Here's your wrestling news for March 1st 2022
And your headlines for today include
Cain Velasquez Charged With Attempted Murder; MUGHSOT Leaked; New Details Reveal Motive Behind Cain Velasquez's Attempted Murder!
WWE NXT Superstar Stretchered Away From The Ring Tonight!
Scott Hall Reportedly Hospitalized!
Jeff Hardy Expected To Debut In AEW Relatively Soon!
Backstage Update On Johnny Gargano’s AEW Debut!
Chavo Guerrero Surprised About Being Removed From AEW Roster Page ; Questions Tony Khan!
Major Update On Vince McMahon & Oliver Luck Trial!
Extent Of Ricochet’s Current Push In WWE Is Undecided!
Samoa Joe Reveals Real Reason Why He Relinquished WWE NXT Title! And More!
We’re kicking off today with Cain Velasquez, as the former UFC and WWE star was recently involved in a shooting.
Yesterday, we reported that the former UFC Heavyweight Champion was present at a shooting in San Jose, California, and it now
appears that he did much more than just be t here. In an update, San Jose’s police confirmed that
Velasquez had been arrested for what happened, and believing he to be the shooter, charged him with attempted murder.
Velasquez has remained in police custody since the shooting, which left one person hospitalised with non-life-threatening injuries.
In the same tweet where San Jose police confirmed his arrest, they shared Cain’s mugshot, and a court date has been
scheduled for today at noon pacific time
After a dominant run in UFC, Cain joined WWE in 2019, but was released in April 2020 as part of the company’s budget cuts.
This is a difficult time for everyone involved, and we’ll keep following this story as more information comes out.
At the time that Velasquez was arrested, it was not clear what motive he had for the shooting, but now more shocking details about what
transpired has come to light. In a huge update by The Mercury news, its reported that Velasquez allegedly fired his
gun at a car, because one person in the vehicle, Harry Eugene Coularte, had been allegedly charged with
molesting a relative of the former UFC Champion. This relative that we can’t name for legal reasons is under the age of 14, but when Cain allegedly
fired, it didn’t hit Harry, but wounded his stepfather instead.
Goularte has been charged with one felony of a lewd act with a minor, and was arrainged on Friday, with the judge granting him a supervised release.
The car Velasquez is accused of firing at had another person inside in addition to Guoularte and his stepfather.
Goularte’s stepfather is expected to survive, as his injuries have been classed as non-life- threatening, and we’ll hopefully know more
after today’s court date.
NXT 2.0 news now, as Amari Miller was apparently injured during last night’s episode.
On the broadcast, Miller came up short to Lash Legend in a match which had instances of sloppy offense until Miller hit a moonsault for a close
two-count. Legend would turn the tide by sending her opponent into the turnbuckles before slamming
her to get the win, and as seen in fan-recorded footage, Miller was checked on by ringside doctors after the match.
The young Superstar was then stretchered away, and fans in attendance noted that Miller may have taken a bad bump on her neck or head.
There’s no word on her condition at this time, but we’re certainly hoping for the best for her after this incident during NXT 2.0.
We’ve got some unfortunate news from Scott Hall now, as the Hall of Famer has been hospitalised with a broken hip.
The 63-year-old legend broke his hip after suffering a fall, according to Jerry Jarrett who shared the ordeal on Facebook.
Hall was scheduled to be in Texas next month for WrestleMania 38 weekend, but there’s no word yet on whether this still is the plan, and whatever
the case is, we’re hoping for a speedy recovery for the Bad Guy.
Last December, WWE released Jeff Hardy from his contract, after a worrying performance at a live event that the company had believed was
due to drugs. Hardy was released after refusing to enter rehab, and turned down an offer to return, complete with
Hall of Fame induction, when his tests came back clean. Last month, Jeff said that he was going to AEW,
but later clarified that this is what he hopes to do, and he’s yet to sign a contract with the company, but putting his signature on the paperwork may
be just a formality at this point
On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer explained that Hardy is expected to join AEW and relatively soon, saying:
“Jeff Hardy should be in (AEW) relatively soon. Shane Strickland should be in soon. I don’t know of anybody else off the top of my head
coming in just yet. I think that there will be more. That’s pretty much what’s going on there.”
When Jeff turned down a WWE Hall of Fame induction, he said that he wants to be inducted alongside his brother Matt, and while the pair
will seemingly be reunited soon, it won’t be as part of WWE.
Last December also saw Johnny Gargano leave WWE, but unlike Jeff, he chose to depart the company after his contract with NXT 2.0 expired.
Since leaving, its been speculated that he’ll soon join AEW, and those rumours got louder earlier this week when Gargano announced he was taking
bookings. Gargano may eventually join AEW, but it won’t happen just yet, as on Wrestling Observer Radio,
Dave Meltzer explained that the former Superstar isn’t expected to sign within the next month. When Gargano said he was taking bookings,
it appears this was only for indie shows, something that the highly-successful AEW, with its lucrative TV rights, clearly isn’t
Gargano hasn’t wrestled since leaving NXT 2.0, as after leaving WWE, said he was going to focus on his wife Candice LeRae, and while
their son Quill has since been born, don’t expect Johnny Gargano to be challenging anyone in AEW for the time being.
Over to AEW next, as Tony Khan has a huge roster of talented names, but not everyone is thrilled with the company’s President.
This week, Cody Rhodes fired off against Khan, after his profile was removed from the company’s official roster.
On AllEliteWrestling.com, the former Cruiserweight Champion has had his entire profile removed, and in a since-deleted tweet, Guerrero didn’t
mince words, saying: “That’s news to me! I guess having @TonyKhan telling me to go film Young Rock Season 2,
& my job will be waiting for me when I’m done, didn’t mean much.”
Guerrero joined AEW in July 2021 as the manager for Andrade El Idolo, but was written off TV in September thanks to an attack by the former NXT
Champion. Chavo isn’t just signed to AEW, but also works as the wrestling co-ordinator for Young Rock,
which details the formative years of Dwayne Johnson. Chavo’s profile being deleted comes at a time
where Tony Khan is having to decide who stays with AEW, as its been previously reported that Brian Cage, Joey Janela and others are expected
to be heading out of the company, and while Cage’s contract has been renewed for another year, Guerrero may not be so lucky.
A big name that comes from a lineage of fantastic wrestlers, Chavo will surely be able to find work if his days in AEW are over, but he doesn’t appreciate
being removed from the site without being told by anyone.
In 2020, Vince McMahon brought back the XFL, but once again, the alternative to the NFL didn’t last long.
Due to circumstances beyond McMahon’s control, the league was cancelled within w\eeks of play, which led to XFL’s commissioner
Oliver Luck suing WWE’s Chairman
Luck claims that McMahon breached his contract when the latter fired him on April 9th, just days before the XFL filed for bankruptcy.
We now have an update, as in Sunday’s Daily Update from the Wrestling Observer, its said that the trial will officially begin on July 11th.
McMahon and his company ‘Alpha Entertainment’ have claimed that Luck destroyed evidence within an hour of being fired.
Last September, the courts dismissed Luck’s claim that McMahon had violated “the implied covenant of good faith,” between the two parties
and we’ll have to see what comes out when they go to trial this July.
Back to the ring now, as Ricochet has been one of WWE’s most underutilised talents for a long time now, but is reportedly going to be getting
big push very soon. Yesterday, we reported that the One and Only is being considered as the #2 babyface on
SmackDown, only behind Drew McInctyre, and he even has an Intercontinental Championship match this Friday.
When Ringside News asked about the reports of this big push, their sources within WWE advised not to get too excited, pointing out that this isn’t
the first time a report of a push for Ricochet has come out.
Reports like these have surfaced in the past, and nothing really came of it and circumstances now seem to be repeating themselves.
One source said that “Ricochet is having a good week. This week,” implying that this could all easily change, and another added that
we’ve been down this road before. Let’s see if it lasts.” With in-ring abilities and charisma, Ricochet could
be a huge name in AEW, while Vince McMahon would seemingly rather see him in catering, and while the One and Only could soon be
Intercontinental Champion, there’s no telling how long McMahon’s interest in him will last.
And we’re ending today with NXT, and when the brand was revamped into NXT 2.0 last September, the roster for the show underwent a major overhaul
as many wrestlers just didn’t fit into Vince McMahon’s vision for the show. Samoa Joe clearly didn’t fit into McMahon’s vision,
as the only three-time NXT Champion was released this January, shortly after being forced to relinquish the title.
At the time, there was a ton of speculation as to why Joe vacated the title, just a month after dethroning Karrion Kross, and according to Joe,
, a positive test derailed all plans for him, as he told Busted Open Radio:
“I popped for COVID. It was the weekend, my wife was making stew and I couldn’t smell it. She said, ‘Wow, doesn’t that smell great.’
I tested positive on Saturday. By then, Vince wanted to go in a different direction with NXT and he wanted to have the new opening with
NXT 2.0 be with a bang and I agreed with him. I said, ‘If that’s the case, this is probably what’s best for what your vision is for
this product.’ I went behind the scenes and started working with talent on a one to one basis, pulling guys individually in open gyms,
working with them, and focusing on these new tremendous prospects were brought in and people that were hungry to learn and excited
about this newfound opportunity. It was invigorating for me. When you’re working with younger talent that are hungry and want to
succeed on a high level, it amps up your own spirit. I was delving into that heavily. Working with Matt Bloom on revising things, training
techniques, and evaluating what we were doing already and seeing if we could do it better. That was really the end of my tenure at WWE.”
Joe hasn’t wrestled since being released, but will be inducted into the Ring of Honor Hall of Fame later this week, and it remains to be
seen what the former NXT Champion does next in the squared circle.