Triple H, CM Punk & More Comment On Passing Of ‘Beloved’ WWE Production Crew Member

Jim Shank, a beloved, longtime WWE production employee, died last week after a battle with colorectal cancer, and various members of the WWE roster and corporate office paid tribute to him on Monday. “WWE Raw” went off the air with a graphic remembering Shank, who worked for WWE for over 26 years, according to PWInsider.

Paul “Triple H” Levesque posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, sharing the graphic that aired following “Raw.” He wrote that Shank was a “fixture backstage and an incredible teammate,” and someone who helped “create the magic” during WWE shows.

“Raw” General Manager Adam Pearce called Shank, who was WWE’s Technical Operations Manager, an “unsung hero” in a post to X. He thanked Shank for his friendship. Both Rusev and Nattie also shared tributes to Shank on their own X accounts, with Rusev also sharing the graphic. Like Pearce, Nattie also called him an “unsung hero” behind-the-scenes.

“Jim was always thinking of others, always showing up for everyone else,” Nattie wrote. “His memory will stay in our hearts.”

World Heavyweight Champion CM Punk shared the “RIP” graphic to his Instagram story on Monday. “Rest easy my friend,” Punk wrote, accompanied by the saluting emoji

According to PWInsider, Shank celebrated his 60th birthday in January. He started with WWE during the Attitude Era when he joined the company in November 1999. In 2025, WWE employees, as well as and friends and family, of Shank raised over $200,000 to help him with a new therapy for his treatment. PWI reported that former WWE chairman Vince McMahon contributed over $122,000 to the GoFundMe.

WWE’s Seth Rollins Comments On Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Performance

This past weekend, many WWE stars were seen at Super Bowl 60 between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots, with Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch and Kofi Kingston all in attendance. In addition to the game, all three wrestlers also got to witness Puerto Rican singer and WWE star Bad Bunny’s performance during the halftime show, and during a recent appearance on “Good Morning Football,” Rollins shared his thoughts on the production.

After the halftime show, Bad Bunny quickly became a hot topic in political news, with there being a mixed reaction to a Puerto Rican artist performing during America’s biggest game of the year, but Rollins went out of his way to credit the 31-year-old for making the show about building unity.

“I want to give a shout out to Bad Bunny, cause it was just awesome … there was a lot of talk going into the halftime show,” he explained. “At the end of the day, it was about unity. His message was about bringing people together. Love is stronger than hate. I just thought that was so beautiful and so powerful and it didn’t matter where you come from, what your background was … your religious background, anything, it was just about love. It was like, come as you are. Be a part of this and I thought that was beautiful and it was, that what’s the Super Bowl is. That’s what football is. You bring everybody together.”

WWE star Logan Paul also praised Bad Bunny in response to his brother, Jake Paul, who publicly criticized the performance. Rollins also explained that he doesn’t know one Bad Bunny song, but was in tears by the end of the halftime show.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Good Morning Football” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

Backstage Update On Nature Of Injury Suffered By AEW’s Samoa Joe

As 2025 came to a close, Samoa Joe was on top of the world, one third of the AEW World Trios Champions and in his second reign as AEW World Champion. One month into 2026, things have changed, as Joe finds himself with no titles, and currently no path back to them thanks to an injury he suffered while training a few weeks ago.

How long said injury will keep Joe out of action seems to be a mystery. When asked about Joe during a Fightful Select Answers Q&A, Sean Ross Sapp revealed that Joe’s timetable for a return is being considered on a week-to-week basis. While that suggests that Joe could be cleared at any time, it was also noted that AEW was choosing to play it cautiously with Joe’s health, leaving the door open for Joe’s absence to be more extended than initially thought.

It seems AEW may have good reason to be cautious, as Joe is currently believed to be in AEW’s concussion protocol. The former World Champion has struggled with concussions in the past; in 2020, Joe suffered two in less than a month, thus forcing him into a commentator role for the rest of the year. Joe wouldn’t resume an in-ring role with WWE until August 22, when he defeated Karrion Kross to win the NXT Championship. He’d subsequently vacate the title after contracting COVID, and never wrestled for WWE again before being released in January 2022.

With Joe’s return timetable unknown and Powerhouse Hobbs having left AEW to join WWE as Royce Keys, The Opps’ leadership has now fallen to HOOK, who announced he would be taking charge of the stable in Joe’s absence on “AEW Collision.” It is unclear whether the group will move forward with just HOOK and Katsuyori Shibata in Joe’s absence, or if the group will look to add another member.

Former WWE Star, ECW Legend The Sandman Facing Unusual Opponent In Final Match

After 37 years and more crushed beer cans and cigarettes than one can count, The Sandman will finally hang up his boots and call it a career this April, when he wrestles his final match at Joey Janela’s Spring Break. And when he does make his way to the ring to “Enter Sandman” one last time, he will do so to take on an opponent that no one would’ve ever guessed would be the Young Bucks to Sandman’s Sting.

Taking to X on Monday evening, the aforementioned Janela released a trailer for Sandman’s final match, announcing that his opponent would be none other than The Invisible Man.

One of GCW’s longest running gimmicks, The Invisible Man gained notoriety for his feud with Invisible Stan back in 2019, which culminated in a match between the two, refereed by AEW official Bryce Remsburg, at Joey Janela’s Spring Break 3. The Invisible Man emerged victorious in the match, and despite reportedly “dying” some time later in the year, he has continued to resurface periodically since then, wrestling matches in GCW in 2020, 2022, and 2025.

With the match, Sandman will become the second straight ECW legend to wrestle his retirement match at Joey Janela’s Spring Break following the late Sabu, who defeated Janela in a No Ropes Barbed Wire match last year. This will also serve as the first time Sandman has been unable to see his opponent in a match/wrestling setting, a somewhat fitting end given one of the more famous angles of Sandman’s career was pretending to be blinded by Tommy Dreamer during an I Quit match in late 1994, only for Sandman to later reveal the whole thing was a ruse.

Opinion: Invisible Man is an inspired choice for Sandman’s last opponent

Let’s be honest here; a Sandman retirement match probably isn’t a great idea however you slice it. One, most of us already figured he was retired anyway, making this match unnecessary. Two, all the ideal opponents for Sandman are guys who are retired or guys who shouldn’t be wrestling anymore. And three, we’re not even a year removed from Sabu dying just three weeks after his own retirement match with Janela, a match that has since come under scrutiny regarding whether Sabu was in the right condition to be wrestling. Add it all together and a Sandman retirement match where he went out there and tried to recreate his 1990s glory days with Janela, Atticus Cogar, or another modern day GCW star seems as much of a good idea as looking at “The Hobbit” and going “you know what we need? To stretch this into three increasingly mediocre films.”

A match against The Invisible Man, however? Kind of inspired. Sure, it makes no sense if you think about it for two minutes, and you’ll likely be put off if you’re someone that likes your wrestling to be old school NWA or King’s Road All Japan. But given Sandman’s age, limitations, and the fact that everyone wants to avoid the tragedy that befell Sabu last year, this seems the way to go. Now, GCW and Sandman can go for some giggles, still fit in some creative hardcore spots into the proceedings, and overall send the Hardcore Icon off in a fun way. I never thought I’d say this, but out of all the potential options for Sandman’s swan song, he and Invisible Man chugging some beers was the right way to go.

Bianca Belair Expected To Be Part Of WrestleMania 42

Bianca Belair Expected To Be Part Of WrestleMania 42 Despite Ongoing Recovery

Bianca Belair Expected To Be Part Of WrestleMania 42 Despite Ongoing Recovery – Bianca Belair has been sidelined for nearly 10 months following her triple threat match against IYO SKY and Rhea Ripley at WrestleMania 41 on April 20, 2025. While she has not returned to in-ring action, new reports indicate WWE still expects her to be involved in WrestleMania 42 in some capacity.

According to Ibou of Self Made, Belair is anticipated to be part of this year’s WrestleMania plans. That report was supported by additional information from Bodyslam, which noted that Belair is currently listed internally without a designated return date. However, the expectation within WWE is that she will appear or participate in some form during the event.

Another source told Bodyslam that Belair’s recovery process has been unusually difficult, describing the rehab as one of the most complicated situations they have seen. Despite that, Belair is said to have remained positive throughout the process and focused on working her way back.

Belair previously shared an update on her condition late last year, offering more clarity on the injury she suffered at WrestleMania 41. During a Q&A session on Instagram Stories, she addressed a question about her finger and posted a photo with the caption, “It’s getting fixed,” along with prayer hand emojis. She also revealed she gained 20 pounds during her time away but has already lost 10 as she continues training and recovering.

In a separate appearance on BET’s 106 & Sports, Belair explained that the injury was more serious than initially believed and involved significant damage to her hand, which extended her recovery well beyond the original 8–12 week estimate.

“So I broke my knuckle, not my finger, I broke my knuckle, I broke the joint,” Belair said. “I was in a triple threat with Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY… we came off the top rope and Rhea landed straight on my hand and it just crushed everything in my finger… now my body’s not doing what it’s supposed to do. But I’m hoping that I can be back in the ring soon.”

As WrestlingAttitude.Com continues to monitor her status, Belair’s involvement at WrestleMania 42 remains the current expectation, even as her full in-ring return timeline is still uncertain.

Bianca Belair Expected To Be Part Of WrestleMania 42

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