CM Punk and the UFC Journey

Phil “CM Punk” Brooks is one of the biggest names in the wrestling world and his transition in to MMA would be seen very soon at UFC 203 would Punk overcome the doubters and win his debut with no prior experience?

Anyone who has followed WWE knows that CM Punk was a huge part of the organization bringing about Charisma everyone hopes to possess in the entertainment world. Many credit Punk to bring about the “shoot” era in wrestling, where once everything was hidden behind the curtains would now creep through it by the wrestlers and even commentators, but what’s important to understand is, even if Punk may seem like a guy who only looks out for himself, he was and still is a role model for many individuals around the world because of his straight edge lifestyle, inspiring others to follow in the drug free lifestyle.

Punk started his career as a backyard wrestler and slowly making his way to in independence scene around the country. Punk has always been a slim and lean guy and wasn’t ever concerned as a top guy in the wrestling world before making his mark. Even WWE was sceptical as “smaller guys” aren’t really on Vince Mcmahons mind to “push”, being persistent, talented and charismatic CM Punk is one of the longest reigning champions in WWE history.

Before Punks fight against Mickey Gall the UFC started a short series about Punks journey and transition into the world of MMA, in my opinion UFC made a smart business move with the series changing people’s perception towards his ability to get into the octagon.

The guy has been training hard there’s no doubt about that, but reports even came out that Punk was mostly losing his amateur sparring bouts in the gym and reportedly he only won one out of 16 sparring sessions.

Wrestlers are beginning to considering MMA especially the UFC as a new career path, Wrestling plays a huge role in MMA and wrestling can dominate their opponents on the mat, the biggest WWE transition of course is Brock Lesnar with Dave Bautista giving the sport a try as well.

Punk is determined to succeed and says that the bright lights and a huge crowd won’t one of Punks problems saying “I will not be a footnote”.

Mickey Gall is new to professional MMA but still has years of experience over Punk and a few professional fight wins under his belt and Punk has no experience and no wins professional even in the amateur MMA circuit.

So is it wise for CM punk to head into battle without ever firing a gun? We’ll just have to wait and see.

As far as the logical reasoning here is, it’s a great business decision and will potentially bring a good payday for the UFC, but if Punk loses that could be the end of his MMA career as the stakes are too high, but if he wins he could be lucky enough to get a title shot after a few bouts like Lesnar who knows.

Gall has a great opportunity, he could be known as the guy who beat CM Punk on his UFC debut.

Brock Lesnar on Steroid Allegations and other topics ahead of his return to the UFC

At the UFC 200 Conference call today, Former UFC fighter and current WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar spoke out about the alleged steroid abuse as far as his opponent at UFC 200 Mark Hunt is concerned. Brock Lesnar had this to say:

“I’ve been dealing with that my whole life. I’m a white boy and I’m jacked. Deal with it.”

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WWE.COM

Brock Lesnar also shared his thoughts about the recent interview where Stephanie McMahon said that the WWE was not necessarily behind him to which he commented below:

“I don’t know, I don’t care what she says. Everybody is 100 percent behind this and supporting this. I’m happy and that’s all that matters.” 

Whether or not a loss would affect his drawing power in the WWE and the notion that he was taking this fight for himself to which he remarked:

“I really don’t give a s–t.This isn’t about my fans. This is about me living my life, being the person that I want to be. Granted, without the fans and everything, none of us would be able to do this. I get that. But I don’t sit up at night wondering is my drawing power gonna be hurt or are my WWE fans gonna tune in and watch me do this. I don’t give two sh*ts about that. This is about me. I want to get in there and be an athlete again. That’s what this is about.”

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UFC.COM

And finally whether or not the door is open to a bunch of future fight’s in the Octagon:

“I don’t know, I feel really good. Training camp is going great. I’m happy. I’m happy with my life. I’m happy with everything. Since I left the Octagon after I got beat by Overeem and kind of forced out of the cage because of my illness it haunted me for a long time. Well what do you do? Well, here I am. And before it’s too late, I want to get back in the cage and have fun with it.
I haven’t given it much thought. Nothing’s going to change, I’m just looking forward to stepping in the cage.”

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Brock Lesnar is scheduled to fight Mark Hunt in UFC 200 which takes place on July 9th 2016 at the T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas and Brock Lesnar is rumored to make his return to WWE Television for the WWE Draft which takes place on  July 19th on the first edition of the newly announced Live Edition of WWE Smackdown going forward. So what could this mean for the Future of Brock Lesnar? While all parties involved are treating it like a one-time only thing, who knows? Once Brock Lesnar’s contract is up with the WWE he may want to scratch that competitive inch by entering the Octagon for a number of fights. It’s an exciting time to be a wrestling and MMA fan, and I for one think that the WWE will capitalize on this situation by shooting an angle at the UFC 200 event so that it leads to something special at WWE Summerslam in August, perhaps an invasion of sorts by some of the top UFC talent? One can dream and I think the WWE is crazy enough if even to give it a little bit of thought as the idea would be money.

Daniel Bryan to host the WWE Cruiserweight Classic on the WWE Network

WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan is set to host the WWE Cruiserweight Classic on the WWE Network, the Tournament is set to feature some of the best Cruiserweights from around the world and no doubt, Daniel Bryan who was forced to retire due to a number of Concussions has in fact, been around the block and knows what this Tournament, which signifies pure wrestling, is all about. The Press release as revealed by the WWE follows below.

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WWE® Cruiserweight Classic™ to Premiere on WWE Network Wednesday, July 13

STAFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– WWE(NYSE:WWE) announced today that the WWE Cruiserweight Classic will premiere Wednesday, July 13 at 9 PM ET exclusively on WWE Network. The 10-week tournament will air every Wednesday night and culminate with a live two-hour special on Wednesday, September 14.

The WWE Cruiserweight Classic will be hosted by WWE Legend Daniel Bryan® and the voice of WWE SmackDown® Mauro Ranallo.

“We scoured the globe to find 32 of the best Cruiserweights to compete in this inaugural tournament,” said WWE Executive Vice President of Talent, Live Events& Creative Paul “Triple H®” Levesque. “These performers will be given an unprecedented opportunity to showcase their elite athleticism and unbridled passion across WWE’s global platforms.”

The WWE Cruiserweight Classic is a 32-man, single-elimination tournament that will feature the best cruiserweights from all over the world including Rich Swann, Johnny Gargano, Cedric Alexander and Tommaso Ciampa from the United States, Kota Ibushi and Akira Tozawa from Japan, Zack Sabre, Jr from England, Noam Dar from Scotland, Ho Ho Lun and Jason Lee from Hong Kong, Gran Metalik from Mexico, Tyson Dux from Canada, Da Mack from Germany, Damian Slater from Australia and many more.

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Here is the complete list of Participants in the Tournament.

Rich Swann
Johnny Gargano
Tommaso Ciampa
Zack Sabre Jr.
Noam Dar
Jake Gallagher
TJ Perkins
Lince Dorado
Drew Gulak
Ho Ho Lun
Akira Tozawa
Tony Nese
Raul Mendoza
Gran Metalik
Anthony Bennett
Tajiri
Kota Ibushi
Cedric Alexander
Zumbi
Clement Petiot
Kenneth Johnson
Fabian Aichner
Sean Maluta
Harv Sihra
Gurv Sihra
Tyson Dux
Da Mack
Brian Kendrick
Alejandro Saez
Damien Slater
Jason Lee
Ariya Daivari

WWE Network will also air an exclusive Cruiserweight Classic special entitled CWC: Bracketology on Wednesday, July 6 at 9 PM ET.

WWE Superstar Roman Reigns Suspended

WWE has decided to suspend Roman Reigns (Joe Anoa`i) for his First Violation of the Company’s Talent Wellness Policy, while it is not known what led to the Suspension at this current time and I doubt it will be made public any time soon as these things are hardly ever made public. It comes at a bad time for Roman Reigns since losing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship to Seth Rollins and then Dean Ambrose in the same night at the Money in the Bank PPV when Ambrose Cashed in his Briefcase.

Below is the Breaking News Tweet that WWE posted announcing the Suspension and Roman Reigns response acknowledging that he had made a mistake which he issued shortly after which you can see further down below.

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So what could this mean for the leader of the Roman Empire and his Rematch slated to take place at WWE Battleground for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in a triple threat Shield reunion match against Seth Rollins and the New WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dean Ambrose?

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While Roman Reigns has been suspended for 30 days, it in fact does not put the Main Event of WWE Battleground in jeopardy as he’ll be cleared just in time although don’t expect to see him on WWE Raw or WWE Smackdown any time soon to further the storyline against his former brothers in the Shield or for the buildup heading into the next WWE PPV named Battleground.

 

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So far, this is the third suspension for violating the wellness policy by a WWE Superstar this year as in April the WWE suspended Konnor of the Ascension as well as Adam Rose, who was later released due to various issues such as Domestic Violence. In the case of both Konnor and Adam Rose it was their second violation of the company’s policy therefore earning them the Suspension for 60 days. The WWE usually issues a third and final strike before the Talent in question is let go completely from his or her contract.

WWE Superstar Dean Ambrose takes it all the way to the bank

Yesterday at the WWE Money in the bank event live on the WWE Network, WWE Superstar Dean Ambrose aka the Lunatic Fringe overcame the odds, first by defeating the likes of Kevin Owens, Cesaro, Sami Zayn, Alberto Del Rio and Chris Jericho in the Money in the Bank Contract Ladder match by capturing the briefcase which holds the opportunity to go up against whomever the WWE World Heavyweight Champion is at the time and can cash In said briefcase at any time.

In this case we saw, in the main event at the same event, WWE Superstar Seth Rollins who recently returned after being out with a knee injury for quite some time, face off against his former Shield brethren Roman Reigns in which was said to be an exciting match.

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Eventually Seth Rollins in a surprise pinned the leader of the Roman empire thus becoming the New WWE World Heavyweight Champion all for a couple of minutes and then Dean Ambrose music hit and he cashed in his Money in the Bank Contract Briefcase which he had won earlier in the night to become the New WWE World Heavyweight Champion.

 

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So where do we go from here? The long rumored triple threat match between the former Shield members which many speculated to take place at this year’s WWE SummerSlam but instead as seen tonight on WWE Monday Night Raw, looks like we shall be getting the match a bit sooner, WWE Battleground in fact, which takes place on July 24th 2016 from Washington DC live on the WWE Network.

Goldberg announced for WWE 2K17, will feature as a pre-order bonus character

The Former two time WCW World Heavyweight Champion Goldberg is set to feature in the next installment of the 2k games hit wrestling simulator Franchise ,WWE 2K17 out this October for the PlayStation 4 , Xbox one, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 gaming platforms, 2K games announced. Set to be a special pre-order bonus character much like the recent WWE Hall of Famer Sting, the Ultimate Warrior and Hollywood Legend, the Terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger from last year’s installment. Pre-ordering the game gets you two versions of Goldberg, one from WCW stint and the other from his WWE run plus those who pre-order will also get two playable arenas in the form of WCW Monday Nitro and Halloween Havoc.

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So get ready for one of the Cornerstones of WCW during the Monday night wars to mix it up with the likes of Kevin Owens and John Cena or legends like the Undertaker, a face-off that never actually happened. So what could this mean for the man himself? A possible WWE Hall of Fame induction for one and a Return for Goldberg in time for the Grandest stage of them all WrestleMania. Granted his last match in the WWE against Brock lesnar wasn’t all that good due to the fact that they were both departing at the time and not exactly on good terms with the company so who knows? Maybe they can re-ignite their short term feud come WrestleMania?.

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Let the speculation run wild but one thing we know for sure, considering the moves WWE has made in the past couple of years over smoothing out relationships with former stars like Bruno Sammartino , the Macho man randy savage and the Ultimate Warrior, a return for the 173 match winning streak and former two time WCW world heavyweight champion should not be ruled out as a possibility come WrestleMania season , so let the speculation run wild.

Here is the trailer for the announcement.

 

AJ Styles Turns Heel, What does this mean for the WWE Universe

Some may have seen it coming while other’s may haven’t but it was certainly shocking of which we need more of today in the landscape of professional wrestling. Aj Styles shook the wrestling world when he turned heel on a returning John Cena and re-aligned himself with his former Bullet club stable mates, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. Aj styles much like John Cena has been a Baby face for almost his entire career only did Aj styles find that Edge so to speak when he left Total Nonstop Wrestling (TNA) and found himself in New Japan Pro Wrestling as the New Leader of its Popular Bullet Club stable in place of a departing Prince Devitt aka Finn balor for WWE NXT.

So there it was, a returning John Cena on Memorial day giving a speech to the crowd, thanking the troops for their support and out comes AJ Styles to confront John Cena. AJ Styles put over John Cena as being a hard working guy but not before he mentioned himself waiting for this moment for a very long time to which John Cena played off to the crowd and said “ by the sound of it, so has everybody else “ the WWE universe was clearly split between John Cena and AJ Styles which was a cool moment seeing these two in the same ring at the same time,something the WWE universe never thought would actually happen, TWO faces of Different Brands squaring off for the first time in a WWE ring.

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But out come Gallows and Anderson confronting AJ Styles and proceeding to tell him that he made a mistake not siding with them and that they were there to kick ass not kiss ass and from there it looked lke the fight was on while the crowd went wild only for BAM, Aj styles to attack John Cena from behind with Gallows and Anderson joining in on the assault and the heel turn was complete, what’s funny was how Gallows and Anderson were acting like the peacemakers so to speak holding Aj Styles back from completely decimating John Cena who went in there repeatedly to attack like the Pit-bull he had been marketed as thus far, so what does this bode for the future of AJ Styles and the club? Well for one, AJ Styles needed to turn heel even if some feel it should have come sooner against Roman Reigns at WWE Extreme Rules but since he lost his opportunity to win the WWE championship and lost in a qualifying match for WWE money in the bank against Kevin Owens the next night on Monday night Raw,it made sense for Styles to be pushed over the edge and turn heel plus the fact that the WWE is stacked with Babyfaces right now plus it makes introducing the original Leader of the Bullet club, former NXT Champion Finn Balor into the fold all the more easier.

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No doubt many a fan has already dreamt up this scenario, picture this, what if Finn balor shows up on a future edition of Monday Night Raw and confronts AJ Styles over the club he rightfully owns? Or maybe he aligns himself with them for a potential and often teased by balor himself on twitter, the Balor Club? Bulletproof? Too many possibilities but for right now, it is clear they are going for a John Cena vs AJ Styles feud which could take place either at WWE money of the bank on june 19th on the WWE Network, WWE Battleground , or have three bouts capping off this feud with the rubber match taking place at WWE Summerslam in august. My only concern is that they should book AJ Styles going over John Cena because let’s face it, John Cena’s career is winding down and he doesn’t really need the win but Whatever the case may be, this freshens things up a little so imagine the next night on Monday night Raw after Summerslam, Finn Balor makes his long awaited main roster debut, can’t wait.

WWE Superstar John Cena’s New Merchandise re-designed because of legal Threat

WWE Superstar John Cena’s new Merchandise ahead of his long awaited return to the world of sports entertainment on memorial day’s edition of Monday Night Raw was hit with a minor roadblock in the form of an American Beer company threatening legal action over the New Merchandise of John cena which was more than remarkably similar to one of their logos. Sporting the same Red, White and blue as the American flag but also looking similar to a logo that is vastly known to the consumers of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer.
They, Pabst Blue ribbon beer via their official twitter account sent out a cease and desist warning to the WWE over possible copyright infringement as seen in the following screenshot.

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Image Courtesy of Twitter

So as of this past Saturday the shirt was pulled from the WWE shop website which was unable to fulfill the pre-orders of the shirt which went up shortly then and was taken down not long after WWE quickly re-introduced a brand new re-designed variation of the same shirt as seen below.

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Image Courtesy of WWEshop.com

Even though we think it was a cool take on their beer logo, but it is better to be safe than sorry even for a Mega Giant of a Corporation as the WWE.

Damien Sandow Breaks Silence over WWE Release

Damien Sandow was among the eight Superstars released from WWE last week. According to PWInsider, Sandow’s release from WWE was done large in part to make room on the active talent roster. Vince McMahon noted during the latest WWE earnings call that the roster will be larger than ever in the very near future.

Following his WWE release, Sandow spoke with RollingStone about parting ways with the company after so many years.

On his last week with WWE and receiving the phone call about his release

“First of all, I know a lot of people within the wrestling community were a little surprised. With me, I was more grateful for my time there. Looking back, I had a great four years there. The truth of it is, as a performer, the goal is to get the audience to feel something, to evoke some kind of emotion. In the WWE, from the second I debuted, there was an extreme feeling of dislike towards me. They really did not like me from the second I came on. Which was huge. A lot of guys spend years and years trying to get that kind of a reaction. They gave me the platform to do that character. Then, as time went on, especially with the Mizdow thing, the fans went from hating me to loving me. The crowd invested as me as a person. I never thought that I’d get that level of popularity as far as being cheered. As a performer, in that genre, the only thing we can ask for is fan response, especially genuine fan response. It’s the most satisfying thing. In reviewing my WWE career, which I did instantly when the call came, I was just grateful, and excited for the future.”

On if he was surprised that WWE decided to release him

“Not really. I had some conversations with them before, where I had said that I think, as a character, we had gone through the gamut. What more could I do with that character? Some people say, “This company should have done this, or that.” No, the company gave me a platform, and I maximized my opportunity. That’s all I can ask for. In maximizing it to the point that I did, as a character, sometimes all you can do is get a new coat of paint. As a television show, the WWE, they have so many talented performers there. There is so much talent in the WWE. I have no problem with them needing time to let the other guys show their craft. I am not selfish in that respect. When I was on TV, they knew they’d get a reaction. When you look at it, if you know you can plug me in any spot, and you don’t have to invest the TV time, then it makes sense to give TV time to guys who need to build their reactions. Just look back at the Royal Rumble in January, when I was on the preshow. I was in the ring for the first time in months, and fans were chanting my name, when I was just standing on the apron. That, to me, means more than any title I could have won in WWE. That means the world to me.”

On the reaction on social media to his release from WWE

“The funny thing about that is, the first thing I did when I got off the phone was clean my shed out. I had been meaning to do that for years. With my schedule in WWE, I really hadn’t been able to do that. My girlfriend was ecstatic. I hadn’t been able to do anything around the house in years. So I thought I’d use the time positively. I cleaned the shed out, I played with the dogs and then just relaxed. That night, my phone was ringing a lot. I checked in with my family, who were wondering if I was OK. I was fine, I told them not to worry about it. Then I turned my Twitter on. I was amazed. I was shocked that people cared that much. In the entertainment world, it’s always about, “What’s the next big thing?” It meant the world to me that people cared. It meant more than winning titles, to see the outpouring of emotions. And the feeling is mutual. It’s clichéd to say that without the fans, there’s no WWE. But it’s true. Without the fans, I wouldn’t be the performer I am.

“I have always listened to them, the fans. I viewed my boss as whoever paid for a ticket. They always dictated my performance, in whatever genre I’m in. There’s a lot of opportunities that have been opening to me. Due to my commitments in WWE, I couldn’tpursue them like I wanted to. As I go and pursue these opportunities, the fans will always dictate to me what’s the best thing to do as a character. That’s who I am. That’s who Aaron Stevens is.”

On if WWE told him why they were releasing him

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Photo: miguel.discart (CC BY-SA 2.0)

 

“No, not really, and they didn’t need to. Parting ways is never a pleasant thing. It’s funny, because we took some test one time, and my empathy was measured on some ridiculous level. When I was being called, I was thinking about the other guy – the guy who has to give a guy this news. I was just more like, “Oh, cool. Thank you for everything. It was awesome.” It was somewhat mutual. I had expressed to them that maybe, if they didn’t have anything for me, then yeah, there are other guys who need a chance. I had already run that spectrum with the fans. A lot of times, in pro sports, you have egos involved. My ego was solely about getting the fans to react one way or another.”

source: RollingStone