Former WWE superstar Gabbi Tuft comes out as transgender

Gabbi Tuft is ready to show the world who she is.

Tuft, a former WWE wrestling star, announced she is transgender this week.

"This is me," she wrote in an Instagram post coming out as transgender. "Unashamed, unabashedly me."

The former wrestler was active in the WWE from 2009-2012 under the ring name "Tyler Reks." In 2012, she left WWE fame to spend more time with her wife, Priscilla, and their daughter.

But her post-wrestling life wasn't always smooth sailing.

"The previous eight months have been some of the darkest of my entire life," Tuft wrote on Instagram. "The emotional turmoil of being transgender and having to face the world has almost ended me on multiple occasions."

Tuft, a former WWE wrestling star, announced she is transgender this week.

"This is me," she wrote in an Instagram post coming out as transgender. "Unashamed, unabashedly me."

The former wrestler was active in the WWE from 2009-2012 under the ring name "Tyler Reks." In 2012, she left WWE fame to spend more time with her wife, Priscilla, and their daughter.

But her post-wrestling life wasn't always smooth sailing.

"The previous eight months have been some of the darkest of my entire life," Tuft wrote on Instagram. "The emotional turmoil of being transgender and having to face the world has almost ended me on multiple occasions."

"However," she said, "the day I stopped caring about what other people thought, was the day I truly became limitless and allowed my authentic self to come into the light."

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Booker T on How He Looks Back at His WrestleMania Match With Triple H, Possible Rematch

During a recent edition of his Hall of Fame podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Booker T spoke about his match with Triple H for the World Heavyweight title at WrestleMania 19, which was a very controversial loss. During the podcast, Booker T spoke about getting back into the ring with Triple to get his win back, saying it would have to be a big payday for him for a WWE card in Saudi Arabia.

Additionally, Booker T noted he doesn’t look back at the matchup thinking he “should’ve won that.” Below is an excerpt and a clip of Booker T talking about the matchup (via Fightful):

“If Booker T vs. Triple H went down, it would have to be in Saudi because they are passing out big big checks. For me to get in the ring, the situation would have to be right. I would want to get paid to get back in the ring. ‘Oh you wrestle at Reality of Wrestling.’ Yeah, that’s my place and it’s my job to teach my students how it’s done sometimes. That’s how I am. I would love to have another match, if the situation is right, with Triple H. A lot of people think about that match and talk about it and the ending wasn’t what most fans wanted. So many people wanted me to win that night. A couple of the office guys were like, ‘Book, you should have won that night.’ WELL YOU WROTE IT! Why didn’t you speak up? [laughs]. I don’t lose any sleep over it because I’ve looked at wrestling like movies. Sometimes, the bad guy wins. I’ve never once looked back at that match and been like, ‘You should’ve won that.'”

 

Damian Priest On Triple H Telling Him About Call-Up

In a recent interview with Sportskeeda, Damian Priest discussed Triple H telling him he was joining the main roster:

"He wanted to tell me face to face and shake my hand and congratulate me. I appreciate that he was the one just cause he’s helped me so much, and he believed in me. That’s the main thing. Like he’s actually believed in me and helped me to believe that it’s okay to be myself. So I was really appreciative that he was the one and the words he said to me, you know like, as far as like going forward and it was super cool.”

Bianca Belair On Her Post-Royal Rumble Talk With Triple H

 

Bianca Belair recently spoke with Ryan Satin of FOX Sports to promote her big win in last Sunday’s Women’s WWE Royal Rumble Match. She revealed a talk she had with Triple H after her win at Tropicana Field.

Belair was asked if Triple H gave her any specific advice as she’s headed to WrestleMania 37, or any insight on what to prepare for over the next few months.

“I mean, I’ve always gotten a lot of different words from him and some of them I always want to keep for me and for myself,” she said. “But, the one thing that really stuck with me from that night was, he just commented on everything that I’ve been through from the very beginning and said he always believed in me, and the one thing that stuck with me was, I won the Royal Rumble and I’m about to go to WrestleMania, but I haven’t even scratched the surface yet.

“That’s the one thing I’m like, ‘Okay. You’re right.’ Because, you know, you win the Royal Rumble, and you’re going to WrestleMania and everybody in WWE wants to go to WrestleMania. That’s your dream. But, winning the Royal Rumble, hearing him say that you haven’t even scratched the surface yet, lets me know, ‘Don’t get complacent. You won the Royal Rumble, but don’t get complacent.’

“So, lets me know, ‘Get your emotions in check. Don’t just be happy with the Royal Rumble win. You gotta go to WrestleMania and you still have something else to prove. And even after WrestleMania, whatever happens, you still have a long career to go from there.'”

New Japan Pro-Wrestling Sets Roku Channel TV Deal in U.S., U.K, Canada

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) will air on the Roku Channel in the U.S., U.K., and Canada under a new television deal, Variety has learned.

The professional wrestling promotion will air a one-hour weekly series on the Roku Channel beginning Feb. 11 and will air every Thursday thereafter beginning at 5 p.m. Episodes will then be available on-demand to Roku’s estimated 61.8 million users for free with ads. Additionally, the Roku Channel will host a block of library content, featuring key highlights from the 2020 NJPW catalogue, with potential for the introduction of more historical content in the future. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The deal will make NJPW the first pro-wrestling promotion to debut on an AVOD service. WWE recently announced that it will be moving the WWE Network over to Peacock, with that transition set to take place on March 18.

source:  variety.com

Shawn Michaels On Working With Triple H In NXT

Shawn Michaels on whether creative has changed in NXT since moving to NXT and what it’s like working with Triple H:

“Not that I’m aware of. Hunter, obviously, he’s the final say. But we’ve always had similar visions and similar ideas as far as creative and what we enjoy about wrestling. I’m still a huge wrestling fan, and when they’re actually out there in the ring, I don’t think anybody gets any more joy out of that than I do. Hunter has learned so much more than me when it comes to a production standpoint. He could now produce a movie or a motion picture. I’m very much enjoying learning that aspect from him. I think we balance each other out.

“I’m still the wrestling fan part of it – the simplicity, the old wild west aspect of it. Together, he’s able to take something that may be very wrong that I might have as an idea and make it so much bigger and better than what it was. In that aspect, I think we work well together. It’s still a business, and it’s no different than when we were in the ring. It continues to evolve and change, and you have to adapt to that. To me, that’s where all the enjoyment comes out……there’s just nothing better than being able to be out there and work side by side with the guys you drove up and down the road with.”

WWE Files Lawsuit Against US Citizenship And Immigration Services

WWE has filed a lawsuit against United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday, January 26 in the US District Court of Connecticut, according to PWInsider. Immigration attorney Martine G. Cuomo has filed documents on behalf of WWE for the lawsuit.

The nature of the lawsuit is currently sealed to the public, but speculation is that this has to do with WWE not being able to get a talent or employee into the United States, possibly due to recent policy changes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Court records show that Citizenship and Immigration Services has not been served with the lawsuit yet, but they have 60 days to respond. Records also indicate that amended pleadings must be filed by March 27 with discovery completed by July 8.

ESPN Is Reportedly Finished With WWE

ESPN has reportedly made the decision to stop airing all WWE content

Dave Meltzer indicated that there are issues between WWE and ESPN as it’s believed that ESPN was a significant part of the WWE Network talks before WWE decided on a deal with NBCU for Peacock. Disney is the parent company of ESPN, and there were rumors at one point of Disney/ESPN potentially being interest in buying WWE. Apparently ESPN found out three weeks ago that they were not getting the WWE Network deal. Meltzer then reported that ESPN has “pretty much shut down” any WWE coverage, and right now no more WWE content is to air on ESPN.

ESPN started airing classic WWE content back in 2020, and often covers significant stories for the company. ESPN launched a WWE subsite in 2016, but it looks like that site is no longer being regularly updated. It was also reported back in February 2020 that WWE and ESPN had talks about potentially moving WWE pay-per-view events to the ESPN+ platform.

WWE Network – Peacock Deal Reportedly Worth More Than $1 Billion

The new WWE Network – Peacock deal is reportedly worth more than $1 billion.

As noted, WWE announced today that NBCUniversal’s Peacock will become the exclusive new home for the WWE Network in the United States on Thursday, March 18. You can click here for full details on the announcement, including price points.

In an update, the Wall Street Journal reports that a person familiar with the deal says it runs for 5 years, and is valued at more than $1 billion. WWE and NBCU did not officially disclose terms of the multi-year agreement.

It’s also been noted that WWE and NBCU will share details on how existing WWE Network subscribers in the United States will be switched to the Peacock platform in the next few weeks. It remains to be seen if current subscribers will be automatically subscribed to Peacock, or how they will do it.

WWE Network will continue to operate as a stand-alone entity outside of the United States and nothing will change for international users.

WSJ also reported that Alan Gold, a partner at Creative Artists Agency’s advisory and investment Evolution Media, served as an adviser on the new WWE – Peacock deal.

NBCU’s Peacock Pins WWE Network Exclusive U.S. Streaming Rights

NBCUniversal’s Peacock soon will be the only place to watch WWE Network in the U.S.

WWE and NBCU reached a multiyear agreement giving Peacock exclusive streaming rights to WWE Network for American viewers. The over-the-top wrestling entertainment service’s existing U.S. subscribers (about 1.1 million in total) will be migrated over to Peacock Premium, where they’ll continue to get access to WWE Network but will pay 50% less per month while getting full access to the version of the Peacock Premium tier with ads.

Peacock will launch WWE Network on March 18, 2021, when Peacock will begin the rollout of more than 17,000 hours of WWE Network new, original, and library programming (both on-demand and on a new 24-hour channel).

The NBCU streamer will have all WWE live events — for no additional charge — including WrestleMania and SummerSlam, with Fastlane the first event to stream on Peacock on Sunday, March 21. (WWE fans who would prefer to order events via traditional pay-per-view will still have that option.)

WWE Network will be available on Peacock Premium (which includes ads) for $4.99 per month, half the price of WWE Network’s current $9.99/month pricing. The no-commercials Peacock Premium Plus plan, which costs $9.99/month, also will include WWE Network.

The companies plans to share details of how existing WWE Network subscribers in the U.S. will be switched to Peacock (e.g., whether they will be automatically subscribed to Peacock) in the next few weeks. Nothing will change for WWE Network subscribers outside the U.S.

Financial terms of the Peacock-WWE Network pact were not disclosed. According to sources, it’s a five-year deal worth more than $1 billion over that time period.

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The Undertaker Talks About WWE's Drug Testing Protocol

During an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience, The Undertaker revealed he is currently working for WWE under a legends contract like that of Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan etc. He revealed the news wh talking about drug testing in WWE.

"Before I switched my contract — now I’m not a Talent, I’m a Legend — I only worked two or three times a year, but I was under a regular contract. Under a regular contract, and this is if you tested clean, you had to have four mandatory piss tests and two blood tests every year. They’d get to the end of the year and I’d get a call, ‘Go to the lab and do a piss test.’ I hadn’t been in the ring in 6 or 7 months, but they’d look at the book and say ‘oh, we forgot about him.’ So you get the piss test done, but that was only three. Sure enough, next day, another phone call, ‘go back to the lab.’ 

They’re totally random, they just show up. I was home, that’s why I didn’t get tested until the end. I know what the protocol is and if anyone could get out of it, it would be me, and I couldn’t get out of it."

The Undertaker signed a contract recently until 2035.

Triple H Asked If He Will Eventually Run WWE

Triple H appeared on ESPN’s The Michael Kay Show this week. The Game spoke with Michael Kay, Don La Greca and Peter Rosenberg about any plans he may have to take over WWE one day.

“Look, for me, all of this comes down to the success of WWE. I never started doing this from any standpoint. When I first got into this, I just wanted to do it because I thought it was the greatest form of entertainment in the world and you just want to be great at it and whatever comes along with it. As my career wound down, I realized that I was just as fascinated with the behind-the-scenes of it.”

“It’s irrelevant to me who is steering the ship, who is doing what, there is plenty of work for everybody here. For me, it’s just about ensuring that like the tagline says, ‘Then, Now and Forever,’ that this brand of entertainment that I personally consider the greatest blended form of entertainment in the world, that it continues. So to me, it’s irrelevant, any of it, just as long as it continues.”

You can listen to the full Triple H appearance on the The Michael Kay Show at ESPN.