AEW will be moving the tapings for Dynamite and Dark out of Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, filming for the shows will be moved to an undisclosed location. The location is believed to be somewhere in the southeast.
The location of the tapings will be kept private as the company does not want fans to show up and wait outside. It is also believed that they will be doing a lot of taping today and tomorrow. It is believed content will be filmed for this week’s Dynamite as well as for future shows.
The parking lot near Daily’s place is being set up as a coronavirus testing center.
AEW Announces TNT Championship
It is possible that AEW will be filming matches today and/or tomorrow for the upcoming TNT championship tournament. Tony Khan was recently quoted in a press release announcing the title.
“It’s been a privilege working with Kevin Reilly and TNT to bring fans the best live wrestling show week after week on AEW: DYNAMITE, especially during these tumultuous times,” said Tony Khan, president and CEO of AEW.
“I’m glad we’re now able to announce the TNT CHAMPIONSHIP. The first ever titleholder will be determined by an unforgettable tournament that fans will not want to miss, and that our wrestlers will be desperate to win. I’m excited for the announcement of the full bracket live on Dynamite this week.”
The tournament is scheduled to begin on April 8th. The finals will take place at Double or Nothing.
Viewership data is in for this week’s episodes of Friday Night SmackDown and Monday Night RAW.
Here is the breakdown of the live and same-night DVR viewership, courtesy of ShowbuzzDaily:
SmackDown Viewership
SmackDown averaged 2.367 million viewers on FOX in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. This is down from the 2.569 viewers that the show did for the previous week’s episode of SmackDown.
The show averaged 2.374 million viewers in the fast nationals, which was down from the 2.563 million viewers a week ago. This number measured the top metered markets.
The first hour drew 2.393 million viewers while the second hour did 2.355 million viewers. For comparison, the first show of last week’s show did 2.637 million viewers while the second hour did 2.488 million viewers.
SmackDown pulled in a 0.70 rating in the 18-49 demos, down from the 0.80 rating as last week’s show.
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW averaged 1.923 million viewers, which is down from 2.006 million last week. This was the lowest viewership for 2020 thus far.
Here is the hourly viewership breakdown:
Hour 1: 2.139 million (2.289 Last Week), 0.63 Demo (0.72 Last Week)
Hour 2: 1.986 million (2.004 Last Week), 0.61 Demo (0.61 Last Week)
Hour 3: 1.646 million (1.726 Last Week), 0.51 Demo (0.51 Last Week)
RAW featured appearances by Brock Lesnar, Edge, The Undertaker, and Becky Lynch. This was the go-home edition of RAW for WrestleMania 36.
A lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE on behalf of the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension Fund has been voluntarily dismissed. There is nothing to say about what led to the plaintiff’s dismissal which was filed on March 10th, 2020, however.
“Plaintiff Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System hereby files this Notice of Voluntary Dismissal, dismissing the above-captioned case with prejudice, each side to bear its own costs and expenses,” the dismissal notice reads.
The OKLAHOMA FIREFIGHTERS PENSION AND RETIREMENT SYSTEM, v. WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT, INC. lawsuit filed in COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE regarding XFL was voluntarily dismissed on 3/10/20. pic.twitter.com/cR4unfAbJ7
It's difficult to know because there wasn't really anything filed leading up to this which indicated why they were dropping the case. Likely there was some behind-the-scenes negotiations. Also, the claimed XFL valuation they were using in the case didn't appear to be sound.
The lawsuit originally sought to obtain documents relating to WWE’s ties to the XFL. The suit also alleged that members of WWE’s board failed to conduct a reasonable investigation to ensure Vince McMahon had not engaged in financial transactions that conflicted with WWE’s interests.
WWE is still dealing with a lawsuit from shareholders regarding the company’s deal with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, however.
“This is a securities fraud class action on behalf of all purchasers of WWE Class A common stock between February 7, 2019 and February 5, 2020,” read documents relating to the case. “These claims are asserted against WWE and certain of its senior executives who made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company during the Class Period.”
Long title reigns in wrestling’s modern era are hard to come by. Becky Lynch’s current reign with the RAW Women’s Championship is almost at 1-year, however. Lynch won both the RAW and Smackdown Women’s Championship in the main event of last year’s WrestleMania on April 7th, 2019. While she has since lost the Smackdown title, Lynch will pass the 1-year mark with the RAW title provided she can defeat Shayna Baszler this weekend at WrestleMania 36.
Lynch spoke to the Sporting News about going from WrestleMania to WrestleMania as RAW Women’s Champion.
“Yeah. I’ve had a little time to think about it. It’s pretty crazy and it brings its own challenges. And because of that, because I’ve had it for a year, I’ve been nonstop going for a year, over a year,” Lynch said during the interview. “So, it really was a case of constantly going and constantly being on the go and now and I’ve finally gotten the chance to reflect on the past year and reflect on what I want for the future, the next year, which is pretty cool.”
Lynch was then asked what she has done over the last year to get her character fresh.
“Always adapting. Always adapt and always trying to change and take chances. Take risks and sometimes they don’t work, sometimes you might fall flat on your face but you got to keep trying and I think that’s the most important thing. Be willing to go out there and be willing to change and be willing to try things even if they don’t work.”
Becky Lynch On WrestleMania 36 With No Fans
Becky was also asked about the unique challenges present for this year’s WrestleMania. WrestleMania 36 was filmed at the WWE Performance Center without fans in attendance. As Paul Heyman described it on RAW this week, WrestleMania 36 will be the most unique of its kind. Lynch was asked about her mentality heading into the event.
“The people that are watching at home, the millions of people that are watching at home, you have to tell them a story. You have to give them a reason to care. You have to give them a reason to think about something else for a little bit whether it’s an hour or three hours or whatever it is. Then you just figure out how can I do this the best and that’s all this ever is for me: how can I do this the best.”
The interview with Lynch covers a range of topics including her thoughts on Shayna Baszler and her in-home workouts. The full interview with Newsweek can be read here.
Rhea Ripley is a big metal fan and a fan of the band Motionless in White (MIW). The lead singer of the band is Chris “Motionless” Cerulli and some fans may have noticed similarities between the singer and the current NXT Women’s Champion. Ripley herself commented on how her look has “morphed” into his during a recent interview with Loudwire.
“It’s quite funny because I’ve realized over the last two years, I’ve been morphing myself into Chris Motionless and I never realized it. We’ve got the same haircut, we wear practically the same makeup. I’m like, ‘This is terrifying.’”
The singer noted on Twitter, however, that it is he who is morphing into Rhea Ripley:
Ripley also noted that she is a big fan of the band and listens to them while working out regularly. She also noted she is a fan of the band Falling in Reverse which features Paige’s current partner, Ronnie Radke.
“Guilty pleasure — I loveFalling in Reverse. Ronnie Radke is just amazing. They’re the two bands I keep going back and forth on.”
Ripley also mentioned during the interview that she is not overly fond of the music selection backstage in NXT. She also noted that if Ruby Riott was still on the brand then she’d at least have someone to talk music with.
“Not really, actually. I don’t think I talk to anyone about music,” Ripley said when asked if she has conversations with anyone backstage about music. “If Ruby Riott was still in NXT, I feel like I’d talk to her a lot about it. I’m stuck in the locker room listening to country music, normally. That’s what everyone else plays. [Laughs] Either that or R&B. I’m like, ugh, I’m just gonna sit in the corner and be quiet.”
The full interview from Loudwire can be found here.
Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch have had a lot more time to spend together at home these days. The “Monday Night Messiah” recently spoke with Hollywood Life about their “super chill” lifestyle during the global pandemic.
“We’re taking advantage of the downtime and cook some dinners, watch movies, and hang out,” Rollins said.
“We don’t really get a lot of time to do that,” he continued. “So you know, we are going to get full nights of sleep. We are going to hang out with my animals. Just enjoy quality time as opposed to work time, which is where we spend most of our time doing. Luckily she is not one of those fussy types that need a whole lot to be entertained, so I am okay and I will be alright. I think she is down with drinking beers and hanging out.”
Both Rollins and Lynch have big matches coming up at WrestleMania 36, though they have already been filmed at the WWE Performance Center. Lynch will defend her RAW Women’s Championship against Shayna Baszler while Rollins will take on Kevin Owens in single’s competition. Lynch has a rare opportunity in the modern era to walk into a WrestleMania with a world title belt she won at the previous year’s WrestleMania. Walking out still the champion would be in even more rarified air.
Seth Rollins On Being Grateful To Still Be Working
Rollins also spoke about being able to still perform during the pandemic.
“There is a lot of gratitude that goes into the last few weeks,” says Seth. “A lot of times our job runs us ragged, and we complain, as all of us do, about our workplaces. ‘[We] are frustrated or are overworked and underappreciated’ and stuff like that. I think with this situation, it certainly makes you take a look at the brighter side of things.”
Rollins continued to talk about how 3 million Americans filed for unemployment but he’s lucky enough to still be working at a job he loves.
“Not only that, but it’s a job that I love, and I still get to take part in that job during this time, even if it is in an abbreviated fashion. There is something very humbling and a lot of gratitude that goes along with all of that so, hopefully, when we come out of this crisis, it will be something we can take with us moving forward in our day-to-day lives.”
Rollins continued to talk about what he’s looking forward to doing most with his downtime. The full interview with Hollywood Life can be read here.
– AEW Senior Advisor Jim Ross’ new book was released today. Under the Black Hat: My Life in the WWE and Beyond is already a Best Seller on Amazon.com.
– Chris Jericho held a #SaturdayNightSpecial live video stream on his Facebook page this past Saturday night. Le Champion says nearly 150,000 people watched the live broadcast, with over 360,000 total viewers and counting. It was such a hit that he’s doing it again this Saturday night.
– The following matches are scheduled for tonight’s episode of AEW Dark:
Jon Moxley vs. Faboo Andre
Darby Allin vs. Preston Vance
Sammy Guevara vs. Matt Sells
Shawn Spears vs. Matt Sells
These matches were taped from Jacksonville, FL at Daily’s Place Amphitheater. This week’s Dark features several wrestlers local to the Florida area. This is part of AEW’s initiative to support independent wrestling amid the Coronavirus epidemic.
Also on Dark, AEW will announce one half of the brackets for the upcoming tournament for the new AEW TNT Championship.
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently commented on the two day WrestleMania 36 event this weekend. This is of course the most unique WrestleMania in recent history, possibly ever. WWE are having to pre-tape the event due to the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. And the atmosphere, according to Bully Ray, is somewhat akin to the post 9/11 SmackDown show back in 2001.
Bully Ray on Keeping Fans Happy
“The number one thing I would want to do is not disappoint the fans” Bully Ray began, discussing how he would’ve approached the situation. “Now, one of the things they could have done; and I’m not saying that this is a good idea, as a former owner of businesses. When you leave it up to the decision of the customer. You never know what you’re going to…what kind of feedback you’re gonna get. And it could affect your business. It might not have been a horrible idea to put out one of those polls that the WWE sends out and says: ‘due to the current situation, would you like the show to go on this year?'”
“It probably wouldn’t have been a bad idea to get feedback from the WWE Universe as to what they wanted”
Bully Ray
9/11
Bully Ray would elaborate further, talking about how he feels the company is genuinely doing the shows ‘for the fans.’ “It probably wouldn’t have been a bad idea to get feedback from the WWE Universe as to what they wanted. See when the WWE says that they’re doing it for their fans? These are the cases where I truly believe it. Because I go back to what happened on 911, and how the WWE wanted to make sure that; despite the nation going through a really, really tough time? Vince was adamant about the WWE standing tall and helping people to heal through the form of entertainment.”
“‘Here, watch Smackdown for two hours tonight. And you’ll forget about all of the horrible things that we’re dealing with out there.’ And wrestling fans were extremely happy that we went out there and we did that, as you know, as a company, because the number one thing they said was, thank you for helping me forget for two hours.”
Not Putting a Positive Spin on It
Bully Ray would finish by describing how WrestleMania this year won’t ‘feel the same.’ Of course with the absence of fans in attendance. “Now with WrestleMania I believe they’re doing the same thing, I think Vince wants to help the nation to heal through his brand of entertainment. The hard part is, it’s not going to feel the same. Yeah, we might be kind of getting used to this thing with no audience I think thats just a bunch of happy horsesh*t that you say on the show. To me, we’re just getting through it, I’m not used to it. I’m not used to watching RAW or Smackdown like that. I’m not putting that happy spin on it. I think it absolutely f*cking sucks that there’s nobody.”
“The Show Must Go On” – Bully Ray
Then Bully Ray would finish by saying that he believes WrestleMania should go on; that WWE made the right decision. “And this is why I think having WrestleMania is a good idea, and why I think I would have made the same recommendation and decision. Yes. Let the show go on. Because at the end of the day, even when there’s 20,000 people in this arena, we’re not playing to those 20,000, we’re playing to the millions and millions at home.”
Do you think that WWE were right to go on with WrestleMania 36 this week? Let us know in the comments
WWE Hall of Famer “Stone Cold” Steve Austin appeared on a special episode of Monday Night RAW last month. The episode took place on March 16 and was named 3:16 Day by WWE.
During an interview with ESPN’s Peter Rosenberg, Austin shared how he had originally pitched for a sit-down interview with Byron Saxton or Jerry “The King” Lawler. He wanted a more serious platform to talk about what the day meant to him. WWE, however, had different plans.
Steve Austin & Byron Saxton
Instead of a sit-down discussion, Steve Austin would take part in a comedy segment alongside Saxton. He would end the night by delivering a Stone Cold Stunner to Saxton.
Unfortunately, the episode ultimately took place at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida, in front of zero fans. Austin confessed it was tough to perform in front of no people. This decision was made to help combat the further spread of the coronavirus outbreak.
WWE has been forced to make multiple changes to its production schedule and live event plans due to the coronavirus pandemic. Several shows have been pre-recorded from the WWE Performance Center, including this weekend’s WrestleMania 36. All of them, like with Steve Austin’s 3:16 Day, have been done in front of zero fans.
New Day member Big E has revealed who some of his favorite ‘Big Men’ from pro wrestling’s history are. He shared the information during a recent episode of his podcast, Feel The Power, with his co-hosts Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods.
Former WCW Champion, and current WWE Universal Champion, Goldberg was one of the first names Big E mentioned. He then admitted how he grew up a big fan of Ron Simmons.
“I like Ron Simmons because he was also big and thick. I was a Florida State fan as a kid [and] he had his number retired at Florida State which is rare. So Ron Simmons was the man.”
Big E’s List
Alongside Goldberg and Simmons, Big E pointed to “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner. “I love Scott Steiner. He’s all the muscles and he’s very athletic. I hope he’s doing well, yeah. Scott Steiner, who else did I like? It’s time, it’s Vader Time!”
Big E talked about he, as an athlete, likes to remain limber. He then recalled a time when Vader came to guest coach at FCW and how he was surprised at Vader’s flexibility.
“So Vader came down as a guest coach in FC W, many moons ago. And this man was so limber I couldn’t believe it. I lost my mind when I saw him pop like a full split, he would just sit in the ring and we would he would talk,” Big E recalled.
“We were just talking about the business, he was just comfortably sitting in a split talking to us, just this massive man in a split! Comfortably!? This point he’s probably in his 50s or so, yeah, it’s incredible.”
Big E and Kofi Kingston were set to defend their WWE SmackDown Tag Team Championships this weekend at WrestleMania 36. However, with The Miz being pulled from the matchup, this will reportedly no longer take place.
Posted March 31st, 2020 in News, WWE. Tagged: Big E.
Ken Shamrock recently joined Chris Van Vliet on The Chris Van Vliet Show. During their conversation, Shamrock spoke about his decision to return to pro wrestling. He also discussed whether he feels he gets enough credit for being the first crossover star between MMA and wrestling.
“[…] when I stepped away, because I was only out a year when I stepped away from MMA, because I went out of pro wrestling into MMA, so I had stepped away and it had been about a year, and I just felt like, man, I can’t live like this,” Shamrock confessed. “I need excitement, I need something to challenge me and so I said, I’m gonna start training again, I’m gonna start getting back into the gym, to see if I could get myself in a position to where I could actually wrestle and feel good about wrestling.”
He continued, “And so I think it was about a year, maybe a little less than a year, I felt pretty good. I got in, I started doing some practicing, I was like, wow, I feel pretty good.”
Shamrock detailed how he intended to wrestle one time for Battle Championship Wrestling. After the matchup, however, he was surprised at how good he felt in the ring.
“[…] it was one of those things where I really didn’t know but when I first hit the ring, then I knew, and that’s when I made the challenge on Twitter and FaceBook, that I was coming back because I felt really good about where I was at and how my body felt after taking a year off. ”
Ken Shamrock On WWE Ignoring Him
Regarding getting credit for his transition from MMA to the world of pro wrestling, Shamrock admitted: “it is what it is.” He noted how it seems that WWE has purposefully forgotten him and don’t give him due credit. Shamrock highlighted a magazine article they had listing the top submission holds. He remembered how the Ankle Lock was on the list. However, instead of Shamrock being featured, it was Kurt Angle.
“I’m not trying to dis him or anything like that, but he’s never done one for real, like, so, sometimes when I see him put it on, it’s not even done right. But yet they use him as the picture for the finishing hold. And I’m the one that created it and did it for real. So those are the kind of things, and it’s not like they’ve corrected it, or done it and changed it, trying to make sure people understand where it came from. No, they keep trying to bury it, like they want Kurt to be the one who created it.”
He argued how, no matter how much WWE attempts to ignore him, “history always rises to the top,” and people will always know where something comes from.
Thoughts On Modern Pro Wrestling, AEW
Turning his attention to the modern pro wrestling landscape, Ken Shamrock talked about All Elite Wrestling. He believes the promotion is very talented and that they offer a different type of wrestling for fans.
“I mean you’re almost going back to the Japanese style but they’re putting a little more selling into it. But the moves, they’re these constant chain moves where everything is chain wrestling together.”
He juxtaposed AEW’s style with WWE, arguing how the latter doesn’t have enough chain wrestling. He noted what WWE does have in their favor, however, are storylines.
“It’s almost like, if you could put the two together, then you would have that Attitude Era. You would have the attitude, you would have the chain wrestling, you would have the storylines, you’d have the selling, you’d have the tough guys. I think the mixture of those two is what we’re trying to get.”
All Elite Wrestling’s Jim Ross recently joined Forbes for an interview. During their discussion, Ross shared what he feels makes AEW so special, leading to a deeper connection with their fanbase. He detailed how their defining feature lies in their storytelling. Ross argued that, although people are attracted to the “sizzle,” it ultimately all comes down to the steak that is good storytelling.
“Storytelling is the steak,” Ross explained. “‘The whistles and bells – the pyro, the graphics, the technical things – that’s the sizzle. It’s all about the steak.”
He continued, adding how vital character investment is to this process. “What is the reality of these individuals? Who are they? I think that’s kind of what we’re looking at here in this deal – we want to deliver more steak than the others in the same field or genre. And I think that’s what we’re doing.”
Jim Ross On AEW Listening To Their Fans
Jim Ross noted how AEW actively listens to their fanbase. Having identified who their core demographic is, the promotion can cater their stories and product to satisfy their loyal fans.
“You have to listen to your consumer base. You have to have product knowledge. And part of having product knowledge is knowing how to recognize and find your target audience. Simple marketing: Marketing 101,” Jim Ross explained.
“Identifying your audience is imperative for any marketer. Who is my audience? Who am I going to sell to? Who is going to buy my product? Where are they? How do I communicate with them? And that’s kind of where we are: we have a blast and we listen to the audience.”
AEW is still delivering episodes of Dynamite amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The promotion recently announced they will debut a new singles title belt. They will be hosting an eight-man tournament to crown their inaugural TNT Champion.
The Texas Rattlesnake opened up about his feud with Johnson during a recent interview with ESPN’s Peter Rosenberg. The two WWE Legends had a trilogy of matches on “The Show of Shows” at WrestleMania XV, WrestleMania X-Seven and WrestleMania XIX.
“Well, [WrestleMania] 15 was a good match, and of course me and The Rock had instant chemistry. We both loved working with each other and got along like gangbusters, you know, in the ring, out of the ring, you know, everywhere,” Austin explained.
“So 15 was really cool and for Jim Ross to call that match, but, you know, I was mad at 15 because I was going through a h— of a divorce, forgot my d— ring vest and so I had to walk to the ring in a T-shirt. And you never want to walk to the ring in a t-shirt when it’s WrestleMania, and you wanna look like a million bucks in full gimmick. You know, you’re not trying to sell a t-shirt, you’re trying to put on a show.”
Steve Austin On WrestleMania X-Seven
Austin explained how WrestleMania X-Seven was a great experience for him. He noted how the Houston Astrodome had a special meaning for him as he had seen several sporting events there as a kid.
He continued, “[…] so to go there and do that great buildup with The Rock and, you know, Jim Ross, we did that sit-down conversation in the locker room, that pre-match package, that build package they put together has never been duplicated with that Limp Bizkit song, it was just off the charts to set an attendance record at WrestleMania and take the crowd on that ride. […] And to be the main and to be able to go out there and have that kind of match between two of the hottest guys that were on planet Earth in the wrestling business was really, really cool.”
“The Show Must Go On”
Steve Austin then addressed WWE’s decision to continue with WrestleMania 36 this year despite coronavirus concerns. He admitted he didn’t know what to think about the situation but noted how “that’s Vince’s mentality.” He then referenced the tragic passing of Owen Hart and how the attitude was that the “show must go on.”
“[The] show must go on. You know, way back in Kansas City, Owen fell to his death, the show went on, so, you know, that’s his mentality. And God rest his soul but you know, it’s tough.”
WWE RAW Superstar Drew McIntyre believes that WWE has done the right thing by splitting WrestleMania 36 across two nights. McIntyre shared his thoughts on the subject during an interview with Ryan Satin of Pro Wrestling Sheet.
“Yeah. I think WrestleMania would be good over two days. Especially if we’re gonna do it the way we’ve done it for the past few years, because it’s too long (for one),” McIntyre explained. “But also, it’s once a year and the fans look forward to it, and generally they travel from all over the world.”
He continued, “To spread that over two days to give them something really big to look forward to, so you have that one night and you’re talking about it the next day, and you’re all excited like “Oh I want to do it again.” Then you will be able to do it again the next day and it’ll give you an even bigger memory when you’re going home.”
Drew McIntyre Defends Delivering WrestleMania
Drew McIntyre argued that this year is an ideal time to test out a two-day event. He noted how spreading it across a weekend gives people something to look forward to, especially in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think this is the ideal year to start it and test it out. Spreading it out over two days gives people something to look forward to in these times, but going forward I really think it would be a good model so it’s not overkill.”
Drew McIntyre competes against Brock Lesnar for the WWE Championship this weekend at WrestleMania 36. The event was initially intended to take place on April 5 from Raymond Jams Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The coronavirus outbreak forced WWE to relocate, eventually pre-recording the event. “The Show of Shows” now takes place on April 4 and April 5.
WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch has revealed her dissatisfaction regarding her previous clash with Shayna Baszler. Lynch opened up about their last meeting during an interview with Sports Illustrated.
The last time the two shared a ring, they were competing in an inter-promotional Triple Threat matchup at last year’s Survivor Series. That match also included Bayley. Baszler, who was the then-NXT Women’s Champion, would secure the victory for the black-and-gold brand.
According to Lynch, their triple threat did not meet her standards for a main event clash. Four of the seven matches scheduled for that night’s Survivor Series were triple threat matches.
Becky Lynch On Receiving Criticism
When asked if the fact it was a women’s match headlining the show, Becky Lynch was quick to say, “It shouldn’t be about women—people shouldn’t use it as a chance to say, ‘That’s why women shouldn’t be main-eventing. You can’t wipe out an entire gender based on your opinion to a match.”
Lynch added, “No excuses, I’m open to criticism. Give me your opinion, I’ll take it. This is what anyone in the main event, male or female, has to deal with. If you ever have a bad night or a match that people don’t agree with, you’re the one out there that has to change and adjust. It makes you better in the long run.”
Triple H has shared his relief at not having to compete during this year’s WrestleMania. “The Game” joined ESPN SportsCenter for an interview where he spoke about how his current role demands his attention full-time. He explained how he wouldn’t have been able due to his current responsibilities. If he had been expected to wrestle, Triple H noted how it would just be an “added burden.”
“Right now, I’m a full-time office guy. It’s funny, ironically I wasn’t scheduled to be in this year’s WrestleMania anyways. Every year as time goes by, it gets more and more hectic for me. Getting in the ring just becomes an added burden.”
Triple H continued, “Especially this year, with the way things turned out, and what we wanted to accomplish, I was very thankful I wasn’t scheduled to be in the ring this year, because it would have been almost virtually impossible to do everything else that’s happening.”
Triple H’s New Role
“The Game” hasn’t been a full-time competitor for several years now, rarely competing. When he does, however, it tends to be in a marquee matchup. Triple H’s comments come following the revelation that his job role recently changed.
During the interview, Triple H also addressed Roman Reigns’ decision to pull out of WrestleMania 36. He noted how Reigns’ pre-existing condition could potentially make him more susceptible. Reigns has previously twice beaten leukemia.
WrestleMania 36 airs on April 4 and April 5. The event, which has been pre-recorded, was relocated from Raymond James Stadium out of concern of the coronavirus pandemic.
WWE Hall of Famer Mark Henry has shared his thoughts on who should fill in for Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 36. For “The World’s Strongest Man,” the answer is simple: Matt Riddle. Henry addressed the subject during a recent episode of Busted Open Radio.
“It’s easy to work with somebody that people want to see you work,” Henry said. “They [the fans] want this. Man, I love things that go together. I like peanut butter. I like jelly, I like milk, and I like cereal. And I definitely like meat on my sandwiches so I mean you gotta be able to put things together that match, that go together. that everybody wants to see.”
Mark Henry would detail the issues between Riddle and Goldberg. He pointed to Riddle’s perceived lack of respect for the former WCW Champion.
“Matt Riddle and Goldberg had an issue. Some of them based off respect [on Riddle’s side]. ‘You know, you overstepping your bounds, like you haven’t paid enough dues to be comfortable like that.’” Henry said. “And whatever the case may be, but I’m just saying. If you have an issue, and it’s gonna go to blows and it almost went to blows a couple of times. Yep. let em fight, put it together.”
Roman Reigns Out Of WrestleMania 36
Reigns recently confirmed that he had pulled out of his scheduled matchup with Goldberg. The two were due to face off for Goldberg’s WWE Universal Championship. Reigns had reportedly refused to compete out of concern of the coronavirus as he has battled leukemia twice and has a weakened immune system.
In a video statement, Reigns explained, “You don’t know the whole story, all you know is what you think. You don’t know what else is going on in my life. You don’t know if I have newborns, if I have family in my household, older family.”
At the time of writing, it has been speculated that Braun Strowman will be the Superstar to replace Reigns.
WWE RAW aired from the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. It was the final episode of RAW before WrestleMania 36 this weekend.
WWE RAW Results (3/30)
The Undertaker responded to AJ Styles
Shayna Baszler attacked Becky Lynch
Aleister Black def. Jason Cade
Kevin Owens & Street Profits def. Austin Theory, Angel Garza, and Seth Rollins
Asuka def. Kayden Carter
Edge sent a message to Randy Orton
Charlotte attacked Rhea Ripley as she arrived to the PC
Brock Lesnar & Paul Heyman closed the show with a promo
Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
The Undertaker Warned AJ Styles
The Undertaker cut a promo and referred to AJ Styles as “Allen Jones”. Taker stated that Styles’ mouth is writing checks that his ass cannot cash.
He added that he has heard a lot worse from far better Superstars than AJ. Undertaker claimed Styles was content being a big fish in a little pond because he knew he couldn’t hang with the likes of Undertaker, Booker T, Eddie Guerrero, Edge, etc.
Undertaker said that AJ waited until they were all gone but he is still here. He claimed that AJ’s foolish pride is getting the better of him and he crossed the line when he mentioned his wife. Undertaker stated that Michelle McCool does the Faith Breaker (Styles Clash) better than AJ and he is jealous.
Taker dared AJ to try him at WrestleMania because he will make Styles famous. Undertaker added that he wants AJ to bring Gallows and Anderson with him so he can take them all out in the Boneyard Match. Undertaker closed the promo by saying that AJ will RIP as a gravestone with Styles’ name on it appeared behind him.
Opinion: I thought Undertaker delivered an excellent promo tonight and it got me more invested in this match. Up until this point, Styles versus Undertaker has felt underwhelming for what should be a dream match. That is not the case anymore and I’m hoping they deliver in their Boneyard match at WrestleMania.
Lynch cut a promo directly into the camera and pointed out that she defeated two champions at last year’s WrestleMania, Lynch and Ronda Rousey. WWE then rolled the entire Triple Threat match from last year’s WrestleMania.
45-minutes later, Becky was still standing on the entrance ramp and said that a lot of people have tried to take the title from her and failed. Lynch brought up Baszler claiming that taking the title from her would destroy her and said that Shayna was right.
Becky admitted that she doesn’t know who she is without being the champ and claimed that Shayna has demons too. Lynch said that Baszler is come in fighting with emotion to do the thing that Ronda Rousey couldn’t do. She added that if Shayna beats her and will finally step out of Ronda’s shadow. Shayna Baszler attacked Becky from behind and locked in the Kirifuda Clutch before brutally swinging her into the announce table.
Opinion: It was a pretty goofy setup to make it seem like Becky was just standing around on the entrance ramp for 45-minutes waiting to finish her promo. Having said that, the promo was still solid and Shayna’s attack to conclude the segment was awesome.
RAW Tag Team Champions Street Profits team up with Kevin Owens to face Seth Rollins, Andrade, and Angel Garza. Before the match, Zelina Vega said that Andrade suffered a serious injury to his ribs and has been declared medically unable to compete. Vega announced Austin Theory will take his place.
Match Recap: Rollins immediately tagged in Austin Theory and Owens beat him down in the corner. Ford knocked Theory and Garza out of the ring and flipped onto them as RAW went to a commercial break. When RAW returned, Garza hit a Dropkick before tagging Theory back in. Dawkins tagged in and planted Austin with a Suplex.
Angelo followed it up with a massive shoulder tackle but turned around into a Superkick from Rollins. Seth stomped on Angelo a few times while taunting Owens in the corner. Garza tagged in and locked Dawkins in the Camel Clutch. Seth tagged in and got distracted by Owens. Dawkins went for a roll-up but Rollins kicked out and planted him with a Slingblade.
Dawkins blocked a Superkick and absolutely leveled Seth with a punch to the face. Owens went right after Rollins but he cowered to the corner and tagged in Garza. Owens took out his frustrations on Garza and hit him with a Senton. Owens followed it up with a Cannonball and then a Senton off the top rope. Owens went for the cover but Theory broke it up at the last moment.
Montez Ford went for a flip onto Theory but wound up crashing on the entrance ramp. Back in the ring, Owens hit Garza with a Stunner for the pinfall victory. After the match, Rollins hit Owens with the Stomp.
Kevin Owens then cut a promo after the commercial break and said he has been thinking a lot about what Rollins said last week. Owens brought up Rollins claiming that the Performance Center was built on his blood, sweat, and tears. Kevin said he has heard that the PC was built in spite of Rollins and that Seth was a nightmare to deal with. He added that nobody could stand Rollins and that Seth has done an outstanding job of proving everyone right.
Owens called Rollins a dipshit and added that he was delusional and mocked him for referring to himself as a god. Owens admitted that while he doesn’t have the WrestleMania moments like Rollins, he was Universal Champion well before Seth. Kevin said he is man enough to admit that he didn’t all his achievements on his own because he had someone watching his back. He pointed out that Rollins has always had backup as well and that Seth needs to be honest with himself. Owens vowed to show Rollins that he is not a profit, or a god, and will take his first WrestleMania moment from Seth this Saturday night.
Opinion: The spot with Montez leaping over the ropes was tough to watch. It looked like Rollins tried to trip up Montez Ford but he just ran through it. I’m not sure if Theory was ready for the spot because he didn’t break his fall and Ford landed hard on his back on the entrance ramp. Last week, Seth Rollins cut an awesome promo on Owens and Kevin responded with a great promo tonight.
Edge cut a backstage promo on tonight’s RAW in regards to his Last Man Standing match against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 36.
He admitted that Adam Copeland is a junkie for Edge because he loves the reaction from the crowd when he is music hits. Edge said that every superstar is a junkie for this and that those who are not are just in his way.
Edge said that clearly they have different definitions of the word grit and mocked Orton for resting on the laurels of his family name. He claimed that Randy is okay with being okay and having spurts of magic once in a while. Edge got fired up and stated that grit is forging your own HOF career and spending 9-years thinking about getting back to end it on his own terms.
Edge claimed that Orton was jealous of his passion because the only time Randy has it is when he is around. He added that the last time Orton was ever this good was 9-years ago and that scares Randy. Edge told Orton that he made a horrible mistake when he attacked Beth and uttered the names of his little girls. He closed the promo by saying that Randy has dug himself another hole but this time he isn’t going to dig him out. Instead, he is going to push him so far in that he will never get out.
Opinion: The build to this match has been excellent and Edge’s promo tonight was fantastic. He actually has good point too with Orton being the best when he is around. Orton’s feuds with Jinder Mahal and Kofi Kingston, etc have all been lackluster. This feud has the best story out of every match on WrestleMania’s card and is by far the match I’m most looking forward to.
"You dug yourself another hole, didn't you @RandyOrton? This time, I'm not gonna pull you back out. I am gonna push you so far in, you will NEVER get back out!" – @EdgeRatedR
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman stood in the ring in the final minutes of this week’s show. Heyman said that he loves being in a business where they take larger than life personalities and market them to a global audience.
Heyman pointed out that this is the final segment of the final RAW before WrestleMania. Paul stated that we are all living through the most unique time in our lives and they call this the go-home segment for the go-home RAW before WrestleMania.
Heyman added that more often than not Brock Lesnar is champion and is featured in this segment because year after year, Lesnar is the one to beat on the biggest show of the year.
Paul complimented Drew McIntyre for stepping up and added that he is special compared to the locker room in WWE. Heyman said that The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Randy Couture, Shane Carwin, The Undertaker, and John Cena were also special but Brock Lesnar wound up making them his bitch.
Heyman noted that the Claymore Kick is special but the People’s Elbow, the AA, the Tombstone couldn’t put Lesnar down. Paul said that we will find out if the Claymore Kick can take Lesnar down at WrestleMania. Heyman guaranteed that Brock Lesnar will be standing here on the go-home RAW with the title. He closed that show with saying Brock Lesnar is going to beat McIntyre “fugly” at WrestleMania and Drew McIntyre will walk out of the show just like everyone else, nothing more than Brock’s bitch.
Opinion: The best thing to come out of this awful situation for WWE is that their promos have been terrific the past couple of weeks. Heyman’s promo tonight was great and I’m looking forward to the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania as well. Overall, I really enjoyed this show and thought WWE did a solid job of hyping up this year’s WrestleMania.
Just days after it was reported, WWE has confirmed that one title match at WrestleMania 36 has been changed.
On Monday’s episode of RAW, WWE announced that The Street Profits will now defend the RAW Tag Team Titles against Angel Garza and Austin Theory at this show.
This is a change from Andrade being in the match as he was replaced by Theory. Last week, it was reported that Andrade had suffered a rib injury, which WWE confirmed to be true.
Kevin Owens and The Street Profits beat Seth Rollins, Garza and Theory in a six-man tag team match on Monday’s show, which marked Theory’s main roster debut.
WWE presents the WrestleMania 36 pay-per-view event as a two-night event on Saturday, April 4 and Sunday, April 5 in Orlando, Florida at the WWE Performance Center. Both nights start at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT will air on the WWE Network.
Updated WWE WrestleMania 36 Card
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Drew McIntyre
WWE NXT Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley vs. Charlotte Flair
AJ Styles vs. The Undertaker – Boneyard Match
Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins – Singles Match
WWE Universal Champion Goldberg vs. TBA
John Cena vs. Bray Wyatt – Singles Match
Edge vs. Randy Orton – Last Man Standing Match
WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Shayna Baszler
WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Bayley vs. Lacey Evans vs. Tamina vs. Naomi vs. Sasha Banks – Five Pack Challenge
Baron Corbin vs. Elias
Bobby Lashley vs. Aleister Black
WWE RAW Tag Team Champions The Street Profits vs. Angel Garza & Austin Theory
WWE Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn vs. Daniel Bryan
Eric Bischoff has opened up on his departure from WWE after serving as the SmackDown Executive Director for a few months in 2019.
Bischoff has been replaced by Bruce Prichard as the Executive Director of SmackDown. Bischoff did so a bonus episode of “83 Weeks” available on Patreon only.
Bischoff told a story about how the idea of him coming back to the company started after having breakfast with Bruce Prichard, whose idea it was. This led to him being set up with a casual meeting with Vince McMahon at WWE HQ.
At this point, he wasn’t convinced that coming back full-time was something that he wanted to do nor need it for financial gain. After the meeting, several weeks later, he got a second meeting where he was offered the job.
“I didn’t think about it enough, I had to do some internal inventory and make sure that I was mentally and emotionally prepared to make a change as drastic as picking up, moving all my sh*t from Wyoming … not all of it.
He later stated, “I suspected that there was a good chance that it would be a short-term relationship. I didn’t think it was gonna be quite as short-term as it WAS, but in my own mind I put kind of a two-year ticker on it.”
Bischoff continued that news of him getting the job with WWE was made official within 24 hours of him agreeing to the job.
He talked about how his role was to work with every department related to SmackDown. He made it clear that McMahon told him at the start that Bischoff wasn’t to be involved with creative but to just oversee the process.
Bischoff credits the relationship not working because he wasn’t prepared for the radical change in scenery nor fully understanding his ability to adapt to the situation upon starting his job at WWE.
Bischoff stated that he felt like he was drowning due to a number of things like SmackDown moving to FOX and the uncertainty of the brand split. He also praised Paul Heyman for being able to handle and overcome challenges of the workload in WWE including being on someone else’s schedule.
“I knew about six weeks in, eight weeks in, it just wasn’t going to work out. I knew I wasn’t fitting and it wasn’t a secret. It just wasn’t right,” he went on to add. “Vince wanted it to work. I believe that. I absolutely believe that. There was no reason for him to set me up this way. The opportunity that he gave me was amazing.”
Bischoff thinks that both he and McMahon knew it wasn’t working out. He also stated that he was disappointed because he didn’t live up to Vince’s expectations.
Finally, regarding his dismissal, he recalled being told on a Tuesday by someone not named McMahon in the office that the two sides were going to part ways.
“I had to fit in the system and I wasn’t able to do it in the timeline it needed to be done.”
All Elite Wrestling will soon introduce a new championship title: the AEW TNT Championship.
On Monday evening, All Elite Wrestling announced via a press release and on the latest episode of the “Road To” YouTube series that an eight-man tournament will kick off on the Wednesday, April 8th episode of Dynamite to crown its inaugural TNT Champion.
It was noted that the single-elimination tournament will feature the biggest names in AEW all vying for the inaugural TNT championship belt.
Competitors in the first half of the tournament bracket will be revealed this Tuesday, March 31, on AEW’s YouTube show, AEW Dark.
The second half of the bracket will be announced this Wednesday, April 1, during the live AEW Dynamite show on TNT.
The finals of the tournament will take place at the Double or Nothing pay-per-view event on Saturday, May 23, in Las Vegas.
“It’s been a privilege working with Kevin Reilly and TNT to bring fans the best live wrestling show week after week on AEW: DYNAMITE, especially during these tumultuous times,” said Tony Khan, president and CEO of AEW.
“I’m glad we’re now able to announce the TNT CHAMPIONSHIP. The first ever titleholder will be determined by an unforgettable tournament that fans will not want to miss, and that our wrestlers will be desperate to win. I’m excited for the announcement of the full bracket live on Dynamite this week. And, it’s only fitting that the champion and the title belt will carry the logo of the globally-respected TNT brand, and that they’ll represent not only AEW but also the great quality programming, massive reach, and storied history in the wrestling business that are all associated with TNT.”
The AEW TNT Championship is the latest show of solidarity between All Elite Wrestling and its cable television partner. Just three months after the premiere of AEW Dynamite, AEW and TNT entered into a new longterm partnership that will keep the show on the network through 2023.
There has been a lot of criticism over WWE deciding to go forward with WrestleMania 36 despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
WWE will be holding WrestleMania 36 in front of an empty crowd inside the Performance Center from Orlando, Florida. Many talents have been pulled from the card due to health concerns. Roman Reigns, who has battled leukemia twice now, was removed from his scheduled Universal Title match with Goldberg. Braun Strowman now takes his place.
Also, WrestleMania is being stretched out over two days. The first will be Saturday, April 4, and will conclude on Sunday, April 5. Like many other major sports leagues, WWE is being called on to postpone their biggest event of the year until things subside. However, Vince McMahon has opted for the show to go on. Now, speaking on the Wrestling Observer Radio program, WWE Hall Of Famer and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) commentator Jim Ross has offered his thoughts on the situation.
If it were up to Ross, he’d pull the plug on WrestleMania and save the event for a later date.
“I would’ve waited until I could’ve got it to an arena, or a stadium, and I would’ve made a big celebration out of it that we’re back, America’s back, the virus is gone, celebratory WrestleMania probably,” Ross said. “But here’s the problem with that, that’s already been, I’m sure, budgeted in for a certain amount of money, and because of the uncertainty of the virus we don’t know when that date would be to run the stadium show as the make good, the celebratory WrestleMania as I call it, and so I can understand it budgetarily, they’re a publicly traded company, they have to make money for their stockholders, their stock needs to rebound, blah blah blah.
“So I don’t know if my suggestion is a great one whatsoever, but I can tell you it would be so easy to replicate amazing enthusiasm, anticipation and excitement in a make good, celebratory WrestleMania, vis-a-vis it’s a television vehicle like we’ve done on AEW the last few weeks, like WWE has done, in a closed set. The empty arena thing. The empty arena thing is okay to keep programming on, but it’s not much fun to work at because you get used to that adrenaline that the fans provide. There’s nothing like that.”
WWE has released a new commercial to promote Monday Night RAW on the USA Network that features Samoa Joe.
The “RAW: Must Be Monday” commercial also features Ricochet, RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch, WWE United States Champion Andrade, Charlotte Flair, Drew McIntyre, Bobby Lashley.
It turns out that this is the same commercial where Joe suffered a concussion while filming it. WWE Backstage analyst Ryan Satin noted the news on Twitter.
The commercial was filmed back in early February. At the time, it was reported Joe suffered the concussion while taking a bad table bump during a commercial shoot. You can check it out here:
Joe was given his first 30-day suspension for his first violation of the WWE Wellness Policy a month ago but is now eligible to return to the ring. The suspension expired last week.
Despite the fact that the suspension is up, there’s been no word yet as to whether Joe has been medically cleared to compete. This was a significant concussion for the pro wrestling veteran as it marked his second concussion in less than 1 month.
He also suffered a broken thumb back in September and he didn’t return to in-ring action until late December. WWE even had him be part of the commentary team during this time in order to keep him on television.
The other concussion took place back on the January 27th episode of RAW while doing a dive. However, he was back in action just one week later until he suffered the second concussion at the commercial shoot.
WWE Hall of Famer Edge did a recent interview with ESPN to promote WrestleMania 36 where he spoke about a wide range of topics.
During the interview, he discussed making his return to in-ring action. It turns out that the moment that it dawned on him that he could make a return was when he filmed an episode of Sheamus’ workout series on YouTube.
He was on a mountain bike and was going down a hill in order to hit a jump. He wiped out at high speeds and had cuts but rolled up on his feet. He went to see a family doctor and spine specialist to make sure that his neck was fine considering that spinal stenosis is what led to his pro wrestling retirement in 2011.
Despite the incident, he felt fine. After getting word from the doctors that his neck wasn’t further injured, it started to make him think that he could wrestle again.
After making an appointment in Birmingham, Alabama with Dr. James Andrews’ team and Dr. Andrew Cordover, “that’s when we started to realize this could actually happen.”
He got the green light from WWE’s medical team in order to be medically cleared. That’s when he contacted WWE and started training with his wife, WWE Hall of Famer Beth Phoenix, and The Revival’s Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder.
“I talked to [Triple H], and I said, ‘I can’t go to a ring anywhere because people will start seeing me. I can’t go to the PC.’ So they sent me a ring,” Edge said. “I got a warehouse space, and I set up a ring and basically had my own personal ‘Field of Dreams,’ and I just got in there and got to work.
Thankfully, I’m married to another Hall of Famer who can pick up and body slam me, which you can’t say for a lot of wives. The Revival, they both live in Asheville, so they’d come, and they’d get in there with me, and they’d put me through my paces.”
Edge noted how he was keeping up with them and wasn’t tired or sore. That’s when he knew that a return to action was going to happen and at a level that he wanted.
He made it known that he didn’t want to come back and be anything less than what he was but knew he had to work differently as he would have different limitations.
Roman Reigns was slated to challenge Goldberg for the Universal Title at WrestleMania 36 this weekend.
However, Ryan Satin reported last week that Reigns had pulled out of the contest due to his concerns about the coronavirus as he has a weakened immune system with his leukemia battle.
Reigns posted a video on Instagram where he confirmed that he has indeed pulled out of WWE WrestleMania 36. After talking about how he noticed how social distancing has made people nicer and kinder, he made his comments about the decision.
Roman Reigns Confirms The News
“You already know what’s going on, it’s all over the news, the dirtsheets, whatever you wanna call them that I pulled out of WrestleMania. It’s funny because, for years, people were like ‘don’t show up to WrestleMania, we don’t want you in it.”
Reigns stated that there was a handful of people that didn’t want him there but the moment that he makes a choice for him and his family, he gets called a coward or a sissy.
“You don’t know the whole story, all you know is what you think. You don’t know what else is going on in my life. You don’t know if I have newborns, if I have family in my household, older family.”
Reigns stated that he’s sorry to his fans for not working the show but did note that he was in Orlando last week for the tapings and made a decision for himself and his family.
WWE has yet to confirm Reigns is out of the match and still promoting it. That will have to change sometime this week.
Reigns’ comments about WrestleMania are around the 2:30 mark in the video you can watch here.
