WRESTLING NEWS TODAY

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> GLENN “KANE” JACOBS CALLS FOR PRESS CONFERENCE ON TUESDAY IN KNOX COUNTY
- Glenn Jacobs, the man behind the Kane character, has called a press conference for Tuesday afternoon at Sweet P's at 3725 Maryville Pike in South Knox County according to NBC affiliate WBIR. While it’s not confirmed what the announcement will be, it’s expected that the former WWE champion will be officially announcing his run for Knox County mayor. Family and close friends will be in attendance. "It's going to be a fun-filled event," his spokesman said. Last month, Jacobs filed paperwork announcing he had a treasurer for a potential run as Knox County mayor in 2018. It's a required step for candidates seeking office in the county. When Kane isn’t donning a mask and kicking ass in a WWE ring, he operates Jacobs Insurance Associates. He and his wife, Crystal, have lived in East Tennessee since 1995, and moved to Knoxville several years ago. The election for mayor is May 1, 2018.




> JONATHAN COACHMAN CLAIMS HE WON’T BE DOING ANYMORE WWE REPORTING FOR ESPN
- ESPN’s Jonathan Coachman has said that he will no longer be involved with the WWE coverage on ESPN after a Twitter row with fans, and Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer, over the lack of reporting in the Mauro Ranallo and JBL story. Coach got called out for not covering the story by Meltzer, who said that ESPN had chance after chance “to show balls” but this will be “another time they're showing castration tendencies.” The whole story is over the rumors, or better yet, confirmed reports of John “Bradshaw” Layfield and his bullying tactics which apparently were the cause of Ranallo being absent from television over the past several weeks. Coach, who is a former WWE announcer himself and big friends with JBL, said that ESPN doesn’t report on rumors for any sport or company. “Reporting on a topic and actual details of a story two different things. Do you know how many this "story" came up at Mania...zero,” Coach tweeted, defending the company he works for. The former WWE announcer was flooded with tweets from fans, many negative and some positive, saying that sometimes he likes to give the negative 10% and their leader Dave Meltzer something to do. “I put in way too much energy and content to deal with this any further,” he then wrote. “We have incredible vertical website. I am sure they will continue their fantastic coverage. Just not me.”




> MAURO RANALLO REMOVES ALL WWE REFERENCES FROM TWITTER BIO
- Mauro Ranallo has removed all WWE-related references in his Twitter bio adding more speculation that the lead Smackdown commentator is gone from WWE. His bio now reads, “SHOWTIME Boxing/@rutten_ranallo/ COMBAT SPORTS CAROUSEL/ Mental Health Advocate” whereas before it had reference to being the WWE Smackdown commentator. Ranallo, who is currently out battling depression, started heavily retweeting yesterday although most of the tweets were UFC or MMA related. Ranallo also deleted the tweet that said he would not be at WrestleMania which was sent out a few days before the big show. Ranallo joined WWE as the lead Smackdown announcer in January 2016 when Smackdown made the transition to USA Network. He’s been absent for the past several weeks from WWE television and his broadcast partner John “Bradshaw” Layfield has been heavily criticized for “bullying” Ranallo. Recently, JBL said that he plays a heel character on television and wishes Ranallo nothing but the best.




> CBS SPORTS SAYS MAURO RANALLO IS NOT RETURNING TO WWE
- CBS Sports is carrying an article saying that Mauro Ranallo will not be returning to WWE television and will sit out the remainder of his contract which expires in August 2017. CBS is the parent company of Showtime Championship Boxing, which Ranallo also serve as the lead play-by-play commentator. The article also points out that Mauro deleted a March 29 tweet in which he wished his “@WWE family another AMAZING #WrestleMania.” As noted before, Ranallo removed all WWE references from his Twitter account this week, signifying a big change in his status with the company.




> KURT ANGLE AND THE BIG SHOW SIGN FOR APA TALENT AGENCY
- Deadline.com is reporting that WWE Raw General Manager Kurt Angle and WWE Superstar The Big Show have both signed a deal with the APA Agency, a talent agency based in Los Angeles. APA represents artists, performers, brands, intellectual properties and production across all media platforms including film, television, music, theater, publishing and digital. Kurt Angle is also represented by Traverse Media and personal manager David Hawk while Paul “Big Show” Wight is also repped by attorney Sam Perlmutter. Signing with talent agencies will greatly increase their profile and chances when it comes to film and other television roles.




> UFC CHAMP DANIEL CORMIER COMPARES HIMSELF TO ROMAN REIGNS
- During the UFC 210 post-fight press conference, UFC Light Heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier compared himself to WWE’s Roman Reigns when it comes to crowd reactions. When Cormier was asked about getting booed by the crowd, the champion did not mind and said as long as the crowd isn’t indifferent, it’s fine. “So as long as you’re booing, I’m fine, it bounces off of me,” Cormier said. “I was telling a story earlier about how I was watching WWE WrestleMania last weekend and I said wow, it would be great if Roman Reigns pins The Undertaker, clean. It’s how the old school guys do business,” Cormier explained during his press conference. “And Monday night Reigns walked out to the ring and they booed him for 10 minutes, they did not allow him to talk. It was the most organic crowd that they’ve had in a very long time. He said ’This is my yard’ and he left. It was perfect.” Cormier said that that’s pretty much him in the UFC and that is his Octagon, stealing off a page from Reigns’ script. Cormier is a huge WWE fan and has attended quite a few WrestleManias. You can see the part of the press conference with the WWE references at http://w-o.it/2oVbk21




> VIN DIESEL TALKS ABOUT PAST CONFLICT WITH DWAYNE JOHNSON ON FAST SET
- With the Fate of the Furious movie set for release next week, the cast, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson are doing several media rounds to hype up the arrival of the eighth installment of the popular Universal franchise. Last year, Johnson voiced his frustration on an Instagram and Twitter post lashing out on one of the male co-stars, and although never mentioned by name, it was later revealed to be Vin Diesel. Speaking to USA Today, Diesel said he and The Rock are now cool and no one knows how close they are. “I don’t think the world really realizes how close we are, in a weird way. I think some things may be blown out of proportion. I don’t think that was intention,” Diesel said. The star of the franchise said that Johnson appreciates how much work he puts in these movies and whatever animosity there was in the past, there’s nothing now. “In my house, he’s Uncle Dwayne,” Diesel added. Diesel said that to see another multicultural star come up is something he is very proud of and will always root for The Rock. “It’s not always easy being an alpha. And it’s two alphas. Being an alpha is sometimes a pain in the butt,” he concluded.