Kassius Ohno Returns To WWE NXT

Chris Hero made his WWE NXT return at tonight's TV tapings from Full Sail University. According to what was displayed on the big screen, he's back to using the Kassius Ohno name.

The return has been announced by WWE.

After, Tajiri and NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Bobby Roode and Samoa Joe, Ohno's music hit and out he came wearing a suit. He went to take his jacket off but instead made an elbow and elbowed the NXT Title on Nakamura's shoulder. Ohno then left.

The match should air on January 25th, the final episode before Takeover: Toronto with Roode vs. Nakamura for the title.

Triple H welcomed Ohno back to NXT with this tweet:

Welcome back... #KassiusOhno @WWENXT pic.twitter.com/9FUjNfZgDf

— Triple H (@TripleH) January 6, 2017

Jeff Jarrett Confirms He is Returning TNA, Reveals His New Role in the Company and Says It’s a “Great Opportunity for GFW”

Jeff Jarrett and his wife Karen Jarrett will be backstage with TNA at the TV tapings this week, and are returning to the company.

According to Pro Wrestling Sheet, Jarrett’s new role in TNA will be as an Executive Consultant. Jarrett is reportedly already at the Impact Zone and working on the show.

Dutch Mantell, fka Zeb Colter in WWE, is also returning to TNA as a creative consultant.

Jarrett returning to TNA will not affect his Global Force Wrestling promotion, and in a statement released to Pro Wrestling Sheet, Jarrett said his return to TNA “is a great opportunity for myself and GFW. And, I feel it’s great for the wrestling business.”

Anthem officially announces it has acquired control of TNA Impact Wrestling. Dixie Carter resigns as chairman

Anthem Sports & Entertainment have announced they've formed a new company that will be the parent company of TNA Wrestling. The company, called Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions will be overseen by Ed Nordholm as President.

Dixie Carter has resigned as Chairman of Impact Ventures, the former parent company of TNA. She will remain with Anthem in an advisory role and a minority equity shareholder.

Below is the official press statement:

Anthem Sports & Entertainment Forms Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions, LLC., Acquires Control of IMPACT Wrestling

Toronto, Canada (January 4, 2017) - Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp. today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a majority interest in TNA IMPACT Wrestling, and has formed Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions, LLC. Anthem also owns Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 multi-platform channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, which is IMPACT Wrestling’s exclusive broadcast partner in Canada and worldwide digital partner.

“We are thrilled to have acquired TNA IMPACT Wrestling,” said Ed Nordholm, Executive Vice President of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp., the parent of Fight Network. “As we grow Anthem’s linear, digital and mobile platforms globally, top tier content with global appeal is key to that success and this acquisition is a perfect strategic addition to our portfolio. IMPACT has been a dominant wrestling brand around the world for more than a decade and we are confident that Anthem can leverage its assets and strategic partnerships to take IMPACT Wrestling to even greater heights.”

Mr. Nordholm, who has been the managing director of the IMPACT Ventures Board of Managers since October 2016, will assume the position of President of Anthem Wrestling Exhibitions, LLC. Dixie Carter will resign from her position as Chairman of Impact Ventures and join the Advisory Board of Fight Media Group, which holds all of the combat sports-related assets of Anthem, where her focus will be on the global growth of the combat sports-related brands owned by Anthem.

“Anthem has been a great partner for many years,” added Dixie Carter. “We have worked hard to find the right company who would acquire TNA, use its strategic influence and have a long-term commitment to the brand. TNA’s incredible fans, talent and staff deserved to see the brand continue to thrive after 15+ years of incredible growth. I’m excited to move to a new position and work with Anthem on their global strategic plan, and I am confident TNA IMPACT Wrestling is going to be a huge part of their success.”

Ms. Carter will remain a minority equity stakeholder.

Brock Lesnar Suspended by USADA Following UFC 200 Doping Case

According to MMAFighting.com, WWE star Brock Lesnar has been suspended for one year by USADA after failing two drug tests in relation to his UFC 200 fight against Mark Hunt back in July. Lesnar will be eligible to return to the Octagon on July 15, 2017, one year after his provisional USADA suspension began.

As noted, Lesnar tested positive for clomiphene and its metabolite, 4-hydroxyclomiphene, in an out-of-competition drug test which took place on June 28th, and in-competition test on July 9th, the night of his UFC 200 fight. Due to the nature of the drug for which Lesnar tested positive, one year was the maximum sanction Lesnar was going to receive under the UFC’s anti-doping policy.

As we reported last month, Brock Lesnar was also suspended one year and fined $250,000 fine by the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) last month. Lesnar’s win over Mark Hunt at UFC 200 was also overturned following the suspension and fine.

Former WWE Announcer Signs With UFC

Former WWE announcer and ESPN anchor Todd Grisham has signed with UFC.

Grisham will make his UFC debut at the Fight Night event on January 15th, which airs on FS1. Grisham signing with the company comes after long-time announcer Mike Goldberg finished up in December.

Grisham changed his Twitter handle and wrote the following today:

"Just changed my twitter handle to @GrishamMMA. 2017 is going to be a great year!"

All Charges Against Jimmy Snuka Dropped

All charges were dropped against WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy Snuka today at an unscheduled hearing in Allentown, PA by Judge Kelly L. Banach, according to WFMZ-TV. The judge ruled that Snuka's mental health will not improve enough to stand trial.

Snuka was facing third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter charges in the 1983 death of his then-girlfriend Nancy Argentino at a motel in Whitehall Township, PA. Snuka's lawyers have argued that he has dementia and is not fit to stand trial. Both the prosecution and the defense asked the judge to drop the case back in August if she believed Snuka's health would not improve. The judge needed more time to evaluate Snuka's condition and made her ruling today.

Ronda Rousey Suffers Stunning Defeat in Her Return Fight at UFC 207

UFC star Ronda Rousey returned at last night’s UFC 207 PPV at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, and faced Amanda Nunes for the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Championship in the main event.

Nunes made quick work of Rousey, as she defeated the former Champion 48 seconds into the first round via TKO. Below are detailed fight results, courtesy of Sherdog.com:

Herb Dean is the referee for tonight’s main event, scheduled for five rounds in the women’s bantamweight division. The champion Nunes sticks out a hand to touch gloves, but challenger Rousey shows no interest. Nunes connects with her first combination, putting Rousey on her back foot, backing up to the fence. Nunes walks her down, digs into the body with more punches, then goes back upstairs. Rousey is on wobbly legs, staggering around as Nunes continues to tag her with right hands. Rousey tries to clinch, gets a one-two to the face, a left straight on the jaw, now a right hand on the temple. Rousey is out on her feet, still absorbing punches, when referee Dean steps in to stop the beating. Nunes circles the cage with a finger to her lips, shushing the stunned crowd. Rousey seems confused at first, ready to keep fighting, but her bloody face tells the story of the brief fight. Amanda Nunes retains her UFC 135-pound title with an impressive performance against the former champion.

WWE Files Motion Seeking Dismissal Of Class-Action Suit, Responds to Latest Claims

PWInsider reports that WWE has filed a new motion seeking dismissal of the class-action lawsuit against them from dozens of wrestlers claiming that the company is responsible for numerous health-related injuries over the years. The motion was filed on December 23rd and was followed by a personal motion filed by Vince McMahon, both of which again ask the court to dismiss the lawsuit and also request that the US District Court of Connecticut sanction lawyers Konstantine Kyros, Brenden Leydon, S. James Boumil, Anthony Norris, Erica C. Mirabella and R. Christopher Gilreath.

The motion argues that the Amended lawsuit, which was last updated in November, incorrectly claims that “all of the deceased wrestlers who have been studied to date had CTE” and that “several hundred wrestlers died from Alzheimer’s or dementia related injuries” per the Cauliflower Alley Club’s website. It also says that the lawsuit incorrectly alleges that WWE knew wrestlers had “received repetitive head trauma that dramatically increased their risks of developing neurological disorders because of its relationship to the CAC.”

The new motion to dismiss argues against the notion that the company is legally responsible for the claims of former talent from WCW and ECW, both of which WWE purchased in 1991. WWE claims that “The Amended Complaint falsely alleges that WWE had a continuity of ownership, management, employees, and physical location with both WCW and ECW. It also falsely alleges that Diana Myers, Aaron Blitzstein, Rob Garner, and Steve Barrett, all former WCW employees, were subsequently employed by WWE.” It adds that the ECW-related claims should be dismissed, calling them “legally frivolous because WWE acquired certain assets of ECW free and clear of all claims pursuant to an order of a federal Bankruptcy Court, because WWE did not acquire or assume any liability to Plaintiffs, and because Plaintiffs cannot plead any exception to the general rule that a corporation that merely purchases certain assets of another corporation is not liable for the seller’s liabilities.”

The motion argues that WWE did not take over WCW operations from parent company Universal Wrestling Corp, as the corporate entity still exists in name.

The motion also responds to claims that Ashley Massaro made upon joining the lawsuit in November, in which she alleged that WWE pressured her not to report a sexual assault allegation while on a military base in Kuwait for the 2006 Tribute to the Troops show. The motion calls those claims false and says, “This baseless and inflammatory allegation is wholly unrelated to the claims in this case and was presented for the improper purpose of generating negative publicity against WWE in violation of this Court’s prior admonitions.”

More?

Kenny Omega On WWE Becoming A Monopoly

"It seems as though we're headed towards a monopoly, if I were to speak honestly. WWE is hiring people just to hire them. That's fine, and I'm happy for whoever's happy to collect a paycheck from them. A lot of my good friends are now receiving work and receiving money. But sadly, a lot of those people are signing with WWE just to ride the pine. You can't put all these guys on TV. On one end, you have these mom-and-pop indy superstars getting TV time, and people all around the world are able to see the art of what they do. And in a lot of cases, they're enjoying it, which is fantastic. I'm really happy about that," he said. "But as everyone gets picked up, as all these independent promotions have to shut down and close their doors because of WWE scooping everyone up, everyone's going to lose an option. And that guy you saw for that one tournament, you're not going to see him anymore. You can't put him on TV, there's only so much time. So eventually, people are going to run out of options."

Paul Orndorff And Dusty Rhodes To Enter Tragos / Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame

The National Wrestling Hall of Fame issued the following release, announcing Paul Orndorff and Dusty Rhodes will enter the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame at the 2017 induction ceremony in Waterloo, Iowa:

WATERLOO, Iowa—Two of professional wrestling’s most memorable figures will be inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. Paul Orndorff and Dusty Rhodes will be inducted into the 2017 George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame induction weekend on July 20-22.

“The Tragos/Thesz Hall of Fame weekend continues to build every year,” said Gerry Brisco, 2005 inductee and president of the selection committee. “I’m excited that Paul and Dusty will be recognized for their significant achievements in professional wrestling. This is a huge honor for both.”

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Stephanie McMahon shuts up WWE fans’ CM Punk chants with a savage burn

It’s inevitable that whenever WWE returns to Chicago, fans will try to take over a segment by chanting the name of CM Punk – the Chicago native who was unceremoniously fired by WWE in 2014.

Raw commissioner Stephanie McMahon opened the show by coming to the ring, and it took less than five minutes for a round of deafening CM Punk chants to drown her out. McMahon was prepared, though.

Monday Night Raw's Chicago crowd chanted for CM Punk but @StephMcMahon silenced them with a callback to his UFC loss https://t.co/kdUuzUAG9A

— WWE on ESPN (@WWEonESPN) December 27, 2016

Punk, of course, made it just two minutes and 14 seconds in his UFC debut against Mickey Gall.

Ill-fated XFL getting resurrected with NYC hall of fame

ESPN Films 30 for 30 tweeted out that the XFL will receive a Hall of Fame for one day in New York City to help promote its upcoming This Was the XFL episode. The "Pop-up" exhibit will be free to the public on January 14th and will take place at the Helen Mills Event Space and Theater in Chelsea, showing off memorabilia from the now defunct league.

Fun Fact: The XFL Hall of Fame is coming to NYC!

Here's everything you need to know. #ThisWasTheXFL https://t.co/ePBKFVdWEF

— ESPN Films 30 for 30 (@30for30) December 23, 2016

Rolling Stone Ranks The 10 Best WWE Wrestlers Of 2016

Rolling Stone recently published their list of the 10 best WWE Superstars of 2016:

1. AJ Styles
2. Charlotte Flair
3. Chris Jericho
4. Sasha Banks
5. Bill Goldberg
6. Kevin Owens
7. Heath Slater
8. The Miz
9. Seth Rollins
10. Enzo & Cass

Pro Wrestling Has A Scott Boras-Like Super-Agent, And His Client List Is Mind Blowing

In football there is Drew Rosenhaus. In baseball there is Scott Boras. And in pro wrestling there is Bill Behrens. You may not know his name, but you know many of his endless list of clients. A virtual who’s who of elite squared-circle performers that dominate cable television on Monday or Tuesday nights. Just a few months ago he brokered a once unthinkable deal to finally landed AJ Styles in a WWE ring. In fact, even he admits he was surprised it happened. It seemed as though Styles was heading back to TNA before Triple H gave him a call and intervened.

Behrens has Hall of Fame announcer Jim Ross on speed dial and is proudly the booking agent for the man that nearly put WWE out of business in the late 1990s, Eric Bischoff. Everybody who’s ever been anybody in wrestling is seemingly connected to him. Kevin Nash trusts him to find the perfect dates on the independent wrestling circuit. As does Scott Hall and Sean “X-Pac” Waltman.

And even though he’s negotiating for the icons of the wrestling business, he’s not afraid to negotiate a deal without a contract with one of the largest wrestling companies in the world. It’s a matter of trust.

Behrens is the equivalent of the Dos Equis guy. He’s the most interesting man in the world… the wrestling world anyway.

You can listen to the full interview here.

source: cbslocal.com

Billy Gunn Talks Wanting To Return To WWE, What Triple H Told Him When He Was Hired As A Coach

"Of course I would. I loved coaching. That is my thing – I love teaching people that want to learn this business. I would go back in a minute if asked. Coaching was such a different avenue for me, and I didn't think that I had it in me. When Paul [Levesque] hired me, he goes, 'You can't be one the boys, and we've got to trial run to see if you'll be a good coach. Just because you're good in the ring doesn't mean you'll be a good coach.' There are different personalities who you have to coach, and you've got to be able to adjust. For me, a big part of coaching is having a trust for the students that are in your class. If they trust you, and you don't talk beneath them, you can create an even playing field. Yes, what I say goes, but there has to be an open discussion. As long as they trust me, then they're going to listen to me and then they'll learn. If they don't trust me, then what I say goes on deaf ears and they go out there and do whatever. As a coach, I had to have a relationship with every one of my students. I would love to go back."

Chris Hero Talks WWE Return And News Getting Out, Gives Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Farewell?, More

As noted, former WWE NXT Superstar Chris Hero, known then as Kassius Ohno, is reportedly set to return to the company soon. There's still no word on if he will be returning to NXT or headed to the main roster. Hero may have had his farewell for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla at their December 16th Mystery Vortex show in Reseda, California. Hero took the pin as he and JT Dunn lost to Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly.

After the match, Hero took the mic and put over the other talents in the match. According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, he then said he wanted to talk about "the elephant in the room" and called himself the elephant. Hero wasn't happy about the news of his WWE return getting out and was blindsided by it. He said he wanted to tell certain promoters he's regularly worked with about the return to WWE before they read it on the internet but that wasn't possible after Dave Meltzer of The Observer broke the story. Hero also wasn't happy because people read the story on his WWE return and took it as he's already gone from the indies but he was still awaiting the final confirmation.

Meltzer first heard about Hero returning to WWE several weeks ago, from a WWE source off the record, but didn't get multiple sources saying so on the record until the day it was reported. Hero has apparently agreed to the deal and has done his medical tests but it appears the process is still not completed as of this week, according to Meltzer. Hero mentioned in his PWG speech how Willie Mack and other talents have been told they were coming in but then were not brought in due to various medical issues. Hero's first run with the company was delayed due to his own medical issues.

Hero is not booking indie dates for 2017, which could indicate he will be starting soon if the deal goes through. Hero did say he wasn't sure if the PWG show on December 16th was his last for the promotion.

Chyna's Cause Of Death Revealed, Former Manager Speaks On Her Passing

People has an article here about Joanie "Chyna" Laurer's autopsy report, which revealed that she had ingested painkillers oxycodone and oxymorphone, as well as Valium, nordiazepam (a muscle relaxant) and temazepam (a sleeping aide) and mixed them with alcohol. It was noted that bottles of prescription medication where found around her apartment, and she was found "with a bloody purge and foam coming from her nose and mouth."

"She had been a little emotionally strained. She was really confronting some demons and she may have been taking a little bit more than normal," Chyna's former manager Anthony Anzaldo said. "Every couple of days she'd be a little bit off of her game, a little loopy, like maybe she had taken too much but she was still coherent."

Chyna was found dead this past April at her apartment in Redondo Beach, California. She was 45 years old.

Michael Cole Says Corey Graves Is 'The Next Jerry Lawler'

ESPN has a new article online featuring quotes from Michael Cole. In it, he sung the praises of Corey Graves. Below is an excerpt:

"We knew he was gonna be good, I just didn't know he was gonna be this good, this fast," Cole said of Graves. "We gave him a chance and he really worked hard at it. This didn't come to him easy. He put a lot of time in at the Performance Center, and hours and hours of work.

"We put him on Raw, and he took off. He's the new guy, he's the new heel. He's the next JBL, the next Jerry Lawler," Cole continued. "He's got a unique presence, he's got sarcasm and he's got wit, and he also has the experience of being in the ring, being a former NXT tag team champion. He has everything. A good looking young kid - he's the future of what we do here.”

WWE Superstar Announced For Arnold Sports Festival Competition, WWE Experience - Arnold Note

Dana Brooke, under her real name Ashley Sebera, has been announced for the Fitness International competition at The 2017 Arnold Sports Festival on Friday, March 3rd in Columbus, Ohio.

Dana earned her International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness pro card in 2012 and won several National Physique Committee championships before signing with WWE. This isn't her first Arnold competition as she placed 12th at the 2013 European Arnold Classic and placed 13th at the 2015 Arnold Sports Festival.

On a related note, the official Arnold Sports Twitter account noted today that they do not have WWE on the schedule at this time. WWE has had a presence at The Arnold for a few years now and after Triple H appeared with WWE Hall of Famer Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this year for a Q&A, it was reported that WWE would continue to work the festival. This year's "WWE Experience" at The Arnold was considered to be a success.

Triple H Talks UK Championship Possibly Leading To Weekly Show

As noted, Triple H last week announced the United Kingdom Championship tournament at London's O2 Arena. ESPN caught up with The Game to discuss the tournament and what's next, below are some highlights:

The goal of the U.K. Championship tournament:

"That's the goal, is to become a weekly show. Hopefully we can make that work out, a weekly show that can feature the best of the U.K. talent and put that out there in a way that gives talent here a clear path into the WWE. Starting here and moving up the line and going through things. I think that's a huge opportunity and will help everybody down the line."