Tag: Titus O’Neil

Daily Update: Weekend fallout, WWE WrestleMania 42, Titus O’Neil

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter

The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is up on the site right now. Some of the key stories being covered:

  • Royal Rumble thoughts, odds and direction
  • The business of UFC to Paramount, the numbers that were released, what they mean, and how much revenue does this mean vs. how much they paid for rights
  • Coverage of Saturday Night’s Main Event
  • UFC 324 coverage, the fights, the future and the business
  • The life and times of Kim Wood, football, weightlifting, perception of people, Ken Shamrock and Brian Pillman
  • How Smackdown and NXT did throughout 2025 on Netflix, the ups and the downs
  • The most complete look at the ratings for all the pro wrestling TV shows over the past week, demos, comparisons, drops from last year factoring out why it would and should drop with big data
  • A new record set for most sellouts by a main eventer in a given month
  • Huge CMLL business week and great matches
  • Major shows upcoming
  • Big events coming for New Japan
  • Fantastica Mania coming
  • Mayu Iwatani’s 15th anniversary show
  • Jesse Ventura suggest Minnesota should leave the U.S.
  • Chris Jericho on TV show
  • Jimmy Jacobs talks working for Vince McMahon
  • Mick Foey on his mother’s death
  • Controversial independent angle makes mainstream attention and gets wrestler fired
  • Former WWE champion in talks to become a weekly TV character elsewhere
  • Former WCW attitude era announcer about to come back to wrestling
  • Ticket sales for upcoming WWE, AEW and TNA shows
  • Looking at the AEW business with Triller
  • AEW executive there from the start leaving
  • Issues with spoliation of evidence in UFC case
  • More on the White House show
  • Lots of notes on Zuffa boxing contracts
  • Notes on WWE international deals
  • Injryu updates
  • New AEW & WWE signings

This Week’s Back Issue

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Sunday Update

Tommaso Ciampa AEW TNT Champion

— We did our weekend show last night talking about the Royal Rumble, UFC, Collision, Hobbs, Ava and lots of other subjects. Our Friday show was one of the best we’ve done of late with Alex Marvez as guest talking about the life and times of Kim Wood.

–Brie Bella’s return last night was not a one-night thing. She’s going to be back for at least the time being.

— As most would expect, right now the plan for WrestleMania is Roman Reigns vs. CM Punk and Cody Rhodes vs. Drew McIntyre. Jacob Fatu could be added to that match.

— Dynamite in Las Vegas on Wednesday:

  • Kenny Omega vs. Andrade
  • Adam Page vs. Mark Davis – winners of these matches face off no 2/14 with the winner facing the AEW champion on the 3/15 PPV show
  • Ricochet vs. Jack Perry for the National title
  • MJF vs. Brody King – if King wins he gets an AEW title shot on 2/14

They will also be taping Eddie Kingston &  Ortiz & Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz vs. Big Bill & Bryan Keith & Grizzled Young Veterans in a parking lot brawl for Collision.

— We’re looking for your thoughts on last night’s Royal Rumble,thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]

— UFC’s show yesterday was the No. 2 show in the world on Paramount +. It was No. 3 in the U.S.

— Royal Rumble was No. 3 in the world yesterday for television shows on Netflix and SmackDown was No. 7. What makes that impressive is that it doesn’t include U.S. viewing.  First day viewing of Smackdown was No. 2 in Australia, No. 2 in  Canada, No. 4 in India, No. 5 in France, No.  2 in New Zealand,No. 2 in Saudi Arabia and No. 3 in the U.K. That’s for the day, not the week.  Rumble for yesterday was No. 2 in Canada, No. 2 in France, No. 2 in Mexico and No. 1 in Saudi Arabia.

— UFC last night did about 1.6 million searches, Alexander Volkanovski, Tai Tuivasa, Mauricio Ruffy, Benoit Saint-Denis, and Quillan Salikilld were all among the top 60 searches for the weekend. Royal Rumble did 305,000 with the top individual searches in order going to AJ Styles (by a wide margin and was No. 53 for the weekend when we last checked), Powerhouse Hobbs, Brie Bella, Cody Rhodes and Brock Lesnar. Ashley Massaro, whose rape accusation and how it was handled by the miliarty came up in the Epstein files, was also on the list.

— Diego Lopes was hospitalized after the show in Sydney last night and said that it looks like he broke both of his feet in his loss to Alexander Volkanovski.  

— In the scoring of the Volkanovski vs. Lopes fight, judge Ron Cartlidge gave Lopes round two and Sal D’Amato gave him round three. Clemens Werner gave him no rounds. Among media scores it was 65 percent giving him a 49-46 win and 35 percent at 50-45. There were close rounds so it was not as one-sided as those scores sound, but Volkanovski clearly won the fight.

— Parade Magazine listed the top 14 WWE wrestlers of all-time. I have no idea how they came up with this list:

  • 1.  Flair
  • 2. Hogan
  • 3. Austin
  • 4. Undertaker
  • 5.  The Rock
  • 6.  Reigns
  • 7. Michaels
  • 8. Bret Hart
  • 9. Sammartino
  • 10. Cena
  • 11. Savage
  • 12. Andre
  • 13. HHH
  • 14. Piper

The argument for Flair at No. 1 is that when wrestling experts do all-time rankings, Flair is No. 1 on more lists than anyone.

— I didn’t hear much about great weekend matches, pretty much just AJ Styles vs. Gunther, Mark Briscoe vs. Tommaso Ciampa and Friday’s Claudio Castagnoli vs. Xelhua matches.

–Looking for reports on these shows:

  • *NXT in Nashville and Birmingham over the weekend
  • *AEW last night in Arlington, TX with any matches not airing live.

Looking for results, highlights and finishes to [email protected]

— Thaddeus Bullard, the former Titus O’Neil, received the 2026 Horatio Alger award for leaders who have overcome adversity and support young people in  furthering their education. Bullard will be one of 11 people being honored.

— Dory Dixon, who was just elected into the Hall of Fame last year, turned 92 today. Dennis Condrey of the Midnight Express turned 74. Sean Royal turned 65. Ronda Rousey turned 39 and Saxon Huxley turned 38. Another Hall of Famer, Masa Saito, would have turned 84 today.  Luis Hernandez, the stepfather of Gino Hernandez, was 33 when he died 54 years ago today.  Jack Brisco was 68 when he died 16 years ago.  Brisco was one of the all-time greats. (thanks to Tony Richards)

Titus O’Neil: I feel safer in Saudi Arabia than most places in US

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE ambassador Titus O’Neil is fully on board with the company’s decision to bring WrestleMania to Saudi Arabia.

Appearing on TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast, O’Neil responded to the backlash that WWE holding WrestleMania 43 in Saudi Arabia in 2027 has received. O’Neil said he feels safer in Saudi Arabia than a lot of places in the United States — and he doesn’t believe we as Americans have the right to point fingers at anyone.

“I can say this, you know, because I’ve been to Saudi Arabia several times now: I feel safer in Saudi Arabia than I do in most places — or a lot of places — in the United States of America,” O Neil said.

“I think in the United States, we have this mindset that we’re the greatest country in the world. And we are a great country, but people don’t move to the United States because we’re the greatest country in the world. They move because we have the greatest amount of opportunity. And I think that the biggest difference between places like overseas in Japan, Saudi Arabia, Middle East, all those places and the United States are morals and convictions. They actually live by theirs, whether you like them or not. They’re going to pray five times a day. They’re going to stop during the day, and they’re going to do their thing no matter what, who likes it and don’t like it.

“You don’t hear about mass shootings in Saudi Arabia. You don’t hear about mass shootings in China. You don’t hear about mass shooters in Japan. I think if people went over to Saudi Arabia or had a chance to go there, their views would change dramatically. And I’m not saying that they get it all right, but we don’t get it all right either to be pointing fingers at anybody.”

O’Neil said there were a lot of “scare tactics” and “scare verbiage” when he went to Saudi Arabia the first time for WWE, but he saw a group of kids playing on the beach at 1 a.m. one night. When he asked his driver the next morning if people in Saudi Arabia were worried about that, the driver said no because there would be an automatic death sentence if the kids were sexually assaulted, beaten, kidnapped, or brutalized.

“So kids are safe over there, but kids are not safe in the United States,” O’Neil said. “My perspective of us going to Saudi Arabia for WWE — yeah, it’s business, but it’s also changing cultures. When we first went over there, women were just now, they were just now getting introduced and being able to drive. Things are changing over there.”

O’Neil said WWE doesn’t care what color fans are, what religion they practice or don’t practice, or where they come from. He believes holding WrestleMania in Riyadh is a chance to show what unity can look like and how other cultures embrace what WWE does.

“So if there’s ever a platform for us as a company to take and utilize, to show what unity can look like, to show what good business looks like, to show what other cultures look like, and how they embrace what we do, no matter where they are and what they come from, and how they dress — Saudi Arabia is definitely one of those places, in my opinion,” O’Neil said. “I think if the WWE brass and TKO brass didn’t feel that way, the decision would not have been made.

“So for anyone that — first and foremost, most of the people that are complaining about the show being over there, would never book a ticket to go over there anyway. Watch the show on TV, it’s going to be a spectacle. Saudi Arabia does nothing small, and WWE does nothing small. So get ready for a hell of a show and a hell of an experience on a global stage that’s going to show everyone why this business, and particularly TKO and WWE, do it better than anyone in the world.”

The Saudi WrestleMania is the first time WWE’s biggest event has ever been held outside of North America. WWE and the Saudi government have been business partners since 2018. That controversial relationship has grown to the point where Saudi Arabia is hosting the Royal Rumble in 2026 and WrestleMania in 2027.

It’s been five years since O’Neil last competed in the ring. When asked about potentially wrestling again at some point, the 48-year-old O’Neil left the door open to the possibility if WWE wants him to. But he’s enjoying everything he’s doing outside of the ring right now. He was recently featured on the Bravo reality show “Kings Court” and has hopes of breaking into Hollywood like his friend Dave Bautista has.

Sons of Scott Steiner, Mark Henry & Titus O’Neil part of new WWE NIL class

Posted on by Josh Nason

The fifth-ever WWE NIL class has three names with familiar bloodline ties among them.

Announced by WWE on Saturday following USA Today’s initial report, Brock Rechsteiner (son of Scott Steiner), Jacob Henry (son of Mark Henry), and TJ Bullard (son of Titus O’Neil) were part of the 12-member class listed below.

Rechsteiner, formerly a wide receiver for the Jacksonville State football team, was reportedly offered his deal in January with his brother Brandon confirming it in February during an interview.

Henry is currently a football player and amateur wrestler at Oklahoma University while Bullard plays football for the University of Central Florida.

About the WWE NIL Program

The NIL (Next In Line) program was launched in December 2021 for college athletes. NIL deals allow athletes to profit off of their name, image, and likeness while still in college — a bi-product of new NCAA policies that took effect in July 2021 following the historic Ed O’Bannon lawsuit.

About the 5th WWE NIL Class

The following are the announced athletes, their most recent college, and sport played:

  • Brock Rechsteiner (Jacksonville State, football)
  • Jacob Henry (Oklahoma, football and wrestling)
  • Meghan Walker (Nebraska, track and field)
  • TJ Bullard (Central Florida, football)
  • Madison Kaiser (Minnesota, hockey)
  • Garrett Beck (Grand Canyon, lacrosse)
  • Kerrigan Huynh (University of Central Oklahoma, track and field)
  • Fatima Katembo (LSU Shreveport, basketball)
  • Bianca Pizano (Michigan State, field hockey)
  • Gina Adams (Lynn University, basketball)
  • Hidetora Hanada (Colorado State, football)
  • Zuriel Jimenez (Columbia University, track and field)

Titus O’Neil to star in Bravo dating series ‘Kings Court’

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE ambassador Titus O’Neil (Thaddeus Bullard) is starring in a new dating series set to premiere on Bravo this summer.

O’Neil, former NBA player Carlos Boozer, and model Tyson Beckford have been revealed as the stars of Bravo’s “Kings Court.” The show — which will debut at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, July 13 — features 21 single women with each bachelor choosing one of them to be their queen at the end of the season.

The three bachelors will take the contestants on “fun, adventurous dates” each episode as the field of women winds down.

“The ladies pull out all the stops to make a lasting impression, but it comes to a head at the elimination dinner party where the men choose who gets another chance at love and who goes home,” Bravo wrote. “After navigating a roller coaster of emotional highs, dramatic lows, and tough eliminations, the kings must ultimately decide which of these fabulous ladies is their queen.”

The show is a spinoff of the dating series “Queens Court,” which had the same premise but with three women looking for love among male suitors. Actress/TV personality Holly Robinson Peete and her husband Rodney Peete (a former NFL quarterback) hosted that series and are back as the hosts of “Kings Court.”

O’Neil, 48, is still with WWE but has not wrestled since 2020. He’s an ambassador for the company and a former recipient of WWE’s Warrior Award for all of the charity work he does outside the ring.

The trailer for “Kings Court” can be seen below:

Titus O’Neil says he doesn’t have ‘any bad words’ against Vince McMahon

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Titus O’Neil has nothing bad to say about Vince McMahon.

Us Weekly spoke to O’Neil, who talked about the new Netflix docuseries ‘Mr. McMahon’ and the allegations McMahon is currently facing, including a lawsuit from former employee Janel Grant accusing him of sexual assault and trafficking. O’Neil said that despite the allegations, McMahon’s legacy in professional wrestling can’t be ignored.

“At the end of the day, what he built cannot be erased,” O’Neil, said. “It’s sad that the situation came to what it came to, but I don’t have any bad words for Vince. It’s very interesting to hear different perspectives on things, but at the end of the day, I’ll forever be grateful for what Vince McMahon built, the platform that he built for so many people. He’s human, just like anyone else.”

O’Neil also said that while he can’t condone what is being alleged, he says that McMahon and WWE have helped change his life for the better.

“Do I condone some of the things that I’ve read? No. But I don’t know all the insides and outs of what’s going on and what’s not going on. All I know is that my life was changed because I had an opportunity to become a WWE superstar. So many people’s lives were changed because they had an opportunity to work for that company. 

“Have we had our differences of opinion on certain things? Absolutely,” he added. “But at the end of the day, he essentially helped me change my life. My kids are in college because of the opportunity that I have with WWE. They went to private school. All three of my children are in college on a scholarship doing well.”

Grant’s lawsuit against McMahon is on pause as the Justice Department continues its investigation into McMahon. He spoke out against the docuseries ahead of its release last week, saying it confuses him with his Mr. McMahon television persona.

Four WWE wrestlers announce picks at 2022 NFL Draft

Posted on by Ethan Renner

Four WWE wrestlers announced selections on night two of the 2022 NFL Draft. 

The Miz, Titus O’Neil, Happy Corbin, and Gable Steveson all appeared on stage in Las Vegas to announce draft picks on the second night of the NFL Draft. 

O’Neil announced a second round pick for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Corbin announced a second round choice for the Kansas City Chiefs, Steveson announced the  second round selection of the Minnesota Vikings, and The Miz announced the third round pick for the Cleveland Browns. 

Each wrestler has local ties to the team that they announced selections for, as The Miz is from Ohio, Corbin is from Kansas, O’Neil is from Florida, and Steveson attends the University of Minnesota.

Miz and O’Neil’s appearances were announced ahead of time in a press release by WWE last week. 

The first round of the NFL Draft was held on Thursday night, while rounds two and three were held on Friday. Rounds four through seven will be held on Saturday.

WWE’s The Miz, Titus O’Neil to announce selections at 2022 NFL Draft

Posted on by Ethan Renner

WWE’s The Miz and Titus O’Neil will take part in the 2022 NFL Draft next week in Las Vegas. 

WWE revealed today that Miz and O’Neil will announce draft selections for their respective hometown teams, with O’Neil representing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Miz representing the Cleveland Browns. 

It was not stated which picks the WWE stars would be announcing beyond O’Neil’s appearance coming on the second day of the NFL Draft on Friday, April 29, also O’Neil’s 45th birthday.

“I’m honored to represent my Hometown NFL team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, at this year’s NFL Draft. As a person who holds a great relationship with many of the players and someone who enjoys an impactful partnership with the Bucs organization serving the Tampa Bay Region through my Bullard Family Foundation, this is truly a special moment. This opportunity to announce the name of the next great contributor to our community both on and off the field is an honor that I’ll never forget. It’s also the BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT ever as I get to celebrate on my birthday this very special occasion with the NFL, the Bucs, the Tampa Bay community, and the player selected,” O’Neil said in a statement on WWE.com.

“I am thrilled to head to Las Vegas to represent my hometown Cleveland Browns at the NFL Draft. As someone who grew up a huge Browns fan, the opportunity to play a small part in the future of the franchise is a dream come true. This is going to be AWESOME,” Miz said in a statement. 

The first round of the 2022 NFL Draft airs Thursday, April 28 on ABC, ESPN, and NFL Network at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Rounds 2 and 3 will air at 7 p.m. Eastern time on the same networks on Friday, April 29. 

Rounds 4-7 will air at 12 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, April 30.

Daily Update: Titus O’Neil, Larry D, William Regal

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Daily Update

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We are looking to grow our writing/editing team with an experienced online news writer who has a working knowledge of WWE, AEW, Impact and other organizations. MMA knowledge is a plus, but not required. This is a paid position. Email [email protected] with several links. We are not looking for inexperienced writers for this position.

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This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter: February 7, 2022 Observer Newsletter: Shane McMahon gone from WWE

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Ordering Info: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE

WWE

  • Goldberg, JBL, and Ron Simmons will be on The Bump tomorrow.
  • WWE announced that they will be holding Bout at the Ballpark this Saturday, February 12 at Globe Life Field. It will feature amateur wrestlers from “top teams in both NCAA and international competition”.
  • The company has filed an application to trademark the term “WWE Sunday Stunner”.
  • Titus O’Neil appeared during the Oscars nomination announcements at the Thaddeus M. Bullard Academy at Sligh Middle Magnet School this morning, where one of the school’s students, Kourtney Anderson, read the nominations for Best Animated Feature.
  • Dune, which stars Dave Bautista, was nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Sound, and Best Costume Design.
  • Paul Heyman spoke to NOLA ahead of SmackDown’s return to New Orleans this Friday.
  • Cesaro talked to WBRC in Birmingham, Alabama ahead of a SmackDown show that will take place on March 11.
  • AJ Styles appeared on this week’s Out of Character podcast with Ryan Satin.
  • The Bella Twins posted a video of themselves backstage at the Royal Rumble.
  • Matches added to WWE’s YouTube account today include Kevin Owens vs. Roman Reigns from Roadblock: End of the Line 2018, the team of Undertaker, Batista, and Finlay vs. The Great Khali, Big Daddy V, and MVP from the February 8, 2008 edition of SmackDown, and Drew McIntyre vs. Randy Orton from the February 8, 2021 edition of Raw.

AEW

  • This week’s AEW Road To, which focuses on the Texas Deathmatch between Hangman Page and Lance Archer for the AEW World Championship.
  • Charles Barkley was the guest on this week’s The Sessions with Renee Paquette, where he talked about his love for pro wrestling and thoughts on the Michael Jordan docuseries “The Last Dance”.
  • Sammy Guevara’s latest vlog.

Other Wrestling

  • Larry D spoke to Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful about obtaining his release from Impact Wrestling. “The thing is, IMPACT! Wrestling has grown so much,” he said. “There’s so much talent that comes through there and you see the NXT crew, and you see AEW and NWA and everything. It’s easy to get lost in the mix. Where we were at creatively, I feel, from the tag team party to fitting where I’m at and in the process, I’m just told to get in the best shape I can and be prepared. That’s what I do and I’m just waiting and I’m watching the growth of IMPACT! Wrestling and the competitor in me is like, ‘Man, I absolutely love everything about IMPACT! Wrestling.’ I can’t say, ‘Aw, man. Those son-of-a-guns ruined my wrestling career. Because I think for the first time ever, like, we hear on the indies a lot, ‘Oh, it’s just business.’ I think finally for the first time in twenty years, [I understand it.] It’s just business. Which also, in turn, is the same way with me. It’s just business. I want to see myself do better. I feel that for twenty years that I’ve busted and given everything that I have to get where I’m at. The competitor in me has to step up and say, ‘Hey, I know I can play on the field.’ I know by asking my release that puts the ball in my court to do what I need to do to go where I want to go.”
  • A Stairway to Hell match featuring Mads Krugger and Jacob Fatu has been announced for MLW’s Superfight card on February 26 in Charlotte.
  • William Regal has launched his Pro Wrestling Tees store.
  • Atticus Cogar vs. Billie Starkz has been announced for GCW Believe Me on February 19.
  • Biff Busick vs. Wheeler Yuta was announced for Beyond Wrestling’s Munky Business on March 13.
  • Alex Gracia on Twitter: “Starting today, WOW and I have amicably parted ways as I did not see them as a good fit for my current goals and brand. I wish them nothing but the best and I still plan to support the current girls who are there working hard to show you that Superheroes are real.”
  • GCW uploaded a match between MJF and Marko Stunt from The Block is Hot event from 2018.
  • Moose spoke to Jim Varsallone regarding Impact Wrestling, Hard to Kill, and more.
  • MCW posted a video of Adam Cole appearing for their promotion during their Winter Blast tour.
  • Jimmy Rave’s memorial service has been posted in full online.

Titus O’Neil receiving Warrior Award at WWE Hall of Fame ceremony

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE wrestler and ambassador Titus O’Neil will be honored at the 2021 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony.

It was announced today that O’Neil (real name Thaddeus Bullard) will receive the 2020 Warrior Award at this year’s WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. The ceremony, which was taped last week, will air on Peacock in the United States and the WWE Network everywhere else at 8 p.m. Eastern time tomorrow (Tuesday, April 6). The ceremony will include both the 2020 and 2021 WWE Hall of Fame classes being inducted.

WWE wrote about O’Neil receiving the Warrior Award:

Titus O’Neil is one of the most philanthropic Superstars in WWE history. A fixture in the Tampa Bay community and passionate about giving back to families in need, O’Neil founded The Bullard Family Foundation, an organization that provides families and children in need with special moments, programs, and resources to help build character, develop relationships, and strengthen communities around them. In addition, O’Neil is an Ambassador for WWE, helping thousands of individuals through various nonprofits and WWE partners including Susan G. Komen, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Special Olympics. His passion for community and uplifting others inspired him to write his first book, ‘There’s No Such Thing as a Bad Kid: How I Went from Stereotype to Prototype,’ in 2019. O’Neil is a Tampa Bay native and graduated from the University of Florida where he was a standout football player for the Gators.

“Everybody knows that I’m someone who just wants to do the work,” O’Neil told the Tampa Bay Times. “I don’t care who I need to work with, as long as the work is done, as long as people’s lives are changed, that environments have been made better — whether it be a school environment or health environment, whatever it may be. I’m about change, real transformational change, not transactional change.”

O’Neil will also be one of the hosts of WrestleMania 37. O’Neil and Hulk Hogan are co-hosting the two-night event at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida this Saturday and Sunday.

“Titus is a dedicated father, humanitarian and WWE Global Ambassador. His unwavering passion to help others in need is simply unmatched,” said Stephanie McMahon, WWE Chief Brand Officer. “Although he does not seek recognition, I am thrilled that his work will be spotlighted to WWE fans around the world.”

The Warrior Award “is presented to an individual who has exhibited unwavering strength and perseverance and who lives life with the courage and compassion that embodies the indomitable spirit of The Ultimate Warrior.” Connor “The Crusher” Michalek, Joan Lunden, Eric LeGrand, Jarrius “JJ” Robertson, and Sue Aitchison have received the award since it was introduced in 2015.

Here are the announced inductees for the 2020 and 2021 WWE Hall of Fame classes:

2020 WWE Hall of Fame class —

  • The nWo (Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall & Sean “X-Pac” Waltman)
  • Nikki & Brie Bella
  • JBL
  • British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith
  • Jushin Thunder Liger
  • Celebrity inductee: William Shatner
  • Warrior Award recipient: Titus O’Neil

2021 WWE Hall of Fame class —

  • Molly Holly
  • Eric Bischoff
  • Kane
  • The Great Khali
  • Rob Van Dam

Dave Meltzer has also confirmed that Ozzy Osbourne will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a celebrity inductee at tomorrow’s ceremony.

Hulk Hogan & Titus O’Neil to host WWE WrestleMania 37

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WrestleMania 37 will feature a pair of hosts.

WWE announced today that Hulk Hogan and Titus O’Neil will host WrestleMania 37. The two-night event is taking place at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11.

Hogan is a member of the WWE Hall of Fame, while O’Neil is part of the current roster and is also an ambassador for the company.

Hogan previously hosted WrestleMania 30 in 2014. Other past WrestleMania hosts have included NFL star Rob Gronkowski, Alexa Bliss, The New Day, and The Rock. Gronkowski was the host of WrestleMania 36 last year, with O’Neil taking over for him during night two after Gronkowski won the 24/7 Championship.

O’Neil lives in Tampa and is known for doing charitable work in the community.

Hogan was also the host of 2018’s Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia, with that being Hogan’s first appearance on WWE television since being fired from the company in 2015 when racist language that he had used eight years earlier was made public.

After a pre-sale began yesterday, WrestleMania 37 tickets officially went on sale today. Roman Reigns vs. Edge for the Universal Championship, Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship, Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship, and The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. AJ Styles & Omos for the Raw Tag team titles have been announced for the event.

WrestleMania 37 will air live on Peacock in the United States. It will be live on the WWE Network everywhere else. Here’s WWE’s full announcement about Hogan and O’Neil hosting the show:

WrestleMania is back in business as WWE today announced that WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan and WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil will host the two-night pop culture extravaganza at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay on Saturday, April 10 and Sunday, April 11, 2021.

Tickets for WrestleMania presented by SNICKERS are on sale now via www.ticketmaster.com. The two-night event will stream live exclusively on Peacock at 8 pm ET in the United States and on WWE Network everywhere else.

A larger-than-life icon and a pop culture phenomenon, Hulk Hogan is one of the biggest names in WWE history. On Jan. 23, 1984, ‘Hulkamania’ was officially born when he defeated The Iron Sheik to become WWE Champion at Madison Square Garden. He headlined WrestleMania III, where he successfully defended the WWE Championship against Andre The Giant in front of a record 93,173 fans at the Pontiac Silverdome. Hogan went on to win six WWE Championships, starred in movies, television shows and became an idol to a vast legion of fans he dubbed ‘Hulkamaniacs.’ He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 by Hollywood legend Sylvester Stallone, and this year will become a two-time Hall of Fame inductee as The nWo, one of sports entertainment’s most notorious factions, is enshrined.

Titus O’Neil is one of the most philanthropic Superstars in WWE history and a former WWE Tag Team and 24/7 Champion. A fixture in the Tampa Bay community and passionate about giving back to families in need, O’Neil founded The Bullard Family Foundation, an organization that provides families and children in need with special moments, programs, and resources to help build character, develop relationships, and strengthen communities around them. In addition, O’Neil is an Ambassador for WWE, helping thousands of individuals through various nonprofits and WWE partners including Susan G. Komen, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Special Olympics. His passion for community and uplifting others inspired him to write his first book, ‘There’s No Such Thing as a Bad Kid: How I Went from Stereotype to Prototype’ in 2019. O’Neil is a Tampa Bay native and graduated from the University of Florida where he was a standout football player for the Gators.

Don’t miss WrestleMania 37 streaming live as part of a two-night event, beginning at 8 ET/5 PT on April 10 and 11 exclusively on Peacock in the United States and WWE Network everywhere else.

WWE Main Event results: Lacey Evans vs. Dana Brooke

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Lacey Evans saw off Dana Brooke in the opener for her third win in a row against Brooke. The team of Titus O’Neil & Heath Slater then defeated Mojo Rawley & Eric Young, leaving Rawley without any kind of a win since May.

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Lacey Evans defeated Dana Brooke (6:00)

Evans and Brooke have had a good little program on Main Event through July and August, with Evans going 3-0 against Brooke. Both Evans and Brooke are certainly improving, but both would benefit from working with stronger opponents.

Of the two, Evans is getting the more even hand. She has been able to work with Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Natalya over the last few weeks, while Brooke has been left to take on Sarah Logan, Nikki Cross, and Ruby Riott.

The match was pretty good, with lots of back and forth, but they did quite a neat finish that let Evans heel her way to the win.

Brooke was looking to lock in a submission hold and dragged her by the leg across the ring. Evans clung on to the apron, which the referee had to pay attention to. While his back was turned, Evans gouged Brooke’s eyes and then landed The Women’s Right for the win. Brooke was left looking completely bereft.

Titus O’Neil & Heath Slater defeated Mojo Rawley & Eric Young (3:28)

Rawley’s WWE career continues to stutter. He debuted a new look back in April, sporting face paint and new ring gear after a series of vignettes were aired on Raw. From there he had a run of matches on Main Event. His last televised appearance was at Super ShowDown back in June.

Here, Rawley was wearing more of the blue-lined face paint and looked a little heavier than in previous months. He didn’t work much in the match and only tagged in for O’Neil’s heat segment, which culminated in him taking a clothesline over the top rope.

Eric Young looked very good, doing a flip over the top turnbuckle and a baseball slide under the ropes in quick succession just before the end. Young took the Clash of the Titus from O’Neil at the end for the pinfall. 

Ultimately, this was pretty much what you’d expect from this match with these kind of time constraints.

WWE introduces 24/7 title, crowns first three champions

Posted on by Bryan Rose

A number of new champions were crowned after WWE introduced the 24/7 title tonight on Raw.

Mick Foley came out at the top of the third hour and introduced the title. It’s a championship that will be defended 24 hours a day, seven days a week and will be defended across all brands, including SmackDown, 205 Live, NXT and NXT UK.

A scramble match followed where the rule was whoever grabbed the title in the ring first would win. A number of Raw stars came down to the ring to try and grab the championship. It eventually boiled down to Titus O’Neil and Drake Maverick. O’Neil threw Maverick over the top rope to the floor, wiping out the others to become the first champion.

As he was celebrating on the ramp, Robert Roode snuck up from behind and rolled him up to become the second champion. He managed to avoid the other Raw superstars until he ran across R-Truth, who appeared to help him escape for good by letting him use his rental car, hiding in the trunk while Truth got rid of the rest of the roster. When Roode got out and discovered a referee in the passenger’s seat, Truth attacked him and pinned him to win the championship.

The third hour for tonight’s show had noticeable changes. The red lights were gone, giving the arena a darker look. The graphics were also in black and white.

WWE Main Event results: Revival win, Hawkins’ streak continues

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Not much of a show to kick off 2019. Titus O’Neil picked up a win against perennial loser Curt Hawkins. The Revival headlined the episode for the first time since November to see off Tyler Breeze & Zack Ryder.

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Happy New Year, everyone.

The episode opened up with a graphic paying tribute to the late, great “Mean” Gene Okerlund.

Titus O’Neil defeated Curt Hawkins (4:52)

A new year, but the same old Curt Hawkins. Now at 0-252, the losing streak storyline appears to still be going nowhere, but a light “let’s go Hawkins” chant started up as these two locked up.

O’Neil got the crowd back on his side when he nailed Hawkins with a big open-handed chop that caused an audible “ooh,” followed by calls for “one more chop.” O’Neil smiled at the reaction, but Hawkins quickly took over the momentum.

There was really nothing much to this one in the end. The finish saw O’Neil connect with a big boot, followed by a hip toss and a running splash to Hawkins in the corner. O’Neil then hit the Clash of the Titus for the win.

The Revival defeated Tyler Breeze & Zack Ryder (7:44)

The Revival arguably spent far too much of 2018 on Main Event, despite calls from keen followers for them to be used more creatively on the main roster, and they find themselves back here again at the start of 2019. That said, Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder were easily the best thing about this match, that by the end was 100 mph.

It might have been poor editing, but a lot of Breeze’s moves were quite obviously whiffing at thin air in the opening minutes and made Dawson and Wilder look a lot more legitimate in their move set. The rather expectant pre-Raw crowd seemed to get into it later on as they traded near falls.

The end of the match saw Ryder incapacitated outside. Breeze got a two count on Dawson and rolled to the apron and then drove his shoulder into Dawson’s midriff. When he then flipped into the ring over Dawson’s back, Wilder tagged in. As Breeze ran the ropes, Wilder and Dawson hit the Shatter Machine for the win.

WWE Main Event results: Tyler Breeze teams with The Ascension

Posted on by James Cox

The Big Takeaway: Titus O’Neil beat Mojo Rawley in a battle of the big men. Tyler Breeze teamed up with The Ascension in what became a fun six-man tag main event against Zack Ryder and The B-Team.

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With Percy Watson absent from the commentary booth this week, Vic Joseph and Nigel McGuinness felt like a much more cohesive unit.

Titus O’Neil defeated Mojo Rawley (4:48)

Joseph noted that this would be a “strength vs. strength” match from the outset and, given who the “strength” were, that’s about as big a turn off as you can get. But to give them their dues, this was okay and the crowd got into it late on.

Rawley took the main body of the match, taunting O’Neil and posturing to the crowd, while O’Neil played babyface in peril. But when O’Neil got the heat and some revenge for the trash talk, it was fun to watch.

They went to the finish after a few near falls. O’Neil Irish whipped Rawley and went for a back body drop, but Rawley stopped to kick O’Neil. Rawley then charged at O’Neil, but he managed to grab Rawley and turn it into the Clash of the Titus for the win.

The B-Team (Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas) & Zack Ryder defeated The Ascension (Konnor & Viktor) & Tyler Breeze (6:39)

The story of this one was that Breeze was the odd man out, a babyface trapped on the heel side. They bullied him throughout the match. The Ascension blind tagged him and would use him in assisting their power moves. Breeze played the part well with B-Team pinning him in the end.

It was nice to see The Ascension get to do something a little more creative than their usual outings on Main Event. For most of the match, they cut the ring in half, beating on Ryder and using Breeze aggressively for their own means — tagging him and out at their leisure.

When Ryder eventually got the hot tag to Axel, he cleaned house so that Viktor and Konnor were left unable to make the save on the outside. He and Dallas teamed up on Breeze to deliver a belly-to-back neckbreaker combination on him for the win. This was way more interesting than the normal tag matches on Main Event.

Titus O’Neil comments on Hulk Hogan’s apology to WWE roster

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Following the comments posted by The New Day, Titus O’Neil has also issued a statement on Hulk Hogan being reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame.

The statement was released via O’Neil’s Twitter and Instagram accounts on Wednesday, with O’Neil refuting rumors that claimed he walked out of Sunday’s Extreme Rules pay-per-view. While O’Neil wrote that Hogan is entitled to being reinstated and that he believes in second and third chances for people who show real remorse and try to fix what they’ve done wrong, he was critical of the apology that Hogan gave to the WWE locker room at Extreme Rules in Pittsburgh.

O’Neil wrote that Hogan bringing up that he didn’t know he was being recorded during the racist diatribe (which was from earlier in the 2000s and included Hogan saying the n-word multiple times) that led to Hogan being fired from WWE in July 2015 lacked “true contrition, remorse and a desire to change.” 

O’Neil’s full statement is available below:

To my gracious fans and the WWE Universe.

The reports and rumors concerning my boycotting “Extreme Rules” in Pittsburgh is false and inaccurate. I was not scheduled to attend or be a participant in the “Extreme Rules” match/production and was otherwise not booked for the show.

The talent present in Pittsburgh, which I was a part of, was asked to attend a mandatory meeting in which Mr. Terry Bollea addressed everyone and informed the same that he would be reinstated into the WWE Hall of Fame. At no point during, after or otherwise did I make any scene concerning Mr. Bollea’s communication to the talent. In addition, let it be known that I did not refuse to shake Mr. Bollea’s hand; we did not have any type of one-on-one interaction whatsoever that would or did necessitate any exchange between us individually.

As to the reinstatement of Mr. Bollea, I can only communicate that I am a proponent of second and even third chances for individuals that show true remorse, acknowledgement of wrongdoing, fulfill their punishment, if applicable, and otherwise put forth sincere efforts to correct the issues.

Unfortunately, I must echo the sentiment and dissatisfaction expressed by many of my fellow contemporaries concerning Mr. Bollea’s apology and its lack of true contrition, remorse and a desire to change. Mr. Bollea’s apology “that he didn’t know he was being recorded” is not remorse for the hateful and violent utterances he made which reprise language that has caused violence against blacks and minorities for centuries.

I stand firm in my position that Mr. Bollea is entitled to reinstatement; he was and is a role model, hero and icon to countless people. I hope that Mr. Bollea’s missteps in communicating to the WWE talent in Pittsburgh are not repeated to his fans and I expect that he shall pursue an agenda that clearly communicates to all third parties that his language was inappropriate, wrong and should not be tolerated in a civilized and inclusive society.

As the father of two young black men, I have spent their entire life and the majority of my adult life with a singular focus; being a role model for my children and young black boys and girls. I take tremendous pride in my charity work and the community outreach programs that I have fostered via the platform I have been given. I teach my sons love and tolerance for everybody, but I also teach them to operate in truth and respect.

I hope this clears up any confusion. I, like New Day, will continue to use my platform to positively affect, entertain, embrace, celebrate and love people from all backgrounds both inside and outside of the WWE Universe.

Sincerely,

Thaddeus Bullard aka WWE SuperStar “Titus Oneil”

Hogan didn’t appear on the broadcast for Extreme Rules, but it was announced on the pre-show that he was backstage. WWE hasn’t announced anything further regarding Hogan’s status or future with the company.