Roman Reigns Suspended By WWE For Wellness Policy Violation

WWE announced Tuesday that Roman Reigns (real name Joe Anoa`i) has been suspended 30 days effective immediately for his first violation of the organization's Talent Wellness Program.

Reigns issued a statement on Twitter this afternoon regarding his suspension.

"I apologize to my family, friends and fans for my mistake in violating WWE's wellness policy," Reigns tweeted. "No excuses. I own it."

UFC Reportedly Tells Employees That Report of $4.2 Billion Sale is False

Incident Involving Paige In Las Vegas

Photos were leaked online of Paige involved in an incident in Las Vegas. In one photo, she appeared to be handcuffed by police, and in another she is seen getting into an ambulance.

Paige was detained by police, however no charges were filed against her. She was taken to the hospital, however was released and was obviously cleared to wrestle on tonight's episode of WWE RAW.

The WWE is investigating the matter. There was speculation that the incident was being filmed for Total Divas or Swerved, however that is not the case.

WWE Draft Officially Announced, Date Revealed, Kevin Dunn Comments

WWE sent us the following today:

WWE®'S DESTINY LIVE ON SMACKDOWN®

NEW YORK and STAMFORD, CONN – June 20, 2016 – The destiny of all WWE Superstars will be determined on the first-ever live SmackDown on Tuesday, July 19 from 8-10 pm ET/PT on USA Network. A draft will be conducted by respective General Managers as to which talent will be chosen exclusively for Monday Night Raw® or SmackDown.

For the first time in history on back-to-back nights, these two distinctive brands (Monday Night Raw and Tuesday's SmackDown) will compete with each other for television ratings, live events, and pay-per-views.

"This is an exciting new era for WWE in which we will yet again reinvent ourselves by creating a second night of compelling live television," said Kevin Dunn, Executive Producer, WWE.

"We're already hearing the excitement among WWE fans for SmackDown's new live format, and our audiences are eagerly anticipating the live draft and what it means for their favorite Superstars," said Chris McCumber, President, Entertainment Networks, NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment.

With 878 original episodes, SmackDown is the second longest-running weekly episodic program in U.S. television history, only behind Monday Night Raw at 1,203 episodes.

UFC Sale Reportedly Finalized For $4.2 Billion, News On Dana White's Future With The Company

What was once thought unimaginable appears to be a reality.

According to a report from FloCombat's Jeremy Botter, the UFC has accepted a bid of $4.2 billion to be sold to the ownership group of WME-IMG, the Dalian Wanda Group, The Kraft Group and Tencent Holdings, the owners of the largest internet portal in China. The sale hasn't been completed but isn't expected to be announced until after UFC 200 on July 9.

Many bids were submitted but it came down to two groups: the WME-IMG, the Dalian Wanda Group, The Kraft Group and Tencent Holdings team and the other was China Media Capital. FloCombat also reports the CMC's bid was short of what the UFC was looking for in the deal.

The website also reports that in 2015, Fox, which is their TV partner, made an offer to buy the world's largest MMA organization but the bid was denied when the offer came in at half of what the UFC was looking for.

The majority of the money to broker the deal is being put up by DWG and Tencent Holdings. WMG-IMG and The Kraft Group though would act as the faces of the group, particularly in North America.

Questions have surfaced on whether Dana White would remain in the UFC. FloCombat states that White will stay with the UFC. White owns slightly less than nine percent of the company and his shares will be sold as part of the sale, but he will be getting new shares to stay on as UFC President.

Backstage Notes On The WWE CWC

Most of the 32 WWE Cruiserweight Classic participants are in Orlando for the tapings that begin this Thursday. Some are also undergoing blood tests and physicals this week, according to PWInsider. WWE has reportedly brought in some extra talents in case they are needed as replacements fore the tournament. PWInsider adds that the 205 lb. weight limit for the tournament is being enforced and a very sport-like presentation for the tournament is expected.

Linda McMahon Talks Her Role in WWE Going PG, Vince Being a Forward Thinker, Has She Ever Met Anyone Like Vince?, More

Former WWE CEO Linda McMahon recently spoke with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard and below are some interview highlights:

If she’s ever met anyone like Vince McMahon:

“No, I’ve yet to meet anyone like him. I was the honors student and the civic leader in my hometown, and Vince was the local badass. There was a little bit of that bad boy aspect that I think was incredibly appealing, and it must have been–we’ll have our fiftieth anniversary this coming August. He’s one of the smartest people I know, and a very shrewd businessman.”

Vince being an extremely forward-thinker:

“Obviously you play a role on television. Stephanie is obviously not this overly aggressive, over-the-top, very bad women that she portrays on television. She’s this wonderful, gregarious, fantastic mom, accomplished professional, respected in many segments–it’s no different than any other actor who plays a role. Vince McMahon is as progressive a thinker as anyone.”

If she played a role in WWE going PG:

“That wasn’t me, so much, moving to a PG-rating. The development of WWE programming, over time, has mirrored the market place. During the time that WWE was in the ‘Attitude Era,’ which was TV-14–if you looked at television programming and movies that were produced, they were edgier during that same time frame. Then, as that opinion shifted, WWE’s opinion shifted, as well, and sponsors had different demands. It was more of a family-friendlier audience to come back to PG-TV.”

Jerry Lawler Domestic Assault Case Update

As noted, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler and his fiancee Lauryn McBride were arraigned this morning following their domestic dispute early Saturday morning.

Lawler and McBride were ordered by Judge William Turner to "stay away from each other" while the case is ongoing.

"Those are standard bail conditions in a domestic violence case," said Mark Mesler, McBride's attorney. "No contact, no communicating, no texts, no phone calls."

Lawler declined to issue comment on the case. The next court date is July 1st.

Kurt Angle Says He'll Return To WWE, Reveals Recent Conversation With Triple H

Kurt Angle appeared on Mark Madden's radio show today in Pittsburgh and was asked if he had been contacted by WWE about a possible return to the company. While there has been no deal made, Angle seemed pretty confident that he will return to the company one day.

"Will I return? Yes," Angle replied. "I don't know when."

Angles said that he spoke to Triple H about six weeks ago, which was before the brand split was announced. Angle said that it was a good conversation, and that they are on good terms. He said that he was not contacted about the brand split, and that he's not expecting anything.

Angle said that he's fine if WWE contacts him again or not. He says he doesn't know when he'd return, but he once again said that he hasn't been contacted yet about returning for the brand split.

Angle was asked if he wanted to go back for one more match, and he confirmed that it what was he had talked with WWE about. He said that Vince McMahon and Triple H were great, and they had a great talk. He said that they told him that they wanted to push younger talent and they weren't looking for the older guys, "but then all of a sudden the brand split occurred."

He said that he doesn't know if WWE is in a position to need older talent and noted that he could still go in the ring.

Angle later admitted that he doesn't plan to wrestle for much longer. He said that he most likely want to go to WWE and wrestle part-time, before possibly moving on to managing. He said that he'd like to manage Chad Gable and Jason Jordan.

John Cena’s Previously Pulled PBR Shirt is Back

>br>It appears that WWE and Pabst Blue Ribbon beer have worked out there differences, as John Cena is once again sporting his PBR-inspired shirt heading into his Money in the Bank match against AJ Styles. The shirt was originally put out for Cena’s return to Raw on Memorial Day, but was pulled after the beer company threatened the 15-time world champ with a cease and desist.

Chris Nowinski Responds To Being Targeted For Being 'Too Cozy' With WWE

I am releasing a statement regarding the Concussion Legacy Foundation's outreach and recruiting efforts within the professional wrestling community. This is in advance of a reporter writing an article attempting to create controversy where there is none. This statement makes clear that we remain committed to improving health outcomes of professional wrestlers, and explains how we accomplish that within the broader scope of our mission.

Specifically, I have been informed that, in an upcoming article, a reporter is attempting to invent conflict by asserting that post-death brain donations among professional wrestlers have declined since CLF received an unrestricted gift from WWE in 2012 that has supported research aimed at accelerating a cure for CTE. These assertions ignore the facts; completely misunderstand the process and motivation behind CLF's brain donation recruiting and outreach; and disregard CLF's broad mission to advance research into CTE for all athletes and other at-risk groups, with a special focus on contact sports that millions of children play, as well as military veterans.

Scientific inquiry into CTE is complex. In the interest of providing the general public, as well as the professional wrestling community, with a better understanding of our brain donation initiatives and our broad research and education efforts, as well as to explain how these efforts benefit members of the professional wrestling community, I have prepared this summary. Be assured that the science remains independent, unrestricted and driven by our goals of advancing research toward detection during life as well as treatment and a cure for CTE, in addition to advancing public health.

More?

Wale Has Triple H On His New Mixtape

Glad I could be a part of it. Best of luck on the west coast @Wale... #SeeYouAtStaples #BlessUp https://t.co/E9NVVeLf9S

— Triple H (@TripleH) June 18, 2016

dat boy @wale got 'Triple H' on his tape 💪🏽

— Yung Rénzél (@rickyrozay) June 18, 2016

Wale has Jim Ross and Triple H on his new mixtape, Summer on Sunset. The song is called Smackdown: Raw. You can listen to it here.