Reality television has often been likened to pro wrestling due to both attempting to convey something scripted as genuine. Of course, virtually all reality shows include aspects done just for entertainment, so it should come as no surprise that “Total Divas,” which was WWE’s collaboration with E!, “wasn’t entirely true-to-life. However, how much of it was scripted may surprise fans, as former WWE wrestler and cast member Nia Jax has revealed while responding to questions on social media that it was 98% scripted. Basically, confirming nothing seen was authentic.
Usually, those involved in these types of shows keep this information to themselves, not wanting to damage the show’s reputation. Although given that WWE released Jax while on a mental health break likely means she no longer cares about protecting the show’s integrity, which ended in 2019. Additionally, she appears to be finished with the wrestling business, having previously said a return to the ring is “highly unlikely.”
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WWE loves to get mainstream exposure, and over the years, multiple celebrities have stepped into the squared circle. Now it appears the next famous individual to wrestle for the company will be Johnny Knoxville, of Jackass fame, who announced his entry into the Royal Rumble match on Instagram.
Clearly, Knoxville is participating to promote his upcoming film, Jackass Forever, and it won’t be his first time collaborating with WWE as he appeared in both 2008 and 2010 on Raw. Additionally, along with other Jackass members, he was set to wrestle Umaga in a handicap match at SummerSlam in 2007. Still, the match wouldn’t occur following the Chris Benoit tragedy. Except for Knoxville, all of the cast was happy to continue, but WWE decided without the Dukes of Hazzard and Walking Tall star, the match wouldn’t get the attention desired. So instead, WWE booked Umaga vs. Carlito vs. Mr. Kennedy for the Intercontinental Championship.
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Tommy Dreamer appeared as a talking head during an episode of Dark Side of the Ring focusing on the infamous “The Plane Ride From Hell.” The ECW legend would end up trending on Twitter after he explained and essentially approved the alleged behavior of Ric Flair on the flight. Subsequently, Dreamer would end up indefinitely suspended by Impact Wrestling, where he worked as a performer, producer and was a significant part of the creative team. However, he would go on to issue a statement apologizing to anyone he offended and saying he didn’t mean to hurt or victim shame anyone.
Now it has been reported by Fightful that three months on from the suspension, Dreamer has returned to Impact Wrestling and was at the latest set of tapings. This means he missed just one set of tapings in total. It’s understood though he didn’t appear in front of fans as a performer and just worked his backstage role. So seemingly, this indicates his suspension is over, and he is back in the fold with the promotion.
For those unaware, the “Plane Ride From Hell” occurred in 2002 and featured multiple intoxicated wrestlers embarrassing themselves on a flight from the UK to the US. While numerous shameful incidents occurred, the most shocking claim came from Heidi Doyle, one of the flight attendants on board who alleges Flair exposed himself to her. It should be noted that Flair has always refuted this accusation.
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Two weeks ago, Sammy Guevara announced on Twitter that his engagement with long longtime girlfriend Pam had ended. Due to the relationship being public knowledge due to him proposing in the ring before an episode of Dynamite, the pair wanted to let AEW fans know. However, with no specific reason given, fans would begin speculating as to why.
One theory that picked up momentum was that Tay Conti was responsible due to her appearing in multiple photos and videos with Guevara. This led to so much abuse towards the Brazilian star that she deleted her Twitter account after trending. Now though, the pair have decided to open up about their relationship, with Guevara confirming they are together in an Instragam photo which you can view below.
This revelation will likely result in more vitriol towards Conti. Yet, Guevara had previously urged fans not to blame anyone for his breakup with Pam and stated they separated in October, with nobody else was involved. Hopefully, though, Conti and Guevara don’t let these so-called fans affect their happiness together.
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Former WWE star Braun Strowman, who now goes by his real name Adam Scheer hasn’t been very active inside the ring since departing WWE earlier this year. A big part of the reason is his reported $20,000 asking price. However, he has been active on the convention scene, with many fans wanting to get a photo and autograph of The Monster Among Men. Yet, those fans may have been surprised to see their idol looking different from how he appeared in WWE, as a photo he shared on Instagram reveals he is now sporting a blonde beard and eyebrows.
While Strowman has yet to wrestle for a major promotion since his WWE departure, he did appear at Ring of Honor’s Final Battle pay-per-view earlier this month. He did this after EC3’s match when the former Impact Wrestling and WWE talent was cutting a promo about corporate wrestling, saying the wrestlers could take the business back block by block. Then once EC3 declared “Free the Titan,” the former WWE Universal Champion would come from the back and storm down to the ring to lay out the other wrestlers with EC3.
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Sean Waltman’s wrestling career in the big leagues came to a halt after contracting hepatitis C. He couldn’t get cleared to complete in some states, limiting Waltman to wrestling on indie shows and making occasional non-wrestling appearances for WWE. However, his hepatitis C is now cured due to using expensive direct-acting antiviral tablets, and this past January, he had surgery to repair his injured knee. Now while speaking on The Bump, he would reveal that he has been medically cleared to return to the ring and is hoping to compete again in 2022.
My surgeon gave me the go-ahead. I just got the green light to get back in the ring. I’m just gonna get into better and better shape. I’ll be ring-ready beginning of next year in case my phone rings. Sean Waltman
While Waltman has been troubled by personal demons throughout his career, he appears to be in a much better place now. He was also inducted for a second time in the WWE Hall of Fame earlier this year, showing his strong relationship with the company. Considering that it isn’t beyond the realm of possibility, he could compete for WWE as a special attraction or perhaps even make a surprise appearance during the Royal Rumble match. This would certainly be a fitting way to conclude his career in a major promotion on his own terms.
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On Wednesday afternoon, news broke that Toni Storm was no longer with WWE. The timing was surprising as she had been working Triple Threat matches for the SmckDown Women’s Championship, and the belief was she had just asked the company for her release, and they had granted it. However, further news has started to be revealed, and apparently, it wasn’t quite that straightforward.
According to a report by Bodyslam.net, Storm would just fly herself home following her match on December 28th without telling anyone, effectively quitting. Subsequently, WWE management made the decision to release/fire her. This is why when WWE didn’t include the usual comment about budget cuts when issuing an internal memo about her departure.
Storm is subject to a 90-day non-compete clause, so it will be some time before she turns up for any other promotion. Although if the report is accurate and she quit and left without telling anyone, it is possible that some promotions may not feel comfortable working with her in the future. That said, she is a very talented performer and has been considered a future star for years, so she should still end up with multiple offers.
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In May 2020, Alberto Del Rio was accused by a now ex-girlfriend of some horrific offenses, including kidnapping and assault. He would end up indicted and faced life imprisonment. However, the alleged victim recanted her story, and after a witness failed to attend the trial, the case was closed. With Del Rio no longer having this hanging over his head, he is looking to return to a big wrestling promotion, and now during an interview with the UnSKripted podcast, he has stated he is in talks with several wrestling promotions, including AEW.
I have spoken to a lot of people, and just like I said earlier, I know everybody, they are all talking about it, and they saw what happened, and they know it was not fair for me, my career, and my life, so they are all going to be giving me an opportunity. I would say it is just a matter of time for me and them to put something together and decide where we are going to go.
Alberto Del RioIt could be wise to take whatever Del Rio says with a grain of salt, as he has said something similar about WWE on multiple occasions, and nothing ever materialized. However, if he does end up in AEW, it would likely be viewed as a controversial signing, as despite not being incarcerated, the court of public opinion did find him guilty. Subsequently, he has predominantly been mainly wrestling in Mexico since returning to the ring earlier this year.
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On Wednesday night’s New Year’s Smash edition of Dynamite, former WWE wrestler Mercedes Martinez would make her return to AEW. She’d interfere during the TBS title tournament semifinal disguised in a black hoodie with her face covered and striking Thunder Rosa, which would lead to Jade Cargill securing the victory. Martinez would go on to enter the ring and reveal herself and, along with Cargill, beat on Rosa until Ruby Soho made the save. Subsequently, Tony Khan would announce that she had signed with the company via Twitter.
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”VbIY363b” upload-date=”2021-12-30T12:48:04.000Z” name=”Mercedes Martinez AEW Video #1″ description=”” player-type=”default” override-embed=”default”] [adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”xkzoqxHJ” upload-date=”2021-12-30T12:48:04.000Z” name=”Mercedes Martinez AEW Video #2″ description=”” player-type=”default” override-embed=”default”]This was Martinez’s return to AEW as she was an entrant in the women’s Casino Battle Royale at All Out in 2019 and had previously wrested on Dark. However, after not being signed would join WWE, and after an initial run in NXT, would be called up to the main roster as part of the Retribution. Although seeing the faction was doomed to fail and being unhappy at having her name changed, she would ask to be removed from the group shortly after they debuted.
She would have a brief return on NXT before being released by the company controversially while recovering from a concussion. Since then, she has worked for Impact Wrestling, winning their Knockouts Knockdown Tournament, and then challenged Mickie James for the Knockouts Championship on their Turning Point pay-per-view.
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Multiple sources have reported that Toni Storm, who was wrestling triple threat matches against Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship this past week, has been released by WWE. The belief is she requested her release as when WWE has previously released talent this year, they internally list it as being for budgetary reasons, and that was not included in Storm’s memo. Despite this, the New Zealander will be subject to a 90-day non-compete clause, so cannot immediately sign with AEW or Impact Wrestling.
While not yet one of the most high-profile talents on WWE’s women’s roster, she was expected to be a star of the future. Previously had held the NXT UK Women’s champion and debuted on SmackDown this past July, defeating Zelina Vega. She would then only sporadically appear on television because WWE didn’t have a storyline in place for her. However, she did return when they needed to make up the numbers for the Queen’s Crown tournament. She would then appear to be receiving a push by becoming the final member of SmackDown’s Survivor Series team and going on to wrestle Charlotte Flair in singles matches on SmackDown.
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Jim Ross is the voice of pro wrestling to many fans, and his signing with AEW helped establish the company as a legitimate rival to WWE. Sadly though, the legendary commentator has missed several weeks of AEW television due to needing radiation therapy following a recent skin cancer diagnosis. Now though, his return is imminent as he has revealed on Twitter that he has been given the all-clear.
Ross hasn’t had the best of fortune in recent years as in addition to dealing with the after-effects of Bells Palsey, he tragically lost his wife of 24 years after she was involved in a vehicle accident in 2017. Then in 2018, he had to undergo surgery on his right eye. He has since has credited Tony Khan with saving his life for hiring him after WWE discarded him and giving him a reason to live. Hopefully, now Ross’ health issues are in the past, and the much-loved and highly respected commentator can continue his role with AEW for years to come.
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Scarlett Bordeaux and fiancé Karrion Kross appeared destined for WWE stardom based on their time in NXT. However, when Kross debuted on Raw, he wasn’t with Scarlett, which baffled fans as she was seen as an essential part of his presentation. Now though, she has revealed during an appearance on Renée Paquette’s podcast that WWE actually intended for her to wrestle herself, but a ruptured breast implant prevented this.
I wasn’t medically cleared yet. I was having matches before Raw and SmackDown because they wanted me to wrestle. After the second match, everything was going great, I get home and look in the mirror, and I’m like, “One of these doesn’t look like the other.”
The next day was NXT, and I immediately go to medical, and I’m like, “Hey, I’m not sure if I’m going crazy or if they always looked like this. Maybe I’m just tired.” With the adrenaline from wrestling, you don’t notice certain things hurt all the time, so I didn’t think anything of it. I went to medical, and they were like, “Yes, one of your boobs is totally gone.”
Scarlett BordeauxBreast implant ruptures seem to be a work-related hazard, with female wrestlers with names including Charlotte Flair, ODB, and Chyna all having suffered from this occurrence. Thankfully though, it appears that all is well with Scarlett now, and WWE didn’t release her while still recuperating, which would have been very controversial. Now along with Kross, she is taking bookings for February when his WWE non-compete expires.
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