crown the first cruiserweight champion and top star of the division when it debuts on 9/19 on Raw. Perkins in some way became the winner by default, when the top two stars in the tournament, Zack Sabre Jr., and Ibushi, would not sign full-time deals and WWE made it clear that they didn’t want its wrestlers on Raw working or other promotions.
Perkins proved to be a tremendous all-around wrestler and it will be interesting to see the reaction to him this coming week on Raw. The show was one of WWE’s best major shows in recent years. The semifinal where Perkins beat Kota Ibushi was among WWE’s best matches of the year. And even though every match was “cold,” no WWE show had such a high bottom, in the sense that the four match show had four great matches. It was a level of depth and constant quality that even the NXT Takeover shows couldn’t match, and only PWG has been able to top in the U.S. Added was the commentary being the best U.S. wrestling has to offer as Mauro Ranallo and Daniel Bryan were able to improve throughout the series and really peaked at the last two tapings.
With the exception of Sabre and Ibushi, everyone on the final episode has been signed by WWE. Brian Kendrick, Rich Swann, Gran Metalik, Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, and Noam Dar are all headed to the Raw roster. But WWE didn't reveal which wrestlers will be in action when the revamped cruiserweight division launches next Monday.
Notably, the list seems to indicate that Akira Tozawa, Jack Gallagher, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa won't be headed to Raw immediately. All four were featured in videos hyping the division in previous weeks. Lince Dorado wasn't included in those videos, but will apparently be joining the division right away.
Orton Concussion Confusion
Randy Orton suffered a concussion, which was hidden by WWE and all concerned, in his 8/21 SummerSlam match with Brock Lesnar from taking the hard elbows to the forehead that busted him up. Orton still wasn’t able to be cleared to compete and missed his Backlash match with Bray Wyatt. He did work his first match since the injury the next night on a house show in Fairfax, VA, where he teamed with John Cena against Wyatt & Erick Rowan. But in that match, Cena did almost all the wrestling, and Orton was limited to a hot tag.
Orton had his leg all taped up to sell the angle done at the PPV. He took no offensive moves from his opponents, and only took one bump. But he did deliver his RKO finisher, a relatively safe move but still a bump, both in doing a run-in at Backlash and for the finish on Wyatt in Fairfax. It is not clear if he was cleared medically to compete the next day or the decision was made, similar to the last several matches of Daniel Bryan’s career in the U.K., to just have him work a finish and do one big move. He also did only an RKO on Erick Rowan at the Smackdown tapings on 9/13 in Philadelphia.
Orton is still advertised for the 9/24 house show in Chicago with Lesnar.
This entire situation opened up a hornet’s nest of problems. The first is, with the benefit of hindsight, the decision to have Orton sit and take the live shots to the head makes no sense in this day and age. But the business is filled with risky physicality. Concussions happen. Injuries are frequent. Because Orton was injured, the scenario comes across far worse than if it had gone as planned, but even as planned, the risk was very different from the usual risks of pro wrestling.
The second stage of this is impossible to defend. The WWE was aware Orton had a concussion, and covered it up. Orton, likely to protect the company, also downplayed his injuries, even to friends and co-workers who were not aware of this. He was pulled from house shows, but was at television and kept from anything physical. However, the WWE was promoting Orton vs. Wyatt the entire time. The company knows full well that the time line for recovery from a concussion is impossible to predict. It could be a few days. It could be a few weeks. It could be a few months. There is no way to defend the company for promoting a PPV match with a concussed wrestler when they had no way at all of knowing whether he’d be able to perform. If they’d have gone on television and at least told the situation, that it’s touch and go and he’s hoping to wrestle, it would be one thing.
According to one doctor who is a concussion expert and some wrestlers who know the bump, they questioned allowing a wrestler not cleared to deliver an RKO. While WWE can defend itself for usage of the Impact testing of Dr. Joseph Maroon as its guideline, and other sports use it as well, it’s well known in football how to cheat on those tests. That’s not saying Orton did, but there may be better systems to use. A lot of that becomes political in the sense WWE’s head of medical is the guy who was at the forefront of the program they use. But it does feel like WWE may be behind on the curve on the nature of its testing. Even so, there is obviously something, if not many things wrong with how this was handled.
Orton wrestling in Fairfax the next night was strange as well, since Kane was there and ended up not wrestling. Orton could have just worked the corner, announced as being injured given they did the television injury angle the night before, and thrown a punch to lead to the finish for Cena, or done a surprise pop run-in at the end in a tag match with Cena & Kane as the team, and thrown a sucker punch with no bump as opposed to working the match, even in minimal form, and taking the RKO bump.
Randy Orton suffered a concussion, which was hidden by WWE and all concerned, in his 8/21 SummerSlam match with Brock Lesnar from taking the hard elbows to the forehead that busted him up. Orton still wasn’t able to be cleared to compete and missed his Backlash match with Bray Wyatt. He did work his first match since the injury the next night on a house show in Fairfax, VA, where he teamed with John Cena against Wyatt & Erick Rowan. But in that match, Cena did almost all the wrestling, and Orton was limited to a hot tag.
Orton had his leg all taped up to sell the angle done at the PPV. He took no offensive moves from his opponents, and only took one bump. But he did deliver his RKO finisher, a relatively safe move but still a bump, both in doing a run-in at Backlash and for the finish on Wyatt in Fairfax. It is not clear if he was cleared medically to compete the next day or the decision was made, similar to the last several matches of Daniel Bryan’s career in the U.K., to just have him work a finish and do one big move. He also did only an RKO on Erick Rowan at the Smackdown tapings on 9/13 in Philadelphia.
Orton is still advertised for the 9/24 house show in Chicago with Lesnar.
This entire situation opened up a hornet’s nest of problems. The first is, with the benefit of hindsight, the decision to have Orton sit and take the live shots to the head makes no sense in this day and age. But the business is filled with risky physicality. Concussions happen. Injuries are frequent. Because Orton was injured, the scenario comes across far worse than if it had gone as planned, but even as planned, the risk was very different from the usual risks of pro wrestling.
The second stage of this is impossible to defend. The WWE was aware Orton had a concussion, and covered it up. Orton, likely to protect the company, also downplayed his injuries, even to friends and co-workers who were not aware of this. He was pulled from house shows, but was at television and kept from anything physical. However, the WWE was promoting Orton vs. Wyatt the entire time. The company knows full well that the time line for recovery from a concussion is impossible to predict. It could be a few days. It could be a few weeks. It could be a few months. There is no way to defend the company for promoting a PPV match with a concussed wrestler when they had no way at all of knowing whether he’d be able to perform. If they’d have gone on television and at least told the situation, that it’s touch and go and he’s hoping to wrestle, it would be one thing.
According to one doctor who is a concussion expert and some wrestlers who know the bump, they questioned allowing a wrestler not cleared to deliver an RKO. While WWE can defend itself for usage of the Impact testing of Dr. Joseph Maroon as its guideline, and other sports use it as well, it’s well known in football how to cheat on those tests. That’s not saying Orton did, but there may be better systems to use. A lot of that becomes political in the sense WWE’s head of medical is the guy who was at the forefront of the program they use. But it does feel like WWE may be behind on the curve on the nature of its testing. Even so, there is obviously something, if not many things wrong with how this was handled.
Orton wrestling in Fairfax the next night was strange as well, since Kane was there and ended up not wrestling. Orton could have just worked the corner, announced as being injured given they did the television injury angle the night before, and thrown a punch to lead to the finish for Cena, or done a surprise pop run-in at the end in a tag match with Cena & Kane as the team, and thrown a sucker punch with no bump as opposed to working the match, even in minimal form, and taking the RKO bump.
Next Raw PPV
Next on the WWE’s agenda is the 9/25 Clash of Champions PPV show from the Raw brand. The lineup for that show is Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins for the Universal title, Rusev vs. Roman Reigns for the U.S. title, Chris Jericho vs. Sami Zayn, Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks for the women’s title, Cesaro vs. Sheamus in the final match of the best-of-seven series, New Day vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson for the tag team titles, and Enzo & Cass vs. The Shining Stars.
Next on the WWE’s agenda is the 9/25 Clash of Champions PPV show from the Raw brand. The lineup for that show is Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins for the Universal title, Rusev vs. Roman Reigns for the U.S. title, Chris Jericho vs. Sami Zayn, Charlotte vs. Sasha Banks for the women’s title, Cesaro vs. Sheamus in the final match of the best-of-seven series, New Day vs. Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson for the tag team titles, and Enzo & Cass vs. The Shining Stars.
Next Smackdown PPV
The Smackdown brand next show is No Mercy, on 10/9 in Sacramento. The main event has Styles vs. Ambrose vs. John Cena in a three-way for the WWE title and Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss for the women’s title. Nothing else is official, but it would appear to be Rhyno & Heath Slater vs. Usos (with Usos winning at some point and going into a program with American Alpha for the titles), and Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler (originally this was to be a cage match, with the idea Maryse couldn’t interfere, but that could change).
The Smackdown brand next show is No Mercy, on 10/9 in Sacramento. The main event has Styles vs. Ambrose vs. John Cena in a three-way for the WWE title and Becky Lynch vs. Alexa Bliss for the women’s title. Nothing else is official, but it would appear to be Rhyno & Heath Slater vs. Usos (with Usos winning at some point and going into a program with American Alpha for the titles), and Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler (originally this was to be a cage match, with the idea Maryse couldn’t interfere, but that could change).
Del Rio Speaks
The former Alberto Del Rio, back to being Alberto El Patron, held a press conference in Mexico City on 9/9, while WWE announced that he was released from his contract with the promotion.
The sides had actually cut ties two weeks ago, but for whatever reason, WWE didn’t announce it yet. Part of it could have been unresolved issues involving Paige. As part of the agreement to allow Del Rio to get out of his contract slightly early, both sides had agreed not to disparage the other in public. The contract of Jose Alberto Rodriguez, 39, was to expire at the end of September and he’d already informed the company in June that he was not taking his option period. The contract, signed last September, but hidden from everyone until his debut at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on 10/17, was a multi-year deal, but he had the ability to opt out after one year if he gave the company written notice.
The notice allowed for a negotiations period, where he was offered more money in the form of being paid as a regular cast member of “Total Divas,” since Paige was a regular on the show. But he was unhappy with the schedule and travel already, plus he had major issues with creative. WWE is very sensitive, particularly now, with any charges of racial discrimination so it was important to get an agreement where he wouldn’t disparage the company.
At the press conference, Del Rio said that he had done everything he could in WWE, and said he was bored and unhappy, and hated getting on the plane every week. He claimed that his son once hid his bags so he wouldn’t leave. He said that was leaving to spend more time with his family and when asked, said he did not rule out some day returning to WWE. In later interviews, he said he had no interest in returning. Then again, when he was fired the first time, he said he would never return, and then did.
He said that he’s talked to both CMLL and AAA, but he will only work for a certain price point, which according to insiders who have been involved with negotiations with him, is about $4,000 per shot. At press time we’ve been able to confirm that CMLL, TNA, New Japan, AAA, Lucha Underground and ROH have made inquiries into booking him and Elite also has interest. He mentioned Elite I his Mexico press conference but said he had not talked with them. He said that he would like to return to Arena Mexico and he would also like to do tag team matches with his father, Dos Caras.
He noted, that like Cody Rhodes, he wants to be a freelance wrestler and not sign any exclusive contracts with anyone. There will be interesting political waters since up to this point, TNA, Lucha Underground and ROH have all wanted to have exclusive television rights in the U.S. of anyone they push.
ROH and New Japan are the least likely. ROH is less likely to pay the kind of numbers he wants, plus Roderick Strong, who he loved working with, is no longer with the company. According to those close to him, he enjoyed working with Strong a lot after making the deal to work ROH in 2014. But unless he were to get a big guarantee per show, that group is less likely. Because he doesn’t want to be away from his kids for a long period of time, he’s not open to doing a New Japan tour, but as far as doing a big show here and there, he’d be up for it. But that is unlikely to happen unless he also signs with CMLL. But CMLL is less likely to pay big money for match as compared to Lucha Underground. TNA in the past has wanted to build around him as the top star, but, like AAA, there are financial issues now where they may not be able to afford it but that depends on what kind of financial backing they can get for revitalizing the company if Dixie Carter sells.
In a later interview with Mas Lucha, Rodriguez claimed he failed his drug test and got suspended due to using testosterone replacement therapy prescribed by a doctor. We can confirm that Del Rio’s suspension was because he tested over the 6-1 allowable T:E limit and that he tested positive for a banned PED and not recreational drugs. He claimed the failure wasn’t fair but when you sign with the company you have to adhere to the rules. WWE had banned usage of any TRT back in 2007 except for those already under contract that were using it, and said they would not sign anyone new on it. Those rules may have been relaxed in recent years, but it’s not clear they’ve been for testosterone.
There are TUE’s (therapeutic use exemptions) granted for some drugs in the policy but in all cases the WWE doctors have to be the ones to sign off on them and not outside doctors. It’s very easy for wrestlers to find doctors who will prescribe them anything in almost any dosages (Chris Benoit’s prescription for testosterone replacement therapy, which WWE approved of before cracking down although getting it from an outside doctor, saw him test at 59.6-1 and had roughly five times the normal amount of testosterone in his system at the time of his death). WWE had to combat that by not accepting prescriptions for banned medications from outside doctors.
He claimed his physical change was from hiring a nutritionist and noted he was in better physical shape at near 40 than he was at 20. He also said that he was happy he didn’t have to deal with a Wellness policy going forward.
In the same interview, he brought up Andrade Cien Almas in NXT, the former La Sombra, and said that he was his good friend and he wants to come back to Mexico. He said that others from Mexico have had problems getting over in WWE because they have to mentally completely give up the Lucha style and start re-learning, which he said he did, and you have to learn to do their style. He said Almas asked him of things get better once you get to the main roster, and he said he told him that actually, things then get worse.
The issue with him in wrestling is that it was very important for him to be on top. His qualms with Lucha Underground, besides some financial issues, were that he was promised he would be the top guy in the company, and while he was the highest paid, he didn’t believe he was pushed as the top guy. In WWE, he signed a major contract, and was in line to make more next year as a “Total Divas” cast member, but wasn’t happy with how he was being used creatively. While his ROH tenure ended exactly as agreed to by both sides, he’s essentially walked away four times, twice from WWE (the first time he was fired but he was promised they’d bring him back in a few months and he said that he was never coming back unless he was hired back immediately, which he later rescinded many months later), and once each with AAA (which did push him to the top as he was their mega heavyweight champion when he signed with WWE) and Lucha Underground.
Rodriguez as a general rule is charging $4,000 for independent dates but there are different arrangements being made depending on the company. Because of the political situation involving New Japan, CMLL and AAA, if New Japan gives him a strong enough deal, that would mean he’d end up with CMLL and not AAA. Elite is still working as far as wrestlers go with CMLL.
The former Alberto Del Rio, back to being Alberto El Patron, held a press conference in Mexico City on 9/9, while WWE announced that he was released from his contract with the promotion.
The sides had actually cut ties two weeks ago, but for whatever reason, WWE didn’t announce it yet. Part of it could have been unresolved issues involving Paige. As part of the agreement to allow Del Rio to get out of his contract slightly early, both sides had agreed not to disparage the other in public. The contract of Jose Alberto Rodriguez, 39, was to expire at the end of September and he’d already informed the company in June that he was not taking his option period. The contract, signed last September, but hidden from everyone until his debut at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on 10/17, was a multi-year deal, but he had the ability to opt out after one year if he gave the company written notice.
The notice allowed for a negotiations period, where he was offered more money in the form of being paid as a regular cast member of “Total Divas,” since Paige was a regular on the show. But he was unhappy with the schedule and travel already, plus he had major issues with creative. WWE is very sensitive, particularly now, with any charges of racial discrimination so it was important to get an agreement where he wouldn’t disparage the company.
At the press conference, Del Rio said that he had done everything he could in WWE, and said he was bored and unhappy, and hated getting on the plane every week. He claimed that his son once hid his bags so he wouldn’t leave. He said that was leaving to spend more time with his family and when asked, said he did not rule out some day returning to WWE. In later interviews, he said he had no interest in returning. Then again, when he was fired the first time, he said he would never return, and then did.
He said that he’s talked to both CMLL and AAA, but he will only work for a certain price point, which according to insiders who have been involved with negotiations with him, is about $4,000 per shot. At press time we’ve been able to confirm that CMLL, TNA, New Japan, AAA, Lucha Underground and ROH have made inquiries into booking him and Elite also has interest. He mentioned Elite I his Mexico press conference but said he had not talked with them. He said that he would like to return to Arena Mexico and he would also like to do tag team matches with his father, Dos Caras.
He noted, that like Cody Rhodes, he wants to be a freelance wrestler and not sign any exclusive contracts with anyone. There will be interesting political waters since up to this point, TNA, Lucha Underground and ROH have all wanted to have exclusive television rights in the U.S. of anyone they push.
ROH and New Japan are the least likely. ROH is less likely to pay the kind of numbers he wants, plus Roderick Strong, who he loved working with, is no longer with the company. According to those close to him, he enjoyed working with Strong a lot after making the deal to work ROH in 2014. But unless he were to get a big guarantee per show, that group is less likely. Because he doesn’t want to be away from his kids for a long period of time, he’s not open to doing a New Japan tour, but as far as doing a big show here and there, he’d be up for it. But that is unlikely to happen unless he also signs with CMLL. But CMLL is less likely to pay big money for match as compared to Lucha Underground. TNA in the past has wanted to build around him as the top star, but, like AAA, there are financial issues now where they may not be able to afford it but that depends on what kind of financial backing they can get for revitalizing the company if Dixie Carter sells.
In a later interview with Mas Lucha, Rodriguez claimed he failed his drug test and got suspended due to using testosterone replacement therapy prescribed by a doctor. We can confirm that Del Rio’s suspension was because he tested over the 6-1 allowable T:E limit and that he tested positive for a banned PED and not recreational drugs. He claimed the failure wasn’t fair but when you sign with the company you have to adhere to the rules. WWE had banned usage of any TRT back in 2007 except for those already under contract that were using it, and said they would not sign anyone new on it. Those rules may have been relaxed in recent years, but it’s not clear they’ve been for testosterone.
There are TUE’s (therapeutic use exemptions) granted for some drugs in the policy but in all cases the WWE doctors have to be the ones to sign off on them and not outside doctors. It’s very easy for wrestlers to find doctors who will prescribe them anything in almost any dosages (Chris Benoit’s prescription for testosterone replacement therapy, which WWE approved of before cracking down although getting it from an outside doctor, saw him test at 59.6-1 and had roughly five times the normal amount of testosterone in his system at the time of his death). WWE had to combat that by not accepting prescriptions for banned medications from outside doctors.
He claimed his physical change was from hiring a nutritionist and noted he was in better physical shape at near 40 than he was at 20. He also said that he was happy he didn’t have to deal with a Wellness policy going forward.
In the same interview, he brought up Andrade Cien Almas in NXT, the former La Sombra, and said that he was his good friend and he wants to come back to Mexico. He said that others from Mexico have had problems getting over in WWE because they have to mentally completely give up the Lucha style and start re-learning, which he said he did, and you have to learn to do their style. He said Almas asked him of things get better once you get to the main roster, and he said he told him that actually, things then get worse.
The issue with him in wrestling is that it was very important for him to be on top. His qualms with Lucha Underground, besides some financial issues, were that he was promised he would be the top guy in the company, and while he was the highest paid, he didn’t believe he was pushed as the top guy. In WWE, he signed a major contract, and was in line to make more next year as a “Total Divas” cast member, but wasn’t happy with how he was being used creatively. While his ROH tenure ended exactly as agreed to by both sides, he’s essentially walked away four times, twice from WWE (the first time he was fired but he was promised they’d bring him back in a few months and he said that he was never coming back unless he was hired back immediately, which he later rescinded many months later), and once each with AAA (which did push him to the top as he was their mega heavyweight champion when he signed with WWE) and Lucha Underground.
Rodriguez as a general rule is charging $4,000 for independent dates but there are different arrangements being made depending on the company. Because of the political situation involving New Japan, CMLL and AAA, if New Japan gives him a strong enough deal, that would mean he’d end up with CMLL and not AAA. Elite is still working as far as wrestlers go with CMLL.
Paige Staying with WWE
Paige was with Del Rio at the press conference but never spoke. At one point this past week she did quit WWE, but there were talks afterwards of attempting to mend fences and at press time things had been settled and she was scheduled to return, perhaps as early as the 9/19 Raw in Memphis, which would be after her 30 day suspension expired. In actuality, her return depends on her various injuries and there is no date scheduled as of yet, but that would be the earliest date possible. It was a touchy situation since a decision was almost made to fire Paige several weeks ago, to the point I was alerted about a firing to come on deadline, which was to be her, but at that point there was a change of heart. That was back during the week where several people had been let go and before the announcement of her Wellness policy failure. She had gotten legal representation this past week.
She posted a statement on 9/14 saying, “Let me begin by saying that the rumors I’m leaving the WWE are completely false! I certainly look forward to returning back to action at some point, once my injury is treated, and on a healthy return. Although I was disappointed by my suspension, I respect the WWE’s Wellness Policy. However, let me be clear that I was not suspended for failing a drug test, it was merely due to a procedural issue. I took the test, I passed it. I arranged said test to happen after I wasn’t at my home when Aegis contacted me. So I drove 200 miles to do it. Unfortunately, I didn’t do it in time, according to Aegis.”
The story those close to her were saying was that WWE went to drug test her at home and she wasn’t there, as she was in Texas at the time with Del Rio. When they couldn’t find her, the claim is that was considered a violation. She claimed that she did take the test, although that was said to be several days later, and passed that test.
Paige was with Del Rio at the press conference but never spoke. At one point this past week she did quit WWE, but there were talks afterwards of attempting to mend fences and at press time things had been settled and she was scheduled to return, perhaps as early as the 9/19 Raw in Memphis, which would be after her 30 day suspension expired. In actuality, her return depends on her various injuries and there is no date scheduled as of yet, but that would be the earliest date possible. It was a touchy situation since a decision was almost made to fire Paige several weeks ago, to the point I was alerted about a firing to come on deadline, which was to be her, but at that point there was a change of heart. That was back during the week where several people had been let go and before the announcement of her Wellness policy failure. She had gotten legal representation this past week.
She posted a statement on 9/14 saying, “Let me begin by saying that the rumors I’m leaving the WWE are completely false! I certainly look forward to returning back to action at some point, once my injury is treated, and on a healthy return. Although I was disappointed by my suspension, I respect the WWE’s Wellness Policy. However, let me be clear that I was not suspended for failing a drug test, it was merely due to a procedural issue. I took the test, I passed it. I arranged said test to happen after I wasn’t at my home when Aegis contacted me. So I drove 200 miles to do it. Unfortunately, I didn’t do it in time, according to Aegis.”
The story those close to her were saying was that WWE went to drug test her at home and she wasn’t there, as she was in Texas at the time with Del Rio. When they couldn’t find her, the claim is that was considered a violation. She claimed that she did take the test, although that was said to be several days later, and passed that test.
Vinny Mac tears his Quad
Vince McMahon suffered a torn quad this past week doing squats with significant weight at the age of 71 and had surgery to one of his legs. He missed the PPV and television. Details are sketchy because Vince McMahon wanted to keep it quiet. WWE did confirm there was an injury, but would not confirm the nature of the injury, and stated he had undergone surgery but was still expected back at work later this week.
McMahon had suffered a torn quad in both of his legs at the 2005 Royal Rumble. The match was supposed to end with Batista throwing Cena over the top rope to win, but things got messed up and both went over the top rope together. Everyone panicked and didn’t know what to do, so McMahon rushed out to basically direct traffic and order Batista to throw Cena over to get to the planned result. In rushing out, he tore his quad. Then, as the story goes, because he refused to sell that he was hurt backstage in front of the guys, and tried to walk on it, he tore the other quad. He made what was a pretty remarkable recovery, considering he was 59 years old at the time. He went through a pretty rough period, but he was back walking around in a few months and was able to train legs heavy again. Rich people do have access to things that will speed up recuperation faster than normal people. But at 71, that’s a very serious injury for a guy who loves to lift significant weights
Vince McMahon suffered a torn quad this past week doing squats with significant weight at the age of 71 and had surgery to one of his legs. He missed the PPV and television. Details are sketchy because Vince McMahon wanted to keep it quiet. WWE did confirm there was an injury, but would not confirm the nature of the injury, and stated he had undergone surgery but was still expected back at work later this week.
McMahon had suffered a torn quad in both of his legs at the 2005 Royal Rumble. The match was supposed to end with Batista throwing Cena over the top rope to win, but things got messed up and both went over the top rope together. Everyone panicked and didn’t know what to do, so McMahon rushed out to basically direct traffic and order Batista to throw Cena over to get to the planned result. In rushing out, he tore his quad. Then, as the story goes, because he refused to sell that he was hurt backstage in front of the guys, and tried to walk on it, he tore the other quad. He made what was a pretty remarkable recovery, considering he was 59 years old at the time. He went through a pretty rough period, but he was back walking around in a few months and was able to train legs heavy again. Rich people do have access to things that will speed up recuperation faster than normal people. But at 71, that’s a very serious injury for a guy who loves to lift significant weights
Dusty Memorial Classic
William Regal announced at Thursday night's NXT TV tapings in Winter Park, FL, that the tournament would return for its second annual edition. It will begin at tonight's tapings, with the winning team being crowned at NXT TakeOver: Toronto on Saturday, November 19th.
The tournament debuted last year to honor the life of Dusty Rhodes and what he meant to NXT. Before beginning their feud over the NXT Championship, Samoa Joe and Finn Balor won the inaugural edition of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic at NXT TakeOver: Respect after defeating Baron Corbin and Rhyno in the finals.
Last year's edition also saw the debut of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa as a team in NXT, and they figure to be heavily involved in this year's tournament as well given their ongoing feud with NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival.
William Regal announced at Thursday night's NXT TV tapings in Winter Park, FL, that the tournament would return for its second annual edition. It will begin at tonight's tapings, with the winning team being crowned at NXT TakeOver: Toronto on Saturday, November 19th.
The tournament debuted last year to honor the life of Dusty Rhodes and what he meant to NXT. Before beginning their feud over the NXT Championship, Samoa Joe and Finn Balor won the inaugural edition of the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic at NXT TakeOver: Respect after defeating Baron Corbin and Rhyno in the finals.
Last year's edition also saw the debut of Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa as a team in NXT, and they figure to be heavily involved in this year's tournament as well given their ongoing feud with NXT Tag Team Champions The Revival.
Daniel Bryan Wants to Come Back
Bryan still wants to wrestle again. “I honestly do,” he said in an interview with the AP. “All the real concussion specialists who deal with concussions every day, all of them think I am fine.” They asked Dr. Joseph Maroon about his decision not to let Bryan wrestle and he would not comment. WWE said that “WWE determined is not in the best interest of Bryan Danielson to continue as an in-ring performer.” When asked about his role as Smackdown GM, he said, “They didn’t give me a choice. I’m under contract so they say `show up’ and I show up.” He said “There are times I just get all worked up and I’m like, I need to call them and I’m just going to ask for my release.”
It should be noted that he has asked for his release in the past and been told they won’t give it to him. He said if he didn’t have a family he may have pushed harder to break his contract. He also said he was mad when WWE started stirring up rumors that he may come back with an online poll on the web site asking fans who Bryan should face if he could return for one last match. “Don’t think for a second I’m not like, what are you guys doing? I know they won’t let me wrestle. Nothing has changed on their end.
Bryan still wants to wrestle again. “I honestly do,” he said in an interview with the AP. “All the real concussion specialists who deal with concussions every day, all of them think I am fine.” They asked Dr. Joseph Maroon about his decision not to let Bryan wrestle and he would not comment. WWE said that “WWE determined is not in the best interest of Bryan Danielson to continue as an in-ring performer.” When asked about his role as Smackdown GM, he said, “They didn’t give me a choice. I’m under contract so they say `show up’ and I show up.” He said “There are times I just get all worked up and I’m like, I need to call them and I’m just going to ask for my release.”
It should be noted that he has asked for his release in the past and been told they won’t give it to him. He said if he didn’t have a family he may have pushed harder to break his contract. He also said he was mad when WWE started stirring up rumors that he may come back with an online poll on the web site asking fans who Bryan should face if he could return for one last match. “Don’t think for a second I’m not like, what are you guys doing? I know they won’t let me wrestle. Nothing has changed on their end.
Title Name Changes
The company is changing the names of some of the belts. The main belts will be called the Universal title on Raw and the world title on Smackdown. The word heavyweight is gone, at least from the Smackdown belt, but Vince has come and gone with the word heavyweight when it comes to the singles title for years. Not sure about this week and whether the Universal belt is a heavyweight belt but it may be with the impending cruiserweight belt coming to that brand. The IC and U.S. belts will remain the same. The former WWE tag team championship and WWE women’s championship are now the Raw tag team championship and the Raw women’s championship, with the idea that if they were WWE belts it would make the Smackdown belts in theory seem less important since they only had a brand name
The company is changing the names of some of the belts. The main belts will be called the Universal title on Raw and the world title on Smackdown. The word heavyweight is gone, at least from the Smackdown belt, but Vince has come and gone with the word heavyweight when it comes to the singles title for years. Not sure about this week and whether the Universal belt is a heavyweight belt but it may be with the impending cruiserweight belt coming to that brand. The IC and U.S. belts will remain the same. The former WWE tag team championship and WWE women’s championship are now the Raw tag team championship and the Raw women’s championship, with the idea that if they were WWE belts it would make the Smackdown belts in theory seem less important since they only had a brand name
Hogan Coming Back???
It’s notable that the recent WWE Network commercials have more and more Hulk Hogan on them, including two voice clips in the latest commercial. In the past, they’ve not pushed Hogan on network commercials. We’ve all known that WWE was looking at bringing back Hogan when they thought the time was right and when they wouldn’t get a backlash for doing so. I sense this is some testing of the waters. Most wrestling fans don’t care, and Hogan will always have a nostalgia thing going for him no matter what he does, but the racist comments are a tough one to come back from, and the company can’t plead ignorance if a sponsor gets mad over it. Still, while this is not a perfect analogy at all, but seeing Ryan Lochte doing “Dancing With The Stars” so soon after he basically became the poster boy for the ugly entitled American abroad with no sponsor backlash says a lot.
It’s notable that the recent WWE Network commercials have more and more Hulk Hogan on them, including two voice clips in the latest commercial. In the past, they’ve not pushed Hogan on network commercials. We’ve all known that WWE was looking at bringing back Hogan when they thought the time was right and when they wouldn’t get a backlash for doing so. I sense this is some testing of the waters. Most wrestling fans don’t care, and Hogan will always have a nostalgia thing going for him no matter what he does, but the racist comments are a tough one to come back from, and the company can’t plead ignorance if a sponsor gets mad over it. Still, while this is not a perfect analogy at all, but seeing Ryan Lochte doing “Dancing With The Stars” so soon after he basically became the poster boy for the ugly entitled American abroad with no sponsor backlash says a lot.
KO Interview
There was a story in SlamWrestling on Owens after winning the Universal title. He noted that someone who he didn’t want to mention (Zayn) greeted him first after winning the title, saying, “The first one, I don’t want to just say who it is, but I think people can figure it out. It was very emotional because in a lot of ways, we both achieved this. I don’t know how to describe that. It’s our title, in a way, if that makes any sense.” He also said, “It’s a special moment to tell Vince McMahon that you’re not going to regret this and have him say, `I’m sure I won’t.’”
“Jimmy Jacobs, who I’m not sure would be very happy that I mentioned him in this, he works for WWE now and he was there and that was another pretty special moment because he’s seen it from the start, from the moment I got hired until now. He’s there with me every week. We were really close before we got to WWE. For us to share a moment like that, it was pretty cool.” “HHH is the reason I’m here. He’s he one who took a chance on me Because a lot of has been said about how I look and how I don’t have the typical WWE superstar look, even though I feel over the past three or four years that whole stereotype has been destroyed. Still, it was something that people would always point out as to why they thought I wouldn’t make in the WWE even if I got hired. Well, not only did I get hired, but last Monday, I won the Universal title and HHH literally handed it to me. People can say what they want about that, but to me, it was a pretty special moment.
There was a story in SlamWrestling on Owens after winning the Universal title. He noted that someone who he didn’t want to mention (Zayn) greeted him first after winning the title, saying, “The first one, I don’t want to just say who it is, but I think people can figure it out. It was very emotional because in a lot of ways, we both achieved this. I don’t know how to describe that. It’s our title, in a way, if that makes any sense.” He also said, “It’s a special moment to tell Vince McMahon that you’re not going to regret this and have him say, `I’m sure I won’t.’”
“Jimmy Jacobs, who I’m not sure would be very happy that I mentioned him in this, he works for WWE now and he was there and that was another pretty special moment because he’s seen it from the start, from the moment I got hired until now. He’s there with me every week. We were really close before we got to WWE. For us to share a moment like that, it was pretty cool.” “HHH is the reason I’m here. He’s he one who took a chance on me Because a lot of has been said about how I look and how I don’t have the typical WWE superstar look, even though I feel over the past three or four years that whole stereotype has been destroyed. Still, it was something that people would always point out as to why they thought I wouldn’t make in the WWE even if I got hired. Well, not only did I get hired, but last Monday, I won the Universal title and HHH literally handed it to me. People can say what they want about that, but to me, it was a pretty special moment.
New Japan Finances
New Japan’s total gross revenue from wrestling operations in the September to August fiscal year was $32 million, up 18.5 percent over the past year. That’s significant because they did that with lower attendance and with the loss of a number of key people like Shinsuke Nakamura and A.J. Styles. They or CMLL would be the No. 2 pro wrestling company in the world right now, but they are less than five percent of that of WWE when it comes to total revenue
New Japan’s total gross revenue from wrestling operations in the September to August fiscal year was $32 million, up 18.5 percent over the past year. That’s significant because they did that with lower attendance and with the loss of a number of key people like Shinsuke Nakamura and A.J. Styles. They or CMLL would be the No. 2 pro wrestling company in the world right now, but they are less than five percent of that of WWE when it comes to total revenue
Cole Coming to WWE???
Since the subject of Adam Cole’s contract has been asked about, since it’s no secret WWE wants him and was at one point directly saying they’d fast-track him to the NXT title, but he’s now the ROH champion, this is the situation. He’s under contract through 12/31, but because he missed four months due to his injuries, ROH is claiming the contract continues through the end of April
Since the subject of Adam Cole’s contract has been asked about, since it’s no secret WWE wants him and was at one point directly saying they’d fast-track him to the NXT title, but he’s now the ROH champion, this is the situation. He’s under contract through 12/31, but because he missed four months due to his injuries, ROH is claiming the contract continues through the end of April
Corgan Wants Full Ownership
Billy Corgan has publicly talked of wanting to buy a majority interest in TNA. It is believed that as of right now, TNA is owned by Dixie Carter, Corgan and Aroluxe. Corgan and Aroluxue got their points in the company by funding the recent television tapings. Carter at this point still owns in the neighborhood of 70 percent of the company, but Corgan was able to get control and the Presidency of the company for putting recent money in. Aroluxe didn’t raise enough money by the end of August to buy the company, which had been expected to happen. Corgan and his investors are working on putting together a deal.
The winner in this appears to be John Gaburick. The feeling was he was gone if Aroluxe had gotten the company, while he’s apparently on Corgan’s good side. Carter apparently wants at least $4 million for her stock in the company. There is the feeling this deal needs to go through because they need the money to do the next set of tapings which start on 10/2, which will cost somewhere between $600,000 and $800,000 total. If they get the tapings done, TNA will at least have everything in the can through the end of November, at which point the new ownership would have to fund another set of tapings
Billy Corgan has publicly talked of wanting to buy a majority interest in TNA. It is believed that as of right now, TNA is owned by Dixie Carter, Corgan and Aroluxe. Corgan and Aroluxue got their points in the company by funding the recent television tapings. Carter at this point still owns in the neighborhood of 70 percent of the company, but Corgan was able to get control and the Presidency of the company for putting recent money in. Aroluxe didn’t raise enough money by the end of August to buy the company, which had been expected to happen. Corgan and his investors are working on putting together a deal.
The winner in this appears to be John Gaburick. The feeling was he was gone if Aroluxe had gotten the company, while he’s apparently on Corgan’s good side. Carter apparently wants at least $4 million for her stock in the company. There is the feeling this deal needs to go through because they need the money to do the next set of tapings which start on 10/2, which will cost somewhere between $600,000 and $800,000 total. If they get the tapings done, TNA will at least have everything in the can through the end of November, at which point the new ownership would have to fund another set of tapings
Delete Or Decay
The 9/8 television show was built around a series of Decay or Delete vignettes once again shot at the Hardy compound in Cameron, NC. This stuff was brilliant. Matt brought in animals to get Jeff into fighting mode. He had a giraffe who he thought was the reincarnation of George Washington and the kangaroo who was Smoking Joe Frazier. He had monkeys hanging by bars in a cage that he called spot monkeys that he named Andrew Everett, DJZ, Mandrews and Matt & Nick, the Bucks of Youth. Then they had this long fight scene which started when Rosemary pretended to be a hitchhiker and Crazzy Steve and Abyss beat up the driver and stole his truck and drove to Cameron.
There a fight scene with all sorts of pyro which included Vanguard One shooting at Abyss and Steve and Abyss being drowned in a lake but he came out of the lake as Joseph Park. Senor Benjamin then tased him and buried him (he had set up graves for all three members of Decay). But he recovered and turned into Abyss and killed Senor Benjamin, who is now still alive and missing. Jeff and Steve fought by a swimming pool. Jeff gave Steve a brainbuster into the pool and choked him out. But Steve recovered and somehow magically got his face paint back. Abyss was about to killer Matt with Janice the board with nails. But Jeff jumped in front and took all the nails to the gut. It was later established that Jeff is also still alive. Rosemary apparently dispatched Reby and was about to kidnap Maxel but Matt returned. He and Rosemary both blew mist in each other’s eyes. Anyway, the whole thing ended with Decay running off and Matt and Maxel hugging. The whole thing is to lead to another Hardys vs. Decay title match at Bound for Glory.
The 9/8 television show was built around a series of Decay or Delete vignettes once again shot at the Hardy compound in Cameron, NC. This stuff was brilliant. Matt brought in animals to get Jeff into fighting mode. He had a giraffe who he thought was the reincarnation of George Washington and the kangaroo who was Smoking Joe Frazier. He had monkeys hanging by bars in a cage that he called spot monkeys that he named Andrew Everett, DJZ, Mandrews and Matt & Nick, the Bucks of Youth. Then they had this long fight scene which started when Rosemary pretended to be a hitchhiker and Crazzy Steve and Abyss beat up the driver and stole his truck and drove to Cameron.
There a fight scene with all sorts of pyro which included Vanguard One shooting at Abyss and Steve and Abyss being drowned in a lake but he came out of the lake as Joseph Park. Senor Benjamin then tased him and buried him (he had set up graves for all three members of Decay). But he recovered and turned into Abyss and killed Senor Benjamin, who is now still alive and missing. Jeff and Steve fought by a swimming pool. Jeff gave Steve a brainbuster into the pool and choked him out. But Steve recovered and somehow magically got his face paint back. Abyss was about to killer Matt with Janice the board with nails. But Jeff jumped in front and took all the nails to the gut. It was later established that Jeff is also still alive. Rosemary apparently dispatched Reby and was about to kidnap Maxel but Matt returned. He and Rosemary both blew mist in each other’s eyes. Anyway, the whole thing ended with Decay running off and Matt and Maxel hugging. The whole thing is to lead to another Hardys vs. Decay title match at Bound for Glory.