WWE

WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle just underwent a brutal procedure on Tuesday -- the American Hero had BOTH his knees replaced ... but, luckily, he says everything went off without a hitch!!

The Olympic gold medalist posted a video from the hospital bed minutes ago ... shouting out his fans for their well-wishes and detailing the long road of recovery ahead.

"Thank you all for your prayers and best wishes for my 2 knee replacement surgeries today," Angle said Tuesday. "So far so good."

"I realize rehab is going to be a bitch, but I'm ready for it."

The 53-year-old laughed about his legs feeling numb due to an epidural he received for the procedure ... appearing to be in good spirits.

Of course, the dude's had his fair share of pain over the years -- Angle won a gold medal in wrestling in 1996 with a broken neck and went on to join the then-WWF in 1998, where he would reach iconic heights as a performer.

The technical wrestler made a name for himself all over the wrestling circuit -- fighting for various promotions such as WWF/WWE, ECW, NJPW, and Total Nonstop Action.

In 2017, WWE enshrined the 4-time champion into its Hall of Fame, capping off a remarkable career from one of the greatest wrestlers to step inside the squared circle.

Chris Jericho says his niece was seen on video being brutally punched and kicked in the face last week ... and now, the wrestling superstar is pleading for officials to do something about it.

The AEW talent explained the situation on his Twitter page on Sunday night ... saying his niece has been "incessantly bullied" at her middle school in Florida "for months."

Jericho says the bullying took a violent turn just a few days ago ... when she was beaten up in a street.

In the clip Jericho shared to his social media, you can see a girl being socked in the face multiple times -- before she was continuously kicked and punched while bystanders looked on.

Jericho says despite his family's efforts to get officials involved, "nobody did anything to help" -- and he pleaded with school reps to "take action."

He added in a message to TMZ Sports that his niece is "physically ok. But, mentally she’s hurting."

"She's scared to go to school," the 51-year-old wrestler said. "This could've been avoided as the family approached the school a few times prior but nothing was done."

"We need to spread awareness so that the schools do a better job of protecting our kid's mental health and safety. ALL kids. Not just the ones with famous uncles."

We reached out to cops for comment, but they told us they have not been made aware of the situation.

Sasha Banks was living it up with Steve Aoki at a concert this past weekend ... after being suspended by WWE for refusing to wrestle and walking out of "Monday Night Raw."

The WWE superstar clearly looked unbothered on stage with the famous DJ, as the two partied hard with Snoop Dogg's son, Cordell Broadus, in front of a packed crowd.

In the clip, Sasha is right in the mix behind Steve, who had the building jumping when he started playing Lil Nas X's and Jack Harlow's "INDUSTRY BABY" track.

As we previously reported, Sasha Banks and her tag team partner, Naomi, were suspended by WWE on Friday for abandoning Monday's show and skipping out on their match.

Smackdown announcer Michael Cole informed the audience during the telecast that both women were out indefinitely and effectively stripped of their tag team titles.

Sasha's appearance on stage at Steve's concert is the first time she was seen at such a large venue since WWE announced the ban.

73-year-old Ric Flair is returning to the ring as a wrestler for the last time -- just years after cheating death following a medical emergency in 2019 -- something Nature Boy tells us wouldn't be happening if he wasn't cleared by his doctor.

"I don't have any aches or pains. I know I've had the health issues, but I asked 40 different doctors, and I decided I'm only gonna listen to one. Not necessarily the one that was gonna give me the right answer, but that I felt the most comfortable with," Naitch told Babcock and Mojo on the "TMZ Sports" TV show (weekdays on FS1).

Ric says the physician gave him a clean bill of health, paving the way for him to return to the ring on July 31 in Nashville, TN ... under Jim Crockett Promotions.

Naitch and his team are still looking for an opponent ... something they expect to be squared away over the next few days.

Question is, why is the 16x world champ -- an immortal figure in the sport -- wrestling again?

Ric tells us he just wasn't happy with his last few performances ... and knows he can be better.

"I couldn't stand the last couple of matches I had. Couldn't stand the last year I had," Flair, who last wrestled against Sting in 2011, told us.

Flair says he's been training with Rob MacIntyre from John Cena's gym (as well as with Jay Lethal) ... and the fitness guru has been pushing him hard.

"I needed someone to motivate me. And, what motivates me is doing something I like to do, and that's wrestle."

Nature Boy admits he'll never be the exact guy he was in his 30s, 40s, and 50s, but he'll be pretty damn close.

"I'll never run at 100% again. But, I'll be running at 80, 85%."

And, let's face it ... just wrestling into your 70s is pretty damn impressive. Factor in decades of wrecking your body in the ring, a plane crash in 1975, and a near-death medical emergency in 2019, and it's nothing short of incredible that Naitch is about to kick ass in the ring.

Woooooooooo!!

We also talked to Ric and Wendy Barlow about her humanitarian trip to Ukraine.

WWE Superstars Sasha Banks and Naomi have been "suspended indefinitely" and stripped of their tag team title after walking out of 'Monday Night Raw' earlier this week ... the company just announced during Friday Night Smackdown.

Ringside announcer Michael Cole dropped the bombshell during the telecast ... saying the now-former women's tag team champions won't be wrestling until further notice while they serve the suspension.

In addition to the suspension, Cole stated there will be a future tournament to crown new WWE women's tag team champions.

As we previously reported, Sasha and Naomi were slated to take part in a six-pack challenge to determine the number one contender for Bianca Belair, the women's champ.

However, Banks, a former women's champ herself, reportedly got frustrated with Vince McMahon and management's vision for the show ... resulting in her and Naomi blowing off the show and leaving the arena.

Shocking news coming from Stephanie McMahon -- the chief brand officer of WWE is temporarily stepping down from her role on Friday to be with her family.

"As of tomorrow, I am taking a leave of absence from the majority of my responsibilities at WWE," she said on Twitter. "WWE is a lifelong legacy for me and I look forward to returning to the company that I love after taking this time to focus on my family."

The announcement is a complete surprise ... but the response has been overly supportive from wrestling fans.

It's unclear what the reason behind the absence is -- although 45-year-old Steph's husband, Triple H, recently revealed he nearly died due to a health scare ... vowing his wrestling career was over.

McMahon -- Vince's daughter -- has been part of WWE since 2000 ... and was an in-ring performer for 18 years.

Stephanie was made EVP of Creative Writing in 2007 ... and switched over to CBO in 2013, where she has remained ever since.

McMahon and Triple H got married in 2003 ... and have 3 kids together, Aurora (15), Murphy (13) and Vaughn (11).

Sasha Banks and Naomi -- WWE women's tag team champions -- reportedly walked out of "Monday Night Raw" last night after an argument with management about the creative direction of the show.

WWE issued a statement to TMZ Sports about the impromptu exit, saying, "During the broadcast, they walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis's office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk and walked out."

Officials from the promotion say when Banks and Naomi arrived at the arena they were made aware of their participation in the main event of 'Raw,' but allege both superstars claimed they were "uncomfortable" with who they were scheduled to wrestle.

It's unclear if the incident is part of an internal storyline. Though, WWE's statement makes it seem it was not part of the show, even writing, "Monday Night Raw is a scripted live TV show, whose characters are expected to perform the requirements of their contract."

Sasha and Naomi were slated to be a part of a six-pack challenge match, where the winner would face Raw women's champion, Bianca Belair, in a match for the title. But, after they left the building, WWE was forced to pivot.

WWE quickly ran a segment backstage with Becky Lynch, former women's champion, where she said she witnessed Naomi and Sasha leave the arena. She then pleaded with on-screen official Adam Pearce for a title opportunity.

Becky Lynch fought Asuka in a singles match -- the new main event -- where she defeated her after spraying green mist in her face, and delivering a roundhouse kick.

As for Sasha and Naomi, PWInsider reports prior to leaving the arena, they met with Vince McMahon. Once it became clear WWE wasn't going to make the changes they wanted, they decided to skip the show.

WWE legend Ric Flair is back wrestling ... the Hall of Famer just announced he'll be returning to the squared circle this summer for the last time in his storied career.

The 16-time World Heavyweight champion's opponent is not yet known.

It's been a while since we've seen "The Nature Boy" in action ... Ric's last match was against the icon Sting when he was still a member of TNA Impact.

In 2008, Flair officially retired from the WWE after the "Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels defeated him in a match -- where his career was on the line -- at WrestleMania 24.

Rumors about Ric's in-ring return intensified after the 73-year-old posted a video of him training with former TNA superstar Jay Lethal.

In the clip, the "dirtiest player in the game" showed fans who question if he's lost a step that he still knows his way around the ring ... executing some of his signature moves.

"Someone Had The Audacity This Weekend To Ask Me If I Can Still Do This. I Said “Really??? Naitch Don’t Play!” WOOOOO! @thelethaljay" Flair wrote at the time.

Flair's wrestling career is extensive ... since breaking into the industry in 1972, "Naitch" has wrestled for every notable promotion there is -- namely, NJPW, WCW, WWE/WWF, and NWA.

Awful news ... WWE legend "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan says his cancer has returned -- and both he and his family are "terrified."

The wrestler did add, though, his doctors are "very optimistic that they caught it early."

Duggan had battled the disease for most of 2021 ... needing multiple procedures -- including one in which doctors removed his prostate -- to try to eradicate it. In December, he said medical experts had declared him officially cancer-free.

But, the 68-year-old said in a video message on Sunday that it had returned ... adding, "It's a very terrifying time for me and my family."

Duggan said he's now gearing up to undergo more treatments to try to get rid of the disease ... explaining in his video message he's set to have radiation therapy for eight weeks, five days a week.

"Hacksaw" said doctors are optimistic about the potential results of the treatments, and added they're encouraging him to "go ahead and live life."

"Which we're going to go ahead and do," he said.

"I'm afraid I'm going to make most shows, but some shows, I'm going to have to postpone or cancel," Duggan added. "And, I'm sorry about that, but that's the way it's got to be."

In addition to his 2021 battle with cancer, Duggan also battled the disease in his 40s -- and has dealt with heart problems as well. He did say that fans' support has helped him through it all -- and he's hoping for a similar outcome this year.

"You folks have helped me through an awful, awful lot over the years, many times before," he said. "And, sharing this with you is going to help me get through this. So, thank you."

Big E's broken neck isn't going to stop him from living life ... the WWE superstar hit up Marlon Wayans' comedy show -- wearing his neck brace -- Friday night in Florida.

The former WWE champ posted a picture on Instagram of him and Marlon at the Seminole Hard Rock Event Center in Tampa ... with the two sharing a friendly embrace.

"Massive thanks to @hardrocktampa for a fun night of hob nobbing. (That sounds filthier than intended…)" E captioned the photo.

The event is worth noting 'cause E recently (March 11) suffered a devastating injury in the ring (well, technically outside of it) when fellow Superstar Ridge Holland dumped the 5'11", 285 lb. star on his head, breaking his neck in the process.

After the belly-to-belly suplex went terribly wrong, E was carted out of the arena on a stretcher, and taken directly to a local hospital for treatment. He ultimately had surgery ... which thankfully went well, according to the wrestler.

Things could've been far worse for E ... doctors say he could've suffered a stroke, paralysis, or worse, death.

Seeing Big E out and about, smiling, is a welcome sight for WWE fans ... who are obviously concerned about the WWE Superstar's health.

WWE legend Tammy Sytch has been thrown back behind bars ... a judge just revoked her bond at a hearing on Friday morning.

Sytch initially posted the bond on May 7 ... one day after she was arrested for allegedly killing a man while driving drunk in March in Florida.

Prosecutors, though, argued that Sytch should not have been given bond -- calling her a danger to the community -- and in a Volusia County courtroom Friday morning, a judge agreed ... revoking it and putting her back in jail.

Sytch is expected to remain behind bars until at least her next court hearing on May 31.

As we reported, Sytch has been hit with eight criminal charges -- including DUI causing death -- after officials accused her of drunkenly causing a fatal car crash on March 25.

According to court documents, prosecutors say she had a blood-alcohol level of .08 or higher when she crashed her car into a stopped vehicle on United States Highway 1 in Ormond Beach. Prosecutors say the collision ended up killing a 75-year-old man.

Tammy Sytch -- also known as "Sunny," in the ring -- is behind bars over a fatal car crash from last month that cops say was caused by her being under the influence.

The former WWE star was arrested Friday night and hauled off to the Volusia County Jail -- where she was booked on a number of charges ... including felony DUI manslaughter, the most serious of the offenses. She was also rung up on 8 other charges, most being DUI related.

One charge she was booked on accuses her of driving on a suspended/revoked license, and then causing great bodily harm and/or death as a result. Her bond is set at over $220k total.

You'll recall ... this all ties back to an awful accident police say Sytch caused in late March -- although it's unclear why she's just being arrested for this now, more than a month later.

In any case ... the story is tragic. According to a traffic crash report, obtained by TMZ Sports, cops claim Sytch was traveling down a highway at a high rate of speed when she slammed into the back of another vehicle on the road that was stopped at a traffic light.

The driver was taken to a hospital but died from their injuries. That victim is reported to be 75-year-old Julian Lasseter.

X-Pac tells TMZ Sports there's no way in hell he'd step inside the ring to fight WWE Smackdown women's champion, Charlotte Flair ... saying, "She'd f***ing kill me."

We spoke with the WWE Hall of Famer about Charlotte, daughter of "Nature Boy" Ric Flair, this week ... and asked him if the "Nature Girl" should compete against men on a regular basis.

"You know, I'm open-minded about all that," Pac said. "I mean, obviously, I come from an older school of thought, so it's weird for some of us older cats to see that, but I think we should be open to that, man."

"Plus, she's incredible. She's an alpha female if there ever was one."

Intergender wrestling, commonly referred to as mixed wrestling, is not uncommon in WWE. Women wrestle men all the time in tag-team matches, but as far as 1-on-1s, they very rarely happen.

Pac tells us, though, if there's any woman capable of holding her own in singles matches with men, it's the champ, Charlotte.

"You see it in movies," the former DX member said. "Women are strong now, they beat the s*** out of dudes these days."

Pac, who started his wrestling career in the late '80s, admits that some of the guys he came up with in the industry might not support Charlotte fighting men full-time ... but he's "all for it."

"I know some of my friends might not dig it," the 49-year-old told us. "But, I'm all for it."

As for if he'd get in the ring with her ... the KING of the "Bronco Buster" returned to the squared circle a few months ago and looked damn impressive -- but he said don't expect to see him fight Charlotte any time soon.

WOWWW!!!

WWE Superstar Bobby Lashley fell over the ring and landed on his head after the rope collapsed during his match with Drew McIntyre ... and the video is insane.

The frightening moment went down during WWE's Thursday night live event in England ... when Bobby and Drew were going at it in the middle of the ring -- and then disaster struck.

McIntyre reversed a power slam that Bobby was attempting ... then pushed Lashley into the ropes as a part of his counter move.

Lashley then bounced off the ropes and tried to clothesline Drew, but the savvy veteran avoided it ... sending Lashley flying to the other side of the ring, where he fell over the rope.

As the momentum of Bobby's weight hits the top rope, it suddenly collapsed ... sending the 273-pound athlete flying.

At one point, Lashley's body appeared to fold up as if he was an accordion ... with the former WWE champ presumably landing on his head and neck.

No doubt a scary sight for McIntyre, who was in disbelief at what happened ... as was much of the WWE universe in attendance at the show.

Of course, this isn't the first time we've seen a wrestler take a bad fall in his match. Big E -- whose real name is Ettore Owen -- suffered a broken neck after Ridge Holland botched a belly-to-belly suplex on him outside the ring.

Fortunately for E, his recovery is going well ... and the big guy is in good spirits.

WWE star Jimmy Uso got so upset with the officer who arrested him for DUI back in July, he straight-up called the guy "an a**hole" during the stop ... new police video shows.

In the footage, you can see Uso -- real name Jonathan Fatu -- seemed to be triggered by a comment a Pensacola Police Dept. officer said to him shortly after the cop pulled him over for allegedly speeding and running a red light.

After the cop asked Uso to get out of his Dodge Charger after claiming he smelled an odor of booze coming from the wrestler's ride ... he appeared to sincerely wish Uso good luck in passing field sobriety tests.

"I'm hoping you beat it this time, too," the officer said.

For some reason, that remark seemed to set Uso off.

"Are you serious?!" Uso asked the cop. "Are you serious?! Why would you say that? I just -- it's all good."

A short time later, after the 36-year-old was taken to a nearby parking lot to attempt to prove his sobriety, Uso confronted the cop further about the comment.

"That's crazy, right?" Uso said. "He didn't have to say that s***."

"The nice thing?" the cop replied.

"The nice thing?!" Uso fired back, before adding, "Bro, you don't need to say the s*** you're saying. I get it. I've been here. Let's do it."

The cop then tried to conduct a field sobriety test ... putting a pen in front of Uso's eyes -- but the wrestler clearly wasn't over the cop's comment.

"You're an a***hole," Uso said. "You're the one that's worse. You had a remark -- you made a remark you shouldn't have did."

The cop seemed to try to apologize, saying, "I think you misunderstood. So, I'm sorry. I was actually being nice. But, I'm sorry."

Uso eventually dropped the beef -- but cops claim he failed field sobriety tests nonetheless ... and arrested him for DUI.

Uso, who cops say ultimately blew a .202 and .205 during the arrest, was eventually charged with misdemeanor DUI over the incident -- and court records show he cut a deal with prosecutors earlier this month to close out the case.

According to court docs, Uso agreed to plead no contest to the charge.

As part of the agreement, we're told Jimmy was required to complete several courses related to the incident. A source close to Uso tells us those classes were completed earlier this month.

Ric Flair is silencing those who question if he's lost his wrestling mojo by showing he can still hang inside the squared circle ... and even still has a few moves up his sleeve.

"Nature Boy" -- regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers ever for his iconic run in WCW and WWE -- posted video with AEW wrestler Jay Lethal ... and the Hall of Famer looked damn good!

The 73-year-old was "styling and profiling" throughout the video, using some of his signature moves on Lethal ... and it's clear the former 16X World Heavyweight Champion hasn't lost too much off his fastball.

"Someone Had The Audacity This Weekend To Ask Me If I Can Still Do This. I Said “Really??? Naitch Don’t Play!” WOOOOO! @thelethaljay" Flair wrote on social media.

Of course, Flair and Lethal have a history together. In 2010, Lethal interrupted Flair during a segment on TNA's Impact Wrestling and impersonated the Nature Boy's boisterous persona the entire time -- and the crowd got a kick out of it.

Flair and Lethal got into a "Woo Off" ... in one of the most memorable moments in TNA history.

Wooooooooooooooooooooo!!

Flair's career spans over 50 years, and he's wrestled for various promotions such as AWA, NJPW, WCW, WWF/WWE, and most recently, NWA -- where he returned at age 73 last year.

Naitch has one of the most decorated careers in sports entertainment and served as an inspiration to many of the upcoming superstars in the sports entertainment world.

At WrestleMania 38, his friend and mentor Triple H left his wrestling boots in the middle of the ring, signifying he was officially retiring from the biz.

Flair got emotional when talking about HHH's career to a Dallas radio station ... saying he was "heartbroken" over "The Game's" retirement.