A new episode of AEW’s weekly television show, Dynamite, will air tonight. 

The company taped this show on Tuesday night in the Bahamas on the Ship of Jericho. In fact, All Elite Wrestling officials took extra precautions in order to make sure the show made the air. 

It’s been reported that AEW had two copies of the taped show flown in two different planes back to Atlanta, Georgia just in case there were any issues with the planes. 

Thus, it’s time to look ahead to tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite on TNT.

The show is expected to start with AEW World Tag Team Champions SCU vs. Hangman Page and Kenny Omega. Although not confirmed, the belief is that PAC vs. Jon Moxley in a #1 Contender’s Match for the AEW World Championship will serve as the headliner. 

AEW will air this show on TNT at 8 p.m. ET. AEW is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:

• AEW World Tag Team Champions SCU vs. Hangman Page and Kenny Omega
• #1 Contender’s Match for the AEW World Championship: PAC vs. Jon Moxley 
• Joey Janela vs. Fenix
• Chris Jericho, Santana, and Ortiz vs. Jurassic Express
• Britt Baker vs. Priscilla Kelly
• MJF vs. Joey Janela

AEW will also be creating new programs and building on the hype for existing feuds. 

AEW Rankings Released

WWE NXT is back for another episode with an interesting lineup, so let’s take a look at the preview for the show. 

The company is building up this show around a championship match that will see NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong defend against Keith Lee

WWE had a few NXT UK talents appear on last week’s show. With the WWE Worlds Collide show taking place this Saturday night as part of Royal Rumble weekend, fans could see some stars across the pond appear on this show to further build matches as the show gets closer.

WWE holds this show in Winter Park, Florida at Full Sail University. WWE is advertising the following items for tonight’s broadcast:

• NXT North American Champion Roderick Strong defends against Keith Lee
• Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semi-finals: The BroserWeights (Matt Riddle, Pete Dunne) vs. Imperium (Fabian Aichner, Marcel Barthel)
• Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic Semi-finals: The Grizzled Young Veterans (Zack Gibson, James Drake) vs. NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era (Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish)
• Imperium and The Undisputed Era will be in the same building

As usual, fans should expect more matches and segments to be revealed this afternoon for NXT. 

Join us here later tonight for WWE NXT Results and our post-show NXT Takeaways feature.

• Jazzy Gabert Gone From NXT UK, Now A Free Agent

Daniel Bryan has opened up about his initial trepidation in returning to his babyface persona and once again using the ‘Yes’ chant. Speaking with My San Antonio, Bryan detailed why he didn’t feel “ready” to become that character again, noting how he feels he and Sami Zayn also have “unfinished business.”

“I honestly wasn’t really ready to go back to the ‘yes’ chants yet,” Bryan confessed. “I was really enjoying the stuff that I was doing as the ‘Planet’s Champion’ and environmentalist type of stuff. But sometimes you do what duty calls for, right? There’s the switch, and I still enjoy doing that.”

He continued, “But it’s weird, because it almost feels a little bit unfinished. We were starting a story with me and Sami Zayn, and to me that was very compelling. It was, ‘Do you want to go backward with these people and go back to being the ‘yes’ guy, or do you want to go forward with us?’ And to me, that’s a very interesting real question in my life and in my career. Do you want to go back to this? It’s easy to get reactions as the ‘yes’ guy and be the guy who goes out there and does the ‘yes’ chants. Or do I want to push things forward?”

Daniel Bryan’s Drive To Evolve

Bryan explained how, although he was willing to embrace the ‘Yes’ chant again, he enjoys pushing his own creative boundaries. Because of this, he didn’t want to return to what he’s done. Instead, he wanted to push it forward and evolve it. He noted how he’s enjoyed working with “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt, especially “this idea that he legitimately changes characters on TV. I think that’s a very compelling story.”

Daniel Bryan takes on “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt for the WWE Universal Championship this Sunday at Royal Rumble. The event takes place from Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.

After being a babyface ever since her debut in WWE, Bayley turned heel for the first time in her career last year in September and since then, she has embraced the role.

The SmackDown Women’s Champion recently talked to MySanAntonio.com where she discussed things like similarities between Seth Rollins’ recent heel turn and her own transition to a villainous role.

During the interview, she was asked how far ahead in the time her heel turn was in the works and Bayley revealed that it was an on-the-fly thing. She also mentioned how changing her look was her own idea:

“In that particular situation, it was definitely kind of an on-the-fly kind of thing. I felt after Hell in a Cell that I needed to make a huge change. I didn’t want to come back the same person. I didn’t want to fight for the same things.

So it was really my decision to come out in this whole different attitude and whole different outlook, in a way that I never have before in order to see if I can jump the ladder. I think, for the long run, it’s probably the best decision I’ve made in a really long time.”

• Also Read: Daniel Bryan Reveals It Was His Idea To Shave His Beard

Bayley then discussed how nerve wracking it was once she was given a thumbs up for her heel turn because everything she had known and done in the past seven years was about to change.

While Bayley had shown signs of being a heel prior to the Hell In A Cell PPV last year, it was her loss to Charlotte Flair on the show which caused her to snap completely.

The female star lost her SmackDown Women’s title on the PPV. After the event, she cut down her signature ponytail and changed her entrance style, solidifying her heel turn.

Konnan has addressed the physical altercation that took recently took place between himself and Psicosis II—who is not the Psicosis who wrestled in WCW and WWE. The incident occurred outside of a taping for Impact Wrestling in Mexico, with Psicosis II approaching and then slapping Konnan. Konnan, however, did not retaliate following the attack.

Speaking on his podcast, Keepin’ it 100, Konnan explained how the issues between them stem from Psicosis II supposedly working stiff with the original Psicosis. Konnan and Psicosis II would trade barbed words on social media, which angered Psicosis II enough to confront Konnan and lead to their exchange. 

“Now I see he’s with other guys, so I’m kinda looking around and thinking, ‘bro, is this guy gonna actually jump me here with these guys?’ While I’m kinda looking out of my peripheral and I’m trying to defuse the situation, he slaps me,” Konnan explained. “I’m thinking real quick for that split second, ‘bro, if I hit him, I KNOW I’m gonna get jumped.’ I just know I am, I just feel it.”

Konnan continued, “If we would’ve been one-on-one, I would’ve punched the sh*t out of him. I’m thinking in that moment, let me get out of here so I can get into the dressing room and I can get everyone out.” 

You can watch Konnan detail the incident in the video below:

H/T to ProWrestlingSheet for the transcription.

WWE Superstar Sheamus has discussed why his tag team with Cesaro, The Bar, was split up. Speaking with Cultaholic while promoting WWE’s move to BT Sport in the United Kingdom, Sheamus shared how the team had achieved all they could do as a team, leaving them without much new territory to explore.

“Well, me and Cesaro have achieved everything there is to do. We’re five-time tag champs; I think The Bar is something, it’s like, we have cemented our legacies as The Bar. We can always go back to that. I think when we do, it will be massive. But we’re both on a bit of a singles journey at the moment, and there’s still a lot I want to achieve as a singles guy. Obviously, the Intercontinental title is the one I still haven’t won, so that’s all I really care about right now.”

Sheamus’ Hiatus

Sheamus recently returned to in-ring action following a lengthy hiatus. During that time away from the ring, he considered retiring from wrestling, admitting how “It’s something that’s always in the back of your mind. It’s no secret that I had a couple of issues physically, a few injuries because it is physical what we do,” Sheamus said. “And then my style as well, it trebles that, you know? There were a couple of times when I thought, ‘Will I make it back in there?’”

He will be competing against Shorty G this Sunday at Royal Rumble. The event takes place from the Minute Mark Park in Houston, Texas.

If you use any quotes from this article, please provide a H/T to SEScoops.

WWE Backstage analyst CM Punk has shared who he thinks “should” win this year’s Royal Rumble matchup, naming NXT’s Keith Lee. Punk stressed that there is a difference between who he thinks should win the Rumble match as opposed to he thinks is going to win before fantasy booking his choice:

“Keith Lee from NXT should win the Royal Rumble,” Punk said. “I think he had a tremendous showing at Survivor Series, and he, to me, is a big fish in a little pond right now.”

He continued, “Not to say NXT is little by any means, but I think you need to follow up on stuff like this. You strike when the lightning’s hot. You see the little moment he had with [Roman] Reigns right there [at Survivor Series], that already feels like it was two years ago. We gotta get going with Keith Lee here. I think he needs to chuck Brock over the top rope and he needs to win that whole thing.”

When it came to his prediction for the Women’s Royal Rumble matchup, Punk went with “The Boss” Sasha Banks.

CM Punk’s fellow Backstage analysts also provided their predictions. Paige chose Otis and Kairi Sane; Christian picked current WWE Champion Brock Lesnar and Shayna Baszler. Renee Young sided with Drew McIntyre but didn’t provide a pick for the Women’s Royal Rumble.

WWE’s Royal Rumble event takes place this Sunday at the Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.

If you use any quotes from this article, please provide a H/T to SEScoops.

All Elite Wrestling’s Darby Allin was a recent guest on Chris Jericho’s podcast, Talk is Jericho. During their conversation, Allin opened up about how he signed with AEW, as well as why he decided to choose AEW over WWE.

Allin was quick to credit one person in particular for his signing: Cody Rhodes. Turns out that Rhodes was in attendance for a match between Allin and another AEW star, Pentagon Jr. That match impressed Rhodes and helped to get the ball rolling until, eventually, Allin debuted for the company. 

“Yeah, Cody was the man who kind of made it happen. Yeah, I think he saw this match I had at Northeast against Penta,” Allin explained. “And, like, it that rate, before that, I think he thought I was just this stunt dummy guy. Do you know what I mean? Like, just do all these crazy stunts. But then, I think he saw that match and he’s like, ‘yo, this guy can actually, like, work.’ Do you know what I mean? And then, the ball started rolling, so it was very nice that I got to wrestle him in my first debut in this company. So yeah, it was good.”

Jericho, who has previously compared Darby Allin to Jeff Hardy, noted how Cody’s experience on the indies helped in scouting potential talent for AEW. Alongside Allin, he pointed at names such as Sammy Guevara, Joey Janela and Maxwell Jacob Friedman as top indie talent that could be assets to the promotion. 

Darby Allin’s Decision

Reflecting on his decision to side with AEW, Allin recalled being offered an opportunity with WWE—one he ultimately turned down.

“Yeah, they had Canyon [Ceman], they wanted to do something where, like, I go to the Performance Center,” Allin recalled. “Not for a tryout, but I get signed and I go to the Performance Center for like a year. And then, debut a year from [then] or some crazy s—t.”

He continued, “I was just like, that’s the beauty of AEW. They’re just going making people instead of like… if I was there, God, it’s crazy to think about. A lot of my friends that got the opportunity, AEW or WWE, they chose WWE because it’s like I don’t know, ‘I just want to say I was in WWE’. I’m like, ‘come on, guys.’ Like, you can’t. That goes back to being the fanboy. Do you want to be the 100th guy who never sees the light of day, or do you want to be on the forefront of what we have? And a lot of guys just want to go brag to their friends and family, ‘oh, I’m in WWE.'”

Darby Allin competed on last week’s episode of AEW Dynamite in a losing effort to Pac.

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription. 

WWE superstar and one half of the current Women’s Tag Team Champion The Kabuki Warriors, Asuka seems to have been involved in a shooting incident in Las Vegas which she escaped unharmed.

The current champion posted about it on social media earlier today. She mentioned that there was a scream in front of her and Asuka also revealed how she was protected:

According to reports from DailyMail.co.uk, the shooting took place at the Fashion Show Mall on the Las Vegas Strip on Tuesday when a teenage gunman opened fire.

A group of young people got into some kind of argument which resulted in one of them pulling out a gun. He then started firing at the crowd, injuring 2 people.

Thankfully, no fatalities have been recorded. There are only reports of injuries and Asuka seems to have escaped the situation unharmed.

The Raw Superstar is currently involved in a rivalry with ‘The Man’ Becky Lynch. The Japanese star had beaten the current Raw Women’s Champion in a match last year at Royal Rumble before Lynch went on to main event WrestleMania 35.

After this, Becky Lynch challenged Asuka for a match at this year’s edition of the PPV and the two are now scheduled to square off against each other in a singles match for the Raw Women’s title at Royal Rumble this Sunday.

While the taped episode of AEW Dynamite from this year’s Jericho Cruise is yet to air, it appears that the company is already planning ahead and they are preparing to amp things up next year by broadcasting a live show from the ship.

According to reports from Heel By Nature, Cody Rhodes took on a mic after this week’s Dynamite tapings. He announced that AEW will have more involvement in next year’s Cruise and the February 2, 2021 episode of Dynamite will air live from the vessel.

Next year’s version of the Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘N’ Wrestling Rager at Sea has already been announced and the AEW World Champion recently confirmed that the 2021 edition of his cruise will set sail on February 1st next year.

Though it won’t be an easy task to broadcast a full episode of Dynamite from the ship live and the company will need a lot more preparations for the same.

This year, the company pre-taped matches for the episode airing tonight. They have recorded the show on two separate master tapes and plans call for them to fly both tapes on separate charter flights to Atlanta to ensure the broadcast.

Airing the full episode live from the cruise itself will not only mean that the company will have to bring even more equipment and crew on board but they will also have to prepare for things like weather.

So it will be interesting to know what preparations the officials do for ensuring an uninterrupted broadcast of the show.

After ‘The Villain Enterprises’ leader Marty Scurll, Ring Of Honor has announced that another ROH star has decided to re-sign with the promotion in Josh Woods.

The company announced the news from their official Twitter account and in the tweet, as seen below, they claimed that Woods has ‘all the makings’ of a future world champion:

“Josh Woods has officially signed a new contract with ROH! Woods has more than held his own against the best wrestlers on the planet in ROH and has all the makings of a future champion. We are very proud to have Josh Woods on our roster!”

Josh Woods made his ROH debut while competing in a dark 6 men tag team match in October 2016 and he then entered the Top Prospect Tournament in 2017.

Woods went on to defeat John Skyler in the finals of the tournament to win the whole thing and he has been a regular for the company ever since.

It’s worth mentioning here that Josh Woods was once signed by WWE and he had a stint in NXT which lasted for almost 2 years before he was released.

He signed with the company in late 2014 and was released from the promotion in July 2 years later, without making any significant impact.

John Cena shared some insight into his ring attire when he was a recent guest on an episode of The Late Late Show With James Corden to promote his latest film, Dolittle. 

During an appearance on the show, Cena talked about his signature “jorts” [denim shorts] that he wore throughout his in-ring career. It turns out that his “Dr. of Thuganomics” character originally inspired the attire. 

John Cena Shares Insight

The reason for that is due to him wanting to be different from other stars as they wear traditional ring gear while he wore street clothes.

“If you look at my other options, it’s just underwear,” Cena said. “So I wanted to do some sort of street clothes because my persona was a tough, wannabe rapper kid from the mean street of West Newbury. Tough to do that in your underwear, tough to do that. So I also wore sneakers while most guys wear calf-high or knee-high leather boots.”

• John Cena’s “Dolittle” Box Office Results, New WWE Trademarks

In a more funny way, Cena also brought up how he did try to wear cargo style shorts while performing for WWE. However, he found that it was common for the crotch to blow out of the cargo shorts. 

As a result, it would expose him to fans during his matches and he had to change back to the jorts. 

“So I’m pretty much in street clothes, and I chose denim because you don’t blow the crotch out of denim. I tried cargo pants and in front of the world a few times – here I am trying to put my life on the line with a superstar that I’m trying to have a match with and everybody’s just looking at my d–k. So, denim is a safe play. And they’re back in, so I kind of stood the test of time!”

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcript

A new match has been announced for the upcoming WWE Royal Rumble PPV.

On Tuesday, WWE confirmed that WWE United States Champion Andrade vs. Humberto Carrillo has been added to the card.

This comes after Carrillo made his return on Monday’s RAW where he attacked Andrade and later issued a title match challenge. 

WWE presents the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event on Sunday, January 26, 2020 in Houston, Texas at the Minute Maid Park and airs on the WWE Network. 

Updated WWE Royal Rumble Card

WWE Universal Champion Bray Wyatt vs. Daniel Bryan – Strap Match

Men’s Royal Rumble Match: Brock Lesnar in the #1 spot, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Drew McIntyre, Ricochet, Rey Mysterio, AJ Styles, Erick Rowan, King Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, Otis, Tucker, Elias, Aleister Black, Rusev, Bobby Lashley, R-Truth, Braun Strowman, WWE Intercontinental Champion Shinsuke Nakamura, RAW Tag Team Champion Seth Rollins, RAW Tag Team Champion Buddy Murphy, Samoa Joe, Kevin Owens, 7 Participants TBA

Women’s Royal Rumble Match: Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Nikki Cross, Sarah Logan, 26 Participants TBA

WWE Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Asuka

Baron Corbin vs. Roman Reigns – Falls Count Anywhere Match

WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Lacey Evans

Sheamus vs. Chad Gable

WWE United States Champion Andrade vs. Humberto Carrillo

What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.

The viewership numbers are in for Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown on FOX from Wichita, KS at the Intrust Bank Arena.

SmackDown averaged 2.562 million viewers, according to ShowbuzzDaily. This is up from the 2.497 viewers that the show did for last week’s episode of SmackDown on FOX. 

The show averaged 2.580 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was up from the 2.502 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets. 

WWE SmackDown Viewership

The first hour drew 2.616 million viewers while the second hour did 2.544 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.679 million viewers while the second hour did 2.326 million viewers. 

SmackDown pulled in a 0.80 in the 18-49 demos, this is the same from last week’s show. 

This episode was expected to see its viewership stay steady and it did so. 

Matches

Matches that took place on this show included John Morrison (w/The Miz) defeats Big E (w/Kofi Kingston), The Usos (Jey Uso & Jimmy Uso) defeat The Revival (Dash Wilder & Scott Dawson), Lacey Evans defeats Bayley in a non-title match, Alexa Bliss (w/Nikki Cross) defeats Sonya Deville (w/Mandy Rose), and Roman Reigns defeats Robert Roode in a tables match. 

There was also the opening segment that saw the return of Kane where he cut a promo about the Royal Rumble that led to a brawl between Bray Wyatt and Daniel Bryan. 

 In case you missed the show, you can check out the 5 takeaways from it here.

WWE is expecting to see an increase in viewership for the following episode this coming Friday night as the show will be back to the go-home show of Smackdown for the Royal Rumble pay-per-view event this weekend.

The next episode will also feature the fallout from last week’s show that was newsworthy for various reasons such as Kane’s return. 

Watch: Top 10 Moments from Friday Night SmackDown (1.17.20)

WWE Hall of Famer Edge has discussed speculation over him making a return to in-ring action. 

He did so when he was asked about those return rumors during an interview with Live on 4 Legs.

“It’s kind of funny to be honest. All of these rumors that I’ve been to Pittsburgh and I’ve been cleared to wrestle and I’ve signed a new contract. I have no idea where any of it came from. The last time I was in Pittsburgh I had my wrist fused in 2013. I don’t know.”

This return for the legendary pro wrestler has been speculated for months. It all started when Edge shocked fans by making a surprise appearance on the pre-show for WWE SummerSlam event and hitting a spear to Elias.

Tommy Dreamer – “I don’t think Edge is returning” To WWE

It was reported that the former World Champion was then spotted in Pittsburgh where WWE’s medical director, Dr. Joseph Maroon is headquartered. This made fans think he was there to be medically cleared. 

In fact, there have been rumors of him possibly returning for the Royal Rumble or WrestleMania 36. According to Edge, this can’t be further than the truth as he hasn’t signed a contract with WWE. 

“I would go to Pittsburgh to see Pearl Jam for sure but I haven’t been there and I haven’t signed a contract. I think I would know. I’ll get this tsunami of comments saying, ‘You’re coming back! You signed a contract.’ I really haven’t.”

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcript.

NXT UK Champion WALTER gave some interesting comments to Metro UK in a recent interview where he discussed his match at Survivor Series last year. 

This was a Team Smackdown vs. Team RAW vs. Team NXT match from Survivor Series 2019, which had 15 Superstars. 

According to WALTER, he wasn’t invested in the match and didn’t care about it. In fact, he thought the dynamic of the contest was weird. 

“I wasn’t invested in that. I didn’t care. I care about my guys, my group, I care about the sport, but I don’t care about all those people being angry each other. It was a weird match too – three five-men tag teams, and always three guys in the ring.

That’s when wrestling turns from competition to putting acrobats in a circus to do a show. There’s 15 of you, you’ve got to do something.”

Team RAW featured Seth Rollins, Randy Orton, Ricochet, Kevin Owens, Drew McIntyre while SmackDown had Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman, Shorty G, Ali and King Corbin, and NXT involved Tommaso Ciampa, Damian Priest, Matt Riddle, Keith Lee, WALTER. 

Team SmackDown won the contest. The final three were Reigns, Rollins, and Lee with Reigns edging out Lee in the end to win. 

Walter Believes Brock Lesnar Is The Smartest Pro Wrestler In The World Right Now

A new match has been announced for the WWE Worlds Collide event. 

On Tuesday, WWE confirmed that Mia Yim will battle NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray on the pre-show of this event. This will be a non-title match. 

WWE presents the Worlds Collide event on Saturday, January 25, 2020 in Houston, Texas at the Toyota Center that will air on the WWE Network. WWE will be announcing more matches for this show in the coming days. Here is the updated card:

Updated WWE Worlds Collide Card

The Undisputed Era (Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Reilly & Bobby Fish) vs. Imperium (WALTER, Alexander Wolfe, Marcel Barthel & Fabian Aichner) – Eight-Man Tag Team Match

NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Toni Storm

Ilja Dragunov vs. Finn Balor

NXT Cruiserweight Champion Angel Garza vs. Isaiah “Swerve” Scott vs. Jordan Devlin vs. Travis Banks – Fatal 4-Way Match

DIY (Tomasso Ciampa & Johnny Gargano) vs. Moustache Mountain (Tyler Bate & Trent Seven) – Tag Team Match

Mia Yim vs. NXT UK Women’s Champion Kay Lee Ray – Non-Title Match (Pre-Show)

What are your thoughts on this match being added to the card? Sound off in the comment section.

• Cain Velasquez Discusses If Conor McGregor Would Be Good Fit In WWE

The New Day did a special Q&A during the latest episode of their new Feel The Power podcast and during the show, the trio answered questions about their dream matches.

Xavier Woods was the first to answer the question. Interestingly he said that his dream match would be the New Day going up against the Elite, a match which the Young Bucks had also revealed to be their dream match just recently.

The New Day then talked about their individual dream matches as singles performers and revealing the opponent he wants to go up against, Kofi Kingston said that his dream scenario would be facing Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania:

“Going up against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania. To me, Shawn Michaels is the greatest to ever do it…I’ve never seen him have a bad match and most of the matches that he are in, they are not good, they are great. So to me he’s the greatest of all time so growing up that’s what I would always want.”

Xavier Woods also revealed his own singles dream match and the New Day member said that he would like to go up against former ECW star 2 Cold Scorpio.

Woods dubbed him as the ‘greatest wrestler of all time’ and Big E agreed to his comments by saying that Scorpio does some crazy stuff for being a big man and people don’t give him enough credit. 

NXT Superstar Keith Lee has been making waves in WWE’s black-and-gold brand in recent months. Despite his current success, however, at one point WWE wasn’t interested in bringing Lee into the fold, with WWE rejecting Lee three times. Speaking with Corey Graves on his WWE podcast, After The Bell, Lee opened up about how the rejections affected him.

Keith Lee’s Rejections

“About three years in (being a wrestler), some people know him as Lance Archer, some people know him as Lance Hoyt, was in the WWE and said to somebody that I should be one to look out for,” Lee said. “Then, I got invited to do some work. In my case, I got thrown into a barricade by one Mr. Triple H and also got poked in the eye by Shane McMahon and punched in the face by Vince. That was my introduction to the bosses of today.”

He continued, “At some point, I gained interest in that first meeting and ended up with my first try out. That was in 2008. I was turned down. In 2011, I did some extra work, and I got asked to come back for another tryout. I was also turned down. I wasn’t really sure what I was going to do-wrestling wise going forward. In 2013, when the Performance Center first opened up in the fall, I was part of that first class. Then, I was turned down a third time, so, I wasn’t really sure if I was going to continue wrestling.” 

Conversations With Legends

Lee credited conversations with wrestling legends Dusty Rhodes, William Regal and Jim Ross as helping him to refocus on his ambitions. He believes that, if he hadn’t spoken with Rhodes and Regal, he may have quit pursuing wrestling. Lee explained how, following those conversations, he committed to being himself. He no longer wanted to subscribe to the idea of what a big guy “should be,” instead choosing to embrace what made him different as an athlete.

“After that talk, I decided to just listen to myself and bet on myself. At the end of the day, it was the greatest decision I’ve ever made.”

Keith Lee faces off against Roderick Strong this Wednesday night on NXT. They will compete for Strong’s NXT North American Championship. 

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription. 

All Elite Wrestling (AEW) talent Sonny Kiss recently spoke with Andrew Thompson of Post Wrestling. During their conversation, Kiss shared his ambitions within AEW and named who has been mentoring him backstage.

When asked about who has helped him, Kiss was quick to name two backstage personnel: Dustin Rhodes and Billy Gunn. He shared how they have been instrumental to his career ever since he first met them. He noted how his relationship with Billy has seen him learn from the WWE Hall of Famer for about four years.

Kiss admitted that regardless of whether he is competing on AEW: Dynamite or AEW: Dark, there will always be nerves involved. Despite these nerves, he remains ready to compete on whichever show AEW need him on.

Sonny Kiss On Authenticity

One of the things that attracted Kiss to the promotion was Brandi Rhodes’ promise to allow their talent to be “exactly who they are.” It’s a promise that Kiss confirms has been delivered on:

“I feel like every person that you see is authentic. They’re not altered by anybody or anything. It’s just kind of, like, this is their character, this is who they are in and out of the ring, and I think that’s awesome.”

To Kiss, the sky is the limit in terms of what he wants to achieve in the promotion. He noted how he wants to “continue to break barriers” and be a role model to those watching.

Sonny Kiss previously teamed up with Dustin Rhodes for an episode of AEW: Dark. The two defeated the team of Peter Avalon and Q.T. Marshall. Despite teasing that the two may continue to tag together, they have yet to have another match together.

Intergender wrestling has become a topic of discussion among fans ever since Impact Wrestling decided to put their World Championship on Tessa Blanchard.

While some WWE legends like Booker T seem to be against the idea of intergender wrestling, it appears that at least one WWE star is not opposed to the same.

WWE star Naomi recently talked to So Catch and while talking about the possibility of intergender wrestling in WWE, the female star said that it would be awesome as long as there are limitations and boundaries:

“I think it would be awesome, as long as there is limitations and boundaries so stuff doesn’t get too crazy. At this point, with the women being where they are and proving ourselves and wanting to be considered as equals in the company, you can’t hold back in some areas and not in others. It would really make things equal. I think we can handle ourselves against the men.”

Naomi continued by saying that she understands why it’s not done in WWE but claimed that interacting with the guys was her favorite thing in Mixed Match Challenge.

WWE did tease the idea of an intergender feud last year when they built tension between Nia Jax and Dean Ambrose in early 2019 but the company dropped the storyline quickly.

Do you think the company should try to introduce intergender wrestling into their programming anytime soon? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.

Quotes via Fightful.com

All Elite Wrestling’s Matt and Nick Jackson have talked about this week’s episode of Dynamite airing at sea. The show will take place on Wednesday, live from Chris Jericho’s Rock ’n’ Wrestling Rager cruise.

“It’s not just for wrestling fans, there’s a little bit of everything,” Matt told Jim Vasallone of the Miami Herald. “Just being on the ship itself is exciting. We put together some stellar wrestling cards, too. If you’re just going for the wrestling, you’re gonna have a lot to watch. It’s action-packed. Nick put together most of the card by himself, and I was just looking at the final card last night, and Chris was going over it, and man, it’s loaded.”

Matt then noted how some of the matches that will take place will be hosted exclusively for the passengers.

The Young Bucks’ Tag Team Passion

The brother duo competes within AEW as The Young Bucks. However, as the company’s Executive Vice Presidents, they have a vested interest in developing the promotion’s tag division.

“We wanted to show the world you could do it as the main event, as the opening act, you could do it as a mid-card act, you could throw it in anywhere and entertain the fans,” said Nick.

Matt added how he can’t recall a time in wrestling since the 1980s where tag team wrestling has been so popular or relevant. He stressed how AEW’s tag division is “loaded” and that further developing their division and tag team wrestling remains a passion for them.

H/T to Wrestlezone for the transcription.

SmackDown Superstar Mustafa Ali has shared his approach to social media. Speaking with Jim Stratman of News 14, Ali opened up about wanting to be the “light in the dark” to the WWE Universe. To do so, Ali has attempted to harness his social media for positivity as opposed to embracing its negative aspects.

“What’s really cool about social media is people are learning the man or the woman behind the superstar,” said Ali. “I think my following, my fan base, they realize what the message is behind all this: why I compete, why I fight with all my heart, why I say the things that I say, why I respond to certain internet trolls the way that I do. And my whole philosophy, my message is, ‘Be the light in the dark.’ There’s plenty of dark times around us. There’s plenty of dark moments around us but it’s on us as a society, as people, as human beings, to be that light. And I think that’s what’s having people flock toward me a bit.”

Mustafa Ali Isn’t About Tearing People Down

It’s an approach Ali has been utilizing on-screen as well. He explained how, as opposed to trying to “tearing other people down” to build himself up on WWE programming, he doesn’t want to subscribe to that methodology.

“That’s the way they elevate themselves, by ripping someone down. I’m not about that. So I think it’s kind of a fresh new way… and to me, that’s the way I live my entire life, but at least for the WWE perspective, the audience perspective, it’s something new. It’s something calm.”

Naturally, not everyone shares Mustafa Ali’s thoughts on social media. In the past, former United States Champion AJ Styles has stated how he wished “social media didn’t exist.”

All Elite Wrestling’s Marko Stunt has addressed how his size initially stopped him from pursuing his dreams of becoming a pro wrestler. Speaking with Chris Jericho on Talk is Jericho, Stunt confessed how negativity has a major impact on him:

“[…] growing up, I never really saw myself as a different size because I’ve always been this size,” Stunt said. “I don’t know what it’s like to be any taller. I’ve always had the mentality of like, ‘Oh, if I want to do that, I’m gonna do it,’ you know? I’m really bad about taking negative things the wrong way, like I’ve always taken negative things to heart, so it’s had to get on Twitter and see a bunch of stuff now. But even back when I wanted to do it growing up, I had people telling me I shouldn’t, I’m too small, so I kinda threw that away for a long time.”

Marko Stunt In Person Vs. On Screen

Stunt also explained how it’s a different experience to watch him live versus on TV. He admitted that he’s trying to improve on connecting with fans through their screens and not just with those in the arena. 

“I’m new to this but I’m definitely used to the being in person, connecting with the crowd that’s there, not necessarily connecting with the crowd that’s watching me from behind a screen. So, I understand watching me on TV and being like, ‘Okay, well such and such and such and such,’ because I’m not connecting with them.”

He continued, “But being in a stadium or something, I feel like I connect well with that crowd specifically. I feel like I’m able to read them to an extent and either they like me or they don’t. But usually I’m able to connect with them and I feel like I have a decent charisma about me and it’s not necessarily my wrestling, either.”

During their conversation, Stunt also shared how The Big Show was his favorite wrestler growing up. It was The Big Show that actually got him interested in wrestling. He then divulged how he gravitated towards Superstars like Big Show, Kane and The Undertaker. This was because he “wanted to be tall. I wanted to be big.”

Marko Stunt has previously addressed fan criticism over his size. AEW World Champion Chris Jericho would defend the Jurassic Express member following Stunt’s Dynamite debut.

H/T to Wrestlezone for the transcription.

WWE Superstar Sheamus has given high praise to one of WWE NXT UK’s top talents. Speaking with GiveMeSport, the multiple-time champion pointed to fellow Irishman Jordan Devlin as a name the WWE Universe should familiarize themselves with.

“Jordan [Devlin]’s great, a lovely fella. He’s busting his ass and making a name for himself in the UK. But people all over the world and in the states are going to see his match [vs Tyler Bate at TakeOver].”

Sheamus continued, “He’s trained by Finn Balor [Fergal Devitt]. He’s got a great background, great fundamentals. As long as he takes care of his body he’ll have a long career. He’s still very young. Stay the course, stay injury-free and there’s no reason he can’t be in the states full-time.”

Earlier this month, Devlin competed against Mustache Mountain’s Tyler Bate during NXT UK’s recent TakeOver: Blackpool II event. Despite his best efforts, Devlin would eventually lose to Bate following a highly competitive matchup.

During his extended hiatus away from the ring, it turns out the Superstar had actually contemplated retiring from in-ring action. He admitted how the idea of it is “something that’s always in the back of your mind.” Despite these thoughts, however, Sheamus recently returned to WWE programming, sporting an old-school look.