Here is your news for June 19th 2020 Worst News About WWE Wrestlers! Why Is WWE Wrestler Missing From TV? Yet Another WWE Wrestler Drafted 2 00:00:03,683 --> 00:00:05,683 Your headlines for today include:
Breaking News - More than 26 Wrestlers (Including Jim Cornette) Have Been
********** Of **********Misconduct!
WWE Issues Statement About Allegations!
Why Bianca Belair Has Disappeared From WWE TV?
Women’s Title Match Announced WWE Raw!
Former World Heavy Weight Champion Drafted To RAW!
WWE Reviewing Nia Jax’s After Recent Incident and MORE!
We’re starting off today by looking at SmackDown, as last week’s show kicked off
with a segment between Jeff Hardy and Sheamus, that not everyone got to see.
In case you missed it, the segment included Sheamus demanding Hardy provide a
***** sample ahead of their Backlash match, and whilst the Charismatic Enigma
did just that, the segment ended for most fans with Hardy throwing his sample on
the Celtic Warrior.
Whilst the segment aired on \the east coast as normal, fans on the west coast
didn’t see the finish, as the show cut to a commercial before Hardy tossed the
*****, and on Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer explained the change, saying:
“Fox decreed that it violated their standards and practices so they threw a
commercial in so we didn’t get to see it on the west coast. That’s what that was all about.”
That wasn’t the only issue the segment had, as fans noticed that a very similar
segment involving Shawn Michaels and Mr McMahon took place In 2006, so if
WWE wants to toss the pee a third time, it’ll have to be on RAW, and not on any FOX show.
We’ve got some uncomfortable news next, as one of the NXT Cruiserweight
Champions Jordan Devlin, has been ********** of ********** misconduct, as part of a
widespread movement where women are speaking out on social media.
Online, Hannah Francesca spoke out about the alleged abuse she received by
Devlin, and also spoke about how difficult it is for women in wrestling to come
forward about this, saying:
“The boys club mentality makes it even harder for victims to speak out. I
approached a promotion about being ********** by someone on their card and was
told ‘One of my boys wouldn’t do that’ I didn’t talk about what happened to me for
a long time after.”
In a series of since-deleted posts, Francesca spoke about the threat of being sued
by someone with WWE money behind them, and also revealed that she was told
to reach out to her abuser, as those she told about what happened said it could’ve
just been a misunderstanding, a defence Francesca didn’t appreciate.
After deleting those tweets, Francesca returned to social media with photographs
of bruises and signs of abuse she claims were caused by the Irish Superstar.
These allegations were part of a widespread movement against ********************
and abuse, and WWE’s Pete Dunne praised all women who are coming forward at
this time, whilst Big E also shared similar sentiments.
As of right now, Devlin is stuck in the UK due to the ongoing global situation, but
we wonder just how much WWE will use him after these accusations.
Replying to a request for a statement by Forbes, WWE kept their official response
brief, saying:
“We take any allegation of this nature very seriously and are looking into the matter.”
Since making these allegations, Devlin’s accuser has set her Twitter account to
private, though her words have struck a chord for many in the wrestling community.
An indie wrestler who goes by the name AKI_Evolution has also spoken out on
social media, claiming that Jim Corrnette and his wife Stacey groomed them early
into their career.
In a lengthy status, AKI said that Stacey apprached them via DM, sending
unsolicited lewd photographs, and told the indie wrestler they were going to have
sex, without consent.
AKI provided evidence of these claims, showing Stacey Cornette contacting them
and making some very inappropriate remarks.
Saying that what they received was tame compared to what others have received,
AKI went on to say that when Jim Cornette was booking OVW, young wrestlers
were allegedly forced to perform **********acts on his wife, often with the
controversial booker watching.
If someone was to refuse, Stacey would reportedly brag about being able to call
the Kentucky wrestling commission to give them quote “targets”, and would say
that the commissioner was a family friend, and she’d use that to hurt and ruin careers.
Describing what happened as extremely common knowledge in the OVW alumni,
AKI said that if this was a man harassing a woman in this way, then people
wouldn’t be saying they don’t see anything wrong with it, and at this time, Jim
Cornette hasn’t publicly commented on these allegations.
NXT UK Superstar Joe Coffey has also been **********, as Sierra Loxton has **********
him of ********** for not leaving her alone, and claimed that he has sexually
harassed 3 girls, including sending unsolicited nude images, voice notes, and
stalking women.
The recently retired Loxton went on to say that she blocked the NXT UK Superstar
on social media, and at this time, Coffey hasn’t responded to any of these allegations.
Loxton went on to spoke about Jack Sexsmith, accusing him of inappropriate
grabbing her at at a house party, but she felt unable to escape because she didn’t
want to risk driving.
NWA Vice President Dave Lagana has also faced accusations, as indie wrestler and
writer Liz Savage said that he sexually assaulted her after years of being friends.
After Lagana asked her to move to Los Angeles for years, Savage eventually did
just that, and whilst nothing romantic ever happened between the two, they had
to share a bed as money was tight.
One night, whilst clothed, Savage claims that she woke to Lagana having his hand
down her pants, whilst also touching himself, and after refusing his advances, was
kicked out of their home with less than a week’s notice.
At this time, Lagana hasn’t responded to these allegations by Savage, and he is by
far not the last person to be called out over alleged inappropriate conduct.
NXT UK’s Sid Scala is alleged to have ********** indie wrestler Mariah May, whilst
Mikey Whiplash, not to be confused with ECW’s Mikey Whipwreck, has been
********** of making unwarrantes **********advances, which has been confirmed by
NXT UK’s Piper Niven.
NXT UK Superstar Ligero has also been ********** of inappropriate conduct by
Natalie Sykes, including demanding selfies from female
wrestlers and harassing them online.
Irish wrestler Debbie Kietel has also spoken about her experiences, saying that
Alexander Dean used her to try and get into a promotion, and after she made it
clear she wasn’t interested in a relationship, he would stiff her in training, and
claimed she’s not the only one who’s he’s manipulated and ********** in this way.
NXT UK’s Travis Banks has also faced his own accusations from Millie McKenzie,
who claims the Kiwi Buzzsaw has a secret relationship with her, which included
him cheating on her multiple times, when she was 17.
Rebecca Crow, the ex-girlfriend of Jimmy Havoc shared her own history of
receiving abuse from the AEW Star, saying that in their three year relationship,
Havoc emotionally ********** her, describing herself as his verbal punching bag, and
saying he’d call her a horrible person that made him want to die.
In the replies to her comments, many fans tagged both AEW and Tony Khan, and
we’ll have to see what action if any the company takes regarding these allegations.
Expose Wrestling are reporting that Marty Scrull and Joey Ryan have also been
********** on inappropriate conduct around 16 year olds, whilst former Over the
Top talent Russel Dempster has been ********** of trying to manipulate teenage
trainees into sex, an allegation that was corroborated on by a female wrestler’s
history with him
These are unfortunately, just a handful of stories that have come out, that lead to
the Speaking Out movement trending on Twitter, and British Wrestling has also
been trending on Twitter in the UK, for the wrong reasons.
In total, over two dozen wrestling personalities have faced some sort of
accusation, including ICW’s Stephen Hughes being ********** of abuse by trainee
Toni Shivers, and MJ Maxx and Jake Long accusing James Finn of **********assault
and **********.
Longtime British Wrestling Ref Marc Parry was also called out by trainee wrestler
Gracie Lou Freebush of sending explicit pictures to trainees, whilst former Ring
announcer Lisa Gifford also spoke out about how a headlining act forced
themselves on her, and also spoke about wrestlers requesting **********favours, as
well as other aggressive advances from wrestlers and fans.
Callum Newman has also spoke about being groped by his genitals by promoters
back when he was just 13, and said he received abuse at wrestling school during
his teenage years.
Hollie Barlow has ********** Xander Cooper of manipulating her and Able Stevens of
harassing her, whilst James R Kennedy and WWE Superstar Tyler Bate’s names
have also come up in the discussion about inappropriate behaviour.
Wrestling Writer Brandon Stroud has also been ********** of stealing nude photos of
female wrestlers, whilst ACW wrestler Allie Kat said that he tried to get with her,
and even tried to force her into playing a nude role in his movie, when she wasn’t interested.
British wrestling veteran David Starr has also been ********** of inappropriate
conduct by a woman in his DMs known as Victoria, with allegations of **********,
gaslighting and manipulation leading to Starr and We the Independent parting
ways, and Starr deleting his Twitter account.
Wrestler Lucy Sky has also called out Josh Bodom, claiming he would go to shows
just to see her when she was 12, and even asked if he could send the teenager
pictures of his genitals.
With plenty of screenshots and other sources corroborating these stories, it goes
to show that there is a systemic problem within the wrestling scene, though it
should also be noted that these remain allegations, and none of us where there.
These allegations of misconduct, including mental, physical and **********behaviour
against wrestlers, many of whom were underage at the time, is truly disgusting,
especially when many of these alleged acts have come from someone that the
victim put their trust in, such as promoter, booker, or trainer.
We here at Slat Rock applaud every single person who has come forward about
this behaviour, and we can only hope that something will change immediately
within the wrestling scene.
Back to the ring now, and fans may remember Bianca Belair debuting on RAW this
past April, and while it looked like a feud with Zelina Vega was imminent, it never took place.
Since then, there’s been no sign of the EST on RAW, as she’s been relegated to
appearing on WWE Main Event, leaving some to speculate whether the company
have given up on her already or if there’s any backstage heat.
Meltzer noted that whilst she was introduced on RAW, somebody in the creative
team decided that her quote “wacky skits” didn’t fit in, and since she’s not in any
programme, there’s no use for her on the red brand.
Belair’s fall from grace is a far cry from how she was booked on NXT under Triple
H, which focussed on her legitimate past as a high-caliber athlete, and it’s possible
that given the changes to the red brand, namely Bruce Prichard replacing Paul
Heyman backstage, that she may be getting pushed under the new regime.
With that said, there’s currently no reason to believe that Belair will be booked
any differently, as fans will have to wait and see what happens with the EST.
Even if Belair doesn’t appear next week, the upcoming RAW will be a huge show,
with a third title match being added to the card.
WWE has confirmed that Asuka will defend her RAW Women’s Championship
against Charlotte Flair, which follows on from the June 8th show, that saw the
Queen pin Asuka in non-title action after a distraction by Nia Jax.
The week prior, Flair also got the win over the Empress via countout, again due to
Jax, who ironically failed to capture the RAW Women’s title at Backlash due to a
double-countout
Next week’s RAW will also see Bayley and Sasha Banks defend their Women’s Tag
Titles against the IIconics and the RAW Tag Champions the Street Profits defend
against the Viking Raiders, and with the return of Rey Mysterio also booked,
there’ll be plenty to see on this coming Monday’s show.
Speaking of the red brand, the RAW roster is undergoing a slight change, as Dolph
Ziggler has reportedly been moved to Monday Nights.
According to WrestleVotes, the ShowOff’s move is part of the AJ Styles trade to
SmackDown, and this report comes quickly after news of Mustafa Ali being moved
to RAW as well.
We’ll have to see if Ziggler appears on RAW next week, and if he did, his
appearance will have already been filmed this past Wednesday.
From RAW to SmackDown now, as tonight’s show will see the blue brand debut of Matt Riddle.
According to Fightful Select, Riddle’s debut will be related to AJ Styles, as it’s likely
that the King of Bros will be interrupting the new Intercontinental Champion is set
to have a special championship celebration on tonight’s broadcast.
After working with Styles, Riddle is reportedly set to work with King Corbin, and
given that Riddle’s first two opponents on SmackDown will reportedly be against
two of the blue brand’s biggest names, it’s obvious that the WWE has high hopes
for the former MMA fighter turned WWE Superstar.
Back to RAW now, and Nia Jax has developed a reputation of being rough with her
opponents, and on this week’s RAW, that reputation extended to the referees.
After threatening behaviour to the official John Cone during this week’s RAW
Women’s title match, WWE has announced they are looking into Nia’s conduct on
RAW, and whilst we don’t exactly know what that means, we’re sure to find out eventually.
Fans will know Cone as the father of Nicholas, the youngest WWE Tag Champion
in history, and it was a fast count by the proud papa that cost Jax the title.
In the past, it’s been reported that Vince McMahon wants refs to be taken more
seriously, and to be more strict with the rules, and this is certainly an interesting
direction to take that idea.
Online, Jax wasn’t happy with the investigation, or Cone, calling the official a punk,
but she may want to be more careful with her words, or she may never get a fair
count from the official again.
Of course, this is a storyline, and no real action has been taken against Jax or
Cone, but given that the official says he believes he gave a fair, clean count, it’ll be
interesting to see where this angle goes from here.