Ring Of Honor star Adam Cole recently spoke with The News Hub’s Marc Madison about a number of topics. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On about training under DJ Hyde, John Dahmer, Al Snow and Les Thatcher: “Well with all four of those guys they sound completely different. They helped me on completely different levels. My two main trainers were John Dahmer and DJ Hyde. DJ Hyde mainly taught me how to be tough, I mean the beatings that he used to give the students as far as wrestling initiations go were as tough as they come and I’m thankful for it. When I left his training, I wasn’t really afraid of anything, anymore and then on top of that DJ is very good about taking his students to other wrestling events and getting their names out there whether it be helping set up the ring, or helping set up chairs or anything like that. It was kind of networking from a very early stage in our career. Whereas John Dahmer taught us what the technique behind a lot of the wrestling and then the multiple seminars I did with Al Snow and Les Thatcher at the time. They really taught me the psychology of what we do. Understanding why and when you do certain things so I’m totally thankful for all four and they were all completely different styles of wrestling for me.”

On his initial tryout with the WWE: “That particular tryout I went down to Afa the Wild Samoan’s training school which at the time was located in I believe may be Tampa, Florida but I may be incorrect on that but somewhere in Florida. We actually got to train for a week with Haku and Afa himself and it was awesome. It was such a good experience. I got my ring conditioning up and I learned little tricks of the trade. I learned how to be more intense in the ring because the Samoan’s are so intense. Then going into that tryout, again the harsh reality of that now looking back as to where I was in wrestling at that time, I was in just way over my head.

“I was a 19 year old kid, I was 170 ibs soaking wet. I didn’t have an identity. I didn’t have a look. I didn’t have the proper gear. I was just a young guy trying to be a wrestler. So to be honest, WWE didn’t even give me a second look. I don’t even know if they looked me in the eyes based on my size, based on my experience. I literally looked like a child there. For me it was more motivating as going forward and now I kind of have an idea of what I need to do. A lot of that just comes with just time. When you’re an independent wrestler, committing a lot of time and effort into honing your craft as much as possible in as many different places as possible will catch the WWE’s interest as far as the independent level goes. It was definitely an eye opening experience for me.”

Check out the complete interview at The-NewsHub.com.

• RONDA ROUSEY Trashes FLOYD MAYWEATHER For Domestic Abuse LIVE On ESPN

Global Force Wrestling has released a number of videos to promote next Friday’s GFW television tapings in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Below are videos of Chris Mordetzky (Chris Masters) and Nick Aldis (Magnus) talking about the GFW Global Championship tournament, the new GFW “Amped” television show and more.

https://youtu.be/aaBku1Wb3qk

https://youtu.be/XAn6hdasUVY

https://youtu.be/dsj1DwGjqhw

https://youtu.be/fjgZrrEERqQ

• RONDA ROUSEY Trashes FLOYD MAYWEATHER For Domestic Abuse LIVE On ESPN

Former TNA Wrestling star Jesse Sorensen worked the NXT television tapings at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida this past Thursday evening.

Sorensen worked a match with Baron Corbin at the taping, which should air on the WWE Network at some point in the next four weeks as Corbin faced all “enhancement talents” during the tapings.

Additionally, former NXT talent Danny Burch (Martin Stone) worked the NXT TV tapings this week. Burch lost to Kevin Owens in a match that should air on the July 29th edition of the show.

• RONDA ROUSEY Trashes FLOYD MAYWEATHER For Domestic Abuse LIVE On ESPN

– WWE Tough Enough competitor Chelsea suffered an ankle injury earlier this week and visited with doctors on Saturday. WWE posted the following photo of her getting checked out.

https://instagram.com/p/5SC-oPzCZG/

– Stephanie McMahon, Renee Young, Big E., Xavier Woods and Natalya hosted an anti-bullying rally at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stamford, Connecticut this week. Below are some photos from the event.

Today in Stamford, CT @StephMcMahon, @WWEBigE, @NatbyNature, and more took part in a @beaSTARalliance rally! #BeAStar pic.twitter.com/G6mCfHmzGi

— WWE Universe (@WWEUniverse) July 17, 2015

W/my friend @StephMcMahon and @WWE stars 2 fight bullying. @WWE_Be_A_Star

I'm in the tie and grey pinstripe suit. pic.twitter.com/EhiUobyd1B

— Jim Himes ???? (@jahimes) July 17, 2015

– Below is a preview for next week’s edition of NXT on the WWE Network.

• RONDA ROUSEY Trashes FLOYD MAYWEATHER For Domestic Abuse LIVE On ESPN

The Daily Beast has published a feature looking at John Cena’s role in the new Amy Schumer comedy, Trainwreck.

In a piece titled, “John Cena: The Hardbody With A Heart Of Gold,” Jen Yamato writes that Cena is “not only one of the world’s most charitable athletes, but also one of its funniest.”

Cena’s been getting rave reviews for his role as Steven, one of Amy’s love interests in the film. Some people have been questioning if Cena was cast to portray a fictional version of fellow WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler, who previously dated Amy Schumer. Cena was asked about the comparison and jokingly replied:

“Why do you ask? A sexually-confused CrossFit instructor?” “Seems far from the Dolph Ziggler I see on Monday Night Raw. I don’t see the correlation.”

Trainwreck is on track for a strong opening weekend and should bring in well over $30 million, which would make it the strongest debut for director Judd Apatow.

T.J. Perkins (aka Manik) recently spoke with the v2 Wrestling Podcast about a number of topics. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On the future of the TNA/GFW relationship: “I”ve got no idea, to be honest. I’m sure maybe some people do, but I kinda feel like a lot of people don’t. I think that maybe it really is a rollercoaster that everybody just decided to get on without seeing how far the track goes. Maybe that’s a good thing, I’m all for it. I hope that it’s going to continue to become a bigger and bigger thing, because the guys that have been or are going to be working with Jeff, a lot of them are friends of mine. I was thrilled to see them working together, so it would be cool to share a banner or share a ring with them in some sort of fair-weather status or better.”

On the endgame for the Revolution storyline: “I don’t know. In some ways I”ve tried to overachieve a little bit lately out of frustration, not really at any particular thing. Just sometimes I personally feel like I”m treading water. It’s funny because there’s been times where I thought that there was no idea for me and then I found out that there was a lot for me to do that had been set in place. And then there”s times where I feel like maybe I have to figure out my own details myself. But as far as treading water, it’s not in the group sense or anything like that. Personally, sometimes I set little goals for myself that’s not really being asked of me. It’s just something that I’m trying to do on my own. Now I kind of feel like I’m treading water because there’s little things that I”m expecting of myself that I’m not always getting. It’s not necessarily something I wish I could be doing and I’m not getting the opportunity or anything like that. It’s really more of a personal thing.”

On rumors of per appearance deals in TNA: “Pretty much nobody is on a per appearance deal. Maybe people have asked for that now in an effort to change course in their careers, because maybe they have other stuff they want to do. Some of these guys might not even want to necessarily be wrestling anymore, so a lot of it might have to do with that too. But as far as before recently, none of us were on a per appearance deal. I don”t know where people would get that from, but if you got it, you were definitely lied to. And actually where it might come into play is because all of us were getting guaranteed money, and then on top of that we get extra bonus money per appearances. So I think people might hear that and depending on your level of personal negativity, you choose only to hear the last part. Some people have a different ratio where their appearances are more than their guaranteed, but everybody was definitely on guaranteed money.”

On his obsession with Deadpool: “I”ve always felt like the Deadpool character is very different from everything else. It has so much freedom. I”ve always been into it, but I also drew inspiration for Suicide and Manik from that character. Like with other characters I”ve done, I”ve never had a character that I felt more handcuffed than I did when I took on the role for Suicide and Manik. So I really started to embrace my fanboy for Deadpool because I felt like channeling that was my way of creating freedom in that situation. It kind of helped me open my mind to other ways I can individualize myself and it became a good model for me. It’s funny because some of the best stuff about the character is in a lot of ways how Deadpool is. For example, Deadpool is just barely getting a movie and the reason being is because everybody, probably even down to the people at Marvel offices, thought: not enough people are going to get this, not enough people have seen it and not enough people will understand it. In my case, sometimes I feel like the best stuff for my character is a lot of stuff that most people won’t get, but some people will get because they”ve followed me more closely. Like on social media, they’ll follow me when I live tweet shows and some of the funniest and brightest stuff as far as my charisma will come out in that medium, but most people don’t get that because not everybody is following me closely. But those that do, think that some of those things are my most brilliant stuff, because I don’t get to hold the microphone very often.”

On whether he will drop the mask: “I hope so. It’s funny because if you ask everybody individually in the TNA office about me, then all of them have the same answer. Why is this guy in a mask? He”s good looking, he”s charismatic, he’s funny, he’s very witty. But I feel like if you guys never had this conversation altogether, it’s like none of you guys think I should not be doing it, so then why am I doing it? So I like to think that that’s a sign of changes to be made when it’s ready to come out.You don’t want to move too quickly. You look at people’s careers and the arc that their creative character took and the arc that their personal real life took ?it didn’t happen overnight. At least people that did something great, it took a long time to really progress and there were specific times and reasons for those things. You have to find the right time, like now’s the time it’s going to start getting better because this part of my life or my creation is done. You know, like losing the skeleton mask. At that point I felt like the suit was ready to be retro, so I had to let it go for a while and the change ended up becoming something else, and eventually that’s going to need to change too.”

On his best friends during TNA tapings: “Lately I”ve created a small clique with myself, Mandrews and Crazzy Steve. We”ve become like the three amigos, at least for the last little while. They’r’e fun guys, I like them a lot. We snuck out and rode rollercoasters one time. It was fun.”

On whether he will work the GFW shows: “I simply don’t know. If it were up to me, yeah, I would be on everything, even if it meant rocking the boat. But then again I don’t want to be like Hernandez or anything. Only because it’s so new and I haven’t really approached that professionally yet as far as what’s going on personally and what’s going on between the two, I haven’t really caught myself up on it.”

Check out the complete interview at V2Wrestling.com.

– The St. Lucie Mets minor league baseball team in Florida will be having WWE NXT Night on Wednesday, July 22nd from Tradition Field. NXT Champion Finn Balor and Bayley will be appearing.

– The Ultimate Warrior’s widow Dana will be signing copies of WWE’s new Ultimate Warrior book during SummerSlam weekend in Brooklyn. She’ll be at the Powerhouse Arena in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday, July 22nd. There will also be Warrior memorabilia on display, face painting and the Ultimate Warrior statue that was unveiled back in April during WrestleMania weekend.

– 2K Sports has released the following video of WWE Champion Seth Rollins calling out “Stone Cold” Steve Austin to promote the new WWE 2K16 video game

It appears that MVP is the latest TNA star whose days with the promotion are coming to an end. Rumors of MVP finishing up with TNA have been circulating for quite some time and he’s once again promoting on Twitter that he’s accepting independent bookings.

MVP’s departure seems to be a direct result of Hernandez’s release, which was a result of a dispute with Lucha Underground. MVP recruited Hernandez to be a part of the Beatdown Clan faction, but is now declaring the BDC dead.

MVP signed with TNA in February 2014 and his contract was set to run through February 2016. There has been no official confirmation of his departure, but his tweets form Friday night indicate he’s moving on.

The BDC is dead.

But never in spirit…

— MVP (@The305MVP) July 17, 2015

Available for bookings.

BOOKMVPNOW@GMAIL.COM

— MVP (@The305MVP) July 17, 2015

https://twitter.com/The305MVP/status/622175566419095552

– Former WWE Women’s Champion Candice Michelle revealed Friday on Twitter that she has given birth a daughter.

She has arrived! We’re are all healthy safe and I’m so in love with my new creature! ????

— CANDICE MICHELLE (@DIVACANDICEM) July 18, 2015

Michelle has two other daughters: AkiAnne Rose, born May 2010, and Ryumi Grace, born October 2012.

– Here is the synopsis for Total Divas airing on Tuesday, July 28, 2015 at 9/8 CT on E!: “Paige ditches Alicia for a new man; Nattie infuriates her husband with her unwillingness to say “no”; and Nikki confronts Bryan about not liking her.”

– WWE.com has released this photo gallery of Roman Reigns and The Bella Twins joining celebrities and athletes on the red carpet of the 2015 ESPYS in Los Angeles, California on Wednesday. Stephanie McMahon and The Miz also walked the red carpet, but are not featured.

• Backstage news on who Kevin Owens will feud with after John Cena

The Thursday, July 16, 2015, WWE Battleground “go-home” edition of WWE SmackDown drew a final rating of 1.63, down a sizable amount compared to last week’s 1.69 final cable rating.

Thursday’s SmackDown averaged only 2.153 million viewers, which was also down from last week’s average of 2.388 million viewers, despite the fact that it was a rare night where WWE didn’t have any major sports competition.

By comparison, the July 18, 2014 edition of WWE SmackDown delivered a 1.95 cable rating with an average of 2.885 million viewers.

• SPOILER: TOP WWE Legend Set For SURPRISE RETURN At Monday’s RAW!

Global Force Wrestling issued the following on Friday to promote the release of the new book by GFW’s Nick Aldis (aka Magnus).

Nick Aldis took part in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on Thursday afternoon. Aldis talked about his time in TNA, the general wrestling landscape, his time on “Gladiators” in the UK, WWE, and much more. Aldis will be in Las Vegas on July 24th as part of the GFW Global Championship Tournament. For match-ups and ticket information, click here.

Here are some of the highlights from the AMA:

fenderdean13: Now that you are out of TNA and are a free agent, what promotions other than GFW and ICW are you looking forward to working with? Is PWG a option, or any of the promotions under the wwn or smark mark video banner? Also are you looking forward to facing anybody while working at these different places?

Aldis: There are some great promotions I’d like to work with including PWG. Loads of talent I want to work with: Young Bucks, Cabana, Moose, Chris Hero, Rampage Brown, Shinsuke Nakamura, Machine gun KA and tons more.

benlikesfood: Hey Nick, I saw you last year at a TNA house show in Sioux City, IA. I believe it was you, Bobby Roode and Bully Ray in a triple threat. Was a great match and a pleasure seeing you in person

Aldis: Thanks! GFW coming to Iowa soon. Check GlobalForceWrestling.com

Booby50: I was unable to make the GFW show in Appleton, WI last week. Did you get to enjoy the area/see any sights? Also, how do you get so cut?

Aldis: I enjoyed the Appleton show, great fans. As for your other question, check out my book “The Superstar Body” https://www.amazon.com/The-Superstar-Body-Real-World-Techniques/dp/1909626430#mediaMatrix_secondary_view_div_1437020737201

ollinsblonde: Hey Magnus, hope you’re well. I know a lot of us here are a bit wary on how GFW is going to go from the get-go? I, personally am still holding out hope. Why should we be excited about it?

Aldis: Common sense approach to the product. Innovative, honest presentation of the talent. New production techniques. Fresh energy.

homer62: Thanks for doing this sir. What do you see as differentiators between TNA and GFW?

Aldis: Early days, but so far, I’m having fun again at Global, that’s the key difference. Great crew.

odor31: Tell us about your recent match(es) with Kongo Kong in GFW…excited for the title tournament coming later this month?

Aldis: Great super heavyweight. Tons of potential. Very looking forward to Vegas.

You can check out the entire AMA with Aldis by clicking here.

• SPOILER: TOP WWE Legend Set For SURPRISE RETURN At Monday’s RAW!

WWE has officially confirmed the fact that the scheduled triple-threat match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship is off of this Sunday’s Battleground pay-per-view event.

Originally, it was known that Ryback would be off the show due to a staph infection in his right knee, however it was unclear whether or not Big Show and The Miz, the other two Superstars booked in the match, would still compete on the card.

It’s worth noting that while Big Show and The Miz are both off of Sunday’s Battleground pay-per-view right now, as is the case with all WWE shows, it is “subject to change.”

• SPOILER: TOP WWE Legend Set For SURPRISE RETURN At Monday’s RAW!

WWE Performance Center coach Robbie Brookside mentioned on social media that former German soccer player Tim Wiese is working an upcoming WWE tryout.

Brookside quickly deleted the tweet after posting it.

Wiese has appeared for WWE once in the past, showing up at a WWE live event in Germany last fall and telling the media that WWE was interested in having him work one of their tryouts to potentially earn a permanent spot on the roster.

Wiese is a former goalkeeper who is 33 years of age. He stands 6’4” and weighs 190 pounds.

• SPOILER: TOP WWE Legend Set For SURPRISE RETURN At Monday’s RAW!

Following the most recent batch of NXT TV tapings, the following are the top matches expected for the NXT Takeover: Brooklyn live WWE Network special event on August 22nd.

NXT Championship
– Finn Balor (c) vs. Kevin Owens

NXT Women’s Championship
– Bayley vs. Sasha Banks

– Tyler Breeze vs. Jushin “Thunder” Liger

– Baron Corbin vs. Samoa Joe

• SPOILER: TOP WWE Legend Set For SURPRISE RETURN At Monday’s RAW!

Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan announced on social media that he will be returning to the ring.

“I will be back wrestling,” wrote the former WrestleMania headliner.

Additionally, Bryan issued a statement responding to what he labeled a “fake” radio interview recap that quoted him as saying his in-ring career was over.

“I appreciate all the thank you’s,” wrote Bryan. “But the entire interview claiming that I said my time is over is a fake. I will be back wrestling.”

• SPOILER: TOP WWE Legend Set For SURPRISE RETURN At Monday’s RAW!

MVP recently appeared as a guest on the Kevin Gill Show, where he spoke about a number of noteworthy topics. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On CM Punk in UFC: “I think it’s awesome. I respect the fact that it’s something he want’s to do and something that he pursues and is pursuing. That’s not a joke. You don’t step in that cage half assed. I compete in Jiu Jitsu, i do tournaments, I grapple. But I don’t get elbow smashed in the face. I have immense respect… Punk and I have always been cool going back to the indies and I dig the fact that he is doing something so totally out of the box… and well it’s really not that out of the box, except for the fact that he doesn’t have that life tip of grappling or standup behind him. From a business standpoint, what a great move for Dana White! Awesome. You’re gonna get brand new eyes on the product, that probably weren’t watching before, in the case of professional wrestling fans, and you create that curiosity factor. Even people who are (like)”I Just wanna see this”… and what if he wins? What if he is good? What if he does discover his second nature? I’m proud of the dude. Go for it! Live your life!”

On Dusty Rhodes: “Every time he saw me he always had a hug and a kiss for me. Which is weird. Cuz i’ll give a bro hug, but i’m not into dudes kissing me. But with Dream, I didn’t flinch, I didn’t wince, it felt like a hug and a kiss from dad. He actually introduced me a few times as his darkest son. He would say ‘come over here baby, and give me some sugar.. This is my darkest son right here…'”

On positive mental attitude: “I remember the day I got out of prison. I went in when I was 16, I came home when I was 26. I did 9 and half years in the Florida state prison system. I had this new attitude. Never again in life will I have a bad day, I’ll just have days I can make better. My worst day out here, is better than my best day in prison. The day I got out, I had spent over a third of my life in prison. It allowed me to see the world from a different perspective and say, Ok: Going forward these are the eyes I wanna look through: of positive mental attitude. I applied that, and of course, life is about peaks and valleys and when you hit those broke, hungry, starving wrestler trying to make it… some of those valleys kinda suck.. but when you get to those peaks, you enjoy them that much more.”

On first time match with Matt Cross at the Gathering of the Juggalos: “I know some of the boys that have been there. I’ve heard stories about it which is why I’ve always wanted to go. Just the stories i’ve heard.. YEAH Sign me up, I want to check that out. I’m looking forward to it. I’m up for the challenge. I know that M-Dogg Matt Cross is a pretty impressive athlete, and with his ability and my ability I’m sure we’ll put on a great show. Those fans are there to have a great time, we’re gonna have a good time!”

Check out the complete interview at Soundcloud.com.

• SPOILER: TOP WWE Legend Set For SURPRISE RETURN At Monday’s RAW!

Sports Illustrated’s Extra Mustard blog recently spoke with TNA Hall Of Famers Team 3D (aka The Dudley Boyz) — Bully Ray and Devon — to promote the upcoming House Of Hardcore event in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On a possible WWE return:

Devon: “For us not to be back there, knowing that we’re in the best shape we’ve ever been in, I don’t understand it. We’re better now than we were ten or fifteen years ago. I understand that they want the future. But without the older generation that paved the way for these young guys to come, you’re not going to have it. Wrestling is a lost art, so you need the older guys like us to help show the younger guys how it’s done. I don’t understand it, though I know it needs to be on their terms.”

Bully: “Take the Dudley Boyz and put them back in WWE, and you’d add instant credibility to the tag division. The great thing about the Dudleys is we can work with any team and we can work any style. Not only will we help one team get over and learn and get better, but we can help all of them. It seems pretty simple to me – having the Dudleys back in the WWE is best for business, so I don’t have a really great answer for why we are not there. Only they know. You would think the most decorated tag team in the history of WWE would be able to go back into a company and breathe life into the tag division. It may never happen, but you never say never. It could be right around the corner.”

On Paul Heyman and ECW:

Devon: “The greatest thing Paul Heyman ever gave us was creative liberty. A lot of the boys liked to call Paul the ‘David Koresh’ of pro wrestling back then, but he believed in you. He’d fire you up to the point where you thought you were bigger than Hulk Hogan. He made you believe in yourself. Paul took the time to develop your character. When people didn’t know how to speak on the mic, he’d sit there with you until three, four, or even five in the morning until you got it right. Paul really let us be us. When WCW fired Steve Austin [in 1995] and WWE wasn’t knocking on his door, it was Paul E. who saw something in Austin. Eric Bischoff fired Austin when he was hurt in WCW, and Paul E. said, ‘I know you’re hurt, but can you talk?’ When Steve came to ECW and delivered those promos – oh my God, you couldn’t believe that was the same guy who was in WCW. That’s what started Austin as a superstar. Steve started to be born again, and it was the same thing when he was in WWE. He didn’t become a star until he was given the creative liberty to be himself.”

Bully: “We text and talk all the time. Me and Paul, our relationship is better than anyone else he had from the entire ECW roster. We respect and like each other as people. Even at the Rumble, it was great catching up with him. When the Rumble was over, I was on Brock Lesnar’s tour bus with Brock and Paul, and we were shooting the s— and reminiscing. When Brock first started and Paul was his manager, I was Brock’s first storyline. The WWE came to me and asked me to get Brock ready for what could be in store for him.”

Bully Ray on Brock Lesnar: “Brock is just so powerful. One night, we were performing at Penn State, and Brock gave me an overhead belly-to-belly suplex. He dropped me right on my head. It was a total mistake, and it could have been a very, very bad injury for me. As soon as it happened, I remember getting up and telling Brock, ‘Do it again, do it again.’ He did not want to suplex me again, so I made him suplex me three more times the same exact way. I didn’t want Brock to become gun-shy about throwing people or change the way he worked if he’d be worried about hurting other people.”

Bully Ray on traveling with Shane McMahon: “When Shane McMahon was on the road for the company, he was in the car with us. One night, we were driving, and Shane decided to wake up his father and made us all say hello to Vince at three in the morning. Vince loves all that horses—. Shane was driving and he said, ‘Come on, let’s wake up Pop.’ I said, ‘That’s probably not a good idea.’ So he called his father and said, ‘Bubba wants to talk.’ He handed me the phone and all I could hear was Vince say, ‘Bubba, why are you corrupting my son?’ I told him it was the other way around, and we both started laughing.”

Bully Ray on Vince McMahon: “Vince spent his whole life in the business, added his vision, and made it the best in the world. Vince has a great mind for the industry and thinks on a much larger scale. Paul [Heyman] was great at storytelling and really getting people’s characters to come out and how to hide your weaknesses and accentuate your strengths. Those are the two smartest guys I’ve ever learned from in the business, and Paul, Vince, and Pat Patterson are the three best minds ever in this business.”

On Erick Rowan and Luke Harper:

Bully: “Right now, the one WWE tag team that deserves to taste the Dudley Death Drop is Harper and Rowan. It was very interesting they started hitting the Dudley Death Drop on TV and calling it something else. We’ve been hitting this finish consecutively for eighteen years.”

Devon: “That is a touchy subject. A move like 3D – when you see it, you automatically think the Dudleys. So Harper and Rowan started the fight. Harper said on Twitter, they’d be happy to show us ‘The Way,’ which is what they’re calling the move. Well, we’d be more than happy to hit 3D the way it should be hit.”

Check out the complete interview at SI.com.

• SPOILER: TOP WWE Legend Set For SURPRISE RETURN At Monday’s RAW!

– WWE Network does not have a Battleground post-show scheduled for this Sunday.

– Next week’s edition of NXT on the WWE Network will feature a “Takeover: Brooklyn” contract signing between NXT Champion Finn Balor and challenger Kevin Owens. NXT General Manager William Regal will be on hand to oversee things.

– The following are some recent WWE and NXT attendance figures:

* July 9th in Largo, FL for NXT drew a sellout of 375 fans
* July 10th in Orlando for NXT drew 275 fans
* July 10th in Philadelphia drew 8,000 fans (John Cena, Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins)
* July 11th in Jacksonville for NXT drew a sellout of 500 fans
* July 11th in Pittsburgh drew 6,000 fans (Cena tour)
* July 11th in Nashville drew 4,500 fans (Reigns tour)
* July 12th in Macon, GA drew 2,000 fans (Randy Orton headlined)
* July 12th in Knoxville, TN drew 4,500 fans (Rollins and Reigns)
* July 13th in Atlanta for RAW drew 12,500 fans

• SPOILER: TOP WWE Legend Set For SURPRISE RETURN At Monday’s RAW!

As things stand right now, there is no WWE Divas Championship match officially scheduled for Sunday’s WWE Battleground pay-per-view. Originally, WWE had planned to have Nikki Bella defend the WWE Divas Championship against Paige at Battleground, however that was before the angle was shot on Monday’s RAW where the NXT Divas were called up to the main roster.

Speaking of Sunday’s Battleground event in St. Louis, as of Wednesday, WWE had sold only 10,500 tickets for the 14,600 seat setup they have for the show. This marks the weakest advance for a regular WWE pay-per-view this year, not counting Elimination Chamber, which was originally a live event in a smaller venue that wasn’t promoted as a pay-per-view at first.

• SPOILER: TOP WWE Legend Set For SURPRISE RETURN At Monday’s RAW!

(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

Savage Henry Magazine recently spoke with WWE Superstar Dolph Ziggler about a number of topics. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On how 2015 is going for him thus far: “2015 is actually going pretty well. A lot of this business is timing and luck. There are hundreds – maybe thousands – in the world who are better than me, yet here I am 11 years later, just a step outside that coveted gold circle, fighting for my career every step of the way. It’s not always about wins and losses, but winning two Survivor Series matches is something I will never forget.”

On his daily routine: “I measure my time off in hours. Usually 36-40 a week at home. Friday morning [I] fly out to show. Land. Get rental car. Find food. Find a gym. Find food to go, get to arena. Do show. Drive on to the next town and repeat until Wednesday morning. That day I fly home, only to fly out Friday morning again. It’s nonstop and there’s no off season. We never stop! WWE does over 300 live events a year and that’s not counting charity events and outside appearances.”

On how is body is holding up at age 34: “I’ve actually been wrestling since five years old. The first time I saw a WWE show, I told my dad I wanted to start wrestling. At five, I wrestled once or twice a week. It became much more vigorous and nonstop going into high school and all through college. I’m 34, and except for two concussions and some teeth knocked out, I’ve had no serious injuries. I’ve been very fortunate. Several other superstars have had countless injuries and taken time off, but I have not. I think I’ve missed maybe 3 weeks in almost 11 years – because of said concussions – which is probably the least amount of time of any WWE superstar ever … that’s been here for 11 years. Google it. (Laughs) My body holds up because of my core workouts. I have been circuit training and intense cardio training since college, years before CrossFit became a thing.”

On the speculation that he’s leaving WWE and what he would do if he did leave WWE: “In the last year I got an agent and a manager, just because I’m constantly asked to be a part of different outside projects. Even though I only get a few days off, I do not stop. Whether it’s getting some stage time at an open mic, or flying to L.A. to watch a ton of stand-up shows. I’m slowly moving into movies and tons of outside projects in the next few months. I’m finally starting to book some stand-up dates too. At the end of the day, it’s just to be a better WWE superstar [and] also make myself a bigger asset, that is in demand. There’s a few months left on my current contract and I’m in the process of deciding. I love this business more than anything; hopefully it loves having me.”

On whether or not WWE has any issues with him doing stand-up comedy: “WWE has no issues with my stand-up. I do not miss work for any reason and will continue to work around my schedule because I’m a professional and do not allow complacency or laziness.”

Check out the complete interview at SavageHenryMagazine.com.

• SPOILER: TOP WWE Legend Set For SURPRISE RETURN At Monday’s RAW!

– Lucha Underground star Johnny Mundo (aka John Morrison) is the guest on the latest edition of the “Steve Austin Show” podcast, which you can download right now at PodcastOne.com.

– On this week’s SmackDown Fallout videos, which you can view below, Kevin Owens predicts victory at WWE Battleground this Sunday, Neville calls Stardust a coward, Cesaro talks about defeating Rusev and Mark Henry offers advice to the WWE Tag-Team Champions, The Prime Time Players.

• SPOILER: TOP WWE Legend Set For SURPRISE RETURN At Monday’s RAW!

WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins recently appeared as a guest on the PodNasty Wrestling Podcast. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On upcoming match against Brock Lesnar being the biggest of his career: “I feel like I’ve had a lot of ‘biggest matches of my career’ up until this point. I would say this one is certainly special. I mean, there’s not a lot of guys who get the opportunity to go one-on-one with Brock Lesnar at this point in his career, so to be one of those guys to main event a pay-per-view with Brock Lesnar over a very prestigious title it all adds up to being certainly one of if not—I’ll leave that up to you and the other media pundits to decide what is the biggest match of my career—but it certainly ranks up there with the very, very biggest of my career.”

On the U.S. title vs. the WWE title and competing with John Cena: “(The WWE World Heavyweight Championship) is (the most dominant title in the company) no matter what, no matter who is wearing what other title, this is the big boy, this is the one that everybody wants and if John (Cena) tells you any different he’s a liar,” said Rollins.

“But the bottom line, though, is that I’m always competing with John Cena, John’s a guy who has set the bar extremely high for the past 10, 12-15 years, he’s a guy who—not only in the ring, but outside the ring—is an example of what a WWE Superstar should be and he has put in the work over that period of time to prove that and that’s definitely something I strive to be as well. I strive to have that work ethic and instill that in people around me the way John has over the past decade and a half so I’m always competing with John Cena in my mind, but my title is the title and there’s definitely no doubt about that.”

On Tough Enough contestants not standing out: “Not one person stood out to me (on Tough Enough. Not a single one, nope, not one. I went down there and I tried to help them out, give them a few pointers here and there, let them know what it takes to be a star but, let me tell you, those kids got it easy.

“They don’t know anything about anything when it comes to putting in the time, they think they’re going to get through this little three-month course and they’re going to be WWE Superstars and they’re going to be famous, and rich and travel the world. That’s not how it works, it’s a whole lot of hard work and I think they’re going to figure that out along the way, or they’re going to fall by the wayside. For me, I didn’t see a whole lot, maybe as they move along in the process they’ll show more personality and a little more guts, but for now I’m not holding my breath.”

If there will be any tension between Tough Enough winners and WWE/NXT talent: “Absolutely, that’s what I’m talking about. Tough Enough is phenomenal, it’s great, don’t get me wrong. It pushes WWE out into the masses and everyone can see it’s physical and they get an inside look at kind of what it’s like to be a WWE Superstar,” said Rollins.

“But at the same time you’ve got to understand that’s not all that it takes, you don’t just get to be on a reality gameshow and all of a sudden you’re just a top star in 12 weeks. They’re going to have to put in a lot of time, and a lot of hard work, and they’re going to have to sacrifice a lot of relationships, they’re going to be injured often, it’s going to take a toll on them physically and emotionally that they’re not prepared for and I think it will be very interesting to see who comes out of Tough Enough, who really is Tough Enough I guess when you look at it. Who’s going to come out of it alive and who’s going to make a success out of themselves?”

On John Morrison recently stating he would destroy Seth Rollins in everything: “If I’m not mistaken, I believe John Morrison is a zero-time WWE World Heavyweight champion. Mind you, zero. As in never once did he win the big one. And I’m, what, not even three years into my WWE career and I’ve already won Money in the Bank, won the WWE title at WrestleMania, first-ever NXT champion so there’s a lot of things that I’ve already destroyed John Morrison at and if John Morrison thinks he can take me in any of those endeavors, I would love for John Morrison to step up and say something like that to my face.”

Check out the complete interview above.

• SPOILER: TOP WWE Legend Set For SURPRISE RETURN At Monday’s RAW!

TNA and Ring Of Honor on Destination America numbers were down this week after spiking last week for some of their best numbers in recent memory.

ROH drew a record low 80,000 viewers for their initial airing at 8pm EST, while Impact Wrestling drew one of their lower numbers, as 293,000 viewers tuned into the first airing of the show at 9pm EST.

Below are the Wednesday night ratings for this week:

* ROH at 8 p.m. 80,000 viewers
* TNA at 9 p.m. 293,000 viewers
* ROH at 11 p.m. 89.000 viewers
* TNA at midnight 72,000 viewers

• SPOILER: TOP WWE Legend Set For SURPRISE RETURN At Monday’s RAW!

WWE NXT TV taping
Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University
Results courtesy of In-The-Building Jacob and ProWrestling.net

Dark

1. Lina Fanene over an enhancement wrestler. The crowd was very into Lina with “Lina’s gonna kill you” chants. She won with a jumping leg drop.

July 22 show

The show opened with the new NXT Champion Finn Balor coming out for a promo. He said he’s made a lot of sacrafices but they’ve all been worth it because he’s the champion. The contract signing for the title rematch with Kevin Owens was announced for later in the show . Balor said Owens has done a lot of things but beating him in Tokyo wasn’t one of them. Balor proclaimed that he will walk out of Takeover Brooklyn still NXT Champion.

1. Eva Marie beat Cassie.

2. Baron Corbin squashed an enhancement wrestler (Mr. 450).

3. Samoa Joe squashed Mike Rawlis. Joe got new music, though it’s not as much of an improvement as most have hoped for.

4. Bayley pinned Emma. Dana Brooke was ejected before the finish of the match.

5. The Vaudevillains over Angelo Dawkins and Sawyer Fulton.

The contract signing for the title match between Finn Balor and Kevin Owens for Takeover Brooklyn took place. Owens recapped all he had done since arriving and said that Finn beating him was a fluke. He declared that he will be the first two-time NXT Champion and take Finn out for good. Finn said he’s going to make Owens choke on his words. They both signed before Owens took cheap shots at Balor and William Regal before Balor fought back.

July 29 show

1. The Mechanics defeated Enzo Amore and Colin Cassady (w/ Carmella). The Mechanics got the win with a pop-up Codebreaker.

2. Baron Corbin squashed an enhancement wrestler (former TNA wrestler Jesse Sorensen)

3. Chad Gable and Jason Jordan beat an enhancement team.

4. Charlotte over Dana Brooke.

5. Kevin Owens pinned Martin Stone. Afterwards, he took Stone out with the apron powerbomb. Yes, the same Martin Stone they released from developmental a year or two ago. For what it’s worth, there was no mention of the U.S. Title, although with six matches on this show it could’ve easily been for the live crowd only.

6. NXT Tag Champions Blake and Murphy (w/ Alexa Bliss) over The Vaudevillains to retain the tag titles. Bliss grabbed English’s leg and Murphy rolled him up with a handful of tights. Post-match, The Vaudevillains got the better of them before holding up the tag title belts.They surrounded Bliss, but then offered to hold the ropes for her because they’re chivalrous. She just bitched them out and gave each a slap before leaving.

In what is considered a major political move, New Japan Pro Wrestling is sending Japanese legend Jushin Thunder Liger to appear for WWE on the NXT Brooklyn event on August 22.

On the same night, New Japan has Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada and Kushida for the Ring Of Honor event, which is also taking place in Brooklyn, New York.

Liger will be going one-on-one with Tyler Breeze at the NXT event, which is scheduled to air live on the WWE Network.

• SPOILER: TOP WWE Legend Set For SURPRISE RETURN At Monday’s RAW!