MUKONO, Uganda — In a forested area outside Uganda’s capital, a few dozen youth gather around a makeshift ring to watch two amateur wrestlers tangle in the mud. The training sessions, complete with an announcer and referee, imitate the pro wrestling contests the teens regularly see on television. Ugandan enthusiast Daniel Bumba, known in the … Read more
PHILADELPHIA — He surveyed the Arizona crowd that had paid to catch a wrestling glimpse of the planet’s mightiest heavyweight, as measured in both box-office heft and ink-stained muscles. Then The Rock let the abuse fly. And as with so many public outbursts these days, attacking his opponents wasn’t enough. He had to insult the … Read more
Hollywood megastar Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is taking time out from his movie career to make a shock return to wrestling. Johnson, 51, made his name as a professional wrestler but hasn’t been seen in a proper match since he took on another wrestler-turned-actor John Cena in 2013. Johnson appeared in the WrestleMania SmackDown ring … Read more
STAMFORD, Conn. — Wrestling icon Vince McMahon resigned Friday from WWE’s parent company t he day after a former employee filed a federal lawsuit accusing him and another former executive of serious sexual misconduct, including offering her to a star wrestler for sex. McMahon stepped down from the his position as executive chairman of the … Read more
Descrease article font size Increase article font size Streaming pioneer Netflix took a big step into live events on Tuesday with a more than US$5 billion rights deal that would make it the exclusive home of World Wrestling Entertainment‘s Raw starting January 2025. The 10-year partnership will see Raw on the streaming platform in the … Read more
PHILADELPHIA — Cody Rhodes needs only to look at the wedding band tattoo on his finger for a reminder of the days when he was a big gamer: It’s the Triforce symbol from “Legend of Zelda.” “I have good love for the lore,” Rhodes said. The WWE star needs only to look at the gaming … Read more
The wrestling world is in mourning after the death of cult hero Masashi Ozawa, also known as Killer Khan, at age 76. New Japan Pro Wrestling reports Ozawa collapsed in his bar in Tokyo last week. He was taken to hospital but died after suffering a ruptured artery. Ozawa began his wrestling career in 1971 … Read more
Zac Efron didn’t realize how much he needed a hug. He’d transformed himself into a mass of muscle and repressed emotion to play professional wrestler Kevin Von Erich in the new film “The Iron Claw.” It was a taxing role and unlike anything he’d done before, both physically and psychologically. He often found himself with … Read more
