Latest news with #LuchaUnderground
Newsweek
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Big Name Could Make WWE Debut At Backlash: Report
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Former New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) star Jeff Cobb is reportedly poised to begin his WWE career imminently. A new report from suggests the arrival of the highly accomplished free agent is just around the corner. The report indicates that Cobb's WWE journey could commence this weekend. Some sources within the company reportedly anticipate Cobb will be present for the Backlash premium live event on Saturday, May 10th, in St. Louis. However, the PWInsider report clarifies that an on-camera debut at Backlash is not guaranteed. Whether he appears before the crowd or remains backstage is yet to be determined, even if his presence is expected. Encouragingly for fans awaiting his arrival, the report also states that the company has actively discussed creative plans for Cobb's official WWE debut in recent weeks. This suggests that WWE is actively preparing for his integration onto the Raw or SmackDown roster. This buzz surrounding his WWE signing comes despite Cobb recently sharing a cryptic social media post hinting at potential retirement. Regardless of that post, industry reports strongly suggest that he join WWE's ranks. Triple H starts the show during Monday Night RAW at Intuit Dome on January 6, 2025 in Inglewood, California. Triple H starts the show during Monday Night RAW at Intuit Dome on January 6, 2025 in Inglewood, California. WWE/Getty Images More news: WWE News: Steve Austin Reveals Real-Life Vince McMahon Confrontation Cobb brings a formidable and unique resume to WWE, built across multiple major promotions. He first gained attention representing Guam in freestyle wrestling at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. He later broke out in the wrestling world via Lucha Underground, portraying the monstrous and seemingly unstoppable Matanza Cueto. Following Lucha Underground, Cobb significantly impacted Ring of Honor (ROH), debuting in 2018. During his ROH tenure, he quickly captured the ROH World Television Championship. For that title, he notably defeated Punishment Martinez, now known to WWE audiences as Damian Priest. Cobb's most extensive recent run was with NJPW. After prior appearances, he officially signed in 2019 and became a powerhouse member of Will Ospreay's influential United Empire faction. Wrestling fans lauded his performances in NJPW's grueling G1 Climax tournaments. He consistently delivered memorable, hard-hitting bouts against top stars, including Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi. His NJPW accomplishments include reigns as NEVER Openweight Champion and IWGP Tag Team Champion alongside his United Empire stablemate Great-O-Khan. Cobb even made a brief detour to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) in 2020, appearing as a mercenary hired by Chris Jericho. Cobb is a highly anticipated addition to the WWE landscape because he is known for his incredible blend of raw power, exemplified by his "Tour of the Islands" finisher, and surprising athleticism. His potential debut adds another layer of excitement to the Backlash weekend and beyond. While awaiting official confirmation from WWE or Cobb, the PWInsider report strongly suggests the powerhouse Olympian's arrival is imminent. Fans will watch Backlash closely for any sign of the decorated free agent. More WWE News: For more on WWE, head to Newsweek Sports.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Chelsea Green Hilariously Reacts To Penta Being Open To A Rematch With Her In WWE
Chelsea Green Hilariously Reacts To Penta Being Open To A Rematch With Her In WWE Image Credit: WWE Chelsea Green has reacted to Penta being open to running it back with her in a WWE ring. The WWE Women's United States Champion took to X/Twitter to post her reaction to Penta saying he was ready to run it back with Chelsea in a WWE ring. Advertisement '(observing eyes emoji) dearrrrrr lord,' she wrote. Penta appeared at WWE World/Fanatics Live during the WrestleMania weekend. The RAW superstar was asked by Big E if he would ever run it back with Chelsea Green in WWE. Here's what he had to say: 'Chelsea is best, best wrestler,' Penta said. 'I love working with her. Sometimes I remember that (Lucha Underground) match. Chelsea Green now has become a big, big superstar. She's amazing in the ring. She's amazing outside the ring. I love working with her, man. Absolutely, I'm ready. I think she's ready. Let's go!' When did Penta wrestle Chelsea Green? The viral match took place back in 2018, when both Penta and Chelsea worked Lucha Underground under their Pentagon Dark and Reklusa monikers, respectively. Penta picked up the win following his 'Fear Factor' package piledriver variation. Advertisement Most recently, Penta competed in a fatal four-way match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 41 Night 2 (Sunday). Fans can check out the match result here. As for Chelsea Green, the superstar last competed on SmackDown before WrestleMania where she lost to Zelina Vega in a non-title match-up. RELATED: WWE WrestleMania 41 Night Two Results: Review, Grades, Card For April 20 The post Chelsea Green Hilariously Reacts To Penta Being Open To A Rematch With Her In WWE appeared first on Wrestlezone.
Express Tribune
03-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
The revolution is televised
Michelle McCool once recounted how she and Victoria were asked to go redo their match on an episode of SmackDown because their "punches and kicks looked better than the guys". Chris Jericho took a stand and told the management that it wasn't the female wrestlers' fault if the guys' punches didn't look good. During the Divas Era, veteran and coach Fit Finlay used to secretly train women wrestlers behind the management's back. Ultimately, it paid off when even the fans began demanding the company to treat the women's division better, and it led to what would be marketed as the Women's Revolution. Although TNA's women's division had been breaking all the barriers for way longer, and many other promotions such as Stardom exist which solely focus on women's wrestling, the WWE machine used its worldwide platform to lead this change, albeit the changes were visible mainly within the company. TNA Knockouts Before we jump into the Women's Revolution, it's important to note that even outside the WWE, women's wrestling has been thriving for far too long. TNA Knockouts had been paving the way in the smaller promotion and the indie scene for years. Gail Kim is one of the most respected names of the division and a legend in women's wrestling. In fact, she left WWE because she felt she wasn't treated well and went on to join TNA and make history. Another ex-WWE wrestler Mickie James along with Awesome Kong, Taya Valkyrie, Deonna Purazzo and many more built a successful TNA Knockouts division that continues to this day. 'Lucha Underground' Lucha Underground was a promotion that exploded on the scene like an RKO out of nowhere. Its behind-the-scenes problems, bad business decisions and legal issues aside, the company flaunted fantastic wrestling and storylines. During its four-season run from 2014 to 2018, it showcased intergender matches and beautiful wrestling violence in all its glory. It felt more like a cinematic, fantasy and sci-fi TV show with wrestling as the main vessel and that uniqueness is what sold it. A number of male and female stars now wrestling across WWE, AEW and other promotions made their name in Lucha Underground. The beauty of LU was that there were no separate men's and women's divisions. Anyone could team up and fight against anybody, and anyone could be the world champion. The likes of Ivelisse, Sexy Star, Black Lotus, Kobra Moon and more raised their stocks. Ivelisse won the Trios Championships along with Son of Havoc and Angelico a few times. Sexy Star made history by defeating a male wrestler Matanza Cuete and winning the Lucha Underground Championship. She also won the Gift of the Gods Championship. I say made history since it's uncommon to see that nowadays, not because it happened for the first time. Intergender matches have been happening since Cora Livingston and Mildred Burke's times. Star ruined her own career in recent years though. She legitimately hurt her opponent and went off-script, leading to everyone blackballing her due to her unprofessionalism. The Four Horsewomen It might not be incorrect to say that LU and TNA were a factor in WWE finally embracing women's wrestling once again and putting a limelight on their division. This was also around the time when WWE's developmental promotion NXT rose in the ranks. Four women – Sasha Banks, Charlotte Flair, Bayley and Becky Lynch – became the cornerstones in the women's division in NXT. I remember Charlotte vs Natalya in NXT in early 2010s was the match which woke the WWE up when it came to women's wrestling. And it kickstarted the change in the company. That continued even when they were promoted to the main roster on Raw and SmackDown. The Four Horsewomen – in homage to Rick Flair's Four Horsemen many decades ago – ruled women's wrestling in WWE for a decade. In fact, they still do. Banks left WWE a few years ago and now wrestles as Mercedes Mone in AEW. Lynch retired last year. Bayley is still with WWE and Charlotte comes, wins titles, destroys everyone's storylines and leaves only to return and repeat every year. But these four women led to many historic moments in the past decade. Lynch, Charlotte and Ronda Rousey also became the first women to main event WrestleMania. Since then, women wrestling in the main event of Raw, SmackDown and premium shows has become another norm. Women have now wrestled in all kinds of matches – Steel Cage, Hell in a Cell, Street Fights, Elimination Chamber and Royal Rumble. WWE also attempted to introduce women-only shows and premium live events but they didn't work. However, the integration of the women's division into the shows has significantly improved. The division now has its own mid-card US title as well as tag team titles, although one may argue that there are too many titles and not enough women or TV time to make the titles and the title-holder mean something. Regardless, the likes of Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Iyo Sky, Jade Cargill, Naomi, Kairi Sane, Asuka and many more continue to form a full and thriving roster across the board. Add to it the NXT women's roster and you have stars that will carry the company for years. This is the final part in the women's wrestling series.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Betting on himself has left Ricochet with one major mission: Earning his damn respect
English journalist Richard Hammond, probably best known as the host of BBC's 'Top Gear,' once tried to describe why he's found so much professional success. Instead of talking about all he'd done for people and who helped him along the way, he very concretely talked about the things you normally don't mention as the keys to personal victory: 'I like to think that my arrogance, impetuosity, impatience, selfishness and greed are the qualities that make me the lovable chap I am.' More and more, you'll see people on social media regurgitate messages such as 'there's really no upside to being a good person,' lamenting being decent as if it's some type of detriment. While hyperbolic, there's something to be said about looking out for No. 1 and immediately seeing a change in not only a level of success, but personal satisfaction, and almost a release from the things that may have previously held you back. Ricochet, AEW's newest free agent turned creative success, has played the good soldier most of his televised career, but now that he's willing to do any and all things to solidify his status as one of the top talents on Earth, he's the bad seed ready to grow and overtake any and all doubters. In a world where everyone has 'haters,' where 'nobody believed in us' is the false narrative people use to motivate themselves, Ricochet's problem is the opposite: Everyone's been telling him how great he is all along. 'So many people, when I see them and I run into them, tell me all the time — whether it's 'Lucha Underground' or it's with Will Ospreay or it was in NXT, or there's some point of my career, whether it's the New Japan stuff, Dragon Gate, a lot of stuff too with PAC — I have so many people tell me this specific match or something got me watching wrestling again,' he told Uncrowned. Ricochet has probably been as close to a video-game character as any wrestler to date, with the biggest difference being video games only have so many buttons, so many ways to do something fresh. He spent the first 15 years of his career tearing apart the independent wrestling scene, in particular being one the driving forces of American startups Dragon Gate and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla. He became maybe the most decorated Black wrestler to compete in Japan, winning numerous New Japan Tag Team Titles and 2014's 'Best of the Super Juniors' tournament. Effortlessly athletic, he employed moves never experienced by American crowds in-person, and if they had seen them, they hadn't seen them with the grace and precision he possessed. He jumped higher, he landed smoother, and he made it look easier. And as time passed, he developed that superhero physique to match his skill set — first as the muted, masked Prince Puma in Mexican magic/mystique promotion Lucha Underground, then once more as the more grounded (but almost never on the ground) Ricochet. 'Who's your favorite wrestler? Stone Cold? He thinks it. Who's your favorite wrestler? Triple H? He thinks it. Who's your favorite wrestler? Rey Mysterio? He thinks it. Even if you don't think it, that's OK, because your favorites, they all think it and they all know. Is AJ Styles your favorite? Well, he thinks that I'm really, really good," Ricochet said. "You know what I'm saying? It's all good for me.' There's really no guarantee that leaving WWE for AEW, or vice versa, will make you a bigger star, will make people more fond of your work, or even if it'll make you happy. But that's been true for former WWE talents that have found success if they've taken risks perhaps not allowed under their former employer. Jon Moxley, AEW's first big flip, let go of the zany, unpredictable Dean Ambrose to return to his gritty, grizzled deathmatch roots. Swerve Stickland leaned heavily into hip-hop, urban art and an unrelenting mean streak on his way to world title status, while Toni Storm hopped into a time machine, washed out her colors and found one of the most fun on-screen figures in wrestling with her 'Timeless' persona. So when the rumbles about Ricochet's impending AEW signing got louder this past year, the question was simple: What's he going to do differently? While not consistently at AEW's level, WWE was allowing more and more of the athletic, fast-paced style they'd brought with guys like Ricochet, Carmelo Hayes and Dragon Lee. Ricochet shined in his initial match for the NXT North American Championship. He won both WWE's United States and Intercontinental Championships, feuded with fellow PWG alumni like Styles and Sami Zayn in fantastic bouts. So was it simply a chance for a few new matchups, or would we get something fresh in how he'd be presented? Watching a talent like Strickland, who he'd known for years, break out creatively, definitely made AEW an attractive destination. 'Seeing where he started and then seeing where he ultimately ended up going to and achieving, it was incentivizing," said Ricochet. "Because, again, it's somebody who I know he came up watching me. He came up asking me and Rich Swann for advice. Now to see where he has gone and do the things that he has done, and reached the heights that he's reached, has been really motivating because to see what somebody can achieve on their own, betting on themselves and achieving such popularity and such status in the wrestling world, really made me, again, want to show everybody how much better I was than him.' But where Swerve embraced control, Ricochet committed to chaos. In recent weeks, he's attacked people with scissors, he's used managers as human shields, he's stolen the regalia of stars no longer with us. He's insulted Texas' finest, spitting out rap legend Bun B's world-class hamburgers and even comically referring to him as 'Mr. B.' With every interruption, with every insult, and every Jadakiss 'A Ha!' cackle, you aren't getting something new, you're getting who the guy always was: His own biggest fan. 'This is the culmination of pretending for years, and now no longer having to put on that facade of, 'Man, I hope these people really care,'" Ricochet said. "Because now I can be honest, and now I can talk, and now I can tell the people that I really, really do not care. It's great.' While the mania of it all has been cathartic for him, the foundation is, and always will be, the wrestling. Like fellow Kentuckians Raylan Givens and Boyd Crowder before him, what was hiding behind an early career of hard labor (while the "Justified" leads worked in a coal mine, Ricochet worked in a factory between matches and travel) was the drive and focus to be a significant part of a larger world. It's easy to lose track of just how long Ricochet's been synonymous with top-tier professional wrestling across the world ... unless well, you ask him. 'Nick Wayne is like 19 years old. He's a baby. In 2010, me and PAC was out there killing it Korakuen Hall," Ricochet said. "Then four years before that, I was viral doing double moonsaults in 2006. What year are we picking that I've been relevant? I'm talking about, we're not going to act like I ain't been relevant. We're not going to act like I ain't been the top dog.' He doesn't want to recreate his classic matches, but with AEW having some of his strongest past opponents under the umbrella, he wants everyone to see just how much better he's become. 'The most attractive thing was to get in there with Will [Ospreay] again, was to show everybody how much better I was than him," Ricochet said. "That was the most attractive thing to me because I've been watching. I've seen it. I watched from afar and I saw everything that he was doing "[Fans] bring that [NJPW] match up or something me and Will did, and they say that made them watch wrestling. I understand all that again. Having now the opportunity to get back in there with him, but then now show everybody that I am better than him and I always was better than him, that was attractive to me.' Richard Hammond may be a bit more 'lovable,' but Ricochet feels he's never been better, and he's out to make sure everyone knows that puts them a level beneath him, even if it's at the cost of losing a few supporters along the way.
