WWE

Ric Flair says he is NOT a train ridin', oral sex givin' son of a gun ... telling TMZ Sports the viral photo making rounds has to be some other guy -- 'cause it ain't him!!

Here's how we got here: A pic began trending on Twitter on Wednesday ... which appears to show a man with light, slicked-back hair ... *clears throat* pleasuring a woman.

People were quick to say the guy in the photo was 72-year-old Flair ... with the jokes coming in left and right.

Welp, we made some phone calls ... and Ric himself tells us the guy in the pic is NOT him ... and for what it's worth, he hasn't been on a train in a while.

We wanted to show the photo ... but Harvey wouldn't let us. So, go search on Twitter.

The Nature Boy has made headlines recently for REAL things that actually happened -- the wrestling legend has parted ways with WWE after a lengthy relationship.

Flair has kept busy in his time since ... but not in *that* way.

NFL. UFC. WWE.

Those are three of the lucrative options U.S. Olympian Gable Steveson reportedly has on the table after winning a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2020 Games.

TMZ Sports ran into Seth Rollins at LAX ... and we asked the WWE Superstar if pro wrestling would be a good career move for 21-year-old Steveson.

"I mean, we’d love to have him. He seems like an incredible athlete, and decent dude. And, you know, we've had some luck with Olympic gold medalists before, so why not?" Rollins said.

Seth is referring to Kurt Angle ... who won a gold medal in wrestling at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta before ultimately joining WWF (now WWE) in 1998 -- where he became a legend in the squared circle.

But, freestyle wrestling and pro wrestling are VERY different sports ... which is why Rollins is offering Gable some assistance.

"I do have a wrestling school, Black and Brave Wrestling Academy, so if he wants to move to Davenport, Iowa for three months, we'll get him ready."

Of course, since defeating the #1 seed in the gold medal match in Tokyo with fractions of a second remaining, 6'1", 260+ lb. Steveson says he's received interest from the NFL (Ravens, Bills), UFC, Bellator, and WWE ... to name a few.

Gable hasn't ruled out signing with any of the organizations ... making it clear if they write a big enough check, he's interested in football -or- wrestling -or- fighting.

Wrestling legend Ric Flair is no longer with WWE -- the Nature Boy has been released from his contract, the company confirms to TMZ Sports.

It goes without saying -- Flair is one of the most iconic wrestlers to enter the squared circle ... he's a 16-time world champ and has been a fan favorite since joining the World Wrestling Federation in 1991.

It's not the first time Flair has parted ways with McMahon's company -- he left in 1993 for WCW before returning to WWF in 2001.

72-year-old Flair had a cup of coffee with other promotions in the '00s -- including Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and Ring of Honor -- before returning to WWE in 2012. He stayed with WWE up until this week.

While Naitch is one of the most recognizable wrestling superstars on the planet, we're told the move is not a complete shock ... despite Flair re-upping with WWE last May.

At the time, Flair told Wrestling, Inc., "Well it's not for life but I hope [WWE keeps] renewing me. You never know, but I'm obviously not gonna go anywhere else if they didn't renew me."

We're told the split has been in the works ... and both sides ultimately came to an agreement recently.

Of course, if Ric wants to find work elsewhere, his buddy Tony Khan runs All-Elite Wrestling, which could be a possible landing spot.

WWE Superstar Roman Reigns knows exactly how to prep for a huge match against John Cena at SummerSlam -- hitting the beach with his smokin' hot wife in Miami!!!

Of course, the wrestling legend called out RR just last week ... saying he's coming for the Universal championship belt next month.

But, Roman doesn't seem too fazed -- ditching his shirt and soaking up the sun with his wife of 7 years, Galina Becker on Monday.

Just take a look at the pics -- the couple looks absolutely stunning ... with Roman showing off his tatted bod and Galina rocking a fun patterned one-piece.

SummerSlam is set to go down Saturday, August 21 at Allegiant Stadium ... and it's gonna be HUGE.

Cena -- a 16-time champ -- last competed at WrestleMania 36 in March 2020 ... where he lost to WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt.

Reigns ain't impressed by Cena's return, though ... saying, "He came out here, the same music, the same entrance, the same run to the ring, the same outfit, the same promo, the same insults."

"If I wanted that, all I had to do was search online for 2005 John Cena. It's the same thing, over and over and over. It's like missionary position every single night."

The woman who accused WWE star Matt Riddle of choking her and forcing her to perform oral sex has dropped her lawsuit against the wrestler ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Court docs show Candy Cartwright -- a pro wrestler whose real name is Samantha Tavel -- filed for the dismissal on Monday.

It's unclear if the two sides reached a monetary settlement ... Cartwright's attorney, John Chwarzynski, tells us only, "The parties have put this in their past and are focused on the future."

We reached out to Riddle's attorneys for comment ... but so far, no word back yet.

Cartwright had alleged that Riddle sexually assaulted her during a 2018 van ride with other performers when everyone else had fallen asleep.

"Matt asked me to 'hop on his d***,'" Cartwright said of the alleged incident. "When I refused (although we had previously been together I was incredibly uncomfortable in that setting) When I said no, he grabbed me by my throat, choked me and said 'what if I just made you?'"

Cartwright says she ultimately performed oral sex on Riddle "to get out of having intercourse with him. It was incredibly humiliating."

She added, "It is never ok to put your hands on a woman, it's also not ok to not listen when she says no."

For his part, Riddle adamantly denied the allegations ... saying that while he did have an affair with Cartwright -- he did NOT sexually assault her.

"At the end of the day, I’m not perfect," Riddle said in a video message in July 2020. "I did have an affair, and I’m not happy about it. But, I never sexually abused anybody, I never sexually assaulted anybody."

"And, when I wanted to get out of this relationship, out of this situation, she said no and she kept pursuing me ... And then, when she didn’t get her way, she used the Speak Out movement to try to ruin my career."

Riddle has remained a big WWE star despite the suit and the nature of Cartwright's allegations ... wrestling for RAW every Monday.

WWE Hall of Famer Paul "Mr. Wonderful" Orndorff -- the man who famously had epic matches with Hulk Hogan in the 1980s -- has died, his family announced Monday.

He was 71 years old.

Orndorff's son, Travis, did not reveal his father's cause of death, but said in a statement, "It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of my father, Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr. He is better known as "Mr. #1derful” Paul Orndorff."

Travis continued, "Most of you will remember him for his physique. Many will remember his intensity. But if I could only get you to understand and see his heart. He will always be Pop, Paw Paw, and Daddy at home."

"And as much as many of you hated him as a wrestler, he absolutely loved you for it."

Orndorff became a star in the 1980s ... after he was a headliner in the first-ever Wrestlemania in 1985.

In that matchup, Orndorff partnered Roddy Pipper in the main event to face off with Hogan and Mr. T.

Orndorff went on to have plenty of storylines and matches with Hogan ... before he officially retired in 2000. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005.

"RIP my brother," Hulk said in a statement Monday. "Love you and thank you for always making me fight for everything in our matches. Heaven just got even more wonderful. love U4LifeHH."

After retirement, Orndorff still made appearances at wrestling events -- even getting back into the ring at a tag team event in 2017 at 67 years old.

"He was an amazing father that showed me more love than I ever deserved," Travis says, "I love you Daddy."

WWE star Jimmy Uso has been arrested for DUI again ... after cops say he was driving in Florida with a BAC of .205, TMZ Sports has learned.

According to police docs, Uso -- real name Jonathan Fatu -- was pulled over at around 10:35 PM on Monday in Pensacola after cops say he ran a red light after being clocked going 50 MPH in a 35 MPH zone.

In the docs, officers say during subsequent questioning ... they smelled booze on the 35-year-old, so they asked him to exit his Dodge Charger.

Cops say when Uso got out of his vehicle, he was noticeably swaying ... and claim that Uso had told them he had consumed "multiple" beers before getting behind the wheel.

Officers say Uso went on to bomb field sobriety tests ... so they arrested him.

In the docs, cops claim Uso's BAC breath tests came back at .202 and .205 -- well above Florida's legal limit of .08.

According to jail records, Uso was booked on a misdemeanor DUI charge, and he's currently still behind bars. Police docs show Uso was also hit with citations for speeding and running a red light.

His bond is currently set at $500, jail records show.

This is the second time in the last two years that Uso has been accused of drunk driving ... he was booked for DUI in Pensacola back in July 2019.

But, a jury later found Uso not guilty in the case ... despite police video that appeared to show Uso swerving and stumbling during his arrest.

Uso was also arrested earlier in 2019 after he allegedly got into a drunken dispute with cops in Detroit.

"I would say a good percentage of professional wrestlers, maybe 69% to be exact, wanna be The Rock by the time it's all said and done."

That's Dean Muhtadi (formerly known as Mojo Rawley in WWE) -- telling TMZ Sports he's getting into acting -- in a way only he could.

Muhtadi landed a role in the upcoming action flick called, "Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins" -- starring Henry Golding -- that's set to be released on July 23.

(Muhtadi's fighting the guy with the chain in the trailer above.)

Dean -- who says he plans on getting back into pro wrestling in the future -- also had a cup of coffee with the Green Bay Packers ... and Muhtadi says acting in action scenes are super hard, physically.

"I'm not gonna lie. I felt like I just had a pay-per-view match or a big football game. But, man, what a blast we had," Dean tells us.

"Henry was absolutely unbelievable, great guy to work with, very down to the Earth, humble guy."

'Snake Eyes' was Dean's first big-time acting gig ... but he doesn't plan on it being his last.

"It was such a cool experience. I'm looking forward to more in the future."

So ... watch your back, Dwayne!!!

Nikki Bella is apologizing after some mean comments she made about Chyna back in the day resurfaced on social media ... she says it wasn't worth the cheap laugh.

Here's the deal ... Nikki and Brie Bella were on "Fashion Police" back in 2013 and the resurfaced clip shows Nikki holding up a photo of Chyna and saying, "We don't know if it's a man or a woman."

Nikki apologized Monday after getting dragged online, saying ... "I am sorry and embarrassed by my 29 year old self, who offended Chyna and, in turn, hurt her family and others.

She says she wishes she could take the comment back and adds ... "Please learn from me, it's not worth hurting someone's feelings for a meaningless laugh."

The resurfaced clip also features another dig at Chyna from host Joan Rivers, who says Chyna's "vagina has a penis."

As you know, Chyna died back in 2016 from an accidental overdose ... and she's since been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

In her apology, Nikki thanks Chyna for opening doors for women in wrestling, like the Bella Twins, and says she should be remembered as an "icon and pioneer."

You can't see him, but you WILL see John Cena back in the squared circle once again ... with the WWE Superstar confirming he's DEFINITELY making a wrestling comeback!!!

44-year-old Cena hasn't been in the ring since WrestleMania 36 last year ... when he lost to "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt.

But, the WWE legend hasn't hung up his spandex just yet -- Cena revealed he's 100% coming back to Vince McMahon's organization in the future.

"Those rumors are true," Cena said on "The Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon.

So, when's he making his highly anticipated return?? THE TIME IS NOW!!!!

Just kidding.

"I'll definitely be back to the WWE, I just don't know when," Cena told Fallon.

When pressed about his cryptic Instagram post of the WWE logo back in May, Cena said he was just feeling "pretty nostalgic" and wasn't trying to announce a big comeback.

"Some people took it as I was returning immediately, which that's not the case. I haven't had my last match and I can't wait to have my next match."

Cena's name has been thrown around as a possible guest for SummerSlam in August ... and Triple H recently told TMZ Sports he felt like the huge event could act as a "pretty big carrot" to get him to take a break from Hollywood.

But, as Cena points out, his movie contracts ain't exactly letting him go get beat up on the weekends while filming massive blockbuster flicks.

WWE Superstar-turned-AEW talent scout Mark Henry says we might not have seen the end of Braun Strowman ... telling TMZ Sports he's hoping to bring the former champion to his company!!!

Of course, Strowman was recently let go by Vince McMahon's organization ... after spending the past 8 years as one of wrestling's biggest stars.

Now that Henry is an analyst, coach, scout and mentor with All Elite Wrestling, we had to ask if he's planning to bring his buddy on board.

"Super high on my list," Henry tells us. "It's not an all Mark Henry decision, but there's already interest on both sides."

"Hopefully by the time he's allowed to wrestle in August, I think the middle of August, then we could have a serious conversation about contractual things of that nature but right now there's interest on both sides. I love that dude."

Henry and Strowman -- real name Adam Scherr -- go WAY back to their strongman days ... and Mark played a huge role in getting him into the wrestling game.

Now, there's a good chance at a reunion once Scherr's contract is up.

"I talked to him, I mentored him but I tell him all the time, I can't talk business," Henry added. "When your contract expires, you call and let me know and then we'll have a talk."

If Scherr does make the switch, he'll have to go by a different name ... 'cause WWE holds the rights to the "Braun Strowman" -- but it's a small sacrifice for fans who wanna see him back out there.

There's even more awesome news ... we had to ask if we could see 50-year-old Henry enter the squared circle with AEW ... and he's hoping to make it happen!

"I got a lot left in the tank," he says. "I said this before, man. Once I turn 50 ... I said I wanna wrestle again so I can say I wrestled in 4 decades."

"Not many wrestlers get to that, not many. Especially at a high level. I wanna be able to get there and hopefully by October I'll be at 100%."

Henry says he has a bit of work to do to get back into fighting shape ... but it's clear he's spent a lot of time pondering the idea.

"I want it to be very skillful and I want it to be well thought out."

Ryan Cabrera and Alexa Bliss agree with Beyonce ... if ya like it, you should put a ring on it -- that goes for men and women, which is why he's already rocking a "man-gagement" ring.

The singer and WWE superstar were at LAX Wednesday when a photog noticed they were both wearing rings as they clutched their iced coffees. He asked the obvious ... did they already get married? But, they explained it's not what it seems.

Ryan says the band is his engagement ring from Alexa, and she says they want to normalize this practice. His reasoning is making sure all the ladies out there know he's taken.

As we reported, Ryan popped the question back in November after a year of dating, and now they're saying the wedding will be next year, and they're planning a huge celebration once the pandemic's a bad memory.

Sounds like the nuptials will be heavy on friends and light on family.

Alexa also seems to be in better spirits after mourning the death of her beloved pet pig, Larry-Steve, who died last month when he suffered a medical emergency ... and Alexa says multiple vets refused to treat him.

WWE superstar Alexa Bliss is still mourning the death of her beloved pet pig -- but will honor his memory by making sure no other animal suffers the way he did.

As we previously reported, Alexa's pig, Larry-Steve, suffered a medical emergency last week -- but she could not find a veterinarian in her area who would treat the animal.

Due to the lack of medical care, Larry-Steve died ... one day before his 4th birthday.

Alexa tells TMZ Sports she's still very shaken up by the whole situation -- but now feels motivated to save other animals in similar situations.

"We just know that, unfortunately, there's not enough vets that are able to treat pigs or any tools to be able to help larger animals," Bliss told us at LAX.

Bliss says she's been contacted by a bunch of animal owners who experienced similar issues with their larger non-traditional pets and she feels compelled to help.

So far, Bliss says she's raised more than $16,000 for a pig rescue in Florida and will name it after her late pet.

"They're building an insulated pig house for the winter and it's gonna be called The House Larry-Steve Built."

Alexa says she's not sure if she'll get another pet pig -- she's still in a lot of emotional pain -- but will stay deeply involved in the animal community.

"I would love to keep rescuing animals and pigs specifically because they are so emotionally smart. They have the learning capability and understanding of a 3-year-old child. They can feel grief and they can cry real tears."

WWE superstar Alexa Bliss is mourning the death of her pet pig, Larry-Steve -- claiming the animal died in severe pain after multiple veterinarians turned them away because he was just too big.

Bliss had raised Larry-Steve since birth back in 2017 -- and loved him like a member of the family at her home in the Orlando area. He evolved into a social media star who racked up nearly 90,000 followers on Instagram.

But, tragedy struck on Monday -- when Bliss says she noticed Larry had become extremely ill and it was clear he was suffering.

"Larry is very ill, can’t move or walk. In a lot of pain," Bliss said ... "His usual pig vet said she is not comfortable treating him in his current condition."

Bliss added, "Most vets are not comfortable treating pigs. If anyone knows of a pig vet please let me know."

Bliss says she ended up reaching out to 13 different animal doctors but couldn't find anyone close to care for Larry.

"Unfortunately in the state that Larry’s in right now there’s absolutely no way we are going to be able to transport him. He is in too much pain and weak."

Bliss says some vets hung up on claiming they only treat pigs "up to a certain weight" ... and Larry was just too big.

Later that day, Alexa had to leave for work to shoot "Monday Night Raw" -- but left him in the care of her family while she spoke with him on speakerphone.

"It is heartbreaking that all I can do is just listen to him squeal in pain and no one will come help. No one will even just come and give him pain meds to help take care of his pain."

Sadly, Larry ultimately passed away early Tuesday morning.

Alexa posted a message on IG noting he died on the day before his 4th birthday.

"This morning Larry-Steve gained his Angel wings," Bliss said ... "I’m so sorry we couldn’t find you the help you needed in time."

"Some people didn’t agree to help you. But I want you to know Larry, YOUR LIFE MATTERED. We are completely heartbroken."

Coming soon to a city near you -- the WWE!!!!

Vince McMahon's wrestling org. is finally ready to take the show back on the road ... announcing a 25-date tour set to kick off in July.

Of course, it's been more than a year since the WWE has hosted any events outside of Florida ... with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the org. to create its ThunderDome setup in the Sunshine State.

WWE took one step towards normalcy by hosting 51,350 fans over two nights for WrestleMania 37 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa last month.

Now, fans will be able to see Superstars like Roman Reigns and Sasha Banks IN THE FLESH later this year ... with the return set to go down at SmackDown at the Toyota Center in Houston on July 16.

The famed Money in the Bank event will take place a few days later at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth on the 18th ... and Raw will go down the next night at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

Braun Strowman is one of the most physically imposing men on the planet ... but the 6'8," 345-lb WWE Superstar tells TMZ Sports he still deals with perceived flaws in his appearance after totally transforming his body.

"I used to struggle and I still do struggle with body dysmorphia," Strowman says.

"I struggled with bullying growing up because I was a chubby little kid and then I grew to this gigantic mongoloid of a human being that I am and I'm still judged for it because people look at me and go, 'Oh, this big meathead.'"

FYI, Dictionary.com defines body dysmorphia as a mental illness involving obsessive focus on a perceived flaw in appearance.

Braun -- a former strongman competitor (those dudes are MASSIVE) -- recently dropped around 50 lbs ... and got absolutely ripped.

"15% of this work that I've done and transformed myself has been in the gym and doing the cardio. The rest is mental and food preparation," Braun says.

And, Strowman says his weight loss has had an awesome, unintended consequence ... it’s inspired a bunch of his fans to lose a crapload of pounds.

"The messages I get from fans, friends, family, strangers from all around the world that send me messages, 'Hey I seen your fitness goal, it's made me change the way I eat, made me get back in the gym, I lost 100 pounds, I lost 200 pounds.'''

There's more ... we also talked to Strowman about his Triple Threat match against Bobby Lashley and Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania Backlash this Sunday -- for the WWE Championship.

Strowman described the epic match like this ... "This is King Kong meets Godzilla meets the Incredible Hulk," adding ... "And I damn sure ain't planning on coming out of the backside of WWE Backlash not carrying that WWE Championship."