Here is your news for May 30th 2020 Why Wrestling Fans Are Unhappy With A Smackdown Live Segment? Jeff Hardy ARRESTED! Who is Armando Alejandro Montalvo? Why is Armando Alejandro Montalvo stalking WWE Performance Center? How Long Is Kurt Angle Staying On With WWE?
And your Headlines for today include
Crazed WWE stalker shows up at Performance Center
SmackDown pitching to become DC Comics Superhero
What does the future hold for Samoa Joe?
AEW spot makes friends of Shad Gaspard uneasy and MORE
We’re kicking off with news from NXT, as fans haven’t heard from Nigel
McGuiness lately, and there’s a reason why.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the former wrestler-turned-
announcer was furloughed as part of the company’s cost- cutting measures in
April, though this means he isn’t fully released.
NXT Never stopped production except to figure out how to shoot during the global
situation, and though it’s unclear when McGuiness will be back, hopefully it’ll be
sooner rather than later.
Speaking of the Gold brand, NXT recently lost Matt Riddle as he made his official
debut on SmackDown last night, but the King of Bros isn’t the only start to be on
the move.
Now, WrestleTalk is reporting that Dominik Dijakovic will be moving to the main
roster soon, after his last NXT match took place over a month ago when he lost to
Johnny Gargano.
Though their report didn’t note where Dijakovic will end up, he’s not the only
talented star that could be ready for a call-up, and time will tell whether anyone
else makes the big move.
From NXT to Monday Night RAW next, as former US and NXT Champion Samoa
Joe still hasn’t returned to the ring after an injury suffered during a commercial shoot.
Currently serving as a commentator on RAW, it’s looking possible that the
company may keep Joe in the role, as the Wrestling Observer note that the
company is considering Joe to be a permanent replacement to Jerry Lawler. They added:
“What that means if/when he is cleared is that he may have the role where he
announces and they can shoot angles for him to wrestle using that (since those
kind of angles usually do well).”
It’d been previously reported that WWE saw Joe as too valuable in the ring to lose,
and whilst that may still be the case, it’s clear that the company also likes him on commentary.
If Joe is able to move past his current Concussion issues, then the company could
certainly do with him wrestling again, but for now, it appears the Samoan
Submission Machine has a new spot in the WWE, that will get his voice much more TV time.
From RAW to SmackDown next as more details have emerged on the new details
of Drew Gulak’s contract.
As previously reported, Gulak and WWE parted ways after the two parties
couldn’t agree to a new deal, but not only is he back, but the former Cruiserweight
Champion is here to stay.
It’s now being reported that Gulak has signed a multi-year contract with WWE,
and though we don’t know how long he’ll be back for exactly, WWE contracts are
usually for three to five years.
It was also noted that the WWE wasn’t the only company with their eye on the
popular Superstar, as it was reported:
“During the week, some people we know had tried to contact him for dates and he
turned people down and the word going around was that he clearly had a destination”
It’s no secret that Gulak received quite the push before his release as part of a tag
team with Daniel Bryan, and now fans can expect many more competitive
matches from the former Cruiserweight Champion.
We’ve got news next of Armando Alejandro Montalvo, and no he isn’t the former
manager of Umaga, but is actually known as the WWE Performance Center Stalker.
After multiple unwarranted appearances at the Center, WWE were granted a
permanent injunction in March 2019, but that didn’t stop Montalvo from
appearing on WWE property on April 13th this year, which to the company’s
knowledge, was his first appearance back.
WWE filed a suit against Montalvo a week later, and court documents have
revealed some first-hand accounts of what happened when Moltalvo appeared
during a RAW taping, curtosy of the center’s Director of Security. It reads:
He witnessed Defendant was present in or around the WWE Performance Center.
More specifically, Defendant was across the street from the WWE Performance
Center pacing back and forth and holding what appeared to be a large wooden
cross, approximately four feet high. After remaining near the premises for
approximately one hour, Defendant left without incident.”
Clearly not the sharpest tool in the box, Montalvo decided to record his antics
with the cross and stream it on social media, so that everybody could see he was
in violation of the injunction.
Court documents also revealed the lengths WWE has gone to deal with
Montalvo, as his behaviour is described as “aggressive, harassing and erratic”. It reads:
“Plaintiff has continued to employ off-duty officers from the Orange County
Sheriff’s Office as security personnel in an effort to ensure the safety of its property
and employees.”
On the evening that Montalvo received these court documents, he still went back
to WWE’s property during a SmackDown taping, and went with his own
declaration that he planned to hand to Vince McMahon.
Titled the Declaration of Defecation, Montalvo claimed he had the right to poop
wherever he wants, and has the constitutional right to take a dump in peace.
Unsurprisingly, this didn’t work, and though he tried to hand the form to security,
this didn’t work and he left without incident.
This isn’t even the first time Montalvo has been driven by his ***** movements,
as he smeared his own ***** on the Performance Center wall in 2015, which led to
a 2018 restraining order.
In the past, one way WWE’s security was forced to deal with him is by ******
Montalvo outside the PC in 2015, something the company doesn’t want to have to do again.
There are now calls for Montalvo to be held in civil contempt of court for violating
the protection order, and hopefully Justice will be served
on June 1st when he has a hearing.
We’ve got news from the death of Shad Gaspard next, as the wrestling world
continues to mourn the death of the former Superstar and real-life hero.
It’s known that Shad was pulled under the water before he went missing which is
a terrible way to go, and some saw similarities with his final moments, and a spot
that took place at Double or Nothing.
During the Stadium Stampede, it seemed like Matt Hardy had drowned, leading to
his lifeless body being resurrected, as he claimed he had to hold his breath for a
very long time.
Whilst this was a comedy bit, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter noted that
friends of Shad were uneasy about it, and had contacted the Newsletter
themselves to reveal this.
Though Matt has since address the spot, he didn’t speak about the controversy,
but we don’t believe he’d mean to offend people by it, because that’s not who
Hardy is, on or off screen.
Shad’s death was a tragedy that the wrestling world will never forget, and it seems
like the Double or Nothing Spot was just an incredibly unfortunate coincidence,
that AEW can learn from going forward.
We’re looking at a different group of people who fight wearing tights now, as
CW’s Batwoman recently lost it’s lead star after Ruby Rose quit the show.
Since her departure though, there’s been plenty of names who have said they’d
be interested in taking up the role as Kate Kane, including SmackDown Superstar
Sonya Deville.
According to the Wrestling Observer, the company Anderson Group Public
Relations, which represents Deville, is pushing for the SmackDown star to be in
the running for the role of Batowman herself.
There’s certainly a lot of similarities between Sonya and the DC Comics character,
as both women are known for their fighting and badass attitudes, and both are
also openly lesbian.
Time will tell just how far Deville gets, as there’s been plenty of big stars
rumoured for the role, but it may be just a matter of time before the former MMA
fighter trades in the squared circle and SmackDown for Batarangs and bad guys.
Back to the ring now and this week’s NXT didn’t just see a unique cage fight
between Timothy Thatcher and Matt Riddle, but it was also officiated by Kurt Angle.
Despite being released as part of April’s cost-cutting measures, Angle was used in
a guest-referee role, and though this has led to speculation that he’s back with the
company, that isn’t the case.
In the Observer, Dave Meltzer noted that he hasn’t heard anying about a new deal
for the Olympic Gold Medalist, and that Kurt will be paid until mid-July, like every
other released Superstar.
Meltzer added that the current plan is to use certain released Superstars during
their 90-day no-compete clause, such as Drake Maverick, who won his triple
threat match on this week’s show, and will face El Hijo Del Fantasma next week, to
crown the Interim NXT Cruiserweight Champion.
Whilst there may be a time that Kurt and Maverick are signed to new deals, that
doesn’t seem to be the case for now, as the company is merely using the stars
they can, whilst their 90-day no compete clauses are still in effect.
From one former WWE Champion to another now, as Ric Flair and WWE have
finally comes to a terms over the rights to The Man.
Last Year, the 16-time World Champion engaged in a legal dispute with the
company, as he claimed he owned the rights to be referred to as The Man, not
Becky Lynch, and should be paid accordingly for it.
Now this dispute is finished, as its now been revealed that Flair has sold all rights
to the term that he registered in August last year, to WWE.
It’s certainly interesting that Flair has sold his ownership to the term The Man
recently, as the Dirtiest Player in the Game also signed a new deal with WWE,
promising he’ll stay with Vince McMahon’s promotion forever.
Whether Flair’s trademark was impacted by his new deal is unclear, but now
there’s only one true Man in WWE, though she’s currently out of action to
become The Mom.
Over to AEW now, and though it shouldn’t be too surprising that Jim Cornette
hated the Stadium Stampede match, referring to it as the death of wrestling, but
one person who was very proud of the match was Chris Jericho.
While speaking on Busted Open Radio, the former AEW World Champion said the
Double or Nothing match was one of the best things he’s ever done, and
responded to Cornette’s comments with an over the top reaction of his own, as he said:
“If you didn’t like this match, then you don’t have a soul, because this is one of the
most entertaining things that you can see, and if you’re talking about a Jim
Cornette, he booked a segment where I put his face in a cake in 1994, this is the
2020 version of sticking somebody’s face in a cake.”
Despite Cornette’s views, it’s likely that AEW will be hosting Stadium Stampede
matches in the future, as since other companies may not have the resources to
access an NFL Stadium, the Stampede could become a staple in AEW for many
years to come.
Back to WWE now, and recently, AJ Styles was moved to SmackDown, which the
Phenomenal One is more than happy with, as staying on RAW reminded him too
much of his now-released Good Brothers.
Speaking on After the Bell, the former WWE Champion opened up about the
release of Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson, saying that it really hurt him, and that
moving to the blue brand, where he’s had so much of his WWE success will help him greatly.
It was Styles who brought Gallows and Anderson to WWE in the first place, and added:
“When they got released, I immediately feel responsible for them because I helped
them get here, and I wanted them to stay. I feel like if I had encouraged them to
stay, maybe they would be fine right now. So a lot of that fell on me.”
Styles also referenced the Mixer stream he gave the day after the Club was
released, where he described Gallows and Anderson as like his little brothers, who
he failed to protect.
Time will tell what the future holds for Gallows and Anderson, as they recently
register their Southpaw Regional Wrestling trademarks, so it’s likely they’ll be
having a lot of fun playing these characters until their non-compete clauses expire
in Mid-July.
And we’re ending today with news from Friday Night Smack Down, as this week’s
show kicked off in a shocking way.
For those of you who missed it, a car was crashed into Elias’ car, which led to the
driver fleeing the scene, and it was later discovered to Be Jeff Hardy, who was
hidden in the bushes and smelled like Alcohol.
Of course, this plays into Hardy’s past of substance abuse issues, and whilst it’s
possible this angle will reveal that Jeff has been framed by Sheamus, many
wrestling personalities have commented on the matter.
CM Punk, who is no stranger to Jeff’s past admitted to finding the segment rather
hilarious, as he said that the cop who was calling out Jeff name sounded like he
was calling Bingo numbers.
Jeff’s brother Matt also took to Twitter following Jeff’s on-screen arrest, and
though he didn’t specifically address what happened on SmackDown, he did say
he’s happy to be working at AEW.
Though Punk and Matt had very different responses, many fans have reacted
negatively to what was shown, as they’re clearly not on board with WWE’s
referencing Hardy’s history of substance abuse issues.
Whether fans loved or hated the segment, It clearly got fans talking, and proved to
be an explosive start to Friday Night SmackDown.