Mike Kanellis didn’t do much during his time in WWE and one of his final storylines with the promotion was where his wife Maria Kanellis started berating him and started labeling the WWE star as an embarrassment.
During a recent interview with FightFul.com, the now-former WWE star talked about his time in the company and revealed who was the mind behind this storyline.
Mike surprisingly revealed that it was the Raw Executive
Director Paul Heyman who came up with the idea after hearing about Maria’s
pregnancy.
According to the former TNA star, Heyman had called the couple to discuss a match between them and the team of Seth Rollins & Becky Lynch but he changed the plans upon learning the situation and came up with a new idea:
“We had just found out like two days ago we were pregnant we
were just waiting for the right time you tell them. Maria was just like, ‘Paul
I’ve known you a long time, I have to, I’m pregnant.’ He went, ‘alright. Well,
this isn’t going to work then.
Then, in typical Paul Heyman fashion stops dead in his
tracks and he goes, ‘I think I have an idea. Do you mind if I tell the boss?’
Maria went, ‘no we were going to eventually anyways.” recalled Mike
Kanellis. “He goes, ‘alright I’ll call you back.’ He called his back and
pitched the whole angle that we did.”
The former Champion then continued by saying that neither him nor his wife had any problem with the storyline as long as it was going somewhere and there was a payoff.
Mike Kanellis had signed a new multi-year contract with WWE
in July last year but he asked for his release in October because he was
unhappy with his position in the company.
WWE Officials had denied his request at the time but they released both Mike and Maria Kanellis from their contracts alongside numerous other stars earlier this month as part of the company’s adjustments due to the coronavirus pandemic.
WWE has been teasing a new hacker gimmick on SmackDown recently and Mark Henry has a very interesting idea for the man behind the recent promos.
The WWE Hall Of Famer talked about a number of things during the latest episode of Busted Open Radio and also shared who he wants to be revealed as the man behind the hacker gimmick.
Henry made a very interesting suggestion saying that CM Punk
should be revealed as the man behind the recent promos and it could be his
introduction back to pro wrestling:
“I said it from the beginning that I was hoping that it would be CM Punk, that it would be his introduction back to pro wrestling. To be able to tell the story of ‘you want the truth?
I want to give you the truth, and I’ve been around here watching and I’ve exposed the truth at some small levels? But now I’m going to share the truth on everything.’”
Mark Henry went on to explain that this way you can have CM Punk “pipe-bomb the sh*t out of the wrestling business” and the former WWE Champion can be the lightning rod of hate in the company.
There is no word yet on what the company is planning for the hacker gimmick or who will be revealed as the man behind it but there are speculations that Mustafa Ali could be behind the recent promos.
What do you think about Mark Henry’s idea of revealing CM Punk as the hacker on SmackDown? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
The Godfather is one of the veteran WWE wrestlers who is open about his use of marijuana during his time in the wrestling business and he doesn’t mind talking about it.
The WWE Hall Of Famer recently had an interview with
WrestlingInc, where he talked about things like his match at the Brawl For All,
what he is doing now and more.
During the interview, the Godfather was asked about Vince
McMahon’s views on marijuana. Replying to it, the WWE veteran said that Vince
is ‘up on the times’ and claimed that the Boss would not have a problem
supporting it if it was legal:
“[Laughs] Well, I’m not gonna go that far but Vince is up on the times. If cannabis were to become legal, then he would have no problem supporting it. He supported it when I was there, I’ve never smoked with Vince or seen Vince smoke.”
The Godfather was also asked if smoking weed was a common
thing backstage in WWE when he was there and the former Intercontinental
Champion said that there were very few guys who smoked at the time.
He went to reveal that he would try to get many people to smoke while he was there and claimed that he was never fined for smoking during his WWE career. You can check out his full interview at this link.
Drew McIntyre vs. Seth Rollins has been announced for the upcoming WWE Money in the Bank PPV.
Last week on RAW, Rollins attacked McIntyre, who had just beaten United States Champion Andrade in a non-title match in the main event.
Fast forward to this week, McIntyre opened the show with an in-ring promo about Rollins’ attack. This is where he issued a challenge for a WWE Championship Match at the upcoming pay-per-view event.
Later in the show, Rollins cut an interesting promo about how he accepted McIntyre’s challenge and vowed that he would take the title from McIntyre.
Former WWE NXT star Dan Matha shared an incredible story in a recent post on social media.
Last week, WWE let go of several wrestlers, staff, and employees due to the financial impact of the coronavirus. One of the wrestlers who were cut was Matha.
The former NXT star took to his official Twitter account where he recalled a wild last few weeks that he had. He was in a car crash that sent him flying through the windshield of his vehicle that ultimately left him with a hole in the back of his head.
He was then informed by the company that the WWE was releasing him. All of this happened as the world is dealing with coronavirus and most of the United States being on lockdown.
In his own words, from the world dealing with the virus, his crash, and losing the job has been a “WILD 21 days.”
The photos that he posted in the message showed him in a bed with the gauze behind him bloody from the hole in the back of his head.
Also, there’s a photo of the whole closed up and the hole in the windshield by the driver’s side. You can see the post here:
He joined the company in 2016. He wrestled under the name Dorian Mak in NXT. Despite the accident, he stated during an Instagram live session that he wants to continue wrestling.
This week’s episode of RAW aired live from the Performance Center. Three MITB Qualifying matches took place and Drew McIntyre squared off against Angel Garza in the main event.
WWE RAW Results (4/20)
Drew McIntyre challenged Seth Rollins
Aleister Black def. Austin Theory to qualify for the MITB Ladder match
Shayna Baszler def. Indi Hartwell
Cedric Alexander & Ricochet def. Brendan Vink & Shane Thorne
Nia Jax def. Kairi Sane
Apollo Crews def. MVP to qualify for the MITB Ladder match
Liv Morgan def. Ruby Riott
Rey Mysterio def. Murphy to qualify for the MITB Ladder match
Charlotte def. Kayden Carter
Andrade def. Akira Tozawa
Bianca Belair def. Santana Garrett
Drew McIntyre def. Angel Garza
Here are 5 takeaways from this week’s show:
Drew McIntyre Challenged Seth Rollins To A Match At Money In The Bank
Drew McIntyre. Photo Credit: WWE.com
WWE Champion Drew McIntyre kicked off the show and thanked the audience at home for tuning in. McIntyre quickly turned his attention to Seth Rollins’ attack last week and said he wasn’t surprised at all that it happened.
Drew stated that the title painted a bullseye on his back and everyone wants to be in his position. McIntyre wondered if Seth deserved an opportunity but said that if he wants to be a great champion he needs to continue to beat the best.
McIntyre challenged Rollins to a match at WWE Money in the Bank in three weeks. Zelina Vega interrupted with Angel Garza and Austin Theory. Vega said that everyone is sick of McIntyre’s speeches and claimed that he was looking past his match against Angel Garza tonight.
United States Champion Andrade came out of nowhere and attacked McIntyre from behind. Drew fought him off and then absolutely leveled Andrade with a Claymore. Zelina Vega asked Austin and Angel to go in the ring but they thought better of it. Drew McIntyre hit Andrade with another Claymore to end the segment.
Aleister Black battled Austin Theory in a MITB Qualifying match tonight. Zelina Vega joined commentary.
Match Recap: Theory and Black locked up to start off the match. Aleister brought Theory down to the canvas and applied an Arm Bar. Austin battled to his feet and connected with a shoulder tackle. Aleister went for Black Mass but Theory was able to avoid it and hopped out of the ring. Aleister hit him with a Dropkick and Zelina Vega started trash talking. Black became distracted and Theory capitalized by throwing him into the barricade as RAW went to a break.
When RAW returned, Austin was still in control and hit Black with a Dropkick for a near fall. Theory slammed Aleister into the top turnbuckle but Black shrugged it off and planted Austin with a Body Slam. Austin connected with a Powerbomb and then sent Black into the corner.
Black hit a couple of Clotheslines and followed it up with a knee to the face. Aleister connected with a Moonsault and went for the cover but Austin kicked out at two. Theory hit a Superkick and followed it up with a Neckbreaker for a near fall. Black battled back and hit a German Suplex for a two count. Aleister followed it up with Black Mass for the pinfall victory. Aleister Black qualified for the MITB match at the PPV.
After the match, Byron Saxton asked what Aleister’s plan was to climb the corporate ladder at MITB. Black said that he will make sure to turn each floor of WWE Headquarters into his opponents personal hell.
MVP faced Apollo Crews in a Money in the Bank Qualifying match. Before the match, MVP said that Crews is the most talented man on the roster but he is outmatched here.
Match Recap: MVP controlled the match early and knocked Crews out of the ring as RAW went to a commercial break. When RAW returned, MVP had Crews trapped in the Camel Clutch in the middle of the ring. Crews broke free and hit MVP with a Splash in the corner of the ring.
Apollo then beat MVP down and followed it up with a massive Clothesline. Crews went for a Frog Splash but MVP got his knees up. MVP hit the Playmaker but Crews was able to kick out at two. Crews connected with a Standing Moonsault and then a Standing Shooting Star Press. Crews followed that up with a Powerbomb for the victory. Apollo Crews qualified for the MITB Ladder match.
Opinion: It is nice to see WWE give Crews a push these past couple of weeks. Crews had a great match with Aleister Black last week and picked up a big win tonight.
Rey Mysterio faced Murphy in a Money in the Bank Qualify match.
Match Recap: Rey controlled the action early and went for the 619 but Murphy got out of the way. Murphy slammed Rey’s hand into the barricade and then off the steel entrance ramp as RAW went to a commercial break. When RAW returned, Rey hit Murphy with a Hurricanrana off the steel steps.
Back in the ring, Rey hit a Crossbody and set Murphy up for the 619. Murphy avoided it but Rey planted him with a DDT for a near fall. The action spilled to the outside and Mysterio launched Murphy into the barricade. Back in the ring, Murphy hit Rey with a knee to the face and followed it up with a Brainbuster for a near fall.
Murphy made his way to the top rope but Rey caught him with a kick to the face. Rey then hit 619 and followed it up with a Frog Splash for the pinfall victory. Rey Mysterio qualified for the MITB Ladder match.
Angel Garza squared off against Drew McIntyre in the main event of this week’s show. Austin Theory, Andrade, and Zelina Vega were ringside for the match.
Match Recap: McIntyre beat the hell out of Garza in the corner of the ring to start off the match. Drew launched Garza across the ring with a Belly to Belly Throw. Garza rolled out of the ring to try and regroup but McIntyre followed him out there.
Drew hit Angel with a couple of chops before rolling him back in the ring. McIntyre got distracted by Andrade and Theory and Garza capitalized with a Dropkick. Back in the ring, Angel hit a Dropkick from off the top rope and locked in a Half Crab in the middle of the ring.
McIntyre threw Garza out of the ring and then flipped onto Angel, Andrade, and Theory. McIntyre shouted at Vega that he can do it all before leveling Theory with a Claymore Kick. Back in the ring, Garza rolled up McIntyre for a two count. Drew hit the Claymore for the pinfall victory. After the match, McIntyre hit Angel and Thoery with another Claymore.
Opinion: The main event was short but McIntyre looked impressive. Overall, I thought this week’s episode of RAW was a good show. There were several good matches tonight and that led to the three hours flying by.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is teaming up with HBO once again.
Variety reported on Monday that The Rock, Issa Rae and Dany Garcia will be executive producing a new series for the creation of a backyard wrestling promotion that will air on the network.
The series is currently titled “TRE CNT” for “TRE COUNT.” Each episode will be thirty-minutes and comes from writer Mohamad El Masri.
The show is about Cassius Jones, a young docker worker and struggling pro wrestler, who uses inherited life-insurance money for start-up money, and the deed to a shotgun house from his grandfather, to start a hip-hop centric backyard wrestling empire in the Third Ward of Houston, Texas (The Tre). Jones creates the empire with the help of his working-class family, friends and neighbors.
In addition to writing the project, El Masri is an executive producer.
Judah Miller will executive produce and serve as showrunner. Rock and Garcia will executive produce along with Hiram Garcia as part of their Seven Bucks Productions company.
Rae and Montrel McKay will executive produce via their Issa Rae Productions. Dave Becky, Tom Lassally, and Jonathan Berry will executive produce for 3 Arts Entertainment.
The Rock’s involvement brings a layer of authenticity to the project due to his background in the pro wrestling business after having a successful career with WWE.
Johnson previously worked with HBO on his hit series “Ballers,” which ran from 2015 to 2019.
After a recent message on social media, there is now speculation that The Revival could be headed to the NWA.
Earlier this month, WWE released the former WWE Tag Team Champions from their contracts. The Revival potentially going to AEW when their deals with WWE were up has been speculated about for over a year now.
Now that Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder are no longer under contract with WWE, speculation among fans as to where they would be headed next has begun.
Scott Dawson has changed his name to Dax Harwood while Dash Wilder has changed his name to Cash Wheeler. Dax Harwood’s real name is David Harwood and Cash Wheeler’s real name is Daniel Wheeler.
Wheeler responded to a tweet sent out by the NWA that fans which tag team they’d like to see in the Crockett Cup. He wrote, “FTR.”
— Daniel “Cash” Wheeler (@CashWheelerFTR) April 20, 2020
It should be noted that the tag team has trademarked “Fear The Revolt.” Whether his response was a reference to that name or “For The Revival” remains to be seen.
Either way, the possibility of this could happen even if it’s for a short run. On a related now, Harwood shared this photo that appears to be their new logo going forward:
Sarah Logan was one of several WWE stars handed their walking papers from the company last week. However, it appears that she might be back with the company very soon.
According to Fightful, several people ‘went to bat’ for Logan following her release and encouraged WWE officials to give her another look. There is a good chance that Sarah Logan will be back with WWE soon. She is married to Erik of the Viking Raiders tag team.
Sarah Logan has been with WWE since 2014. She worked primarily in NXT until 2017, when she was brought to the main roster as part of the Riott Squad faction with Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan. She has not held any championships in WWE.
Her most recent match took place on the April 13th edition of WWE Raw. She lost to former NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Bazsler in a Money in the Bank qualifying match.
WWE Money in the Bank takes place Sunday, May 10th from WWE headquarters in Stamford, CT.
AEW’s California-based roster has not been competing on Dynamite as of late. Many of them have been wrestling at the BTE compound, however. Last week on BTE, a rather bizarre Royal Rumble type match took place with Nick Jackson coming out the winner.
With the win, Nick got to pick whatever match he wanted for BTE 200. The match he wanted is the one he said could prove that he was back to 100% health following the backstage attack by the Inner Circle last month. Nick’s pick was to face his own brother Matt in the main event of BTE 200. The match aired today on YouTube.
Nick Jackson vs Matt Jackson – BTE 200
The match actually started off on the tennis court as Nick attacked Matt before the bell. A “falls count anywhere” stipulation was placed on the match as well.
Nick put Matt on a golf cart and wheeled him around until they ended up at the BTE gym seen in recent episodes. The brothers would exchange near-falls from pinning combinations until the match then spilled into Nick’s backyard. It was in Nick’s yard that Matt would hit a series of 5 continuing Northern Lights Suplexes before Nick hit a tornado DDT using his fence for leverage.
As the match moved out from Nick’s backyard, the younger Young Buck started to play dirty by throwing dirt in Matt’s face. This allowed Nick to set Matt up on a table and jump off his roof with a senton for a near-fall. Nick then held Matt’s head underwater briefly before his brother fought back. Matt then hit a Canadian Destroyer off the diving board and into the pool for a near-fall with the ref counting on the surface of the water.
Nick then used his “Merch Freak” magic to send Matt Jackson to an alternate universe. All of a sudden, Matt Jackson was dressed as Marty Jannetty and Nick as Shawn Michaels. The brothers then recreated the famous “Barber Shop” moment that broke up the Rockers. When Matt came back to reality, Nick hit him in the back with a shovel and the two exchanged clotheslines on the deck.
After Matt delivered a tombstone to his brother, things started to get weird again. Matt brought out a pair of sharply spiked cleats and put them on. He then superkicked his brother in the face with them. They recreated the Shawn Michaels/Ric Flair “I’m sorry I love you” WrestleMania moment. Then Matt gave his brother an elbow from the deck for the win.
After the Match
After the match, the two brothers sat atop the deck and cleared the air. Nick noted that he is not 100% but he’s feeling pretty good. After 4 years of doing BTE, Nick noted it’s been the best 4 years of his life. An emotional montage then played before Nick and Matt were seen in the car saying there was one more thing they had to do. They did not mention what that is, however.
There is reason to believe it’s possible that one of the many wrestlers released from WWE last week will be on RAW tonight. There is no information on who the wrestler might be, however. Ryan Satin recently noted on Twitter that his sources are telling him one released wrestler might appear on RAW tonight:
Hearing it’s possible that one of the wrestlers who was released from WWE last week could be making an appearance on RAW tonight.
RAW will be live tonight as WWE doesn’t revert back to taping episodes until next week. Drake Maverick has already committed to finishing out the NXT cruiserweight tournament despite being announced as one of the roster cuts last week.
WWE Recently Released Wrestlers
The following names were officially released from WWE last week:
Drake Maverick
Luke Gallows
Karl Anderson
EC3
Curt Hawkins
Lio Rush
Heath Slater
Eric Young
Kurt Angle
Aiden English
Erik Rowan
Sarah Logan
Mike Chioda
Primo & Epico Colon
Mike Kanellis (Bennett)
Maria Kanellis
Zack Ryder
No Way Jose
Deonna Purrazzo
Additionally, several backstage producers/agents had their contracts furloughed (provided they were full-time WWE employees, otherwise they were released outright).
Dixie Carter brought Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff into TNA Wrestling in early 2010. The deal actually came together in late 2009 but both Bischoff and Hogan would be on TNA programming that January. On an episode of Bischoff’s “83 Weeks” podcast, Bischoff discussed the impact Hogan had on TNA and the limitations they both felt while with the company.
“I was excited, I was excited at the possibilities and the potential that appeared at least initially to be there,” Bischoff said about debuting in TNA alongside Hogan in 2010.
He continued to say he didn’t feel TNA as a company did much to capitalize on the momentum they had shortly after Hogan and his debut, however.
“Had TNA as a company done the things necessary to take advantage of some of that momentum it may have carried itself forward.”
Bischoff then said that as things continued in TNA, he became less confident in the company’s ability to capitalize on the star power they had.
“The deeper we got into it the more we realized that there were no real resources put behind any of this by TNA. It was really wishful thinking on their part that all you had to do was throw these big names out there.”
“There were a lot of big names that were in TNA when we got there that weren’t really moving the needle the way they should have and I think a lot of that is because TNA didn’t know what to do with them.”
Eric Bischoff on TNA Running Monday Nights
Bischoff also spoke about TNA’s brief run on Monday nights during that period.
“The idea of moving to Monday night wasn’t so much because we thought we could be competitive to the WWE,” Bischoff said. “I hope someone from AEW is listening to this. It wasn’t because we thought we were going to be able to be competitive but we knew when we went if we went head-to-head with Monday Night RAW much like making an announcement at Madison Square Garden we knew that going head-to-head whether it was for a short period, it was an experiment. We knew that it was an experiment. It was never intended to be or committed to be any kind of a long-term decision but we knew we would create a buzz.”
Former WWE writer and actor Freddie Prinze Jr recently revealed that he had a ‘run in’ with The Miz during his time in WWE. Although apparently fairly light-hearted, Miz did not appear to be too pleased that Prinze Jr was brought in by WWE to give ‘acting lessons’ to the talent back at the start of last decade. Prinze Jr would discuss the situation and the context during this week’s episode of The New Day: Feel The Power podcast.
Acting Class
“It like 60% and it was mainly like the younger roster that were hyped” Prinze Jr began, discussing the ‘acting classes’ he was instructed by Vince McMahon to give backstage. “40% were like, ‘no chance.’ And I mean it was just they were not having it. The first promo class we did I remember Miz, who was doing his own thing and doing well with Morrison. They had the Dirt Sheet and I think..I don’t know if they had the [tag team] titles yet? But they were kind of doing their thing.”
Improv Technique
Prinze Jr would then go into the ‘improv’ technique to led to the ‘run in’. “We were going to do an exercise called repetition, where you’re locked into whatever I say. It’s like an improv technique. So I’d say to Big E for example ‘that’s the biggest Hawkeye shirt I’ve ever seen!’ And then Big E’s locked into that verbiage, so he goes ‘this is the biggest Hawkeye shirt you’ve ever seen!?’ It goes back and forth. When it’s two guys? That always gets almost physical. And then if it’s a guy and a girl that always gets like sexy right?”
The former WWE writer then got into how the incident with The Miz unfolded. “And so I said ‘who wants to try it?’ And nobody wanted to try it. But The Miz is like ‘I got it.’ And I’m like ‘alright, this guy’s got guts, he’s coming up. He doesn’t know what he’s in for but he’s stepping up.’ I said ‘I’ll start’ and he goes ‘no, no, I’ll start.'”
Freddie Prinze Jr vs The Miz
“And he goes, here’s the actual sentence, he goes: ‘what the hell are you gonna teach me about acting?’ And everybody, like all the energy in the room was gone. Just like you could feel it, and so I looked at him and just kind of cocked my eyes. I said ‘what the hell am I going to teach you about acting?’ Eventually he changed the verbiage which means you lose right? He tapped out. I remember saying this I said ‘look man I know I’m not Robert Downey Jr. But Robert Downey Jr don’t give a damn about you, I do.”
The Miz of course has gone on to have acting stints throughout his career, notably with The Marine series. It is interesting though that he would go right up against someone who Vince McMahon fired specifically to help talent.
Do you think that The Miz was out of line in this incident? Let us know in the comments
Former WCW President Eric Bischoff recently discussed a tumultuous time in his career at the former Turner Broadcasting giant. On this week’s episode of the 83 Weeks podcast, ‘Easy E’ would talk about Spring Stampede 2000, the final iteration of the PPV before WCW folded in 2001.
Bischoff revealed some of the issues that he was facing personally around this time. To put the show into context, the PPV came just under a week after the returning tandem of Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff had vacated every Championship in the company. During the podcast, Eric Bischoff would reveal that he ‘compromised’ when it came to the creative at the time. Bischoff would also discuss how the company was “reacting too much to the internet chatter” and that WCW “were allowing the audience to dictate too much” of the product.
Eric Bischoff on Compromising
“I succumbed, I compromised here” Eric Bischoff would begin. “I think that’s, again. Looking back at the entire situation? I lived it, you know? I went through things that the audience will never know about. When I got done watching this episode and PPV? The thing that I walked away with just me personally, and, you know, 20 minutes after it was over? Was that I compromised.”
Bischoff would then elaborate further, confirming how he felt WCW ‘pandered’ too much to the audience and did not drive the narrative of their own storylines. Specifically, Eric Bischoff was referring to the Millionaire’s Club vs New Blood feud. This feud pitted the younger stars of WCW against the established veterans. Bischoff mentioned numerous times on the podcast how WWF’s attempts at the time to call WCW’s talent pool ‘old’ almost directly led to the creation of the angle to try and change the narrative.
Audience Dictating The Narrative?
“While some of those compromises ended up being pretty good under the circumstances?” Bischoff continued. “Overall, this show was really about compromise. And I knew going in that we were reacting too much to the internet chatter. I knew going into this before this show. I knew, based on the creative direction? That we were allowing the audience to dictate too much to us. And we weren’t taking control of our own product. And don’t get me wrong, I listen to the fans. I was the guy in WCW that wouldn’t sit backstage in [the] gorilla [position].”
Bischoff finished by discussing how he would attempt to get the ‘pulse’ of the fans in attendance. “[I didn’t have] can headsets on and watch a little eight by eight inch monitor. That’s a bullsh*t way of, in my opinion, a ridiculous way of trying to gauge or evaluate an audience’s response to anything.”
Bischoff would go on to discuss the PPV at length during the episode.
AdFreeShows.com
This podcast episode as well as a ton of other content is available now on AdFreeShows.com. AdFreeShows has exclusive content from Grilling Jr, What Happened When (w/ Tony Schiavone), 83 Weeks (w/ Eric Bischoff), ARN and Something To Wrestle with Bruce Prichard.
Want EVERY episode from ALL 5 of my podcasts, early and ad-free?
EXCLUSIVE merch from your favorite shows?
Want BONUS content that you can’t hear anywhere else?
Want to CONNECT with other wrestling fans just like you?
AdFreeShows.com is bringing all of it to you, plus tons of other exclusive perks!
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is open to stepping in the ring against Roman Reigns. Johnson revealed the news during a recent live Q&A session he hosted on Instagram, where he has over 180 million followers.
The Rock spoke about how he believes anything is possible and that you can ‘never say never’ in the world of pro wrestling. In fact, he stated that he’s “always open” for a potential comeback match.
The Rock says you never say never to Vince McMahon. He enjoys a close personal relationship with the WWE Chairman. As The Rock has climbed the ranks of Hollywood, Vince has served as a business mentor to him. Their business relationship aside, The Rock considers Vince McMahon to be a “very, very close friend and confidant.”
He explained how you can never flat-out refuse an offer. Dwayne Johnson then stressed that, for it to happen, “the venue would have to be right.”
Dwayne Johnson On Needing The Right “Business Model”
Alongside the venue, Johnson joked about how the business model would have to be right, suggesting that as long as a matchup was the right decision for himself, Reigns, Vince McMahon and the pro wrestling industry, he’d be willing to explore the idea.
He then spoke about how close he is with Reigns, explaining how “he’s family to me, so we will see.”
NXT Superstar Johnny Gargano hates it when people refer to WWE’s black-and-gold brand as developmental. Speaking with Sporting News, Gargano explained why he considers those who do to be wrong and disrespectful.
Gargano argued how the belief that NXT is still WWE’s developmental brand “devalues everything we’re doing in NXT.”
“I believe everything is developmental when you want to look at it that way. I think if you’re going to consider NXT developmental than RAW and SmackDown are developmental as well,” Gargano said. “I believe we are all learning. We’re all growing. I don’t think just because you’re in a certain brand that doesn’t mean you’re progressing or growing any more than any other brand.”
As far as Johnny Gargano is concerned, people should be looking at NXT as WWE’s third brand. He believes their track record and talent pool proves his point. He argued how WWE could put any NXT Superstar on RAW or SmackDown, or have a Superstar come to NXT—much in the way Charlotte Flair has done. He explained how the three brands are “very much intertwined.”
Johnny Gargano stated how “If you’re still using the term developmental to evaluate NXT in any way, shape, or form, I think you need to get over yourself.” He then talked about wrestling should be fun and that people should enjoy it without devaluing people’s hard work and sacrifice.
SmackDown Superstar The Miz has opened up about his experiences wrestling in front of zero fans. WWE’s resident “A-Lister” broached the subject during a recent interview on Logan Paul’s podcast.
The Miz shared how talent has to find a different way to “get the adrenaline and utilize it.” He compared the recent empty arena matches to the muted, respectful crowd reactions in Japan. Miz explained how Superstars know how the Japanese audience were intently watching everything that happened in the ring. He added how they were always invested in the action, despite the lack of noise or interaction. He talked about how he takes the same approach with zero fan shows, visualizing the fans at home.
“I’m just picturing the people at home being invested in everything that we’re doing,” Miz said. “So every little maneuver counts. So it’s actually making me a better performer in the ring for sure.”
He acknowledged how everyone in WWE is pushing even harder in the ring during this time. The Miz believes this hard work will continue, even when the WWE Universe is finally able to attend live shows in the future.
Miz argued how everything that WWE does is different, and that’s what makes them an out the box wrestling promotion. He explained how they utilize everything, before reflecting on the lessons learned from the process and how they can best use it in the future.
MVP has shared some praise for recently released WWE Superstar Heath Slater. Taking to Twitter, MVP replied to a fan who shared footage of a Slater promo from SmackDown back in 2016. In his tweet, MVP recalled how the two developed a friendship. He also spoke about the respect he had for Slater’s work ethic and commitment to pro wrestling.
Recalling a story during their time in WWE developmental together, MVP shared how Slater had come to work for Deep South TV for free. He highlighted how Slater “WORKED his way into a developmental contract.”
At the time, Slater believed he couldn’t cut promos that engaged or entertained. After talking about his promo insecurities, MVP was taken by how charismatic Slater was. He shared how he had a “HUGE personality” before stressing that Slater needed to bring that attitude and personality to the mic.
MVP implored Slater to keep practicing his promos skills, something MVP stressed he did, pointing to the shared promo as sufficient evidence.
I was in WWE developmental with Heath. He came in for Deep South TV for FREE. He literally WORKED his way into a developemental contract. He told me he couldn't cut promos. We talked about it. I told him he had a HUGE personality! Bring that to the mic. PRACTICE! He did! OH BABY! https://t.co/WRUfZxLlvJ
He spoke about feeling the fire inside him once again. Slater then confessed that he’s looking forward to getting into “legit” shape as he prepares for a comeback post-WWE. He added how his approach is “No bullshi*, get ready for the encore.”
All Elite Wrestling commentator Jim Ross has talked about the possibility of Rusev joining AEW’s roster. Rusev was recently released alongside several other WWE in-ring talent as well as a number of backstage personnel.
Ross addressed the concept of Rusev becoming a part of AEW during an episode of his podcast Grilling JR via AdFreeShows.com. He argued how there had to be some “semblance of a reason” that Rusev’s previous push was cut short. Ross then noted that he doesn’t know what that reason could be. He divulged how he had never heard any “scandalous tales” about Rusev.
Jim Ross Would Consider Rusev A Priority
His experiences with Rusev have led Ross to believe he is a soft-hearted, well-raised person who is polite and decent. Ross then stated how securing Rusev for AEW would be his top priority. “That’s who I’d want to go after first because I can see him having some major pay-per-view main event matches with a variety of top talents in our company AEW. Anyone would be smart to hire him.”
He shared how he would like to call a high-level Rusev matchup before explaining how a company would “know what you’re gonna get out of the guy.”
With his recent departure from WWE, Jim Ross noted how Rusev now has something to prove. As far as he’s concerned, Rusev is and always has been a legitimate talent that he’s been high on.
Posted April 20th, 2020 in AEW, News. Tagged: Rusev.
Major League Wrestling presented its 2nd show as part of the AAA vs MLW Super Series. The event was held in Tijuana, Mexico and this week’s show featured 2 more matches in the series.
The full episode can be viewed in the player below:
MLW Fusion 4/18/20 Quick Results:
Averno defeated Douglas James (AAA leads 2:1)
Team Filthy (Dominic Garrini & Tom Lawlor) defeated Xtreme Tiger & Puma King (Tied 2:2)
After King Mo’s suspension was upheld, Tom Lawlor said Team Filthy would adapt. He also said that he and Dominic Garrini would form a tag team with the goal of relieving the Von Erich brothers of the MLW tag titles. This week, Garrini and Lawlor teamed up against Xtreme Tiger and Puma King. Team Filthy broke out some new double-team moves this week but in the end, it would be a basic rear-naked choke from Lawlor that would earn his team the victory.
There was some confusion at the end of the match as the referee didn’t signal for the bell right away after Tiger tapped. The referee immediately attempted to pry Lawlor off the luchador and neglected to ring for the bell until after Lawlor relented. Earlier in the contest, the referee had disallowed a blind tag by Team Filthy as well. There were concerns about AAA-bias from the officials in the night’s opening contest as well.
The night’s opening contest saw Douglas James of MLW take on AAA’s Averno. After Averno took the early advantage, throwing his opponent through a table on the outside and delivering a buckle bomb inside the ring, James then took control. James’ comeback led to a beautiful Meteora which looked to have his opponent finished. An extremely slow count from the referee allowed Averno time to recover, however.
In Mexico, it is not uncommon for a referee to show a little bias and it looks as though that is what happened here. After Averno recovered he delivered a massive forearm to James, knocking him out and ending the match.
Alexander Hammerstone Eats Cake After Brawl With O’l Mancer
The rivalry between the Dynasty and Mance Warner continued this week as O’l Mancer caught up with Hammerstone in the back. The two brawled throughout the arena until they hit a locker room where Alicia Atout’s birthday celebrations were ongoing. Just as Savio Vega, Brian Pillman, and Alicia Atout were going to enjoy some birthday cake, Hammerstone and Warner’s brawl spilled into the room. Warner ended up throwing Hammerstone face-first into the cake. The show ended as Vega and Pillman ate from the part of the cake that Hammerstone’s face didn’t smash into.
Brian Pillman Jr. was the victim of a vicious assault at the hands of Injustice recently. The trio smashed his head against a cinder block but miraculously, Pillman has been cleared to compete next week. Davey Boy Smith Jr. announced that Pillman will be back next week and the two Hart Foundation members will compete in tag action. He also suggested that Pillman knew “the right doctors” and that is how he got cleared.
Pillman being cleared infuriated the members of Injustice. The trio should be more worried about their upcoming shot at the AAA trios titles against Los Jinetes del Aire (El Hijo del Vikingo, Myzteziz Jr. & Octagon Jr.), however. That match will air in the coming weeks on Fusion.
Richard Holliday was interviewed this week alongside Alexander Hammerstone. Holliday will defend “his” Caribbean Championship next week against Chessman. He seemed not to know who Chessman is and did not seem overly concerned about the match. Holliday has also been lobbying as of late for the Caribbean title to be made an official championship of MLW.
Last week on Fusion, Pagano was involved in a hardcore battle on Fusion. This week, he cut a promo in the back where he specifically made mention of MLW World Champion Jacob Fatu. Pagano has promised to bring carnage to MLW and it appears he may have his sights already set on the world champion.
Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson were among the 20+ people who WWE released last week. They held the Raw tag team championships twice during their 3-year stint with the company. On the latest episode of the Talk’n Shop Podcast on MLW Radio, the Good Brothers addressed their departure.
Karl Anderson started off with an interesting perspective. Not everyone is liked behind the scenes is popular with the locker room. If wrestler has heat, others will say, “Yeah, f*ck him a little bit.” That was not the case this week. He genuinely liked everyone who was cut.
Luke Gallows said it very said that so many good people lost their dream jobs this week. “It was a crushing day in the professional wrestling world,” he said. “But the professional wrestling world always goes on.”
He encouraged fans to support the talent by following them on social media and buying their merchandise from Pro Wrestling Tees.
Gallows also briefly addressed their futures. Without giving too much detail, the big man told listeners that we haven’t seen the last of them. “Ya gotta wait on that,” said Gallows. “We ain’t ready yet, but when we are, we’re gonna unload.”
Gallows is keeping things close to the vest, but his partner is not being so secretive. Shortly after WWE released them, Karl Anderson posted a video on Twitter hinting at a return to Japan. The team had a decorated run in New Japan Pro Wrestling as part of the Bullet Club, so NJPW has to be seen as a strong option for them later this year.
WWE’s layoffs hit everybody hard. AJ Styles addressed Gallows & Anderson’s release during an online video stream. “I feel responsible for them being released,” he said. “It’s devastating.”
You can listen to the latest episode of Talk’n Shop at MLW Radio or in the player embedded below.
Cody Rhodes was recently interviewed by Bleacher Report Live. During the conversation, he spoke about his loose connection to the Netflix docu-series, “Tiger King.”
According to Cody, 5 years ago he was told the stories about Carole Baskin as if they were complete fact. “I have this very loose kind of connection to Tiger King,” Cody said during the interview. “Very loose. As far as, I went to a sanctuary that was in Melrose, Florida. A really great Tiger sanctuary called Single Vision. They took tigers that, situations like Joe Exotic – there’s a bit of an epidemic in this country with people who get these big cats and then don’t know what to do with them like you saw on the show. So they would go to places like Joe or Carole.”
Cody continued to say that when deciding which Tiger sanctuary to go to, he and Brandi were told the stories about Carole Baskin.
“I’m trying not to implicate anyone. I had heard the Carole Baskin story like 5 years ago. It was just a universally known thing amongst that world, that tiger world, like ‘hey don’t mess with her, this is what she did.” Now, I’m not saying I believe it but I was told as if it was absolute fact. So when it was brought up on the show, my mind was blown! Now I’ve heard this from multiple people in the animal world and now it’s for everyone to see again. I really enjoyed Tiger King, a very crazy outlook on a unique situation.”
Cody continued to talk about who told them the stories about Carole Baskin, though he did not implicate anyone personally.
“We were debating do we go to Big Cat Sanctuary or do we go to our other place. And the individual was like ‘you don’t want to go to the former because…’ and that’s where we heard it for the first time.”
Adam Thornstowe is 1/2 of Impact Wrestling’s Reno Scum. Evidently, when he isn’t teaming with Luster the Legend and helping Ace Austin with his underhanded tactics, he is working long hours in a hospital during a global pandemic.
“Just taking a little break at the hospital to let everyone know what I’ve been up to,” Thornstowe says in the video. “This is pretty much it. 40-60 hours a week I’ve been down here in surgery. Just trying to help out my community and do my part. This is what I do besides from Impact Wrestling. I try to juggle both jobs as best I can.”
“Being here at the hospital, every now and then it’s just a little mentally taxing,” he continued.
“I guarantee we are all going to get through this together. Reno Scum and Ace Austin are going to be kicking a** in an Impact wrestling ring before you know it. Hope you are all staying safe, staying inside, washing your hands, telling the people you love that you love them. Stay safe out there and I’ll see you a lot sooner than later.”
Thornstowe’s video can be viewed in the player below:
Impact has been posting videos with the #URTheImpact to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkAaQH7rfxc
Dawn Marie Providing An Essential Service
There can be no debating that what Dawn Marie is up to these days is far more essential than pro-wrestling. The former valet for the Impact Players now works in nursing.
There has never been a better crowd. I’m moved to tears! The families are cheering us as we enter and leave the buildings. I’ve never been more proud of my accomplishments then I am today. pic.twitter.com/4AjLrqGUtd
Maxwell Jacob Friedman (MJF) has not wrestled since March 11th, 2020. He teamed with the Butcher and the Blade on Dynamite that night and defeated the Jurassic Express. MJF has wrestled just once since defeating Cody Rhodes at AEW Revolution. It appears that MJF’s infrequent schedule might be as a result of an injury.
MJF noted on Twitter today that he is dealing with something that may require surgery.
My Issue has gotten worse, Its looking like I Might need surgery.
Earlier this month, MJF noted that he was dealing with something that was preventing him from performing.
I wish I could put my body on the line more for you guys. I truly care so much about you being entertained during your hour of need. Unfortunately something awful has happened to me and it has gradually gotten worse. I can’t comment on what the issue is at this time. https://t.co/1WoXSzPh7r
When AEW revealed its top-5 rankings for April 1st, 2020, MJF was not ranked. He had been ranked #2 the week prior. We noted in our AEW rankings post that week that his dropping out of the rankings was likely due to inactivity as he had only wrestled once in all of March.
MJF is 5-0 in AEW single’s matches. He’s defeated Brandon Cutler, Hangman Page, Joey Janela, Jungle Boy, and Cody. He’s also been in 2 battle royals that he didn’t win and one fatal-4 way match that was won by Hangman Page and also involved Jimmy Havoc and Jungle Boy. MJF is 3-0 in tag-team matches.
Alexa Bliss is currently 1/2 of the Women’s Tag Team Champions alongside her partner, Nikki Cross. Before she got to WWE, however, Bliss dealt with an eating disorder. She recently spoke to SI.com about the impacts this had on her life and the scary health consequences that resulted.
When Bliss was 15 years old, her weight fell to just 80lbs. Her heart rate fell below a normal healthy rate and she was taken to hospital.
“When I went to the hospital, I almost went into cardiac arrest,” said Bliss. “And I wasn’t allowed to go to sleep—they thought I’d die if I did.”
Bliss also spoke about how eating disorders run in her family. She also noted that every few years she deals with a bout of depression.
“Dealing with eating disorders, anxiety, and depression, I’m no stranger to mental illness. Every few years, I deal with a really bad spell of depression. You have to know it doesn’t have to overtake your life,” Bliss continued.
“Mental illness can dictate someone’s entire life. I put myself in a position to be in the public eye, but I’m doing what I love. I’ve gone to therapy, I’ve done everything I can do to get my brain in a healthy place.”
A link to the full interview with SI.com can be found here.
Alexa Bliss in WWE
Alexa Bliss is one of the most decorated women’s wrestlers in the modern era. She is a former 3x RAW Women’s champion. Bliss has held the Smackdown Women’s Championship twice as well. Additionally, Bliss Cross (Alexa Bliss & Nikki Cross) is now 2x WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions. The duo most recently won the titles from the Kabuki Warriors at WrestleMania 36.
