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He's getting tests done today. WWE.com will follow that.mlev76 wrote:PWInsider says he got a concussion. Haven't seen anyone else report that.
"Jakked" Jinder in the role of "Hardcore" Holly, that's a frightening thought.BoxingRobes wrote:Talking Smack is such a great vehicle for Smackdown...I thought Jinder was great on there. I hate to put over two-star performers...but I thought the Talking Smack segment with him was great. Genuine. Not clean or rehearsed.
I'm such a mark for these former WWE guys coming back as the grizzled veterans. Would like to see Jinder stiff and work over WWE young boys.
Obviously he has that crazy unique body now, but he cuts a good form in a suit too. They need to drop the irate foreigner thing and give him something similar to Del Rio. I'm confident he could pull it off.BoxingRobes wrote:Talking Smack is such a great vehicle for Smackdown...I thought Jinder was great on there. I hate to put over two-star performers...but I thought the Talking Smack segment with him was great. Genuine. Not clean or rehearsed.
I'm such a mark for these former WWE guys coming back as the grizzled veterans. Would like to see Jinder stiff and work over WWE young boys.
Stealing a passport goes beyond ribbing and is a criminal offense. Keep in mind that in the book, and in interviews, not once did Roberts accuse Layfield of taking the passport, only that when he got to TV, Vince McMahon was making fun of him about losing his passport.
The issues are far deeper than Layfield. The Fire Layfield movement is clearly asking for a simplistic answer to a complex issue within the company, that comes from well above him. The goal of this publicity should not be to create a scapegoat, or celebrate if the pressure is such that Vince McMahon does a Pat Patterson with Layfield, having him leave while still backing him and bringing him back when the heat is off. (For the record, I believe Pat Patterson should never have left the company even if it was largely a very temporary and largely worked departure). It should be a lesson regarding the change in culture and that the company will realize it’s not worth the risk of this coming up again, and changing internally.
It was noted to us that moving Reigns, which was evidently still under discussion of late, would have also required moving both Braun Strowman and Brock Lesnar, since the company’s key summer storylines revolved around Strowman working on top against Reigns, leading to Lesnar, and keeping alive Reigns vs. Lesnar as the top program with the idea of keeping them apart as long as possible, with the idea being WrestleMania.
Owens vs. A.J. Styles is likely for the U.S. title on the 5/21 Backlash PPV in Chicago. There doesn’t seem like a ready-made opponent for Orton on that show, so unless they keep the Wyatt program, that would seem to leave the challenger as Corbin, because it would seem to early for Nakamura.
Jim Ross’ new deal with WWE is for him to work between 30 and 40 dates for the company for the year. That seems to rule out being on a 52 week a year show, and Ross has publicly said he’s not interested in that role anymore anyway as he doesn’t want to do that level of traveling. That could be appearing at PPVs, doing studio work in Connecticut, or announcing other live events.
An NFL story that could have pro wrestling repercussions is that James Laurinaitis, the son of Road Warrior Animal and nephew of John Laurinaitis, announced his retirement from pro football on 4/10 at the age of 30. Laurinaitis growing up was a standout in both football and ice hockey, and would have been a high-round NHL draft choice had it not been clear his goal was pro football. He was a major star at Ohio State, where he was a three-time All-American and Nagurski Award winner (best defensive player in college football in 2006) and played from 2009 to 2015 with the St. Louis Rams and last season with the New Orleans Saints. He was cut by the Saints last season after a quad injury. There had always been talk of him going to WWE after his pro football career was over. He made a lot of money in football and it’s probably dependent on how banged up his body is from the sport as to whether he’ll want to start pro wrestling.