Here is your news for April 23 2020
We’re starting today with news from the WWE 24/7 Champion, as Rob
Gronkowski’s return to the NFL may mean bad news for WWE.
Earlier this week, the retired New England Patriots star was traded to the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk,
this may mean that he may not wrestle for Vince McMahon.
According to Florio, the verbiage on NFL contracts states that players
cannot partake in any behaviour with a quote “significant risk of personal
injury,” and we have to imagine that that includes wrestling, as the risks
involved are very widely known.
In a video uploaded from the official Buccaneers Twitter account,
Gronkowski said that he needed a lot of security, though also noted that
even security people could try and win the title that he must defend at all times.,
Given that he is no longer retired from the NFL, it looks like Gronk won’t
be wrestling for WWE until he leaves the Bucs, and time will tell what
WWE ends up doing with its 24/7 Championship.
We’re once again looking at WWE’s recent releases, as former referee
Mike Chioda has commented on being cut from the company.
After over-three decades as a referee for WWE, Chioda was cut last week
as part of the company’s money-saving tactics, but in his first public
comments since his release, had nothing negative to say about his former
employer. He said:
I Want To Say Thanks To the WWE & To All My AMAZING WWE FANS &
Universe! 35yrs & 31yrs Refereeing Working for the WWE has been a
FANTASTIC RUN!! I Am So PROUD to have Worked with So Many ICONS &
AMAZING TALENT IN THIS INDUSTRY!! I THANK YOU ALL!! 1Luv! Mike Chioda
Chioda went on to give a very special things to all his former co-workers
and fans who have reached out to him, though just like any Superstars,
Chioda will have to wait 90-days, before he can work elsewhere.
Given the current global situation, having 90-days at home isn’t exactly the
worst thing for the veteran official, and whilst he may be out of a job, this
setback hasn’t stopped him from having a great attitude about this awful situation
Speaking of WWE’s cuts, we’ve got news from AEW now, as the relatively
new promotion had their own reaction to last week’s Black Wednesday
which saw wrestlers, producers, announcers, referees, coaches and writers
being let go by Vince McMahon.
According to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful, who spoke to his own sources in
AEW, the new company is handling things rather well, as the wrestlers
Sean spoke to were quick to praise the leadership of Tony Khan during
these difficult times.
It was also reported that Khan had gone above and beyond to make sure
that everyone in AEW is being taken care of, there was a lot of concern
from the AEW roster about the loss of potential work within WWE, as
Vince McMahon’s cost-cutting measures has made it clear he’s not looking
to hire anyone at this time.
Sean also reported that many AEW stars were curious to see just how high
up the totem pole the cuts would go, and we hope that everyone who was
released or furloughed are able to land on their feet.
One person that fans shouldn’t expect to see back in WWE anytime soon is
Ryback Reeves, as the former Intercontinental Champion has been vocal
about Vince McMahon once again, this time over these recent layoffs.
Speaking on his podcast, the Big Guy said that the Boss was playing a
“very dangerous game”, and said that McMahon has mistreated wrestlers
for far too long. He added:
There’s a good way to do business, and a bad way. He hasn’t done this the
most ideal way, and I think it’s common knowledge. So what’s happened
people, this guy that has created billions off the backs of the men and
women that has made him who he is? The first time sh*t hits the fan, he’s
cutting losses everywhere.”
The Big Guy would then move on to address rumours of these layoffs being
unnecessary, saying that this proves that McMahon has never had the
backs of those who work for him.
This is hardly the first time that Ryback has criticised McMahon, even
referring to the WWE Chairman as a **** in December last year, but with
reports of these releases being unnecessary, we doubt the Big Guy is the
only one with this opinion.
Over to AEW now, and it may be some time before fans see MJF in the ring again.
Last week, the cocky star alerted fans that he might need surgery, and
though some were concerned, most fans celebrated this fact.
On this week’s Dynamite, MJF spoke more about his injury, saying that he
suffered what he described as a life-threatening hangnail injury, whilst
throwing cash around during a gambling session.
There’s currently no timetable on when he’ll be back, but shouldn’t expect
Friedman to be any humbler, when he returns to the AEW ring.
We’ve got news from Smack Down now, as though Elias was able to survive
last Wednesday’s releases, it may be quite some time before fans see the
singer-songwriter in the ring again.
During yesterday’s edition of the Bump, it was reported that Elias suffered
a bruised larynx and broken fingers during the brutal attack by King Corbin
on Last Friday’s SmackDown.
As of right now, it’s unclear when Elias will be medically cleared to
compete again, but hopefully fans will get some answers about the
condition of the former 24/7 Champion on this week’s edition of SmackDown.
Now, we all know that the WWE is currently having to host their events
without a live audience, but it looks like the company is hoping things will
go back to normal in the coming months.
This week, a Twitter user known as BalorClubFan, who attends a ton of
WWE events, contacted the TD Garden in Boston, to see what the
situation is regarding Summerslam, and according to the venue, nothing
has changed in the plans for the biggest party of the summer.
If WWE’s plans go ahead, then Summerslam will take place from the
Garden on August 23rd, though given the current global situation, anything can change.
Given that the company has already had to move both WrestleMania and
Money in the Bank, it’s entirely possible they may have to move
Summerslam if this current situation doesn’t go away, but for now, the
company seems hopeful that the Biggest party of the summer will take
place live in Boston on August 23rd.
We have some very sad news to report now, as WCW Announcer Joe
Pedicino has died aged 70.
After suffering a stroke in June last year, Pedicino spent his final year with
his health issues, though serving as a referee isn’t all that Pedicino did as
he also hosted a few different TV series as well. .
In the 80s, he also created and produced the show Pro Wrestling This
Week, which allowed fans across the United States to watch the NWA.
This is a truly sad day, and we would like to send our deepest condolences
to Pedicino’s family, friends and fans at this truly difficult time.
Back to WWE now, and WWE Hall of Famer Torrie Wilson revealed an
uncomfortable story from her time in wrestling this week.
Taking to social media, the former ******** star claimed that Sara, the ex-
wife of The Undertaker, wanted to quote “beat her up” backstage, and
described Sara as crazy. She said:
“"I'm just going to tell you she was bat s--t crazy, and she did think I liked
somebody. Not her husband, she thought I liked somebody else and she
wanted to beat me up because she thought I liked somebody else's
husband. Which I didn't; That's not my game."
Fans may remember Sara for her brief stint in the WWF, where she was
stalked by Diamond Dallas Page in 2001, before being part of her
husband’s storyline with Brock Lesnar the following year.
Despite having a tattoo of her name on his neck, The Undertaker’s
marriage would not last, as the pair would divorce in 2010, with the
Phenom marrying Michelle McCool in 2010.
It should be noted that so far, this is just Wilson’s side of the story, but if
true, it certainly paints a worrying picture of what was going on backstage
in WWE at the time.
From one controversial figure in wrestling to another now, as Ronda
Rousey’s comments about the fans and her future in WWE continues to be
a hot-button issue for many people in the company.
This week, WWE COO Triple H spoke about Rousey’s comments, describing
the former RAW Women’s Champion as an expert of pushing buttons, and added:
The question for people is, is she promoting or are these her true feelings?
I think that is where the rub comes in for most people. I think that's what
makes this intriguing. Is this the real Ronda Rousey? Is this the Ronda
Rousey she wants you to see? Is this Ronda manipulating people? Or is this
just Ronda being Ronda?
Fans haven’t seen the UFC Hall of Famer since she lost her title to Becky
Lynch at WrestleMania 35, and though The Game has made it clear that he
plans on Rousey being back with the company in 2021, time will tell
whether this actually happens.
We’ve got some big news from NXT now, as though the former Universal
Champion was set to face Velveteen Dream, that match never got underway
Shortly before the match, WWE NXT tweeted that there was an incident
backstage with Balor, claiming:
Ahead of tonight’s episode of #WWENXT, officials have learned of a
possible incident involving @FinnBalor inside the @WWENXT locker room.
This is a developing story, more information will be provided when available
There’s no shortage of people who could have targeted Balor, from
Imperium to Karrion Kross, as taking out a former Universal, NXT and
Intercontinental Champion is a quick way to jump up the totem pole.
Instead of facing Balor, Dream was saved from an Undisputed Era
beatdown by Keith Lee, and it’ll be very interesting to see where the
storyline involving Balor, goes from here.
And finally today we have some news from SmackDown, and whilst Cesaro
has seemingly everything needed to be pushed to the moon in WWE,
including a great look, immense power and technical prowess, that hasn’t
quite worked out for him.
Instead, the Swiss Cyborg has spent the majority of his career in the mid-
card or tag team division, and according to former WWE producer Arn
Anderson, there are many higher-ups who don’t like Cesaro, and have
even banned some of his more impressive moves. He said:
He’s not a favorite guy, as you know, of the front office, for whatever
reason that is. They’re the only ones that know because everyone else
across the planet seems to think he’s a Superstar. But he continued to get
leaned on to stop doing all that stuff [impressive moves] as a heel. It was
just too flashy and all that stuff.”
After nearly eight years on the main roster, it doesn’t look like Cesaro will
ever receive that main-event push fans have been hoping for for years,
and many have been left wondering whether he’d do better in another
company, such as AEW.