Here's more wrestling news for April 9th 2022
And your headlines for Afternoon include
What Is The Fate Of The Women's Tag Team Titles After Sasha Banks' Shocking Loss On Smackdown?
Breaking News Concerning Vince McMahon’s Grandson Declan McMahon
Nick Khan Reveals Why Vince McMahon Hired Him As WWE President
Bellator Star At Recent WWE Dallas Tryouts!
Police Suspect Sunny Was Intoxicated At The Time Of Fatal Crash, More Details On What Happened!
WWE Eyeing LA Knight For Main Roster Call-Up!
WWE NXT Tag Team Titles Vacated Following Nash Carter’s Release!
The Rock’s Daughter Simone Johnson Set To Undergo Third Knee Surgery!
Big Spoiler On Name Change For Debuting Talent On SmackDown Tonight! And More!
We’re starting today with SmackDown, where WWE Women’s Tag Team Champion Sasha Banks lost to Liv Morgan in what many consider an upset.
After all, it was only on Raw that Banks and Naomi defeated Morgan and Rhea Ripley in a Champion’s contenders match, but the challengers will still get a shot at the champs on next
week’s show
Although the titles will be on the line on Raw, this week’s SmackDown is an indicator that the champs aren’t losing the gold just yet.
Traditionally, those that come up short in the run up to a big match usually win when it matters, so expect Banks and Naomi to pick up the win once again.
With reports of Rhea Ripley turning heel and joining Edge’s new stable, expect her and Morgan’s loss next week to be the catalyst for this turn, as the Champs will retain the gold.
In wrestling, no family has been more significant than the \ McMahons, with Vince McMahon being the third generation to work in the sports and entertainment business.
McMahon’s children Shane and Stephanie have also got involved, but now one of his grandson’s is looking at an entirely different industry.
This week, it’s been revealed that Declan James McMahon, the son of Shane, has committed to playing University football.
Declan is already a Wildcat Quarterback at Poly Prep Country Day High School in Brooklyn New York and on Twitter said he visited several schools, including Rutgers and Duke,
before deciding on Indiana University. Declan and his two younger brothers have been on WWE TV in the past, as they accompanied
their father at WrestleMania 32, and were more recently seen with their dad in Dallas last weekend
With WWE’s new NIL program meaning they’re focussing on crossover athletes, Declan’s future on the field may mean it’s even more likely he’ll one day be a WWE Superstar,
but for now, the 6 foot, 190 lbs grandson of the Chairman is focused on the gridiron.
WWE’s Next in Line program is just part of the many changes made by company president Nick Khan who has become a poweful figure in a relatively short amount of time.
In 2020, plans for Khan to join WWE were set in motion, after he uprooted his family from California, and in an interview with The Town, Khan documented his journey
to the Sports Entertainment juggernaut: “When Vince called me about 18 months or so ago and said, ‘Hey, there’s an opportunity here.
I want to hire someone who I think is a non-traditional executive for this role. I’d like to talk to you about it,'” Khan said. “My wife and I had bailed on Los Angeles a couple
of months into COVID with our children. We had gone to Hawaii, and because of the time difference there you’re \ done with work at three o’clock local and you’re in the
pool with your kids, barbecuing, etc. It was all great. “[Vince] was not interested in me telling him how great Hawaii was. He was interested in
getting together the next day. I flew on a non-stop from Honolulu to New York. We got together and we shook hands on a deal.”
Since coming to the company, WWE has reached record profits but has alienated a lot of fans with the budget cuts \that Khan has taken responsibility for being deemed
unnecessary by fans and others in the industry. Nicknamed The Terminator for his willingness to end WWE careers, Khan may not have many fans
but WWE’s success speaks for itself as the likely successor to Vince McMahon grows more influential year after year
WWE always on the hunt for new talent, and it’s no secret that several stars have come from MMA.
Shayna Baszler, Riddle and Ronda Rousey all competed in the Octagon before joining WWE and now yet another MMA fighter may be ready to step foot in the squared circle.
Bellator star Valierie Loureda has been making a name for herself in the Bantamweight division, as she currently has a 4/1 win/loss record, but attend last weekend’s WWE tryouts in Dallas
Texas. We don’t know yet how Loureda did, but with WWE’s history of signing MMA stars, her time as a fighter will only help her
odds of getting signed to a WWE contract.
This week, it was reported that Tammy Sytch, aka Sunny, had been involved in a car accident among three vehicles that left one of the drivers dead.
Sytch failed to stop around 8:28pm while driving north of Granada Boulevard on Friday, March 25th, and more details have come to light.
In an update, it’s reported that Sytch’s vehicle crashed into a car driven by a man named Julian Lasseter Jr, a 75-year-old who was transported to Halifax Health Medical Center where he
was pronounced dead.
A search warrant has been approved for police to obtain a blood sample as police suspect that the former WWF Diva was intoxicated during the time of the crash.
Sytch was driving a 2012 Mercedes-Benz which crashed into the rear of a 2013 Kia Sorrento, which was being driven by Lasseter, and that vehicle crashed into a 2011 GMC
Yukon which liked the Kia had stopped at a stoplight. Lasseter is survived by a daughter and two grandchildren among other friends who knew him well.
The drive and passengers of the Yukon complained of back, neck, side and head injuries, but were not taken to hospital, while Sytch was observed at the Halifal Medical Center for
undisclosed injuries. Two witnesses who spoke to Police say Sytch was “driving at a high rate of speed” before
crashing, and a spokesperson of Ormond Beach Police said they are actively investigation the crash.
Based on the toxicology results, this could lead to a criminal charge against Sytch, who has spent much of the past few years behind bars.
Sytch’s boyfriend lives in Florida where the accident took place, and the former Sunny has not publicly commented on the crash at this time.
That said, Sytch did post this tweet (SHOW TWEET) the same day as the crash, which was shared 6 hours before the accident.
After years of troubling stories revolving Sytch, this may be the worst yet, and we can only hope that the family of Julian Lasseter are able to find some comfort at this sad time.
On this week’s SmackDown, Raquel Gonzalez was called up to the main roster, with her name being changed to Raquel Rodriguez.
GUNTHER and Marcel Barthel were also called up, with the latter now working as Ludwig Kaiser, but now even more names from NXT 2.0 could be on the move.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that LA Knight is also expected to be called up, with WWE believing that he looks and talks like the quintessential Superstar.
Knight has been a rumoured name for a call up for quite some time now, and with the former Impact World Champion having lost at Stand & Deliver, it seems he’s wrapped up things in NXT.
Another name rumoured is NXT Champion Bron Breakker as the Observer notes that despite regaining the NXT title on this week’s Raw, the second-generation Superstar is
someone WWE has always planned on fast-tracking to Raw or SmackDown.
Specifically, it’s noted that Breakker is being considered the same as Gable Steveson as talent who will receive fast call ups and major pushes upon joining the main roster.
If that is the case, it seems that Breakker’s second reign as NXT Champion may be a short one, as the son of Rick Steiner could be a fully-fledged main-roster Superstar by the end of the year.
NXT news next as for the past week, the brand’s tag division has been in serious trouble after Nash Carter was accused of being physically violent by his wife Kimber Lee.
After Lee shared an image of Carter imitating Adolf Hitler on social media, Nash was released from WWE, despite capturing the NXT Tag Team Titles with Wes Lee at Stand And Deliver.
Now, WWE have at long last addressed the title situation, as in a tweet, the company said that the titles have been vacated, and that new champions will be crowned on next week’s show.
This is a situation WWE did not want to deal with, nor would any company, but there will be new champions crowned, albeit under the worst of circumstances.
And we’re ending with some unfortunate news from Simone Johnson, best known as the daughter of The Rock who will have to have surgery yet again.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Simone is set to undergo her third knee surgery, and there’s no telling when she’ll be fully healed.
Signing with WWE in 2020, these surgeries keep hindering the developmental star, and at her young age, having these multiple knee issues already is not a good sign for her future in the ring.