Scrumming: WWE News & Rumors

The long running rumor that Ronda Rousey will join the WWE, at least for a WrestleMania 34 feud, appears to be coming to fruition. The speculation that she will be part of a 4 Horsewomen vs. 4 Horsewomen feud got some heat as Sasha Banks sent a warning to Ronda in an interview with Sportskeeda about joining up: “I think anything is possible here in the WWE. I’ve heard rumors of Ronda Rousey coming here and they just signed Shayna so I say, bring it. But, they’re not us and they’ll never be us and they’re not wrestlers so good luck booboos. Actually, I know Brazilian jiu-jitsu and I’m really strong, so I think I can knock out Ronda Rousey in a heartbeat. Boom,”

The unfortunate trend of harassment and sexual assault allegations within the workplace shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. In a recent podcast of Vince Russo’s show, The Brand, Vince Russo revealed that a female wrestler confided to him that she had been assaulted by a male wrestler that was also on the roster. Vince didn’t reveal the names but Shelly Martinez, a former WWE Diva, revealed that she was nearly raped during a WWE European Tour in 2006. Shelly was in the WWE from 2005-2007. She was released after a confrontation with Batista and went onto success with TNA as a valet for LAX.

Neville’s status is unknown. According to a report from PWInsider, negotiations between Neville and the WWE stopped abruptly. He was slated to be brought back into the fold at the end of WWE’s European Tour and sent to SmackDown.

Austin Aries has been approached by Impact Wrestling but he has no plans to come back. In a recent interview on X-Pac’s 1-2-360 podcast, he stated that at this point in his career, he’d like to go where he’d have control over his career.

The WWE has been jettisoning people left and right as of late but the firing of Jim Johnston is arguably the stunner of the year. Jim had been with the WWE since 1985 and is responsible for the entrance themes for some of the greatest talents the industry has ever seen, such as The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and The Rock. The decision happened last Thursday and it wasn’t mutual. According to Dave Meltzer, the decision was a cost cutting measure. Jim’s workload had been steadily decreasing and WWE has had CFO$ handle the majority of theme music work. Jim’s contract ran out last week and that, coupled with the current penny-pinching by the higher-ups, made him expendable.

Tessa Blanchard, daughter of Tully Blanchard, has confirmed rumors that she wouldn’t be joining the WWE and will remain in the indy circuit for now. She was a competitor in the Mae Young Classic and she also wrestled Alexa Bliss and Carmella. James Storm is another talent who’s a possibility that has no immediate plans of joining the WWE. His previous run in NXT was a short one, as he did return to TNA/Impact Wrestling up until his very recent departure. He may resurface next year since the WWE generally doesn’t negotiate with free agents from other promotions for 90 days after their deal is up. James is currently doing the indie circuit and taking bookings.

WWE made history by signing the first Kuwaiti, Nasser Alruwayeh, in its history. Triple H made the announcement on Twitter early Friday.

It’s unclear if Brock Lesnar will be featured in the Elimination Chamber pay per view this coming February. There’s currently no clear-cut number one contender for the Beast Incarnate and early promotional material for the event hasn’t mentioned Brock at all. Given his part-time status, it’s not surprising but heading towards his rumored end of the road at WrestleMania, it may look questionable to fans.

The Miz recently spoke on the infamous Ball Family segment on Miz TV this past June in an interview The Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast. Lavar Ball made headlines (When doesn’t he?) by taking his shirt off and going nuts while LaMelo used a racial slur. The A Lister said the whole bit was improv. A match was planned as a followup to the bit but it was scrapped after LaMelo’s slur.

According to a report by TMZ, John Cena is being sued by Ford for selling a 2017 Ford GT that he was contractually obligated to keep for two years. He stated to Ford that he made the sale, along with other personal items, to pay bills.

David Ortunga was awarded custody of his son and Jennifer Hudson retracted the protective order against him. Their split, which made headlines, is believed to be the result of Jennifer being discovered as to be having an affair. David was slated to cover Survivor Series but was not present on the coverage team in order to take care of the resulting legal and familiar aftermath of the dissolution of the relationship. He’s expected to resume normal duties for Clash of Champions.

Matt Hardy becoming “woken” signified the ending of the battle for the “Broken” gimmick between the WWE and Anthem Sports. Anthem Sports had decided not to contest the WWE’s use of the gimmick and persona, which according to a statement released by Anthem’s Ed Nordholm, appears to be a new contractual stance that Anthem is adopting. Anthem’s legal team is working on the details and that the policy would apply to current and former talent, which would allow them use of their Impact persona after leaving the company.

WWE Studios is looking to go multi platform and enter the digital and television niches. Vince McMahon and WWE Studios President, Michael Luisi announced the plan in an article featured in Deadline.

Goldberg will be appearing in two episodes of CW’s The Flash. The announcement was made on twitter and there’s growing speculation that the icon will return to ring. He left the door open after his title loss to Brock Lesnar.

According to PWInsider.com, the recent revival of Starrcade was a success for the WWE. It was held in Greensboro, North Carolina and it drew the biggest numbers for the WWE in that particular market in a long time and it’s being considered to become an annual event.

In an interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, Edge confirmed that the popular WWE Network show, The Edge & Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness, hasn’t been cancelled and could return next year. Scheduling conflicts and production time are the two biggest obstacles in front of a second season but all parties are interesting in making it happen, according to the Rated R Superstar.