NetherRealm Studios made a big deal over Ronda Rousey’s inclusion in their recent release, Mortal Kombat 11.

Months ago, Rousey was introduced during a NetherRealm press event as the new voice of Sonya Blade. Ronda shared her excitement, describing the experience playing a character in a franchise she grew up playing was a “dream come true”.

Now the game is out, NetherRealm may regret her highly publicized inclusion with her vocal performance receiving almost universally negative feedback from gamers.

Fatality

Fans of pro wrestling already know that Rousey’s mic skills were a little…underwhelming, when she first started appearing for WWE.

Over her time with the company, however, her abilities steadily improved. Unfortunately for NetherRealm, her skills clearly didn’t develop in time for her role as Sonya Blade.

Fans of the game have been quick to lambast the Superstar. Many have highlighted her vocal inadequacies, especially juxtaposed with Johnny Cage—a character Sonya Blade apparently shares many scenes with. One even liked her to The Room’s (in)famous Tommy Wiseau.

If you’re a fan of the Mortal Kombat series, or want to buy the game just to experience Rousey’s vocal talents, the game is available now on all major platforms. Alternatively, you can listen to her performance in the videos above.

UK based promotion Wrestle Gate Pro has announced that PAC will be part of their ‘Lion’s Spirit’ event. The former WWE Superstar and current Dragon Gate performer will be taking part in a Triple Threat match on the card. The show will be taking place on May 18th from the Rushcliffe Arena in Nottingham, England.

PAC will be taking on Jody Fleisch and Robbie X on May 18th. Fleisch is a legend of the British independent scene and has recently been booked for the PWG Battle of Los Angeles as well as stints with Ring of Honor. Robbie X was a featured star on the first series of the renewed World of Sport/WoS. The rest of the card is as follows:

• Irie vs Rampage Brown
• Bad Bones vs Cara Noir
• Duggan vs Allmark
• Sean Kustom vs Chris Ridgeway
• Nathan Cruz and Lucas Steel vs Kings of the North

The high-flying star has been performing across the UK since his return to action. Stints in Rev Pro have seen PAC take on Will Ospreay in a veritable dream match that sold out York Hall in a matter of hours.

For more information on Wrestle Gate Pro’s event check out the tweet below:

Ex-WWE producer, Dean Malenko, who recently parted ways with the company, has already booked his first non-WWE appearance.

Malenko, known as “The Man Of 1000 Holds” during his time as an in-ring competitor, will officially be in attendance during Starrcast II.

The Starrcast Twitter account sent out the following tweet, accompanied by an image of Malenko:

“This Superstarr is known as The Man of a 1000 holds!! He’s held championships all over the world… #Starrcast II is proud to welcome DEAN MALENKO to Las Vegas, Memorial Day Weekend!

Appearing Friday 1-4pm at Caesars Palace

Meet & Greets on sale now: Starrcast.com”

Starrcast II Superstarrs

Dean Malenko joins a star-studded convention, with legendary names and current ‘Superstarrs’ set to appear. Wrestlers like Bret Hart, Ric Flair, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Cody, The Young Bucks, Chris Jericho, Kenny Omega, and many more will all be in attendance.

Unfortunately, two names will no longer be present during Starrcast: The Undertaker and Kurt Angle.

Although initially advertised, WWE has since locked down ‘Taker and Angle to new contracts. These contracts allow the company to withhold talent from attending events considered to not be in WWE’s best interests.

Starrcast II, apparently, falls into that criteria.

Starrcast II takes place from May 23-26th from Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Andrade has thrown down the gauntlet, challenging Finn Balor to an Intercontinental championship matchup.

The Superstar defeated Finn during his RAW debut after the Superstar Shake-Up. This victory surprised many, considering Balor’s recent triumph at WrestleMania 35, and would have helped Andrade quickly establish himself on the RAW roster.

Things didn’t turn out that way, however, as Andrade would quickly return to SmackDown Live the following Tuesday. Upon his sudden, retconned return to the blue brand, he would subsequently lose to Finn Balor, who was making his blue brand debut. Balor’s move also brought the Intercontinental championship to SmackDown Live.

With the tally now at a win each, a rubber match makes sense to determine the final victor. Making it for the Intercontinental championship certainly ups the stakes involved for each man.

“El Idolo” would call out Finn via Twitter, writing:

“@FinnBalor I got you once, you got me once. Let’s make it more interesting next time…put that #IntercontinentalChampionship on the line! Que tú piensas ???”

Balor would reply the next day, more than happy to accept:

“¡Órale guey!! Step Up and Get Busy AMIGO!”

With the challenge having been accepted, it seems likely that the two will clash for the gold at WWE’s upcoming Money In The Bank event, which takes place on May 19th.

If you’re looking forward to finding out who will be involved in the men’s Money In The Bank ladder match, look away. It seems as though a new graphic has spoiled the entrants for this year’s briefcase.

The image, supposedly locally advertised from Connecticut, depicts Superstars from both Monday Night RAW and SmackDown Live including Drew McIntyre, Cesaro, Rey Mysterio, Ricochet, Aleister Black, Andrade, and the debuting Lars Sullivan.

A Moment Of Bliss

This week’s episode of RAW is scheduled to feature a special MITB edition of “A Moment of Bliss,” hosted by Alexa Bliss. This segment was expected to reveal the competitors in both the men’s and women’s Money In The Bank matchups.

Although the graphic itself is not full confirmation, it does appear likely that Bliss will be announcing these names this coming Monday. Though highly unlikely, WWE may elect to change certain Superstars now that the information has leaked.

Money In The Bank 2019

Men’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match

Women’s Money In The Bank Ladder Match

Roman Reigns vs Elias

WWE Universal Championship Match

AJ Styles vs WWE Universal Champion, Seth Rollins.

RAW Women’s Championship Match

Becky Lynch vs Lacey Evans

SmackDown Women’s Championship Match

Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair

WWE’s Money In The Bank PPV takes place on May 19th from Hartford, Connecticut.

It appears as though, at least at one point, WWE had a feud in mind for Luke Harper.

According to Dave Meltzer on Westling Observer Radio, the former Wyatt Family member was scheduled to feud with Sami Zayn.

The details of the feud are unknown, but it’s clear that the proposed program has since been cancelled entirely.

“This Decision, As Difficult As It Was, Feels Right”

Harper received double ligament reconstruction surgery last October. Despite being cleared to return since February 6th, he has yet to be given a new televised feud or storyline.

He recently wrestled Dominik Dijakovic at WWE’s Worlds Collide event. He was also a participant in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35.

Luke has been transparent about his frustrations within the company, highlighting that his goal going forward is to “continue to grow as a performer and person” outside of the remits of WWE.

WWE, however, declined his release request. Instead, the company has enforced a six-month extension, adding the time he missed working due to his initial injury. This means that, unless anything changes, Harper will be with WWE until roughly next year’s WrestleMania in April 2020.

This could be a tactical decision on WWE’s part—much in the same way as they handled Neville’s contract. Given the upcoming All Elite Wrestling and the surge of other independent promotions, it seems WWE are content with keeping Harper close for the time being.

Time to time we see main roster stars making appearances at NXT as part of the company’s strategy to create a buzz for the shows put out by their development territory.

However, the stars who make such appearance are usually the ones who rank low on WWE cards and are not being used in any current main roster storylines.

That’s why fans were left surprised when none other than the Universal Champion Seth Rollins made an appearance during an NXT Live Event from his home town of Davenport, Iowa.

It appears that Rollins didn’t get physical during the event and he instead showed up with his belt to cut a promo. Below are a couple of videos of his appearance WWE posted on their social media accounts:

It’s worth mentioning here that Seth Rollins has a long history with NXT and the current Universal Champion was the first man to hold the NXT Championship after the show was rebranded from FCW.

Rollins had defeated Jinder Mahal in the finals of the Gold Rush tournament to win the belt. He held the title for 5 months before losing it to the current New Day member Big E.

Seth Rollins is currently scheduled to defend his Universal Championship against the former WWE Champion AJ Styles at the upcoming Money In The Bank PPV on May 19th.

Former amateur gymnast and NXT Star Stacey Ervin Jr. has confirmed via a new Instagram post that he has decided to part ways with WWE’s development territory.

Stacey posted a photo of himself and wrote that while it wasn’t an easy decision, it was the right choice for him and so he has made the call to leave the company.

The reports of him trying to quit the company first came out late last month. It was said that he had decided not to pursue a career in wrestling after a concussion.

Stacey had received rave reviews on his performance during his time in NXT and so WWE Officials had decided to give him time to reconsider his decision.

Now with this post a month later, Ervin himself has confirmed that he has decided to stick with his original decision and quit the Black and Yellow brand.

Though it doesn’t appear that he will be joining any other wrestling promotion after his departure. We noted before how Stacey had hinted at starting his own fitness brand in a couple of tweets recently.

Considering the circumstances of his release, it looks more likely that he will pursue those plans in future instead of developing a wrestling career elsewhere.

It’s been a while since we saw Kane on WWE Programming and while there is no immediate sign of his return, the former World Champion is keeping a never say never attitude.

WWE recently published a video featuring Kane where he is seen performing his day to day duties as the elected mayor of Knox County, Tennessee.

Towards the end of the footage, he also talks about his last match with brother Undertaker against DX and commenting on a possible comeback, the Big Red Monster said never say never:

“There’s a saying in WWE: never say never. And, again, I love performing. The last match, Brothers of Destruction vs. D-Generation X, two legendary teams, two mythical teams, and it didn’t turn out like Undertaker and I wanted it to turn out. So, never say never. Maybe I’ll be back out there at some point.”

This video comes at a time where WWE is struggling with declining ratings and they are citing the absence of big names as the reason for the unexpected financial results for the first quarter of 2019.

Considering that the video comes from the company itself, it’s very hard not to see a hidden meaning behind it and the big question is if the Officials are planning to bring Kane back onto WWE TV anytime soon?

The storyline between former WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Elias is heating up.

It all started on Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live when Elias formed an alliance with Shane McMahon and started feuding with Reigns. Now, the two stars of the SmackDown Live brand are set to clash when they meet inside of the ring at the upcoming Money In The Bank pay-per-view event.

On Thursday, Elias took to his official Twitter account where he sent a harsh message to Reigns. Elias wrote the following:

WWE presents the Money In The Bank pay-per-view event on Sunday, May 19, 2019 in Hartford, CT at the XL Center that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks. Here is the updated card:

Updated WWE Money In The Bank Card

WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins vs. AJ Styles

WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Lacey Evans

WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte Flair

Men’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: TBA vs. TBA vs. TBA vs. TBA vs. TBA

Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match: TBA vs. TBA vs. TBA vs. TBA vs. TBA

Roman Reigns vs. Elias

Vin Diesel has teased the possibility of former WWE Champion John Cena joining the Fast & Furious Franchise.

On Thursday, Diesel released a video on his official Instagram account where he talks about Pablo sending him “another soldier for the fight for truth.” Pablo is a name that he calls the late great Paul Walker, who unfortunately passed away in 2013 after crashing his car.

Diesel would then pan over to Cena standing next to him and doing his signature hand gesture. As a result, it sparked speculation as to what this video means and if it could be an indication of Cena starring in Fast & Furious 9. You can see the video here:

Fast & Furious 9 is currently in pre-production with the expected release date to be May 22, 2020. It should be noted that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson confirmed back in January that he would not appear in the 9th installment of the franchise as the character Hobbs.

As for the reason, it goes back to him promoting the spinoff movie “Hobbs & Shaw” alongside Jason Statham. Hobbs & Shaw is set to be released in theaters for fans to watch around the world on August 2nd.

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) star Chris Jericho recently spoke with the UK’s Express newspaper to promote his appearance at this weekend’s For the Love of Wrestling convention from Liverpool, England. Other wrestling legends appearing include Ric Flair, Bret Hart, Kevin Nash and The Undertaker.

During the discussion, Jericho spoke extensively about Dean Ambrose leaving WWE and the possibility of Ambrose joining AEW later this year.

Jericho said he hasn’t tried to convince Ambrose to join AEW, but thinks the former WWE champion would have no problem joining the roster if that’s what he wants.

“Only Dean knows what Dean wants,” Jericho said. “It’s a grind, and not just the physical aspect of it but there’s a mental standpoint. It’s hard to work matches sometimes four days a week, five days a week. Sometimes you need a break from the business. I’m sure if he wants to come to AEW he’d be more than welcome.”

In addition to greater creative freedom, AEW is also offering wrestlers a chance to make great money without having to work the rigorous WWE road schedule. AEW President Tony Khan spoke about this earlier this week.

Dean Ambrose wrapped up with WWE this week. His ‘Superstar bio’ was moved to the Alumni section of WWE.com, a practice that typically coincides with talent no longer being under contract.

Jericho had great things to say about Ambrose as a performer and feels he will be successful wherever he lands next.

“He’s a star, he’s a great performer, he’s a great character,” Jericho said of Ambrose. “I think he would mix right in with [AEW’s top stars]. When you get a great performer, it doesn’t matter what company they were before because they’re in a top level.”

Brock Lesnar attended the Assiniboia Sports Celebrity Dinner & Auction earlier this month in his home province of Saskatchewan. During the course of the event, Lesnar gave an interview and noted that the Rock often asks him to be in his movies but he always turns him down.

Commentator for the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders Rod Pedersen took notes on what Lesnar said during the charity event.

Brock Lesnar Interview Highlights

According to Lesnar, the deal with the Rock is he always has to win the fight scenes in his movies, so Lesnar always declines.

“The Rock has asked Lesnar to appear in his movies but the deal is that The Rock always has to win their fights and for that reason, Lesnar’s always said no,” Pederson wrote regarding Lesnar’s comments.

Lesnar said, “The difference between us is that he gets pedicures and I don’t.”

Lesnar’s WWE & UFC Contracts

Lesnar also revealed at the event that he purposely keeps his UFC and WWE contracts short so he can jump back and forth between the two if he wants to.

“Lesnar said he intentionally keeps his contracts with Vince McMahon and Dana White short so that he can jump back and forth between the two leagues,” Pederson continued.

Lesnar also said he wasn’t sure if he would be fighting Daniel Cormier or not this summer. He said he had not made his mind up about it yet.

• Jim Ross Makes Prediction For Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Cormier

Living In Small Town Saskatchewan

Lesnar and his wife Rena live on a farm just outside Maryfield, Saskatchewan. The town has a population of under 400. Lesnar explained why he moved to the area during the event.

“As far as living in Maryfield goes, Lesnar’s brother lives up in the area and when Brock was looking for somewhere to put down roots, his brother suggested he look for available farmland in southeastern Saskatchewan,” Pederson explained.

Lesnar also spoke about his kids growing up as hockey fans, his start in pro-wrestling and more. The full interview can be read here.

WWE Hall of Famer Tony Atlas is convinced that Sasha Banks’ WWE career is over, whether she returns or not.

If Sasha Banks does decide to return to WWE, Atlas believes WWE will “destroy” her career in response to what he calls her “failed power play.”

During an interview with Boston Wrestling MWF, Atlas said, “If she decides to come back, they’re going to destroy her. Her career is over. They’ll job her out.”

Amid reports that Sasha Banks ‘walked out’ due to frustrations over her booking, Atlas says Sasha Banks told WWE loud and clear that she cannot be trusted.

WWE has thriving women’s divisions on Raw and SmackDown. NXT and NXT UK are also stacked with female talent.

“You know how many women right now are kissing up to Triple H, kissing up to Stephanie and saying, ‘Who are you gonna put in that spot?'”

Atlas compared Sasha Banks’ situation to Chyna, who was ousted from the company when she started pushing for more money and outside entertainment industry projects.

“She left a spot. They’re glad she’s gone,” Atlas said of Sasha Banks.

Watch Tony Atlas comment on Sasha Banks’ situation:

Tomorrow night ROH and the NWA will jointly present the Crockett Cup. The return of the famed tag-team tournament might represent the last joint venture between the two promotions, however. According to comments NWA World Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis made recently, it’s time for the NWA to make a move and that could mean a move away from ROH.

“We’ve benefitted each other but we are ready to move. We’ve had some very good momentum for a short period of time and we know that one way or another in the next few months after the Crockett Cup – depending on how things shake out there – it’s going to be time for us to make a move,” Aldis told the Sporting News. “Where that takes us in terms of our existing relationships with Ring of Honor or anybody else, who knows.”

• NWA Announces Brackets For Crockett Cup

No NWA Championship Match At G1 Supercard

Aldis also addressed why there was no NWA World Heavyweight Championship match at the G1 Supercard in Madison Square Garden earlier this month.

“They didn’t want it,” said Aldis. “I’m not going to sit here and politically dance around and give some bullsh-t answer as to why that didn’t happen. They didn’t want it.”

Aldis would continue to say the NWA made several pitches to get a title match on the show.

“We did offer them – I volunteered to wrestle Jyushin ‘Thunder’ Liger at that show for the title. I pitched that. Hell, if I had known that Muta was going to be at that show, I would have pitched me and Great Muta.”

The Great Muta appeared in the Honor Rumble match on the pre-show.

“They obviously decided that what they had to offer and the debuts they had in mind and the other things they had in mind, the obviously decided that those were more fitting of Madison Square Garden than the NWA champion who had been the first one to defend the title there since Harley Race in 1980. But, hey, I’ll get there and I’ll do it on my terms and it will be a great night.”

The full interview can be read here.

If Sami Callihan doesn’t get what he wants, he will reveal spoilers to the much anticipated Avengers: Endgame. The latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe debuted in theatres yesterday. Callihan has told Impact Wrestling management that if his match with Rich Swann isn’t changed to a no rules/no disqualification match, those who order the PPV will be exposed to spoilers for the blockbuster movie.

Callihan initially said if his demands weren’t met, he’d simply no-show the event:

He then CC’d Jimmy Jacobs:

Callihan has now increased the stakes regarding his demands. After not receiving a response, he upped the stakes by adding in the threats regarding Avengers spoilers.

Swann and Callihan have been involved in a months-long rivalry as of late on Impact programming. Callihan originally recruited Swann to join OVE as the two were friends earlier in their careers. Swann rejected the offer, however, kickstarting their feud. Swann won the X-Division championship by winning Ultimate X at Homecoming in January.

• Rich Swann Wins The X-Division Championship At Homecoming

Impact Wrestling – Rebellion PPV – April 28th, 2019

• Impact World Championship: Johnny Impact (c) vs Brian Cage (Referee: Lance Storm)
• Knockouts Championship: Taya Valkyrie (c) vs Jordynne Grace
• Impact Tag Team Championships: Full Metal Mayhem – The Lucha Bros (c) vs LAX
• X-Division Championship: Rich Swann (c) vs Sami Callihan
• Gail Kim vs Tessa Blanchard

Killer Kross will face Willie Mack and Rosemary will be in action as well this week on Impact.

Tama Tonga recently cut a promo on Enzo Amore and posted it to his Facebook page. He said Enzo is detrimental to the pro-wrestling business (in his own words). Enzo has responded to Tama’s comments, publishing his own promo on Twitter.

“That’s it? Using the C-Word?” Enzo said, taking issue with Tama referring to him as a “cancer” in his promo. “You little c–t, pick a better word!”

• Tama Tonga Cuts A Promo On Enzo Amore (Video)

“I do what I do because it works,” he continued. “That’s why I don’t listen to nobody. Unlike you, you have to listen to so many people just to go out there through a curtain. I can just jump a guardrail beat the s**t out of people, you can watch it and do nothing and be mad at yourself.”

“Don’t be mad at me bro,” Enzo continued. “I’m just doing what I do better than anybody else in the world, ok? That’s why I do things my way. My way. It’s my way or the highway and clearly you chose the highway because whatever the f**k you’re doing isn’t working. You’re driving down the highway, you’ve had your directional on for far too long because you’re not ever getting over.”

Tama Tonga Responds To Enzo’s Response

Neither Tama Tonga nor Enzo Amore is one to let the other get the last word:

Enzo Says Tama Is Mad Because His Moment Was Over-Shadowed At G1 Supercard

Enzo didn’t waste much time in responding to Tama again:

Tama then cut the following promo from his hotel room overlooking the Tokyo Dome:

NXT referee Tom Castor wasn’t about to let a match between Tyler Breeze and Velveteen Dream end prematurely. Despite suffering a broken leg, he soldiered on and counted the 3, waiting until after the match to get medical attention.

The video below does not show the exact moment when Castor broke his leg but it is clear his leg is broken as he goes to count the 3.

*Warning* The following images and video are not for the squeamish:

The following user on Twitter noted that Raul Mendoza also suffered a leg injury during the event:

Castor started as a referee with WWE in 2016.

Reactions to NXT Referee Working Through A Broken Leg:

NXT North American Champion Velveteen Dream acknowledged Tom Castor’s dedication to his craft.

Former ROH TV champion, Punishment Martinez, sent out the following in regards to Castor’s gutsy performance from last night:

WWE referee Drake Wuertz Tweeted out words of support for Castor.

“Please say a prayer for my brother @tomcastorWWE. He broke his leg in the line of duty tonight during the main event of #NXTOmaha. When he was on the stretcher he squeezed my hand and proudly said “Drake I Love the Business”. We love you Tom!”

The ever-compassionate Corey Graves only had one concern, however:

• Matt Riddle Pulled From Weekend Live Events, List Of All WWE Champions

We noted before how one half of current SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Hardy Boyz, Jeff Hardy appeared to have suffered some sort of injury this past weekend.

At the time there weren’t many details available on his health, however, in the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer provided some update on the former US Champion’s condition.

According to the Newsletter, Hardy suffered an injury in his right knee during the April 20th Live Event from Madison, Wisconsin where the Hardy Boyz defeated the Usos.

He didn’t wrestle on the Live Event from Rochester, MN the next night and instead, he was on his brother Matt Hardy’s corner for a win over Jimmy Uso. Jeff did not get physical during the bout and fans noted that the former World Champion was limping pretty badly.

Hardy then missed Sunday’s WWE Live Event from Sioux City where Matt teamed with R Truth for a bout. It appears that he was pulled from the road afterward as he wasn’t backstage for this week’s episode of SmackDown Live either.

It’s worth mentioning here that Jeff Hardy has had a bad knee since his dirt bike accident in 2015. Jeff broke his leg in the accident and since then the former US Champion has continued working with a torn PCL.

At this point, the severity of Hardy’s injury is not known but there are people backstage who believe that the former TNA Star will require surgery.

If Hardy’s condition is really serious then the company would have to make a decision regarding the titles. If the Officials take the belts off them in coming weeks then it could be an indication of him undergoing a surgery in near future.

Matt Riddle Pulled From Weekend Live Events

NXT Star Matt Riddle has been pulled from the Black and Yellow brand’s Live Events of this weekend due to a mild arm infection.

Riddle himself revealed the news on Twitter where he shared a photo of himself and his skateboard. In the tweet as seen below, he noted that this news saddens him but he will not be resting and instead he will utilize this time skateboarding in the local park:

“I’ve been pulled from all the shows this weekend due to a mild arm infection which saddens me greatly, but real talk I got my new creature skateboard from CCS yesterday and I’m gonna go tear it up at the local skate park,”

List Of All WWE Champions

WWE recently published a video on their Official YouTube account which lists all the 51 stars who have held the WWE Championship in the title’s 56 years history.

The list begins with the inaugural champion Buddy Rogers and features some of the all-time greats such as Ric Flair, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and more.

The modern names include the likes of John Cena and Daniel Bryan and it concludes with the current Champion Kofi Kingston. You can check out the full list below:

Out of all the female competitors that have ever worked for WWE, former Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey has arguably had the best rookie year in the company’s history.

She started her in-ring career with an incredible WrestleMania debut and after achieving victory in several high profile matches throughout the year, the former UFC Star ended her rookie year by main eventing the Show Of Shows.

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon talked about Ronda’s performance during the 2019 quarter one earnings call and he offered some high praise to the former Champion.

The Boss said that Ronda has done an extraordinary job for them. Vince claimed that her challenge was to bring the entire women’s division up and implied that she achieved this goal with the first ever Women’s WrestleMania main event.

Continuing on the topic, he said that Rousey’s stint has resulted in increased visibility for the Women’s Division and explained that now you have stories that are still the focal point even when the former UFC Star is not around.

Later in the interview, Mr. McMahon also talked about the company suffering a loss in the first quarter of 2019 and cited the absence of talents as the reason for it.

• Also Read: WWE Reports Loss In First Quarter Of 2019

As we noted before, Ronda Rousey has taken a leave from WWE after WrestleMania and there is no news on when or if she will return to the company in future.

A lot of people were unhappy with Kevin Owens’ recent heel turn as they believed that Owens should have been given a chance to have a babyface run for a little longer.

And as it turns out, the company itself wasn’t planning on turning Kevin heel so early but they decided on this after Daniel Bryan’s injury scare.

Dave Meltzer revealed on Wrestling Observer Radio that Kofi Kingston was originally expected to face Daniel Bryan at the upcoming Money In The Bank PPV and if this bout had happened as planned, Owens would have remained a face.

However, Bryan’s injury caused the company to reconsider their plans and they considered stars like Randy Orton and Rowan as possible first opponents for Kingston in his title reign.

The Officials even thought about bringing someone like Drew McIntyre or Baron Corbin from Raw or keeping the United States Champion Samoa Joe on SmackDown.

Though they ultimately decided to go with Owens as Kofi’s opponent for the PPV. This decision was reportedly made a few days after WrestleMania.

As we noted before, Daniel Bryan was sent home after WrestleMania and WWE Officials are closely guarding details of his injury.

Considering Bryan’s history, this doesn’t appear to be a good sign for the former World Champion but we will have to wait for more details on his condition to reach to a conclusion.

Dean Malenko is no longer working for WWE as a backstage agent. There are conflicting reports about whether he quit or was released.

Malenko, 58, worked for WWE behind the scenes since he retired from active competition in the early 2000’s. There has been a big influx of new backstage producers brought in over the past several months, including Shane “Hurricane” Helms, Joseph Park (Abyss), Sonjay Dutt and others. There have also been a number of departures, including Arn Anderson and Brian “Road Dogg” James.

His greatest strengths as an agent were booking tag matches and finding ways to highlight talents which are shorter compared to other WWE stars.

No word yet on what is next for the former Champion but AEW seems to be a natural spot for his landing and while there is no solid news on the same, the rumors regarding it have already begun.

Dean Malenko is considered to be one of the greatest technicians that have ever stepped foot in the ring and he was even ranked number one in Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s “PWI 500” list in 1997.

AEW has a good number of young talents on their roster and guidance from someone like Malenko would certainly be beneficial for the newcomers.

However, it’s too early to determine this and we wouldn’t know anything for sure until we have a better idea of what Dean himself is planning for his future. Stay tuned with us for more updates on his departure.

Lio Rush became a topic of discussion early in his WWE career when he caught some backstage heat over his tweets regarding Tenille Dashwood’s release from the company.

He made some headlines again recently when Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported that Rush has again rubbed some people backstage the wrong way.

Now the Man Of The Hour has responded to these reports on him by releasing a lengthy statement from his Twitter account and other social media profiles.

Lio wrote that no matter what you do in your life and what route you take, there will always be people out there who will try to tear you apart and tell you that you can’t do something.

He went on to explain that he does what he does for his family and towards the end of the statement he claimed that one doesn’t always know all the facts:

For those who didn’t read the previous report on the matter, it was said that Lio Rush has made it clear backstage that he believes he should be a top star of the Raw brand he currently works in.

However, his thoughts didn’t sit well with everybody and with his confidence he has rubbed some people the wrong way.

Nia Jax is on the road to recovery after undergoing double knee surgery on Thursday.

Earlier this month, she announced on Twitter that she needed surgery on both her ACL’s:

“Some of you may or may not know, but I will be out of action for a little while. Unfortunately, I have been pushing through some pain over the last year due to injuries in my knees and I will be undergoing surgery to repair both of my ACLs. I’m grateful to everyone who has supported me! Thank you!”

Nia Jax posted a photo on Twitter (seen below) showing her legs wrapped up and in braces. Jax seems determined to begin her physical rehabilitation and says she’s already walking with some assistance.

The former Raw Women’s champion is expected to miss considerable ring time. The length of her recovery time will be determined by a number of factors, but ACL tears have have kept Superstars out of action for around 9 months.

We’d like to wish Nia Jax a speedy recovery!

• Nia Jax Reveals Why WWE Dropped Her Program With Dean Ambrose