Here's more wrestling news for may 25th 2022
And your headlines for Afternoon include
Fan threatens to shoot Alexa Bliss and her husband Ryan Cabrera! Police notified
WWE Superstar shares photo in solidarity with Naomi after Raw walk out
Adam Cole gives big reason why he left WWE for AEW last year
Could WWE Crown Jewel and AEW’s November Pay Per View fall on the same day?
Several Raw Superstars confirmed for this Friday’s SmackDown taping
Jaxson Ryker gets bashed by the wrestling community for recent comments on Twitter
WWE had plans for Cody Rhodes to be in WWE 2K22, what happened?
Ric Flair makes promise ahead of final ever wrestling match that’ll take place this July And more!
We’re kicking off with some concerning news from Alexa Bliss, who is in fear for her life thanks to an obsessed fan.
On Instagram, the former Raw and SmackDown Women’s Champion has received a ton of concerning messages from an account that goes by the name jpeak5402.
In a message sent directly to the WWE Superstar, jpeak says that she can’t stop them, and that a restraining order won’t work in this situation.
The fan also makes reference to being friends with “Matt on Twitter” which is presumably a reference to Buddy Matthews, who’s real name is Matt Adams and who was once engaged to Bliss.
In one direct message, that jpeak sent to others, the fan threatens to shoot Bliss and her husband, and told peak that those messages have been turned in to the police.
Another message from jpeak reads that the fan took all the Alexa Bliss merchandise their daughter owns, including a doll of Lilly and burned it all, saying that they should have sent Bliss the video.
These messages were all sent in the comments of an Instagram post by Bliss, in which the Raw Superstar promotes a charity event for the saving Huey foundation, a non-profit animal rescue
organization in Southern California.
Bliss has sadly had plenty of experiences with fans that have been far from pleasant, but this may be the most shocking of them all.
Bliss doesn’t deserve to be treated this way, nor does anyone else, and we hope that the authorities are able to bring this incident to a quick and decisive end.
Last week, Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out during RAW, and while the pair have earned both praise and backlash online, most Superstars have remained silent on the matter.
Given the WWE’s response to the duo, it’s not hard to see why the roster is avoiding bringing them up, but now Dolph Ziggler has seemingly come out in support of Naomi.
On Twitter, the Show Off shared a picture of himself and the former SmackDown Women’s Champion in matching attires, but gave no caption to explain his tweet.
When a fan fired back at Dolph, saying he should not support ‘unprofessionalism’ Ziggler hit back, saying “don’t unsolicitedly tell people what to do.”
In the past, Ziggler himself has threatened leaving WWE, but has never followed through with the claim, and it’s going to be interesting to see who else comes out in support of the former
WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions.
Last September, mere days after his contract with WWE expired, Adam Cole jumped to AEW, debuting at the promotion’s All Out Pay Per View.
After making a name for himself as the longest-reigning NXT Champion, many fans were surprised to Cole make the move, but the Undisputed Era alum had his reasons.
Speaking at Motor City Comic Con, Cole said how getting to see his girlfriend Britt Baker much more was a major reason behind his decision:
“At the time, our schedules were so different that there’d be some times that I’d see her for maybe half a day, one day a week. Sometimes I wouldn’t see her for weeks at a time. So getting to travel
with her and just being behind the curtain when she walks through after she’s done a match or a promo is really nice.”
Cole is yet to hold gold in AEW, but it’s expected that a championship will come to him eventually, and until then, the ex- Superstar is happy to be able to travel with his significant other.
This week, WWE announced that their next show in Saudi Arabia will be Crown Jewel 2022 and take place in early November.
WWE will no doubt put on a star-studded event as part of their lengthy deal with the Middle Eastern kingdom, but could face some strong competition.
As Dave Meltzer explained on Wrestling Observer Radio, early November is also when AEW likes to host a Pay Per View, and said there is the possibility of both shows falling on the very same day.
Meltzer added that both WWE and AEW would rather avoid competing with UFC, who always emerge triumphant when they go up against wrestling.
It's worth stating that while Crown Jewel could fall on the same day as an AEW Pay Per View, they wouldn't be in direct competition, as due to the time difference, the Saudi show would be in the
afternoon for American viewers.
AEW hasn't confirmed what date their expected November show will fall on, but it could join Crown Jewel on the 5th, in what would certainly be a packed day for wrestling fans.
Over to Smackdown, as this Friday's episode will continue the build to Hell in a Cell, but Monday Night Raw will make their presence felt.
PW Insider reports that for the show, RAWs Seth Rollins, Cody Rhodes and Kevin Owens are all being advertised to appear in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Given that none of the three are feuding with Smackdown talent, it's likely that the three will compete in dark matches after the show, but perhaps either of the three former Champions will get
a chance to shine on TV this Friday night.
Now, Jaxson Ryker is no stranger to controversy, both before and after his release from WWE last November.
From saying that CM Punk is promoting "child sacrifice" by wearing a pro choice shirt on Dynamite to telling people mad about police violence against minorities to watch 12 Years a Slave,
Ryker isn't afraid to let his views heard, and this week is no different.
On Twitter, Ryker said that people must "rise up" against Homse xuality, and while the former Superstar did get a lot of responses, they're not the kind he was hoping for.
Taya Valkyrie, Lance Storm and Andrew Everett were just some of the many wrestlers who condemned Ryker's homophobic tweet, and they were joined by countless fans.
Ryker hasn't wrestled at all since WWE, with his last match to date being a loss to Cedric Alexander, and as he continues to role up the wrestling community, it may be a long time before he gets another booking.
In March, WWE released their latest video game, WWE 2k22, featuring an absolutely stacked roster.
One name who wasn’t included in the game is Cody Rhodes, who returned to WWE weeks later, but that wasn’t for lack of trying by the developers.
According to Sports Game Online, WWE has recently been in talks with Take-Two Interactive, with the idea for Cody to be made as a special DLC character that fans could download for a low fee.
Given that WWE knew all the way back in February that Cody was coming back, WWE has been wanting this DLC for a while, but according to “a person close to the development team”
this idea was quickly shot down by Take Two.
The source added that WWE knew it was unlikely, but decided to ask anyway, meaning fans will have to keep using Community Creations of the American Nightmare.
Cody’s last official appearance in a WWE video game was for WWE 2K17 as Stardust, and while we expect Rhodes to be a big part of the next WWE game, he won’t have an official character in 2k22.
And we’re ending today with Ric Flair, as the 16-time World Champion is continuing to prepare for his return to the ring.
At 73 years old, it’s hardly surprising that people are concerned about the Nature Boy’s condition ahead of his return, but Ric has some big plans for his final ever match.
Speaking to the Tampa Bay Times, Flair said he’s working on his timing, and guarantees that he’ll be coming off the top rope.
If you’ve ever seen Flair in action, you’ll know that the Dirtiest Player in the Game doesn’t have a great record with high-flying offence, and most of the time he was sailing off the top rope,
it’s because he was being thrown off by his opponent.
There’s no confirmation yet on who Ric will face, but it’s now rumo ured to be Hulk Hogan, but whoever steps in the ring with Flair, they should keep an eye on him sailing off the top rope.