Boxer Tyson Fury wrestles with WWE offer as WrestleMania bosses try to tempt him into the ring
THEY are memorable wrestler names from my childhood: Kurt Angle, Triple H, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
But fans of WWE’s WrestleMania, just like me, might be seeing an even more familiar face at next year’s event.
I can exclusively reveal bosses behind WrestleMania, which is watched by millions around the world, are desperately trying to tempt heavyweight British boxer Tyson Fury into the ring.
A wrestling insider told me at the event in Los Angeles: “Tyson has a deal with Fox in the US who recently bought the rights to WWE.
“On Friday he was seen at Smackdown and is going to be speaking at the gig they’re holding today. But the dream is to get him in for a fight.
“Obviously Tyson is a huge name and a world-renowned fighter so he would be perfect for the theatrics and drama of WrestleMania.
“They’ve approached his team about the possibility of him taking part next year so the negotiations are very much on-going.”
I can only imagine how incredible this would be.
Other big names including Mr T and Floyd Mayweather Jr have previously taken part. Sky Sports shows Smackdown on Fridays.
The Rock retired from full-time wrestling earlier this year but he couldn’t keep away as I saw him back in action on Friday night.
After being insulted, The Rock jumped into the ring and said: “That’s what happens when you come out and you insult the jabroni-beating, pie- eating, trailblazing, eyebrow-raising from LA all the way to Japan.
“You’re getting ready to get your monkey ass whooped.”
I wouldn’t mess . . .
Love Island’s nothing compared to X Factor
SHE didn’t have a care posing in a bikini in front of millions on Love Island, but Zara McDermott is terrified about her stint on The X Factor: Celebrity.
Zara is to appear on Simon Cowell’s new show with her fellow Love Island residents Wes Nelson, Eyal Booker and Samira Mighty.
They will be known, fittingly enough, as The Islanders. The star has even sought professional help to combat her nerves ahead of the ITV show on Saturday.
Zara said: “I was shaking. I went to a couple of different hypnotherapists, tried loads of hypnotherapy techniques.
“I found it quite helpful, especially with traumatic memories and stuff, like when I was at school and being booed off stage.”
Let’s hope the audience feels the love for Zara.
bizbit
MUCH-anticipated documentary Charlotte Church: My Family & Me, will air on Channel 4 on October 17.
The show sees the singer explore family relationships while visiting them.
Beeb to iPlay for longer
THE BBC will next year complete the biggest revamp of its iPlayer since the service was launched 11 years ago.
Bosses at the corporation say it will be a “total TV” experience, with a cutting edge, on-demand platform alongside boxsets, its regular channels and live events.
The changes have been brought in after regulations were removed which meant that content could only be kept on iPlayer for a certain amount of time.
Now, a far broader variety of BBC shows will be accessible.
With ever-expanding rivals including Netflix, Amazon, Apple and Disney crowding out the market, the Beeb felt it had to compete in a different way.
A spokesman said: “While the BBC will never be able to match some of the huge sums of money being thrown around by some of the streaming giants, we can offer a combination of things they can’t.”
The new iPlayer will see more programmes being made available for longer, more series released first and in full online, and features including live restart and autoplay.
Let’s hope it lives up to the grand expectations.
Must watch
WHAT? A Confession, ITV, 9pm.
WHY? The nail-biting final episode sees Detective Steve Fulcher, played by Martin Freeman, make another bid to prevent a killer getting away with a series of murders.
Japes get Dan a gong
FROM calling David Cameron a tw*t to licking Mary Berry, EastEnders’ Danny Dyer is as well known for his comedy moments as for his acting.
And I can reveal he has been named Funniest Male by the Inside Soap Awards – and will collect the gong tonight in London.
Danny was up against Joe Duttine as Tim Metcalfe in Coronation Street, Dominic Brunt as Emmerdale’s Paddy Kirk, and Ashley Taylor Dawson who plays Darren Osborne in Hollyoaks.
As Mick Carter, Danny is also up for the Best Male gong and Best Partnership award along with Kellie Bright.
bizbit
APPRENTICE star Karren Brady has revealed how to survive the show.
On Sunday Brunch she advised working as a team, adding: “Playing your own game can be very disruptive and then one of you gets fired.”
Dark side of Greene
THE lead actress in new BBC1 thriller Dublin Murders hopes the series shows just how modern Ireland is.
Sarah Greene, who plays detective Cassie Maddox in the drama that starts next Monday, thinks her homeland is usually defined by stories of conflict or ideas of a country frozen in time.
She said: “I remember being in Boston when I was 17 and someone asked me if we had running water in Ireland.
“People’s under-standing of Ireland internationally, I would say, is drinking, leprechauns and maybe literature and music.
“Normally, you’ve got the IRA story, the famine stories, the civil war and independence stories. But with Dublin Murders, the audience will get to see a different, darker Dublin.”
A capital idea.
Crossing the lines
IN recent years millennials have been taking cocaine, with some praising its vegan qualities.
But a new documentary on Channel 5 tonight, Doing Drugs For Fun, reveals that a common substance dealers mix with the narcotic is dairy sugar, lactose.
MOST READ IN TV & SHOWBIZ
The show sees four young users retrace the drug’s journey from coca leaf to the toilet cisterns of bars and clubs in the UK.
It is shown that in London more than half the contents of coke bags are tainted with a foreign powder.
Users are not put off by the thousands of coke-related deaths, nor the fact it’s washed in battery acid. I doubt a spot of milk-sugar will change many minds.
bizticker
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