WWE News: James Ellsworth and Carmella comment on their upcoming match with John Cena and Nikki Bella

Who will win next week’s mixed tag team match?

What’s the story?

On the latest episode of SmackDown Live, John Cena and Nikki Bella challenged the couple of James Ellsworth and Carmella to a mixed tag team match on next week’s SmackDown.
Carmella and Ellsworth took to twitter to discuss the match and don’t really seem too intimidated by their upcoming match against two of the biggest stars on SmackDown.

In case you didn’t know...

Cena and Bella have been dating since 2012, but have never been together onscreen for WWE programming until the last episode of SmackDown. Cena was initially interviewed by The Miz and Maryse for MizTV, but Bella would come to his aid following a slap from Maryse.

Ellsworth and Carmella have been paired together since December 2016 when Carmella came to his aid to following his match with AJ Styles to kick off the show and end their feud.

The Heart of the matter

Here is the exchange that transpired on Twitter:
The match between Cena & Bella against Carmella and Ellsworth is likely a stepping stone to further the storyline developing between Cena and The Miz. Their feud slowly started coming to fruition when Bella accidentally knocked Maryse down or into something on two separate occasions.
This led to Maryse interfering in Bella’s match with Natalya by attacking her with a pipe.
On the men’s side of things, Cena eliminated The Miz from the Elimination Chamber and eliminated him from the 10-Man Battle Royal on last week’s episode of SmackDown. Angry about Cena getting in his way of pursuing the WWE Championship, The Miz would eliminate Cena from the match and cost him his shot at the title as well.

What’s next?

While Cena and Bella win matches a lot more than they lose, Carmella claims to be undefeated in 2017 and this could continue if The Miz and Maryse interfere in the match. Tune into SmackDown next week to see if Cena and Bella clean house.

Sportskeeda’s take

Cena and Bella will be teaming up for the first time in either of their careers so this will help the buildup of their feud between The Miz and Maryse. Ellsworth’s mantra is “Any man with two hands has a fighting chance,” but he and Carmella are going to need more than a chance to beat The Face that Runs the Place and the longest reigning Diva’s Champion in WWE history.

Impact Wrestling Rumours: Jade's contract with Impact Wrestling expires

Jade is a former TNA Knockouts Champion

What’s the story?

As per the reports of PWInsider, Former TNA Knockouts Champion Jade (aka Mia Yim) is now a free agent as her contract expired recently. The same report also claimed that she would not be re-signing with the Anthem-owned Impact.

In case you didn’t know...

As reported earlier, TNA (Impact Wrestling) has already lost five of its top stars in Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Drew Galloway, Mike Benett and Maria Maria Kanellis this past week.
The biggest loss came when the twisted brothers ( Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy) announced their departure from the company and insisted that they will not be returning to the company in the near future.

After proving her worth in the independent circuit, Jade joined Impact Wrestling in 2015 as a full-time employee. During her tenure with the company, the 27-year-old became a one-time TNA Knockout's Champion.

The heart of the matter

If reports are anything to go by, Jade has become the latest casualty for the company. There is no word as to whether she would appear for Impact Wrestling tapings to write off her character. But, the reports from PWInsider suggest that Impact plans only to use Superstars they have signed for the March 2^nd to 4^th  shows in Orlando.
Furthermore, the report states that the primary reason for her departure might be Impact’s strategy of finding new, younger talent; as they cost cheaper and are seemingly more likely to give in to Anthem’s demands of control over the bookings and a cut from outside earnings.

What’s next?

The tapings for Impact Wrestling are scheduled to start tomorrow (2^nd March). This would be the first show filmed under the newly appointed Executive Producer of the company, Jeff Jarrett.

Sportskeeda’s take

It appears that Impact has lost the plot in their fervent search of newer and cheaper talent. Not only have they lost their top tier talent, but their shrewd contractual dealing might see even more Superstars leaving the Jarrett-run promotion.
It would be interesting to see how Impact addresses the absence of these stars and more importantly who would take their spots in the weeks to come.

WWE News: Rusev drastically changes hairstyle

Rusev’s long locks gone?!

What’s the story? 

According to a report from prowrestlingsheet.com, Rusev has made a drastic change to his appearance.

In case you didn’t know...

On the January 23^rd episode of Monday Night Raw, Rusev made an off-hand comment while referring to Big E and Big Cass.  He basically asked why they felt the need to call themselves, “Big," when it’s so obvious that they’re big.  He said it would be like referring to himself as, “Handsome Rusev.”  Fans on the internet took the comment and ran with it, with many fans now referring to the Bulgarian Brute, as Handsome Rusev.
Rusev has not been doing much of note on WWE television since losing the WWE United States Championship to Roman Reigns at Clash of the Champions in September 2016.  He had his rematch with Reigns at the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view in October but lost that match as well.

Since then, he’s been in a lower card feud with Enzo Amore and Big Cass.

The heart of the matter

Based on the report, it appears as if the Bulgarian Brute has taken the offhand comment and run with it as well, as he posted a picture of his new haircut on Instagram today, accompanied by the comment, “it’s gone, it’s all gone!  And I like it!”

@archerythebarber it's gone it's all gone!!!!! And I like it

A post shared by Miroslav Barnyashev (@rusevig) on Feb 28, 2017 at 3:09pm PST

His hairstylist also mentioned it on her Instagram with the caption, “We were almost finished with @rusevig hair cut, and he decided to change his mind 10 times between doing this cut or sticking to his regular. So after much debate; I present, the new Rusev.”

What’s next? 

It will be interesting to see if anything comes of this new look for the Bulgarian Brute in how he’s presented on WWE Television. Rusev is not currently slated to appear on the Fastlane pay-per-view this Sunday.

Sportskeeda’s Take

We couldn’t be happier with the new look for the Bulgarian Brute.  We’re not sure if he was just tired of all of the maintenance that comes along with having long hair, or if he was simply looking to change things up.  One thing is for sure, though, and that’s that Rusev arguably looks better with the new haircut.
However, with how WWE bases so many different things on physical appearance, this may even be the catalyst for Rusev to actually dive into the offhand thought of, “Handsome Rusev.”  It’s not likely that creative would go in that direction, but stranger things have happened with creative in WWE before. 

7 Sins of The Rock

Finally, The Rock has come to our Seven Sins series!

If there was ever a Mount Rushmore featuring the greatest wrestlers of all time, The Rock would certainly be carved in rock, raising his stone-carved eyebrows for all to admire.
The most electrifying man in sports entertainment is not just the most successful movie star in Hollywood at present, he has also been called the sexiest man alive by the People Magazine.
The man has certainly blessed us with some of the most entertaining moments in sports entertainment during his time in the world's best-known sports entertainment company.

What many forget, however, is that he was not a perfect man at all, and we at Sportskeeda are today bringing you some of his darker, more sinful moments.
Presenting the Seven sins of Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock.

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#7 Pride: Taking liberties that other wrestlers simply cannot

The Rock does not listen to anyone at all!

WWE today is not the same as the WWE of the Attitude Era. It’s a corporate giant that abides very strictly to certain guidelines making for scripted promos and well-orchestrated programs. Well, this applies only to the full-time roster, really.
The Rock appeared on Raw last week after the show went off the air, and took certain liberties that he shouldn’t have.
Not only did he call CM Punk on his phone in the middle of a packed arena (a man who’s not on good terms with the company at all), but he also made fun of John Cena, calling him a bad actor at a time when Cena is foraying into the competitive world of Hollywood.

Also read: The 7 sins of The Undertaker

That's not all. He put his fellow Samoan (and his cousin) Roman Reigns under the bus, by indirectly saying that he’ll be backstage booing the man. Imagine if any other wrestler had done this, they would be fired on the spot!
Sadly, none of them are as legendary as this man is, both inside and outside the squared circle. 

WWE Rumors: Kelly Kelly to induct Beth Phoenix into WWE Hall of Fame

Kelly and Phoenix have a history together in WWE

What's the story?

As reported by Cageside Seats, Kelly Kelly is rumoured to be inducting Beth Phoenix into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania Weekend. Phoenix's induction was announced yesterday, with the company following that up with a video tribute on Monday Night Raw.

In case you didn't know...

Phoenix and Kelly have had a lot of history in the WWE together, with the two women battling one another for the WWE Divas Championship on numerous occasions. This included a match at SummerSlam 2011, with Phoenix eventually capturing the title from Kelly in the months following the August pay-per-view.

Heart of the matter

The report suggests that Kelly is the frontrunner right now when it comes to inducting Phoenix into the Hall of Fame in Orlando. Kelly has been rumoured to be returning to the company ever since she appeared backstage at Monday Night Raw a few weeks back, and it appears as if this will be the way in which she'll be formally re-introduced into the WWE family.

Phoenix’s induction has received a mixed response

What's next?

With less than five weeks remaining until the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, it seems as if the rumours will continue with other names such as Paul Heyman, Natalya and Edge being name dropped when it comes to receiving the honour of inducting Phoenix.

Sportskeeda's take

This seems like an odd choice but from an outsider's perspective, there's really not all too much that we can say about it. After all, Kelly and Beth could've been the best of friends backstage and we'd have no idea.
Obviously, we should be taking this with a pinch of salt considering how many different stories tend to come out in the build up to WrestleMania, but at the same time it's always fun to speculate about these things. If it were up to us, we'd have them not tell anyone who was inducting them until the night itself.

5 WWE entrance themes which were recycled

Punk’s theme was originally used by Randy Orton

An entrance theme is one of the most important weapons in a wrestler’s arsenal.
A really good entrance theme can define a gimmick and take it to new heights. Just look at what Motorhead’s masterpiece has done for Triple H. On the other hand, though, a bad entrance theme can ruin even the most effective of gimmicks.
So, clearly the point I’m getting to is that with the importance of entrance themes, sometimes when one is assigned to a wrestler it might not be wholly original. If a theme fits a wrestler, they should most definitely use it regardless of who was using it in the past, and this is a mindset that is prevalent in the WWE.

While some names on this list might be obvious, there are some which are truly unbelievable with how in sync the wrestler and their respective themes are. So, without further ado, here are 5 WWE entrance themes which were recycled:

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#5 CM Punk’s theme

Before his run with The Cult of Personality as his signature tune, CM Punk made his entrance with a pretty epic heavy metal track called “This Fire Burns” by Killswitch Engage. It perfectly encapsulated everything about the Chicago native and was the perfect entrance theme for him especially considering that this was during his early ECW run.
Punk would soon go on to make the theme his own by incorporating it into his entrance gimmick. It was a match made in heaven. Seriously, just check out this video showing his electric entrance in his hometown above and you’ll see exactly what I mean.

Also read: Top 5 rock based WWE entrance themes

What is not all that well-known, though, is that the theme was originally earmarked for one Mr Randall Keith Orton. That’s right, This Fire Burns was originally supposed to be Randy Orton’s theme song and he even made one entrance to this song on an episode of Smackdown before Punk took it up.
Luckily for everyone, Orton decided it didn’t quite suit him and gave it up for Punk before taking on the now iconic “Voices” theme which has served him well for nearly a decade. All in all, this worked out perfectly for everyone involved.

5 reasons why it is a bad idea for the WWE to get Ronda Rousey now

Is Ronda WWE bound?

After an illustrious run inside the octagon was met with an appalling end, Ronda Rousey contemplated “wrapping it up” and moving on to greener pastures.
Shunning media and receding into a shell, the toughest female competitor in the Ultimate Fighting Championship gave a tacit acceptance of defeat, expressing the desire to move on and hopefully never turn back.
Reports of her signing a contract with the WWE emerged shortly after her loss to Amanda Nunes and it might actually happen in the near future, given her cameo-runs with the business.
But the WWE might not be the best place for “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey anymore. Here are 5 reasons why:

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#5 The WWE doesn’t need another part-timer

Rousey is likely to be a part-time wrestler

Fans of this superior artform (i.e. professional wrestling) are sick of seeing the World Wrestling Entertainment summon the help of part-timers to succour the business from falling into unfathomable depths.
The void left by the egress of the main-eventers has forced the WWE to haplessly send out “SOS” signals to people who fall on the frayed ends of the professional wrestling business.
Hollywood biggies Gillberg (haha), Shaquille O’Neil, Jon Heder and numerous others have at some point in time, made their presence felt in WWE shows.

Also read:  8 WWE opponents for Ronda Rousey

Ronda Rousey, courtesy her fall from UFC-grace, has already shown an inclination to work with the World Wrestling Entertainment, the seeds of which were sown during her appearances at both WrestleMania and Monday Night Raw.
If Ronda decides to put pen to paper, she would most likely be a part-time performer like the crossover-brigade that has preceded her.
A couple of high-octane matches would set the perfect course for the business, but it would soon fizzle once the rigmarole becomes too monotonous for the fans of the World Wrestling Entertainment.
Moral of the story: Ronda would just be another Dwayne Johnson/Brock Lesnar and “you can’t teach that” (to the WWE fans who are smart enough)!