WWE resumes live broadcasts from Florida

MIAMI - World Wrestling Entertainment, a US media group whose wrestlers body-slam their opponents into oblivion, has resumed live broadcasting of bouts after gaining "essential services" status in Florida.

With sports and entertainment events shut down worldwide amid the coronavirus pandemic, WWE wasted no time after Florida's emergency management director confirmed it provided an essential service -- along with hospitals, firefighters, grocery providers and mental health care workers.

A memo sent Friday, based on an executive order from governor Ron DeSantis, confirms essential services now include "employees at a professional sports and media production with a national audience – including any athletes, entertainers, production team, executive team, media team and any others necessary to facilitate including services supporting such production – only if the location is closed to the general public."

On Monday, WWE aired a live episode of its weekly series "Raw" from its Orlando production facility.

"As a brand that has been woven into the fabric of society, WWE and its Superstars bring families together and deliver a sense of hope, determination and perseverance," the company said in a statement, adding that it would take "additional precautions" to guard the health and safety of performers and staff.

WWE's move could conceivably open the door for other sports in Florida.

Even before the order, Major League Baseball was reportedly mulling a plan to hold regular-season games at training facilities in Florida and Arizona in a bid to get the season delayed by the pandemic underway.

Ultimate Fighting Championship, the mixed martial arts organization that has been trying in vain to find a venue to stage a fight amid virus lockdowns, owns event space in Florida.

UFC boss Dana White was thwarted in his bid to hold UFC 249 without fans on April 18 at an undisclosed location, reportedly a Native American tribal reservation in California.

The move met with resistance from California Senator Dianne Feinstein and White said that he finally postponed the event at the request of broadcasters ESPN.

bb/caw/

Agence France-Presse

Saudi Arabia to stage first women's wrestling match

RIYADH -- The first ever women's wrestling match in Saudi Arabia will be held on Thursday, organizers said, the latest unlikely event staged in the kingdom as it attempts to shrug off an ultra-conservative image.

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. (WWE) said that its "superstars" Natalya and Lacey Evans will face off in the pay-per-view event which will also feature former boxing champion Tyson Fury as he takes on Braun Strowman.

The organizers said the two women had done battle in some tough bouts recently, including one that Evans, a former US Marine, "won by powerbombing her foe off the side of the stage and through a table".

The bout at King Fahd Stadium will be an incongruous scene in a country where women are generally obliged to wear the black "abaya" cloak.

However, Saudi Arabia is boosting entertainment that allows citizens to have fun, in what some see as an attempt to blunt public frustration over an economic downturn and high youth unemployment.

De facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has introduced reforms including allowing concerts, reopening cinemas, and lifting a prohibition on women driving.

Developing the tourism and leisure sector is one of the foundations of his Vision 2030 plan to prepare the Arab world's largest economy for the post-oil era.

In a landmark decision in August Saudi Arabia announced it would offer tourist visas -- relaxing rules that had largely restricted visits to business travelers and Muslim pilgrims.

However, not all the initiatives have gone to plan. Nicki Minaj, known for her provocative, profanity-laced lyrics and skin-baring music videos, was to headline a concert in Riyadh in July but pulled out in a show of solidarity for women's and gay rights in the kingdom.

The wrestling match is part of the Riyadh Season, which includes more than 100 entertainment and arts events over two months during the capital's cooler winter months.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Ex-UFC champ Rousey signs with WWE, appears at Royal Rumble

Former UFC women's bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has officially signed with the WWE, ESPN reported.

Rousey's dominance inside the Octagon made her one of UFC's biggest superstars, but a shock loss to Holly Holm in November 2015 smashed the aura of invincibility around her. Another loss to Amanda Nunes, in December 2016, signaled the end of her UFC career and she has not fought since.

On Sunday at the Royal Rumble in Philadelphia, Rousey confirmed what had long been suspected when she made an appearance towards the end of the show.

At the conclusion of the first-ever women's Royal Rumble match – won in entertaining fashion by Asuka – Rousey made her first entrance to the squared circle, introduced by her familiar "Bad Reputation" music.

"Rowdy" offered no words, simply pointing to the blazing WrestleMania sign hanging above the arena. She shook hands with Asuka and Stephanie McMahon, then left.

Speaking to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, Rousey said: "This is my life now. First priority on my timeline for the next several years. This is not a smash-and-grab; this is not a publicity stunt."

 
Rousey first appeared in the WWE during WrestleMania 31 in 2015, when she teamed up with The Rock to take on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Mayweather, McGregor trade verbal jabs as countdown begins

LOS ANGELES - Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor traded verbal jabs on Tuesday as the circus-like countdown to their money-spinning superfight cranked into overdrive on the Las Vegas Strip.

Thousands of fans including a sizeable contingent of Irish supporters thronged the heart of the Nevada boxing capital to greet Mayweather and McGregor at their separate formal grand arrival ceremonies.

Mayweather, the 40-year-old undefeated former welterweight boxing champion, has been lured out of retirement to face McGregor, a star of mixed martial arts' Ultimate Fighting Championship.

The two men meet in a 12-round contest under boxing rules on Saturday that is tipped to become the richest fight in history.

The cross-combat collision has appalled boxing purists, with many decrying the event as a farcical publicity stunt more in keeping with the choreographed traditions of WWE wrestling.

Mayweather and McGregor who clashed repeatedly during an expletive-laden world press tour to drum up interest for the fight last month, insist however that they are ready to deliver a battle for the ages.

McGregor, a massive underdog in what will be his first professional boxing fight, insisted Tuesday he was ready to stun the oddsmakers.

"This is not even close to my toughest challenge ever. I will crumble him," McGregor said.

"I have adapted perfectly to boxing, I am very pleased and ready. I'm a special man, I will prove that August 26, this will go one or two rounds, maybe I will bang him out and hurt him.

"If he survives, I will decide whether I embarrass or seriously hurt him.

"I'm calm and cool, same as I am in every fight. I'm fit, sharp and I'm gonna be ruthless in there. I believe he'll be unconscious inside one round."

McGregor and Mayweather passed each other after their separate introductions, with McGregor taunting the American with a shout of "Why didn't you want to face off?" -- triggering a melee between their two entourages.

'INTRIGUING FIGHT'

A relaxed-looking Mayweather meanwhile had earlier encouraged fans to bet on the fight finishing inside 12 rounds.

"I talked to you before and said that this fight wouldn't go the distance," Mayweather said.

"If you're going to bet, bet it won't go (the distance)."

Mayweather did his best to play down his status as a heavy favourite, insisting that his two-year layoff from the ring had blunted his prowess.

"That's what makes this fight so intriguing, I've been out a few years, feel like I've lost a few steps," Mayweather said.

"So we'll just have to wait and see."

Earlier Tuesday, Mayweather had taunted McGregor over his fitness, telling the US website FightHype that he believed his opponent would struggle to make the 154-pound limit for Saturday's bout.

"Conor McGregor is extremely heavy right now," Mayweather said. "I think he's 164 so he's still got 10 pounds to go."

McGregor could face a painful financial penalty if he is unable to tip the scales inside the limit. Boxers often have the option of cancelling a fight or collecting a larger share of the purse if an opponent fails to make weight.

Mayweather, who is expected to earn at least $100 million from Saturday's contest, indicated he would take the money.

"I get that extra money if you can't make the weight," Mayweather said. "Get those extra millions ready. UFC get those extra millions ready."

"If he don't make the weight, we still going to fight but there's going to be a heavy fine."

Mayweather has fought at 154 pounds before but is more used to fighting at welterweight (150 pounds). McGregor however has fought at 170 pounds in MMA.

McGregor, 29, last week insisted he was in peak condition following a gruelling training camp that had taken him to "hell and back" and left him primed to face either a long or short fight.

"There is no way in hell that I'm not ready to fight in the deepest of trenches in this contest," McGregor said.

"We are ready for both scenarios. I'm ready to go to war for 12 rounds and I'm ready to put him away early on."

rcw/mdo

source: news.abs-cbn.com

WATCH: Fans make John Cena cry

Wrestling superstar John Cena got a touching surprise from his fans.


After reading thank-you cards from people he inspired through the years, Cena was given a wonderful, personal greeting by the very same people who wrote him the thank-you letters.

"Just remember that you guys do the work,' he said while fighting back his tears. "Don't think that you're the only one up against it and have challenges to face... you lead by example and I mean it when I say: Never give up."

The video, which Cena posted on his Facebook page, got 14 million views in less than a day.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Who will be CM Punk's opponent?

UFC president Dana White has identified the fighter who may just wind up facing CM Punk in his first-ever mixed martial arts bout.

Punk, the former WWE superstar whose real name is Phil Brooks, signed with the UFC in 2014 despite not having any professional MMA experience.

According to reports from ESPN and MMA Fighting, White has given young fighter Mickey Gall the opportunity to fight Punk – provided he gets past "a kid named Michael Jackson" in a bout that will appear in the preliminary event of UFC 196.

White "discovered" Gall via the UFC web show "Lookin' for a Fight," wherein the executive watches regional MMA shows in search for talent. White watched as Gall submitted his opponent and then called out Punk.

"I'm bringing in Mickey Gall, and he's going to fight a kid named Michael Jackson," said White. "They're going to fight on the prelims on February 6 on Fight Pass."

"If he wins that fight, Mickey Gall will fight CM Punk," he added.


White said Punk will be on hand to watch the Gall-Jackson showdown.

If Gall winds up losing the bout, Jackson will not get a shot against Punk.

"He (Gall) is holding a lottery ticket, with really good odds of winning the lottery right now," said White. "He's got to get through this fight. It's going to be a life-changer for this kid."

Punk is expected to make his UFC debut later this year.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Sonnen reveals $5M offer from WWE

MANILA, Philippines – Former UFC middleweight contender Chael Sonnen revealed that he was once offered a $5 million contract by the WWE while he was still active in the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion.

“Here's the nuts and bolts of it: I was offered $5 million by [WWE promoter] Vince McMahon. Now, I was still under contract with the UFC and I never took this to Dana (White). I handled it on my own. I told [WWE], ‘No’ and that was the end of that,” he said in BJ Penn.com.



Sonnen was known for resorting to trash talks and has become largely successful in hyping his fights. This asset seemed to have gotten McMahon’s attention, hence the WWE offer.

The former fighter, however, said he did not bother to open the subject to UFC president Dana White as he might be seen as someone disloyal to UFC.

“I knew if I called Dana and said, ‘I’ve got a $5 million offer from Vince McMahon,’ Dana would have matched it,” said Sonnen. “Dana would have come close and now all of a sudden I’m not a loyal employee.”

Ironically, Sonnen was forced to retire from MMA competition after he was found positive for the use of human growth hormone (HGH), recombinant human erythropoietin (EPO), anastrozole, and human chorionic gonadotropin.

That was the third time he failed a drug test in his MMA career.

Later, UFC and FOX Sports announced they had terminated Sonnen's contract as a UFC analyst due to his multiple failed drug tests.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

WWE's Paul Bearer passes away

MANILA, Philippines – Paul Bearer, the manager and sidekick of WWE wrestler the “Undertaker,” has passed away at the age of 58.

Bearer, whose real name is William Moody, was best known for his role in the Undertaker’s ring entrances.

“WWE is saddened to learn of the passing of William Moody, aka Paul Bearer. Moody made his WWE debut in 1991 as the manager of The Undertaker and went on to become a memorable part of WWE over the course of the next 20 years,” the WWE said in a statement.

“Our deepest condolences go out to Moody’s family, friends and fans.”

Details of Bearer's remains unclear, but he was known to have suffered health issues in the past decade.

Bearer was a former wrestler in the World Class Championship Wrestling, before becoming a manager for several wrestlers including the Undertaker, Mankind and Kane.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Chris Masters vows to give Pinoy fans the best during tour visit

MANILA, Philippines – Coming for a stopover for the first time in the country is wrestling superstar Chris Masters.

Known as “The Masterpiece” during his tenure in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), Masters will be among several wrestling champions participating in the World Wrestling Fan Xperience (WWFX) Champions Showcase Tour 2012 to be held at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Feb. 4.

“WWFX Wrestling is all about bringing together all the popular and favorite TV wrestling superstars in regions that WWE or TNA, for example, don't come to that often,” Masters explained in an e-mail interview with Bulletin Entertainment.

“WWE TV is on in the Philippines every week but they haven't come to Manila in three years. That's where we come in,” he added.

According to Masters, WWFX is all about allowing fans a more intimate look at their wrestling idols.

“If you go to the usual wrestling show you won’t be able to meet the wrestlers. At WWFX, we offer a number of contests, give-aways, backstage passes, and post-show autograph signings where the audience can meet the wrestlers in person and 'Xperience' the event. That’s the ‘X’ in World Wrestling Fan ‘X’ -perience,” Masters explained.

But the big thing, of course, is the action and Masters promises to electrify the Filipino crowd at the event with his much lauded wrestling skills.

“I think anyone who comes to SMART Araneta on Feb 4 to see the WWFX show will see that I am one of the bests both in physique and in wrestling talent. M.V.P. (another popular wrestler appearing in the event) is a super popular wrestler, but I'm not just a body. I'm good too. And I'll beat him and prove that,” he crowed.

Among Filipinos he hopes to meet during his visit is boxing hero Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao.

“I would love for Manny and his wife, Jinkee Pacquiao to come out to crown the WWFX Championship title to the winner of the John Hennigan vs. Shelton Benjamin main event,” he said.

“What better way to be crowned world champion than by the number one fighter in the world,” he added.

Born Christopher Todd Mordetzky, Masters started his wrestling career at the age of 16, finding his way into the WWE a short three years later where he became known as “The Masterpiece” owing to his chiseled body.

Masters went on to become among the popular faces of WWE, facing stars such as John Cena, Rey Mysterio – and even his idol, Shawn Michaels.

“I idolized him as a kid and was able to wrestle him on a pay per view. How many people get to wrestle their child hood hero? It was cool,” Masters said of the experience.

Not surprisingly, his signature moves, "The Polish Hammer" and the “Master Lock,” became popular as well.

“The polish hammer was actually too powerful of a move and I gave it up after I broke another wrestlers’ nose and crushed his orbital bone. As with the Master Lock, it was basically a Full Nelson hold, which I re-dubbed and it became my hold. Even though it had been used years before, in the 2000's it was mine,” he enthused.

Still single at 29, Masters said he is not planning to settle down soon even as he admitted having hit his peak already as far as wrestling goes.

“My plan is to just keep moving forward and keep getting out there. I think it would be a shame to turn away from it now and not continue wrestling. But I'm not opposed to dabbling in acting and seeing what else is out there, while also staying a full time wrestler,” he said.

Joining Masters in the WWFX tour are Carlitos, John Hennigan, Melina and more. Tickets are available at all TicketNet outlets. For more information, log onto www.wwfxperience.com.

source: mb.com.ph