WWE

Sumo wrestling legend Akebono -- who once competed against Big Show at WWE's WrestleMania 21 -- has sadly died at 54 years old.

Akebono's family said in a statement Thursday the former grand champion passed away in Tokyo earlier this month from heart failure. They added he had been receiving care at a local hospital when he died.

Akebono grew up in Hawaii -- but he made a name for himself after moving to Tokyo in the 80s.

AEW aired footage of the physical altercation that led to CM Punk's firing from the promotion in 2023 on Wednesday ... showing the wrestling superstar shove and seemingly choke Jack Perry after a heated exchange.

The video was part of the AEW Dynamite event this week as part of the Young Bucks' current storyline against tag team FTR ... with YB claiming the incident was possibly orchestrated by their opponents --- blurring the lines between a real backstage incident with their ongoing TV feud.

The clip shows Punk approaching Perry backstage at the All-In event in London back in September ... and the two got on a passionate back-and-forth before things got violent.

Punk pushed Perry away from him ... and then proceeded to wrap his arms around his neck area.

The two needed to be separated by multiple bystanders ... and eventually, Punk stormed away from the scene.

It all stemmed from a previous incident at AEW's show, Collision -- when, according to Punk, Perry was hellbent on using real glass for a spot.

It led to a confrontation between them ... and then Perry went ahead and used real glass in a spot -- and told the camera, "Cry me a river," which Punk took as shade.

Punk -- who is back with WWE following his boot from AEW -- explained his side of the scuffle in an interview last week ... claiming he didn't feel like it was a fireable offense since he didn't punch Perry, just "choked somebody a little bit."

Jason Kelce's retirement might not last very long -- TMZ Sports has learned the Philadelphia Eagles legend would be welcomed back to WWE with open arms ... this after crushing his WrestleMania 40 appearance!!

The elder Kelce bro and his former teammate, Lane Johnson, shocked the Philadelphia crowd on Saturday ... when they sprang into action to help Rey Mysterio and his partner Andrade beat his son, Dominik Mysterio, and Santos Escobar in their tag-team match.

Kelce and Johnson found themselves in the middle of the scrap ... with Travis' bro doing some serious damage on Dom as Rey and Andrade won the match.

WrestleMania 40 brought out wrestling's biggest and brightest ... and, even some of Hollywood's biggest names pulled up to Philadelphia for the festivities.

The first night of the biggest weekend in wrestling saw a deluge of superstars come out for the festivities ... including Lil Wayne who performed at the event, and NFL superstar Jason Kelce who handled some business in the ring.

Model Winnie Harlow took in the action, fur coat hangin' off her slender frame ... sitting up close and personal with the ring like it's New York Fashion Week.

Jason Kelce's luchador mask after the Chiefs' Super Bowl win wasn't a one-time thing -- the recently retired NFL star donned the look once again ... making a surprise appearance at WrestleMania!!

The future Hall of Fame Philadelphia Eagles center and his former teammate, Lane Johnson, crashed the party amid legend Rey Mysterio and Andrade's tag-team match against Dominik Mysterio and Santos Escobar on Saturday ... helping the former duo get the victory.

Of course, Kelce famously rocked a similar look after his brother, Travis, won the world title over the San Francisco 49ers in Vegas back in February ... wearing a wrestler mask as he chugged beers alongside Taylor Swift.

The Rock proved ring rust is just a myth on Saturday -- returning to the squared-circle for the first time since 2016 at WrestleMania 40 ... and ending the epic match with the win!!

The Final Boss and Roman Reigns paired up against Cody Rhodes and Seth "Freakin'" Rollins in a tag-team match to cap off WWE's first night of festivities ... and the whole thing was fireworks from start to finish.

In fact, action broke out outside of the ropes numerous times ... and Cody and Seth were in for a world of pain, as Rock -- a real-deal exec with WWE's parent company, TKO -- made it clear to the ref early on ... if he counted, he's fired.

Are you ready to take down the fighting physiques of WrestleMania 40?! These WWE wrestlers are in tip-top shape, but now it's on you to match a face to the wrestling bod in order to go head-to-head!

From the mat to the 'gram, this year's WrestleMania stars have clearly upped their fitness regimen shown in these post-fight pics and gym mirror selfies. They've been totally locked in and fighting it out at the Lincoln Financial Field stage.

And, once you've taken down these shredded bods, we dare you to take on a civilized round of Who'd You Rather with this year's WrestleMania pros!

The Rock cooked up some beef during the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony, but it wasn't with a fellow wrestler ... instead, he got into it with a WWE fan.

Dwayne Johnson attended Friday night's ceremony in Philadelphia to pay tribute to his late grandmother Lia Maivia -- a wrestling promoter -- who earned a spot in the WWE HOF.

While walking off a platform, a fan appears to yell something at DJ ... who stops on a dime and walks over to the barricade for a convo.

La Roca cocinó un poco de bronca durante la ceremonia del Salón de la Fama de la WWE, pero no fue con un compañero de la lucha, sino que con un fan de la WWE.

Dwayne Johnson asistió a la ceremonia del viernes por la noche en Filadelfia para rendir homenaje a su difunta abuela Lia Maivia, una promotora de la lucha libre que se ganó un lugar en el Salón de la Fama de WWE.

Mientras salía de una plataforma, parece que un fan le gritó algo que lo hizo detenerse y acercarse al público para un cara a cara.

WrestleMania 40 se pone en marcha este fin de semana con los luchadores más enardecidos de la WWE, y TMZ da el pistoletazo de salida a la locura preguntándote, ¡a qué luchador profesional elegirías para un combate HOT N' SWEATY!

Entrando en el ring, tenemos el muy esperado cara a cara entre Cody Rhodes y Seth Rollins haciendo equipo contra Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson y Roman Reigns. ¡Recuerden, si The Rock y Roman toman las riendas y ganan, el evento principal de mañana se llevará a cabo bajo las reglas de Bloodline!

Y, las mujeres también están MÁS que listas para un nocaut total. Rhea Ripley, la actual Campeona Mundial, conocida por su Riptide Finisher contra Becky Lynch, ¡quien es considerada como una de las mejores de TODOS LOS TIEMPOS!

WrestleMania 40 is set in motion this weekend with WWE's most amped-up wrestlers, and TMZ is kicking off the madness by seeing which pro wrestler you'd pick out of a HOT N' SWEATY match!

Stepping into the ring ... the highly-anticipated face-off between Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins teaming up against Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Roman Reigns. Remember, if The Rock and Roman take the reins and win, tomorrow's main event will be held under Bloodline Rules!

And, the women are also MORE than ready for a total knockout like Rhea Ripley -- the current World Champion known for her Riptide Finisher -- versus Becky Lynch who's deemed as one of the greatest of ALL TIME!

Scary moment for Cody Rhodes in the leadup to this weekend's WrestleMania in Philadelphia -- he says his tour bus caught on fire ... but, thankfully, he made it out unscathed.

The American Nightmare told Pat McAfee on Friday morning the blaze started just hours earlier -- at around 1 AM -- just as he had settled into his bed to get a little bit of shuteye.

Rhodes says his driver noticed the flames -- and urged him to get out quickly. The 38-year-old WWE Superstar says he then grabbed a few pictures and his 'Mania boots -- before jetting off the ride.

Rhodes said the vehicle didn't burn down completely -- but, "it was up in a big fireball for a moment."

Fortunately, he said there were no injuries ... and he gave a big shoutout to the Philadelphia Fire Department for assisting in putting out the blaze.

Rhodes is slated to wrestle twice in the WWE's Super Bowl ... taking on The Rock and Roman Reigns with Seth Rollins on Saturday night -- and then wrestling against Reigns on Sunday night.

Rhodes says he didn't take the blaze as a bad omen -- especially considering The Rock beat him down in front of that bus just a few days ago -- in fact, he told McAfee he was viewing it as just the opposite.

"I think the universe was saying, 'Hey, we're going to set your bus on fire and you're still going to go in and wipe the floor with The Bloodline on Saturday,'" he said.

"'You're still going to do it.'"

The Rock isn't pleased with current-day America, and will NOT be endorsing Joe Biden ... as the President vies for a second term in The White House.

Remember, Johnson, with influence over hundreds of millions of fans, threw his support behind Biden ahead of the 2020 election ... a big get at the time for the presidential hopeful.

Biden, who is struggling with approval ratings in the gutter (56% of Americans disapprove of POTUS' job performance) and poor polling numbers, could certainly use the help ... but it ain't coming. At least, not from the WWE legend.

El ex luchador estadounidense Kurt Angle, conocido sobre todo por su dominio y habilidad en el cuadrilátero como luchador de estilo libre, tenía poco más de 20 años cuando empezó a conquistar el universo de la lucha libre en los años noventa.

Ganar la medalla de oro en los Juegos Olímpicos de Atlanta 1996 fue sin duda uno de los hitos de su carrera, pero también arrasó en WrestleMania a principios de la década de 2000.

Kurt es solo uno de los cuatro que han conseguido el título de "Grand Slam Amateur", ganando los Nacionales Junior, la NCAA, los Campeonatos del Mundo y los Juegos Olímpicos, pero su mayor triunfo es ver a sus hijos continuar su legado en la lucha libre.

Former American wrestler Kurt Angle -- most known for his domination and skillset in the ring as a freestyle wrestler -- was in his late 20s when he first started winning over the wrestling universe back in the '90s.

Taking home a gold medal at the Atlanta 1996 Olympics was definitely a career highlight for Angle, but he also took the WrestleMania stage by storm in the early 2000s.

Kurt is only one of four to hold the 'Amateur Grand Slam' title -- winning the Junior Nationals, NCAA, World Championships and the Olympics, but his biggest win is watching his kids carry on his wrestling legacy.

La superestrella de la WWE -Chelsea Green- se ha metido en un pequeño "lío caliente". La ex Women's Tag Team Champion afirma que fue expulsada de un hotel de Nueva York esta semana, y ella cree que es porque el personal pensó que era una scort.

Green -que estuvo en la ciudad para el "Monday Night Raw"- expuso las acusaciones en redes sociales el miércoles, diciendo que estaba tratando de tener una noche agradable en la Gran Manzana, pero sus planes se descarrilaron cuando la seguridad del hotel la señaló por su apariencia.

TMZ Sports habló con Green, y ella explicó lo que pasó en detalle.