When Jon Moxley decided he was done being Dean Ambrose and
leaving WWE, there was nothing the company could do to keep him.
In fact, the Ohio native says that when it actually came
time to WWE giving him a new contract, he didn’t even bother looking at the offer
made to him because he knew his time in the promotion was finished.
“I never looked at it. I didn’t look at it. I didn’t want to,” Moxley told Chris Jericho on his podcast when asked about the deal WWE offered him to stay. “I remember thinking at one point earlier on in thinking about the decision, what if they offer me $10 million? Like a Brock [Lesnar] contract. What if they just offer me $10 million?
“What am I going to do with $10 million? My truck is paid
off. My house is paid off. My mother’s house is paid off. I got everything I
need. What am I going to do with $10 million? Am I going to go buy a Maserati?
I don’t live like that. There’s literally no number they could put on a piece
of paper that would get me to stay.”
Moxley says he was itching to tell WWE about his decision to
leave but he had to wait until after a weekend to finally sit down with Vince
McMahon to break the news to him.
According to Moxley, McMahon acted shocked that he was unhappy
with the direction of his character and couldn’t fathom not coming back to WWE
on a new deal.
“He’s got the ‘Million Dollar Man’ complex,” Moxley said
about McMahon. “He has to be able to buy [everything]. That’s why he pays Brock
[Lesnar] billions of dollars to come in and ruin his company.
“Because he wants to own Brock. He wants to be like ‘Brock’s
my attraction!’ and a guy he has no power over — me — he didn’t know how to
handle it.”
Once his deal with WWE was finally up, Moxley says that it
felt like a weight being lifted off his shoulders because his passion for
professional wrestling had largely been drained away from him during his
closing months with the company.
“It’s almost like over the years a physical depression sets
in,” Moxley explained. “Cause they take away the thing that you love. Like I
was saying about being obsessed with wrestling 24/7, they take it away from
you.
“Don’t worry about coming up with promos because we’ve got a
writer. Don’t worry about coming up with cool things for your matches because
we’ve got producers who will tell you exactly what to do in your matches. Don’t
bother thinking of storylines because we’ve already written them for you. It’s kind
of like ‘we’ve taken care of everything, you just show up’.”
In the end, Moxley waited out his contract and then left WWE
free and clear to sign with a new promotion, which is exactly what he did.
Moxley is now performing for All Elite Wrestling with dates
already booked in New Japan Pro Wrestling as well as he looks to get his love
of wrestling back now that he’s gone from WWE.
WWE held the quarterly NXT media call on Thursday to promote this weekend’s NXT Takeover XXV event. While fielding calls from the wrestling media, Triple H touched upon the topic of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and the brewing rivalry between the two companies.
WWE struck the first blow in this cold war at the 2019 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony. During the induction of DX, Triple H ribbed DX member (and AEW employee) Billy Gunn by calling AEW a “pissant” company that Vince McMahon could purchase and shut down if he wanted to. Cody Rhodes fired back at Triple H during Episode 14 of AEW’s The Road To Double or Nothing YouTube series. Cody referenced Triple H as a “pissant bodybuilder” that can’t keep up with today’s top stars.
This past week, we had Cody smashing a throne with a sledge hammer at Double or Nothing and Sami Zayn name dropping AEW on Monday’s Raw.
When asked about the back and forth digs between WWE and AEW, Triple H said he referenced AEW at the Hall of Fame because an AEW employee standing right next to him was “the elephant in the room” that night. It was nothing more than that and his remarks were unscripted.
Regarding AEW taking shots at WWE, Triple H said, “For me, I don’t really even think about it to be honest.” He is laser focused on Saturday’s NXT Takeover show. Instead of focusing on other companies’ creative, he wants to make NXT the best it can be.
Cody Rhodes posted an inspirational message on Wednesday, encouraging his followers, “Don’t back down. Do the work.” As much as AEW says they are not positioning themselves as competition to WWE, Cody is clearly ‘leaning in’ to his warm message to Triple H from Saturday night.
The milestone twenty-fifth event under the NXT TakeOver chronology takes place this Saturday, as WWE presents NXT TakeOver: XXV from the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
The show will air live on the WWE Network featuring a five-match card, with four world championships up for grabs.
Topping the card will be two world championship matches. The NXT Championship will be on the line when Johnny Gargano defends against Adam Cole in a rematch. In the co-main event, Shayna Baszler defends the NXT Women’s Championship against Io Shirai.
Saturday’s show also features a four-team ladder match for the vacant NXT Tag-Team Championships. The match includes Kyle O’Reilly and Bobby Fish of The Undisputed ERA vs. The Forgotten Sons (Wesley Blake and Steve Cutler) vs. The Street Profits (Angelo Dawkins and Montez Ford) vs. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch.
Also on the card is Matt Riddle vs. Roderick Strong, as well as a NXT North American Championship battle with current title-holder Velveteen Dream defending against Tyler Breeze.
NXT TakeOver: XXV kicks off live on the WWE Network on Saturday evening at 7 ET / 4 PT. There will be a 30-minute pre-show featuring a panel of Charly Caruso, Sam Roberts and Pat McAfee that will stream live from 6:30 ET / 3:30 PT on the WWE Network, as well as WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.
SEScoops.com writers Ian Carey, Andrew Ravens and Jeff Moss have prepared their predictions for each of the matches scheduled for Saturday night’s big event. Without further adieu, here are the SEScoops.com staff predictions for NXT TakeOver: XXV.
Matt Riddle vs. Roderick Strong
Ian Carey: Riddle is coming off a loss to Velveteen Dream last Takeover, it feels as though he could use a win here as a result. He seems like someone they want to build towards the NXT title. I’m expecting Riddle to win here and move closer to the title while Roderick Strong loses, somehow blames his Undisputed Era teammates, and moves closer to a babyface turn and rivalry with Adam Cole.
(Prediction: Matt Riddle)
Andrew Ravens: An easy pick here as Riddle has been protected well in NXT and it’s only a matter of time that he becomes NXT Champion. There’s no reason for him to lose this contest and Strong can put on an excellent performance that doesn’t have him lose any steam. (Prediction: Matt Riddle)
Jeff Moss: This should be a fun match for a laundry list of reasons. First because it’s Matt Riddle. Even his 10 second squash matches have been super fun, and he’s taken the “Whats with all the hostility?” RVD stoner-bro character and made it even better and more relevant for 2019. Second, if the Undisputed Era has the night I hope they do, Strong being the only one in the group to lose would further fuel the budding animosity between him and the rest of his stablemates. Third: Pink flip flops. (Prediction: Matt Riddle)
CONSENSUS: 3-0, Matt Riddle
Velveteen Dream (C) vs. Tyler Breeze (NXT North American Title)
Ian: As fantastic as it is to see Tyler Breeze back on a show where he can make an impact, he’s not walking away from Takeover with the North American title. Dream didn’t beat Matt Riddle last Takeover just to lose to Tyler Breeze on this show. Expect Breeze to put on a great match, get cheered, but then ultimately lose to the Dream.
(Prediction: Velveteen Dream)
Andrew: The most predictable match on the card as there is no way that Breeze wins the title here nor should he. Dream has been protected well in NXT and it’s only a matter of time that he becomes NXT Champion. Breeze has been a comedy figure on the main roster and hasn’t been back in NXT for long. (Prediction: Velveteen Dream)
Jeff: This is actually a tough one. It is so nice to see Tyler Breeze doing, well, anything again, that I almost want him to win that North American Title. It’d be a great chapter in his story to come back to NXT and finally grab some of the championship gold that eluded him when he was with the yellow brand. However, Velveteen Dream is precious, precious cargo. Even when he’s not firing on all cylinders he’s head and shoulders above most, and as they love to point out, he’s just getting his career started. If Breeze is sticking around for a while, it would be super fun to see them battle over the North American belt for a few months, which makes me think Dream retains here and perhaps sets up future bouts between the two gorgeous, gorgeous men. (Prediction: Velveteen Dream)
CONSENSUS: 3-0, Velveteen Dream
The Undisputed ERA vs. The Forgotten Sons vs. The Street Profits vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch (NXT Tag Title Ladder Match)
Ian: Kyle O’Reilly should be playing guitar on an NXT tag title belt again following this match. This seems like a match the Undisputed Era will win via the numbers advantage but it could go several ways. At some point, I think the Street Profits are going to be put in a program against the tag champs and probably win the titles but I don’t think they are winning them here.
(Prediction: The Undisputed ERA)
Andrew: It will be interesting to see which team comes out on top with the gold as any of these teams could serve as the champions. I think WWE goes in the safe direction by having O’Reilly and Fish win the titles because they’ve already proven themselves as champions. This could turn out to be the best match on the card due to the high spots these teams will do. (Prediction: The Undisputed ERA)
Jeff: While part of me wishes that this could just be a straight up match between Street Profits and Undisputed Era, I can also see this one being a standout banger of the night. There’s no reason for all of these teams not to give it 110% and get to that “Wrestlemania TLC Match” level where all hell breaks loose. I’ve never seen Lorcan and Burch (who really need a team name) in a ladder match, so I’m excited to see what they can pull off here. The logical part of my brain wants Undisputed Era to take the titles to cement the group as the top of the top in NXT, but my heart wants the Street Profits to get those straps. Much like the New Day, those guys were sitting in the back seat and handed a gimmick that could have been just awful, but they’ve made it super fun and had some great matches along the way (which I never thought I’d say about a team with Angelo Dawkins). All that said, they could be just as great feuding with the Undisputed Era as they would be as champions. Also, the Forgotten Sons will be in this match. (Prediction: The Undisputed ERA)
CONSENSUS: 3-0, The Undisputed ERA
Shayna Baszler (C) vs. Io Shiria (NXT Women’s Title)
Ian: Baszler has already dropped and regained the title once in her last reign, so I imagine if she loses it again, it means a main roster debut isn’t far off. I think ultimately, Baszler isn’t leaving NXT until at least after SummerSlam and NXT Toronto. I’m expecting her to pick up the win, albeit in possible controversial fashion, over Shirai. Expect Jessamyn Duke and Marina Shafir to play a big role in this match with Candice LeRae providing back up for Shirai.
(Prediction: Shayna Baszler)
Andrew: It seems like fans continue to enjoy what Baszler is doing on television but also waiting for the moment for her to drop the title and be called up to the main roster. Typically, WWE will call up stars after Mania and SummerSlam so I don’t see a reason for her to drop the title to Io, who has a ton of potential. (Prediction: Shayna Baszler)
Jeff: With Ronda Rousey out making babies, or farming, or whatever it is she does in her spare time, we can put aside the Horsewomen V Horsewomen stuff for a while and let Shayna Baszler continue helping to develop her pals and dominate the NXT Women’s Division. Shirai will give her a good match, one that’s different from the bouts Baszler had with Kairi Sane, and is a great opponent while some of the newer women in NXT are built up. Baszler continues as champion here, perhaps with some new challengers making themselves known. (Prediction: Shayna Baszler)
CONSENSUS: 3-0, Shayna Baszler
Johnny Gargano (C) vs. Adam Cole (NXT World Title)
Ian: I think Cole walks away from Takeover the new NXT champion. With Gargano the thrill was in the chase, not the title reign. Gargano is not the guy Triple H wants the title on heading into NXT Toronto, so he’s either taking the belt off of him here or at an upcoming set of TV tapings. Either way, Gargano is down to his last few weeks with the title.
(Prediction: Adam Cole)
Andrew: Just like their first match, this should be one of the best matches on this stacked card. I’m interested in the fact that they ran this same match back with no gimmicks as it appears to be the blow-off contest. While I do think Gargano should and will retain the title here, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him lose as he is the underdog character. (Prediction: Johnny Gargano)
Jeff: When a large Tomasso Ciampa-shaped hole appeared in my life, I never thought that it could be filled. I’ve always loved Johnny Gargano/Wrestling/Takeover/LeRae, but the fire in the feud between he and Ciampa is practically unmatched in today’s pro wrestling world. With all that said, I couldn’t be happier with what Adam Cole has brought to the table. He’s spent the last year making himself and Undisputed Era the best heel and group in WWE today, bar none. Based on their previous barn-burner of a match, I think a longterm program between Cole and Gargano has got nothing but dollar signs on it, and for it to work best, Cole should take the title here, clean. Really put Cole on the same level as all the top players and lets spend the summer with Gargano chasing him to get that title back. Johnny’s at his best when he’s working towards something and Cole can give him the rivalry he needs. (Prediction: Adam Cole)
CONSENSUS: 2-1, Adam Cole
What do the experts think is going to happen on Saturday? Check out the NXT TakeOver: XXV betting odds. What do you think of the above NXT TakeOver: XXV predictions? Let us know by sounding off in the Comments section below. Make sure to join us here on Saturday for NXT TakeOver: XXV results coverage.
The betting odds for this Saturday night’s NXT TakeOver: XXV live WWE Network special are in.
With only a couple of days remaining before the milestone NXT TakeOver event, the folks at Sky Bet have released their latest betting odds for all five matches on the card.
Currently, Johnny Gargano is the 4/7 betting favorite to retain the NXT Championship in his rematch against Adam Cole in the main event. On the flip side of the coin, Cole is a slight 5/4 betting underdog.
In the co-main event of the show, Shayna Baszler is currently the 4/6 favorite to retain her NXT Women’s Championship. Not at all too far behind “The Queen of Spades” from a betting standpoint is Shirai as the narrow underdog at 11/10.
The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) are currently the 7/4 favorites to win the Ladder Match for the vacant NXT Tag-Team Championships. The Street Profits are the second favorites at 9/4, followed by The Forgotten Sons at 11/4. The team of Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch are the clear-cut betting underdogs at 11/2.
For the NXT North American Championship, Velveteen Dream is the 1/4 favorite to retain his title against former WWE main roster Superstar Tyler Breeze. Meanwhile, Breeze is the 11/4 underdog.
Matt Riddle is currently the big 3/10 betting favorite to walk out of NXT TakeOver: XXV with the win. Strong is currently a 12/5 underdog.
NXT TakeOver: XXV Results Coverage At SEScoops.com
For more analysis and insight into Saturday night’s NXT TakeOver: XXV live special, check out our SEScoops.com Staff Predictions Roundtable for the show. The feature includes three veteran wrestling reporters breaking down and predicting the winner of each match scheduled for the show.
What do YOU think of the NXT TakeOver: XXV betting odds? Share your thoughts on who the experts are picking to win Saturday night’s matches, and leave your own predictions for the event in the Comments section below!
NXT TakeOver: XXV goes down from the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut on Saturday, June 1st. The show will stream live via the WWE Network. Make sure to join us here at SEScoops.com on Saturday evening for live results coverage of the event.
After being forced to retire from active competition and
staying away from the ring for almost 3 years, Daniel Bryan made his return to
wrestling in 2018. However, since then he has been working a lighter schedule.
Due to his various health issues, a lot of people wonder how long Bryan plans to continue wrestling. Many believe that he might have plans of retirement in next few years; though according to the former WWE Champion himself, this is not the case.
During a recent interview with Sports Illustrated, one half of the Planet’s Tag Team Champions talked about his future and revealed that he plans to wrestle for as long as possible and he claimed that we’ll find him in the ring months before he dies:
“There are people who say, ‘I only want to do this for three
or four more years,’ or ‘I only want to do this until I’m 45,’ No. I want to do
this until I’m 70. Months before I die, I want to be doing a wrestling
show.”
Continuing on the topic, the SmackDown Star said that even though he won’t be able to do the things he is able to do now when he gets older, he has been passionate about wrestling his entire life and so he wants to do this his whole life.
Apart from this, Bryan also took some shots at the current WWE Champion Kofi Kingston, saying that Kingston is the reason why nobody talks about the Tag Titles main eventing WrestleMania. You can check out his full interview at this link.
Tuesday’s edition of WWE SmackDown Live from Tulsa, OK at the BOK Center averaged 2.072 million viewers.
This is up from 1.983 million the previous week, which served as the post-Money In The Bank pay-per-view event episode of the blue branded show. This show was the highest viewed episode since April 23rd that did the exact same number.
The episode was expected to increase in viewership as this show was heavily hyped. It also didn’t have to go up major competition such as the NBA with a playoff game like previous weeks.
The show had to go up against Hannity that did 2.953, Curse of Oak Island on History that did 1.158 million viewers, Rachel Maddow Show with 2.444 and Tucker Carlson Tonight that drew 2.742.
Matches that took place on this show include WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Kevin Owens in a non-title match, Mandy Rose (w/Sonya Deville) vs. Carmella, WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Lacey Evans in a non-title match, and R-Truth & Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre & Elias (w/Shane McMahon) in the main event.
In case you missed the show, you can check out the 5 takeaways from ithere. WWE will attempt to increase viewership with next week’s episode, which should be interesting to see what number it pulls in.
Watch: Top 10 Moments from Tuesday’s Smackdown Live (5.28.19)
Hassan Assad (aka MVP) started his path to a pro-wrestling career while on a work-release program for robbing a cruise ship. MVP has spoken publicly about his prison time previously, most notably in a recent TED Talk. During the episode, MVP spoke about the tribulations former prisoners endure once being released.
MVP spoke with VICE recently about how his path to pro-wrestling career started while he was serving time. Hassan will be the focus of this week’s episode of VICELAND’s “the Wrestlers.”
“My life is an open book,” MVP said. “As a teenager I was into gangs and guns and nonsense. I was all about robberies, I used to say the world was my ATM, I ended up doing six-and-a-half months in the juvenile facility for robbery, armed robbery, aggravated assault, grand theft auto, resisting arrest. It was a nice little crime spree I was on.”
MVP was just 16 years old at the time of the cruise ship robbery. The 4-person heist was a high-profile case when it happened in 1990. MVP is listed by his birth name of Alvin Burke in the article.
“I robbed a casino on a cruise ship. It was like some Ocean’s 11type shit. Nobody involved was over 21 at the time, and I had just turned 16.”
An anonymous tip led to all 4 being arrested.
“One of my co-defendants had put together a plan because he used to work as security on the ship. I was looking for that one more lick. I went on the cruise, I checked it out and thought, You know what? With a little refining, this actually could work. We reconfigured his plan and pulled it off. We made off with fucking over 100 grand. One of my co-defendants, dickhead, left $80,000 behind.”
He served almost 10 years in prison after being sentenced to almost 20.
“After sitting in a county jail for a year, I ended up pleading guilty to one count of armed robbery and ten counts of armed kidnapping in exchange for an 18-and-a-half year sentence with a three-year minimum mandatory for the sawed-off shotgun, of which I served nine-and-a-half.”
It was while serving on a work-release program that MVP was introduced to the idea of becoming a pro-wrestler.
“When I was in work release that’s where I met my buddy, Prime Time Daryl D, aka Daryl Davis, who is a correctional officer and was also an independent pro wrestler.”
When ROH presents Best in the World on June 28th, Jeff Cobb will challenge for the ROH World Championship. Ring of Honor recently announced Cobb will challenge Matt Taven on the promotion’s next PPV from Baltimore.
“I want the man that’s bragging about being the best world champion in Ring of Honor history,” Cobb said on ROH TV recently. “I want Matt Taven. More importantly, I want what Matt Taven has, and that’s the Ring of Honor World Championship.”
Cobb recently lost the ROH TV title to Shane Taylor in a 4-way match. In lieu of receiving a one-on-one match with Taylor, Cobb said he wants to challenge for the World Championship instead.
JEFF COBB TO FACE ROH WORLD CHAMPION MATT TAVEN FOR THE TITLE AT BEST IN THE WORLD!
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) May 30, 2019
Jeff Cobb vs Matt Taven – Best in the World PPV
“Taven will defend the title against Cobb at the Best in the World pay-per-view (streaming live for HonorClub) on June 28 at Baltimore’s UMBC Event Center. As with all of Taven’s title defenses going forward, his fellow Kingdom members TK O’Ryan and Vinny Marseglia are banned from ringside,” an ROH press release reads.
The only other match officially confirmed for the event thus far will be for the TV title. Shane Taylor will look to defend against Bandido. ROH will hold a TV taping on June 1st in Kent, Washington. They will then hold “State of the Art” in Portland the following night.
Kofi Kingston returned to the place of his birth for the first time in 26 years today. Kingston arrived in Ghana for a 4-day promotional trip which will also be filmed for a future WWE Network documentary.
The trip will include meeting with the President of the country and visiting various cultural sites.
Tourism Ghana Tweeted out video of Kingston arriving at the airport to a hero’s welcome:
— Ghana Tourism Authority (@ghanatourismGTA) May 30, 2019
Kofi Kingston Returns To Ghana As WWE Champion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJOPycwj-mg
WWE issued a press release regarding Kingston’s trip to Ghana on May 10th:
“The four-day visit which starts from Thursday, 30th May, 2019 to Sunday, 2nd June, 2019, includes a courtesy call on the President of Ghana, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Presidency. He will then be at the Manhyia Palace to pay homage to the Asante Monarch, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II,” the WWE press release reads.
Well it’s officially official. For the first time since 1993, I’m going back to my home country! Though it was 26 years ago, I still have so many vivid memories of my last visit to Ghana.… https://t.co/0b4g2rjAMh
“Other activities include a Children’s Rally, visits to Tourist Sites and places like the Lake Bosomtwe, the Christianborg (Osu) Castle, Bonwire and Ntonso, a visit to the Mother and Baby Unit at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, and visits to Ejisu and Atwima Techiman which are his paternal and maternal hometowns respectively. There will also be Media Engagements and In-Studio Interview.”
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) are actively trying to provide an alternative with their promotion. This extends to how they are choosing to engage with their fans and how they intend to portray their storylines and promos.
Tony Khan recently caught up with Busted Open Radio. During their conversation, the AEW president stressed the importance of implementing social media strategy, saying that their ability to connect with a younger audience was a purposeful decision.
“I think there is something about social media now where people are more engaged with their celebrities and their sports stars than ever before,” he said. “People can spot a phoney, and I think young people can spot a phoney. I think young people can spot when people believe what they are saying and when people aren’t believing what they are saying, and when I was a kid, I really did believe what Ric Flair and Randy Savage and Bret Hart said in their promos. I think there has to be some believability.”
This believability is an element Khan is adamant AEW bring back to the world of pro wrestling. His plan to achieve that? Not having their talent use scripted promos.
“When you see a guy reading off a teleprompter or a mental teleprompter, just trying to recite a script or trying to look up in the air when you forget a line. It is hard to suspend disbelief when the wrestler doesn’t believe in the real-life situation that is unfolding. So like I said, I am not surprised that we are drawing young viewers; it was part of the plan going in.”
AEW’s next show will be Fyter Fest. The show takes place on June 29th from the Ocean Center, Daytona Beach, Florida.
Jon Moxley successfully debuted for All Elite Wrestling (AEW) during their Double Or Nothing event last Saturday. Appearing during the final moments of the show, he was greeted with a hero’s welcome by the fans in attendance.
Since then, Moxley has appeared on Talk Is Jericho to discuss his reasoning behind leaving WWE. His thoughts on the matter have clearly struck a chord with a lot of his peers.
Speaking on Busted Open Radio, former WWE Superstars Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer discussed Moxley’s comments, admitting that they fully aligned with his feelings and creative frustrations, before reflecting on the current feeling amongst the WWE locker room.
“When you know your time is up, you just have to stare down the barrel of that gun and wait out your deal, which is exactly what he [Dean Ambrose] did,” Bully Ray said. “There’s no other way out. A couple of other people got their release and were able to wiggle on out. Nobody’s getting their release anymore. You’re going to have to wait out your contract, and he did it professionally, and he did it the right way.”
Dreamed added that he understands that frustration “because once you reach a certain amount of goals, then what? […] For guys like, even myself, it’s that creativeness, as well as to be able to have a say. I work for a lot of companies, I’m not under contract for any of them, because I don’t want to be married that way to anybody.”
During a time where more WWE Superstars than ever before are openly discussing their unhappiness within the company, Moxley’s reception must have been validating for those who decided to leave—and all the more sobering for those that were not allowed to.
Brock Lesnar made his surprise return to WWE during the recent Money In The Bank pay-per-view on May 19th. He would end up victorious in the ladder match, securing the briefcase containing a year-long championship opportunity.
Since then, Lesnar has appeared on Monday Night RAW in order to tease which champion he will be cashing in against. To some, he has already appeared more frequently on WWE than they might have initially guessed.
In an interview with TVInsider.com, Brock Lesnar’s advocate, Paul Heyman, hinted that the WWE Universe may be seeing a lot more of Lesnar in the future—especially in contrast to the number of appearances “The Beast” made during 2018.
“I think you’ve already seen more of Brock Lesnar than I think people had any right to expect by the middle of May. Certainly, nobody called this shot. Since Brock Lesnar is about to announce the title he is going to focus on, I think you’re going to see more of Brock Lesnar in 2019 than you did in 2018. How much more? Again, why spoil the surprise?”
Brock Party
When asked whether he would prefer to see Brock challenge Seth Rollins or Kofi Kingston, Heyman responded that he would rather see his client take on both Rollins and Kofi in a handicap match.
“Beat them both, unify the titles and hold them both over his head and hop on a private jet to go to the greatest steakhouse in the world—which I will not reveal because I don’t want people bothering us when we go out to dinner. Unfortunately, WWE would like to protect its investment in either Seth Rollins or Kofi Kingston, knowing that Brock is going to F5 and take them to “Suplex City” and conquer at least one of them. Unfortunately, they won’t let us cash in on both at the same time. Knowing the ability of Brock Lesnar, that would be my preference.”
It’s likely that Brock Lesnar will be cashing in against RAW Universal Champion, Seth Rollins, for a championship opportunity at WWE’s next Saudi Arabia show, Super ShowDown—despite apparently just discovering he has a year in which to cash in his opportunity.
During a recent interview with WrestlingInc, Dustin Rhodes who recently signed with the promotion after his release from WWE commented on this matter.
Rhodes was asked about the TV deal the company has signed and answering it, the former WCW Star said it’s cool to be back on TNT:
“It’s pretty cool. It’s been a long time. That’s my old
friend – TNT/TBS. It’s really cool and almost magical that we’re back with TNT.
It’s gonna be hopefully another war where [AEW] will step up their game and
make everyone else step up their game. It’s good for the business with
competition,”
Continuing on the topic, Dustin Rhodes said that he is very
anxious to see how it all plays out and in the interview taken before the
Double Or Nothing PPV, he said that he is glad to be on the first show of the
company.
Apart from this, Dustin also discussed the recent signing of backstage personalities like Arn Anderson and Billy Gun, the characters of Sonny Kiss and Velveteen Dream reminding him of himself and more. You can check out his full interview at this link.
Ring Of Honor (ROH) saw the debut of a new faction during the G1 Supercard show on April 6th.
The Allure, comprised of Velvet Sky, Angelina Love, and Mandy Leon, made an impact, attacking Kelly Klein after her match against Mayu Iwatani.
Speaking with Kevin Kellam of WrestleZone, Velvet Sky has now clarified her role within the Allure and ROH. The former Impact Wrestling Knockout has previously stated that she is retired from in-ring competition. She intends to stick to her word, taking up the mantle of manager to Love and Leon.
“That’s Still My Stance”
“I still stand as being retired in the ring. Back when I announced that in 2016, I made it clear that I retired from in-ring action only,” she explained.
Sky would continue, detailing her frustration and unhappiness working for Impact during that time, in particular with management. So when her contract expired, she felt it was the right time to leave.
She had no interest in working the independent scene, saying she didn’t want to just “bump night after night for no reason” before adding “As a professional wrestler, you just have to know your limits and you only have so many bumps on your bump card. Any wrestler will tell you that.”
“[…] So mid-2016 I announced my in-ring retirement, but I made it clear that I would still be around for the fans to do meet-and-greets, autograph signings, just be involved in the wrestling industry in a non-wrestling role,” she said.
“That’s still my stance, and I’m in a non-wrestling role in The Allure. I’m more the managerial mouthpiece, directing traffic, and Mandy and Angelina are going to be the ass-kickers of the group. We’re The Allure as a group, but we also have our own individual identities as Angelina being the badass, me being the brains and Mandy being the bombshell.”
Velvet Sky has previously discussed the differences between The Allure and her former stable, The Beautiful People. Despite debuting in April, the stable has yet to really feature on ROH.
Brian Cage was finally able to call himself a world champion after winning the Impact World Championship at Impact’s Rebellion pay-per-view (PPV) back in April. Unfortunately, Cage would suffer an injury early during the matchup against Johnny Impact after taking a Spanish Fly from off the ramp to the floor. He would ring in his first night as champion in the hospital.
Speaking with the WINCLY podcast, Cage has discussed his injury status and his frustrations of being the champion while injured.
He shared that being Impact Champion is something he still can’t believe is real before adding that “Not being able to compete and defend the title as regularly as I’d like [because of the injury] is a bummer, but it’s awesome. I’m very thankful.”
Looking back at the moment that led to the injury, Cage explains that “It happened during the Spanish Fly onto the floor. We get hurt a lot and I was differentiating between being hurt and being injured. I kept thinking, ‘Maybe it will subside. Maybe it will subside.’ But there was no subsiding.”
Cage allegedly thought he had ruptured a disc, and immediately worried he would need surgery—assuming the injury wasn’t career ending. Despite this concern, Cage was adamant he would finish the match, refusing to stop despite the damage to his back.
With an eye to the future, Brian Cage admits that he isn’t sure about when he will return, though he has set himself a goal to be back by Slammiversary, which takes place on July 7th.
Former WWE and WCW Star Terri Runnels was arrested this
Wednesday morning for carrying a loaded gun into the airport on Florida.
TMZ was first to report the news of her arrest. They revealed that the 52-year-old Runnels was arrested by the Tampa International Airport Police.
She was reported to be carrying a “concealed
firearm,” which is a class 3 felony. The charge for it carries a
punishment of up to 5 years in prison and up to $5,000 dollars in fine.
She was later released on a $2,000 bond and after her release, Runnels sent out a video statement from her Twitter account, saying that this incident was an ‘honest mistake’:
According to her, she is used to carrying the gun for visits to her mother’s house to deal with armadillos which have been digging up the yard.
Runnels told the cops that she simply forgot that she had the gun in the backpack after getting only 8 hours of sleep in the last three days.
Terri Runnels started her wrestling career in NWA in 1998 and she went on to work for both WWE and WCW. She mostly worked in a managing capacity but also held the WWE Hardcore Championship at one occasion.
While many wouldn’t want to go against the Beast Brock
Lesnar even once, the current WWE Champion Kofi Kingston is ready to take on
the Beast once again if the opportunity comes.
Kingston was recently interviewed by The National and among other things, the SmackDown Star was asked about a potential rematch with the current Mr. Money In The Bank, Brock Lesnar.
Answering it, Kofi who wrestled the former Universal Champion with the New Day Members on his side during the 2015 Beast In The East event, claimed that he hopes Lesnar chooses him as his opponent as it will be an amazing challenge for him:
“For me to get in the ring with Brock Lesnar would be
amazing. It is almost a measuring stick to see where I stand. We wrestled about
four or five years ago. As a wrestler, a performer and a person I have grown so
much since then.
So to get a second chance, at this point in my career, would be great. I am all about that. I do hope he chooses me. I think the match would be awesome but it would be an amazing challenge for me to see where I stand as a performer.”
Continuing on the topic, Kofi Kingston explained that his
goal as the WWE champion is to be one of the greatest champions of all time and
wrestling against legends like Lesnar is the way to do so.
Apart from this, the current WWE Champion also talked about being with the New Day for 5 years, his upcoming title defense against Dolph Ziggler and more. You can check out his full interview at this link.
NXT Star Rachael Ellering apparently became victim of a hit
and run incident today while she was driving home from the WWE Performance
Center.
Rachael revealed the news via her Twitter account. She made a tweet mentioning that she was ok and cautioning people not to drink and drive because not everyone is as lucky as her:
“Let me start by saying this: I am ok. I was hit by a drunk driver today on my way home from the PC. Hit and run. I’m extremely thankful it was my passengers side that was hit. Some people aren’t so lucky-please DONT DRINK AND DRIVE”
Let me start by saying this: I am ok.
I was hit by a drunk driver today on my way home from the PC. Hit and run.
I’m extremely thankful it was my passengers side that was hit. Some people aren’t so lucky-please DONT DRINK AND DRIVE.
— Rachael Ellering (@RachaelEllering) May 29, 2019
In a separate tweet, the NXT Star revealed that she managed to take pictures of both the plates of the car and the driver who hit her and ran away:
Side note: as he drove off, I ran after him and got the best pictures of both his plates and face. I love a good cardio challenge. pic.twitter.com/lKeDJgfFKN
— Rachael Ellering (@RachaelEllering) May 29, 2019
Rachael Ellering made a number of appearances for the Black
and Yellow brand of WWE before being signed full time to a development
contract.
Before being signed officially, she had matches with the
likes of Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan and Sonya Deville and she also competed in the
Inaugural Mae Young Classic Tournament in 2017.
She competed in the second Mae Young Classic last year as well and in January earlier this year; it was revealed that the female star has signed a contract with the development territory.
Pac became a hot topic of discussion when he couldn’t come on terms with AEW and the company was forced to remove him from their Double Or Nothing PPV.
This made a lot of people wonder if the incident will turn out to be a roadblock for the relationship between the two parties and latest development in the situation suggests that this indeed, is the case.
Pac was originally expected to work the upcoming Fyter Fest
event where he was scheduled to team up with the Lucha Bros to face the Elite
in a 6 men tag match.
However, the company has recently updated their listing for the show and they have now removed the former WWE Star from the graphics of the event:
For those who don’t know, Pac was originally expected to go
one on one against Adam Page at Double Or Nothing and then face the winner of
Chris Jericho vs. Kenny Omega match at a later date.
He was scheduled to lose this bout; however, the former Cruiserweight Champion didn’t want to take a loss while still holding the Dragon Gate Championship. So the AEW officials were forced to cancel his match at the PPV.
While Tony Khan and others have said that they are open to working with Pac in the future, this removal makes it seem like the company does not have any immediate plans of the same and fans will have to wait for sometime before he makes his debut for the promotion.
Bianca Belair once again battled Mia Yim on this week’s episode of NXT. Belair defeated Yim two weeks ago by using her hair for leverage on the ropes to secure a pinfall. Mia Yim started off the match in command and connected with a Dropkick that sent Belair to the corner. Yim followed that up with a Cannonball for a near fall.
Belair took control and leveled Yim with a Clothesline for a two count. Bianca showed off her strength by squatting Yim and then planting her with a Suplex. Yim locked in the Tarantula on the ropes and then transitioned into a roll-up for a two count. Belair knocked Yim to the canvas with a Dropkick and then raked her face along the ropes.
The crowd got behind Yim as Belair hit a few elbows to her face in the corner of the ring. Belair leveled Yim with a forearm to the face for another near fall. Mia sent Bianca to the outside and then hit her with an Overhead Belly to Belly Throw and both superstars fell to the canvas.
Mia hit the Code Yim and went for the cover but Belair kicked out at the last moment. Bianca drove Mia to the corner and drove her shoulder into Yim’s midsection. Belair charged at Mia but Yim got out of the way and Bianca crashed into the ring post. Yim connected with the Eat Defeat but Belair tumbled out of the ring.
Yim chased Belair up the ramp and brought back towards the ring. Bianca slammed Yim’s face into the ring apron and got back in the ring as the referee was counting. Mia got back into the ring at the last second and broke the count. Bianca unloaded a flurry of strikes and sent Mia flying across the ring.
Belair hit a Back Body Drop and lifted her up for a Powerbomb but Yim escaped. Mia then returned the favor by grabbing Bianca’s hair and planted Belair with the Protect Ya Neck for the pinfall victory. This was the first time Belair was pinned in NXT.
Kushida squared off with Drew Gulak on this week’s show. Gulak applied and Arm Bar to start off but Kushida rolled through and escaped. Gulak locked in a single-legged crab but once again Kushida escaped. Kushida went for a Triangle but Gulak threw Kushida down to the canvas.
Kushida locked in a Crossface in the middle of the ring and then transitioned into a Headlock. Gulak escaped but Kushida quickly locked in an Octopus submission. Gulak escaped and applied a submission hold of his own but Kushida quickly reached the bottom rope to break the hold.
Gulak connected with a Body Slam and followed it up with a Gutbuster. Kushida planted Gulak with an Arm Drag and immediately locked in an Arm Bar. Gulak countered into an Ankle Lock in the middle of the ring.
Kushida escaped and leveled Gulak with an Enziguri. Drew hit Kushida with a forearm but Kushida connected with a Flatliner out of nowhere. Kushida then rolled up Gulak for the pinfall victory. After the match, Gulak got pissed off and called Kushida a coward.
Undisputed Era Sent A Message Heading Into TakeOver
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch faced The Forgotten Sons in the main event. Jaxson Ryker was ringside for the match. Burch connected with a Dropkick on Wesley Blake to start things off. Burch went to work on Blake’s left arm but Steve Cutler was able to tag himself in.
Cutler sent Burch to the corner and stomped on him before tagging Blake back in. Blake planted Burch for a one count. Cutler and Lorcan then tagged in. Ryker tripped up Lorcan and Blake capitalized with a Clothesline. The referee booted Ryker from ringside and The Forgotten Sons threw a tantrum.
Street Profits attacked Ryker on the entrance ramp as a brawl broke out in the ring. Street Profits rushed the ring and the match ended in a DQ. The Forgotten Sons brought chairs into the ring and beat the hell out of everyone. Undisputed Era then attacked Ryker and threw him off the stage.
All four members of Undisputed Era ran down to the ring and beat everyone down. They then posed in the ring before turning their attention back to Ryker on the entrance ramp. Undisputed Era grabbed a ladder from under the ring and bashed Jaxson in the face. Cole then climbed the ladder and Roderick Strong handed him a microphone. Cole said “Riddle, Gargano, at TakeOver that is Undisputed” and pointed to Ryker on the floor.
NXT TakeOver 25 airs this Saturday night on the WWE Network. We will have live coverage of the show as well as Takeaways after the event goes off the air. Below is the card for TakeOver:
NXT Championship: Johnny Gargano (c) vs. Adam Cole
NXT North American Championship: Velveteen Dream (c) vs. Tyler Breeze
NXT Women’s Championship: Shayna Baszler vs. Io Shirai
Ladder Match For The Vacant NXT Tag Team Championship: Undisputed Era vs. The Street Profits vs. The Forgotten Sons vs. Oney Lorcan & Danny Burch
All Elite Wrestling has confirmed Cody and Dustin Rhodes against The Young Bucks for July’s Fight for the Fallen event from Jacksonville, FL.
The match was set up at Double or Nothing after Cody’s war with Dustin. Just as the elder Rhodes brother was taking off his boots to retire, Cody asked for Dustin to be his partner for this tag team special attraction match. In the most emotional moment of AEW’s first-ever pay-per-view, Cody declared, “I don’t need a partner, I don’t need a friend, I need my older brother” and the two embraced.
With that match set, here is the updated card:
Cody & Dustin Rhodes vs. The Young Bucks
Kenny Omega will face CIMA
Brandi Rhodes vs Allie
At the Double or Nothing post-show media scrum, Chris Jericho mentioned that he’s also booked for AEW’s Jacksonville debut.
AEW: Fight for the Fallen takes place Saturday, July 13th from Jacksonville, FL at the Daily’s Place Amphitheater. Partial proceeds from the event will benefit victims of gun violence.
WWE presents the Super ShowDown pay-per-view event on Friday, June 7th, 2019 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium that will air on the WWE Network at 2PM ET/11 AM PT.
This marks the third show in WWE’s 10-year deal with the Saudi General Sports Authority. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming weeks. Here is the updated card:
Updated WWE Super ShowDown Card
The Undertaker vs. Goldberg
Randy Orton vs. Triple H
50-Man Battle Royal:
WWE Universal Champion Seth Rollins vs. Baron Corbin
WWE Champion Kofi Kingston vs. Dolph Ziggler
Braun Strowman vs. Bobby Lashley
Roman Reigns vs. Shane McMahon
WWE Intercontinental Champion Finn Balor vs. Andrade
Lucha House Party vs. Lars Sullivan – Handicap Match
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW from Kansas City, MO at the Sprint Center averaged 2.190 million viewers, down from 2.521 million the previous week, which served as the post-Money In The Bank episode of the red branded show.
This breaks the streak of three consecutive weeks that viewership was up. Here is the hourly viewership breakdown, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
Hour 1: 2.265million
Hour 2: 2.254 million
Hour 3: 2.051 million
The show was down about 300,000 viewers from the same episode last year. RAW featured an opening segment with Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman where they teased cashing in the Money in the Bank briefcase.
Some of the matches that took place include Shane McMahon vs. Lance Anoa’i, Becky Lynch & Nikki Cross vs. The IIconics, Ricochet vs. Cesaro, Baron Corbin vs. Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman and The Miz in a #1 Contendership Fatal Four Way Match, and Seth Rollins vs. Sami Zayn in the main event.
The episode was expected to increase in viewership as this show was heavily hyped. WWE will attempt to increase with its viewership for RAW next week. In case you missed the show, you can check out the six takeawayshere.
The former heavyweight champion, who had spent the better
part of eight years as one of the faces of the company while performing as Dean
Ambrose, knew that his time in WWE was coming to an end.
While his contracted expired in April, Moxley explained
during a recent appearance on Chris Jericho’s podcast ‘Talk is Jericho’ that he
knew last July that his time in WWE was finished.
“I knew pretty much knew that I was gone in July of 2018,”
Moxley explained. “At that point, I was out with an injury. I tore my tricep.
Normally that would only be a four-month thing but it was so banged up and
bruised because I had been working on it hurt for a long time and it was just
the tendon was all mangled so it was like a minimum of six months. Then I got a
staph infection and I had to go in for surgery.
“It turned into nine months, it was a mess. A very miserable
time in my life, very challenging.”
When Moxley returned from injury he was transitioned from a
babyface to a heel for the first time since he was a founding member of ‘The
Shield’ alongside his friends Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins.
Unfortunately, Moxley says the creative direction that WWE
took his character was just abysmal with several promos that eventually sealed
the deal that he wasn’t going to renew his contract with the company.
Moxley points to two specific incidents that burned the
bridge between himself and WWE where he could no longer see himself performing
there after his deal was up.
“The first one I’m going to tell you is the day that I physically
looked at the calendar and started counting down the days,” Moxley explained. “The
other one will be the day that I absolutely knew, no turning back, I am gone. A
day I almost walked out.”
The first incident involved a set of promos that had Moxley
saying things that made absolutely no sense to him whatsoever and it forced him
to go speak to WWE CEO Vince McMahon in hopes of having the scripts rewritten
before saying them on video.
“So one day I come into TV like normal. At this time, I
think I’m on SmackDown, I’m a good guy, a babyface. A pretty major good guy on
the show, basically the lead good guy on the show at this point. I come in and
get a backstage promo handed to me from a writer — writer is going to be a key
word in this podcast you will find and the word script — I get a script handed
to me by a writer, right? And it’s a backstage promo and it’s me describing the
things I did on the way to the arena that day. I can’t remember exactly what
the things were because they were so ridiculous and this isn’t an isolated
incident. There’s hundreds of these promos that have happened over the years.
They all get lost in the shuffle.” Moxley said.
“These are things that an idiot would do. Like things along
the lines of like driving backwards on the street in a unicycle or sharing a
pizza with a homeless man on the street, just weird stuff like that. So I’m
like, ‘I’m not saying any of that.’ So I’m like, ‘Change all that. Rewrite it
just as something normal.’ Go about my business, writer comes back to me later.
Vince redid it, put all that stuff back in, so I’m like, “Uh, now I have to go
in and talk to Vince.
“I’m like, ‘Yo, I can’t say all this stuff, it’s
ridiculous.’ And he’s like, ‘Oh, it’s such good shit! Oh, this stuff, this is
the reason people like you. It’s why they connect to you cause you’re different
— this is you!’ And I’ve had a million conversations with him that are almost
this exact same conversation about similar promos or things. ‘This is you! This
is such good s—t. This is what makes you, you!’
“And I said, ‘So I’m an idiot?’ And he goes, ‘No! It’s you!
You’re different.’ And I’m like, ‘OK.’ And I don’t know where we landed on that
particular promo, whatever, but that’s just an example, that kind of sums up the battle I’ve been fighting
for six years.”
The next incident that had Moxley counting down the days
until he could get out of WWE for good was another promo that involved a ‘pooper
scooper’.
“All the things that are on these scripts, it’s a typical
WWE script. It’s a bunch of words, a bunch of big words, a bunch of goofy
words, none of it makes any sense to me. We’re not telling any kind of tangible
story. We’re not doing anything to get any kind of characters over. Nothing
that makes any sense to me,” Moxley stated.
“But the one I’m most concerned with is the in ring promo at
the end of the night. We go into the writer’s room, I start reading this promo
and again not trying to pass judgment, but to my eye in my opinion, this is
absolute hot garbage, awful crap.
“The main gist of it is the people are smelly, disgusting
people and they’re foul, disgusting [people]. You can kind of just see Vince
saying these words ‘oh Liverpool, sounds like a skin disease!’. You can just
picture the Vince face.”
“The thing that catches my eye the most is a joke about a pooper
scooper. Like something along the lines of ‘I wouldn’t come out there without a
pooper scooper’. And I’m like ‘I’m not saying that’.”
While Moxley was able to get rid of the ‘pooper scooper’
line, there was another part of the promo that had him turning Roman Reigns’
real life battle with leukemia into part of his story on television.
That definitely crossed a line in Moxley’s mind but through
some convincing from McMahon, he ended up cutting the promo as written.
“I go off to do another promo and I believe this one was live
and again it doesn’t make any sense to me, I’m just saying stuff and earlier I
had to go into Vince because in this promo there’s a line that’s a very distasteful
line taking a jab at my friend who had leukemia and is now going off to recover
from that, Roman Reigns. I don’t remember what the line was but I went ‘are you
kidding me?’ so I’m going right into Vince on this one. This is clearly a mistake.
“I cut the promo and as soon as that line left my mouth I
went ‘oh my god, I can’t believe I just said that’. “
The last straw was a final promo that Moxley was ordered to
cut where he was going to be backstage with his ‘personal doctor’, who would be
giving him injections to protect him from rabies and other diseases that could
come from the WWE audience in the building.
“Keep in mind during all this, this is a billion-dollar
company run by a man who’s allegedly a genius and keep in mind, we’re all
adults and we’re talking about stuff like this,” Moxley said.
“This is the day I knew 100-percent I was gone and there was
no turning back. I actually almost walked out. Not really, I’m glad I didn’t
cause I could have ended up in some legal stuff or whatever.”
In the end, Moxley did as he was ordered but there was no
turning back and his time with WWE was going to come to an end no matter what.
At the end of his eight year run with WWE, Moxley says the
world’s biggest professional wrestling promotion actually took away his passion
for professional wrestling and that hurt him more than anything else.
“It’s like they take wrestling away from you,” Moxley said
about WWE. “Wrestling is my first love, my only love besides my wife, the thing
I’m most passionate about. I love it. I feel like now I’ve got it back finally.
Since I was a little kid, I was obsessed. Just watching tapes, always watching
tapes, always thinking of promos, watching all the wrestling. I loved pacing
around my house just thinking of promos. Waking up in the middle of the night
cause you just thought of a cool line, a way to tell a story in a match or whatever,
and then I’m just pacing through the house cutting promos to myself in a
mirror.
“Promos used to be my favorite part of wrestling. I loved
it. They ended up becoming my least favorite part. The part I dread.”
As much as his WWE career ended on a sour note, Moxley is
still able to look back with fondness for the good times he had with the
company. In particular, Moxley enjoyed working with the ‘Make-A-Wish’
foundation and WWE also allowed him to meet his wife — on air talent Renee
Young — and that is something he will absolutely never regret.
“If nothing else, over all these past eight years, I met my
wife in WWE, who’s my best friend and my soulmate,” Moxley said. “If we got
nothing else out of this run, I got her. I always tell her, if things get too
weird, we’ll just sell all this stuff, we’ll hop in an RV and we’ll hit the
road babe cause all we need is each other.
“Needless to say the last eight years couldn’t have been any
more successful and full of gratitude for WWE for that.”
Now Moxley is beginning the next chapter of his career after inking a multi-year deal with All-Elite Wrestling and he will also be performing in promotions such as New Japan Pro Wrestling as he moves on without WWE.
Listen to “The Emancipation of Jon Moxley” on Talk Is Jericho:
Chris Jericho recently main evented AEW’s Double or Nothing PPV against Kenny Omega. The event has garnered critical praise from fans across the globe and has attracted some mainstream attention. Jericho recently spoke about how some of WWE’s current creative issues are helping to drive the AEW product.
Jericho stated that “a lot of [our coverage] has to do with what is going on in the WWE lately. This isn’t bagging on the WWE because I love the WWE. I have a great history there and great respect for everybody involved.” Jericho elaborated further saying “when you are reading the reports online about what critics are thinking and long-time fans are complaining about the booking and some of the booking decisions where things aren’t making sense, there is a whole kind of a real cloud over the WWE’s head at this point which in turn is giving AEW so much coverage and we haven’t even had to do anything. It is unbelievable when you actually think about it…”
Jericho finished by saying “WWE has some great talents and performers; I watched WWE’s Money in the Bank recently and Seth Rollins vs AJ Styles and the Men’s Money in the Bank match, outside of the finish, was a tremendous match as an actual performance. So, it’s not like the wrestling side is taking a hit but it is the overall opinion of behind the scenes and that sort of thing.”
