In its first show since WrestleMania 29, WWE Friday Night Smackdown has several big matches in store on the card.
New World Heavyweight Champion Dolph Ziggler will be in action in his first title defense.
In addition, fresh off his victory against former UFC star Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 29, Triple H will be on Smackdown to address the WWE Universe. And WWE Tag Team Champions Team Hell No, Daniel Bryan and Kane, will also be in the ring.
And Chris Jericho, fresh off a WrestleMania loss to new star Fandango, will also lace up his boots for in-ring competition.
Big Show Being Sued By Ex-WWE Producer For Assault
A former WWE TV producer has filed for legal action against WWE Superstar Big Show, whose real name is Paul Wight, and World Wrestling Entertainment for an alleged physical altercation that took place in Phoenix at the Royal Rumble in January.
The producer, Andrew Green, was attempting to conduct an interview with Big Show for the WWE's YouTube page after Show lost to Alberto Del Rio in a World Heavyweight Championship match, Courthouse News Service reports. But according to Green, Wight refused to do the interview until Green told him that WWE senior vice president Eric Pankowski was calling for it.
Using profanity, Big Show told Green that if he wanted an interview, he would get one, and from there, the seven-foot, 500-pound wrestler began "shouting obscenities, and waving his fist in Green's face. Big Show then grabbed Green by the collar and throat, striking Green in the face and backing him up against a trunk while declaring 'You son of a bitch ... Are you having fun right now ... Don't even come up to me again ... I don't give a sh*t who you are'."
Green claimed that Show was not faking his outburst at him as part of the show upon "gaining more information and belief."
However, the claim goes on to say that Big Show asked Green to redo the interview segment, where he would just walk away; Green did re-shoot the segment as asked, but was asked by WWE executive Triple H, whose real name is Paul Levesque, to shoot it a third time.
"Triple H asked Big Show to muster the same emotional level for the third interview as he had with the original shoot, that being the attack. In response, Big Show said that he did not think he would be able to do that because his emotions in the original shoot had been real," the complaint states.
Green claimed that he left the company afterwards because "he was uncomfortable working around Big Show and the other wrestlers, nervous, and had 'a ton of anxiety' as a result of the attack."
This is not the first time that Wight, the only man to have won the WWE, ECW and WCW world titles, has ever been faced with such legal troubles. Wight was found not guilty in March 1999 on assault charges stemming from an incident outside a Long Island motel where a fan claimed the seven-footer broke his jaw during an altercation.
Swagger to Stand Trial for DUI Charges
And off the heels of his WrestleMania loss, Jack Swagger is facing a June 25 trial in Mississippi stemming from a DUI charge he was arrested for earlier this year.
Swagger, whose real name is Donald Jacob Hager Jr., 30, was arrested late night on Feb. 19 in Gulfport, Miss., after he was driving from Biloxi following a Smackdown taping. Swagger is being charged for possession of marijuana, driving over the 10 mph speed limit and driving impaired on a first DUI offense, the Associated Press reports. Collectively, the fines could cost him nearly $2,000.
The WWE carries strict penalties for violators of their Wellness Policy, under which talent caught with drugs could be suspended or terminated. However, Swagger continued to compete afterwards, in all likelihood due to the national attention his storyline with Alberto Del Rio for WrestleMania--which involved Swagger's manager Zeb Coulter portraying a Tea Party-like character--drew after political radio talk show host Glenn Beck blasted the storyline and WWE on his radio show.
TV Schedule
WWE Smackdown will air at 8 p.m. EST Friday on SyFy.
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