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☆ Sika Anoa’i, WWE Hall of Famer and Father of Roman Reigns, Is Dead
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-26 | by ( Alexandra E. Petri | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sika Anoa’i, the Hall of Fame professional wrestler who was half of the 1980s superstar tag team the Wild Samoans and father of W.W.E.’s biggest current star, Roman Reigns, died on Tuesday. Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment also confirmed Sika Anoa’i’s death in a statement. Sika Anoa’i is part of a long line of grapplers known as the Samoan Dynasty that has been called the greatest wrestling family of all time. Sika and his brother, Afa “Arthur” Anoa’i, would form the Wild Samoans, considered one of the most influential duos in wrestling history. Sika’s son Roman Reigns, born Leati Joseph Anoa’i, is the undisputed W.W.E.

Persons: Sika Anoa’i, W.W.E, Jahrus Anoa’i, Sika, Peter Maivia, Dwayne “, ” Johnson, ”, Arthur ” Anoa’i, Sika’s, Roman, Leati Joseph Anoa’i, Jonathan Solofa Fatu, Joshua Samuel Fatu, Jimmy Uso Organizations: of Fame, Wild Samoans, Instagram, Worldwide Wrestling Entertainment, Afa, Samoans

WWE and its parent company, TKO, have said that they take Grant's allegations "very seriously." Staying in touchMcMahon has also talked to Trump, according to two of the people close to the wrestling impresario. The two billionaires have been in touch regularly, according to a person close to McMahon, although it isn't clear what they've discussed. Another person close to McMahon said that the two men don't discuss their legal problems and that Trump doesn't provide legal advice. Publicly, Johnson has thanked TKO and WWE executives regarding his addition to the TKO board earlier this year.

Persons: Vince McMahon, Donald Trump, Mark, McMahon, Janel Grant, he's, hasn't, Mark Shapiro, doesn't, McMahon hasn't, Paul, Levesque, Stephanie McMahon, wasn't, Jessica Rosenberg, Grant's, Jan, John Laurinaitis, Janel, couldn't, Ann Callis, Grant, Nicholas Biase, Linda McMahon, McMahon's, Bill Pugliano, Donald J, Trump, Dwayne, Johnson, John Cena, Cena, Howard Stern, I'm, William Morris, Cena didn't, Endeavor Group's, Ari Emanuel, Brendan Mcdermid Organizations: WWE, Austin Straubel, Getty, World Wrestling, NBC News, CNBC, Triple, Federal, U.S, Attorney's, Southern, of, Trump, WWE Hall of Fame, PAC, Trump Media, Technology Group, Street Journal, Trump Foundation, Hollywood, William, William Morris Endeavor, Endeavor Group, Endeavor, Endeavor Group's UFC, Longtime Hollywood, New York Stock Exchange Locations: Green Bay , Wisconsin, United States, Caicos, Italy, of New York, Connecticut, Manhattan, Atlantic City, Trump's, York, New York City, U.S

“The Rock” is a name is derived from Johnson's father, WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson, who was the first Black champion in WWE history (alongside partner Tony Atlas), according the WWE. “I am thrilled to partner with Dwayne and welcome his immense talent to TKO’s Board," TKO CEO Ariel Emanuel said in a prepared statement. He has recently appeared on World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.'s “Smackdown” and “Raw” television programs, with rumors swirling that he may compete at this year's WrestleMania. "I’ve been there, I’m still there and this is for them.”TKO also announced Tuesday that Brad Keywell will become a board member. The additions of Johnson and Keywell will increase TKO's board from 11 to 13 members.

Persons: Dwayne Johnson, Johnson, WWE Hall of Famer Rocky Johnson, Tony Atlas, “, Dwayne, Ariel Emanuel, ” Johnson, I’ve, I’m, ” TKO, Brad Keywell, Keywell Organizations: WWE, UFC, WWE Hall of Famer, Seven Bucks, Energy, United Football League, TKO’s Board, Holdings Inc, Wrestling Entertainment Inc, Echo Global Logistics

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Retired wrestler Hulk Hogan and a friend rescued a teenage girl who was trapped in an overturned vehicle after a crash in Florida, according to Hogan's social media posts. Hogan said on the social media platform X that he used a ball point pen to puncture the car's airbag and free the girl after witnessing the accident Sunday night in Tampa. His new wife, yoga instructor Sky Daily, took to Facebook to praise the quick action taken by her 70-year-old husband and the couple's friend Jake Rask. “By all appearances, she was unscathed, just really rattled, which is an absolute miracle!” Daily wrote. The Tampa Police Department said in an email Tuesday that there were only minor injuries from the crash.

Persons: —, Hulk Hogan, Hogan, Jake Rask, Terry Bollea, ” Organizations: Facebook, The Tampa Police Department, WWE Hall of Fame Locations: TAMPA, Fla, Florida, Tampa

☆ Superstar Billy Graham, Model of the Buff, Blond Wrestler, Dies at 79
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Richard Sandomir | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Superstar Billy Graham, a professional wrestler whose extravagant presence — 22-inch biceps, dyed blond hair, feather boas, tie-dyed tights and an outrageous gift of gab — influenced the style of future stars like Hulk Hogan and Jesse Ventura, died on Wednesday in Phoenix. The cause was sepsis and multiple organ failure, said Keith Elliot Greenberg, who collaborated with Graham on his autobiography. Graham’s longtime use of steroids had weakened his bones, requiring at least six hip replacements, and made him sterile. He also received a liver transplant in 2002 after contracting hepatitis C.“If you look at those that came after him, more people have patterned themselves after Superstar Billy Graham and become a success in this business than probably anybody,” Triple H, the superstar wrestler whose birth name is Paul Levesque, said at Graham’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004. “And when it comes to bodies, there was nobody, and I mean nobody, that could touch the Superstar.”Graham, who was born Eldridge Wayne Coleman, had been an evangelist, a bodybuilder who bench pressed as much as 605 pounds, a defensive end in the Canadian Football League, a debt collector and a bouncer before turning to wrestling in 1970.

☆ WWE apologizes for using Auschwitz footage in pro WrestleMania promo
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( David K. Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A view of the former Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz in Oswiecim, Poland, January 19, 2015. World Wrestling Entertainment inexplicably used footage of infamous Nazi death camp Auschwitz in a recent promotion, prompting the grappling giant to apologize Friday for the offensive gaffe. "We had no knowledge of what was depicted," the WWE said in statement to NBC News on Friday. The Auschwitz footage is now absent from tape of WrestleMania Night 1 and has been replaced with generic images of a jail with barbed wire. The son fought his father in this past weekend's WrestleMania and was beaten soundly by the old man.

☆ How WWE’s Vince McMahon ruthlessly got his job back despite allegations of sexual assault and misuse of company funds
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Kyle Feldscher | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

WWE has always been a family business – Vince McMahon, Sr., handed over the reins to his son in the 1980s – and it seemed set to continue that way. Why was Vince McMahon stepping aside such a big deal? Vince McMahon was more akin to a king than a business executive in the world of WWE, his fingerprints on everything. Once considered a wrestling genius, critics have more recently come to consider Vince McMahon a creative liability. McMahon,” Vince McMahon’s devious on-screen character, who served as wrestling’s greatest heel for years in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

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