Kevin Owens opened up on his decision to re-sign with WWE during an appearance on FOX Sports’ Out of Character with Ryan Satin. 

It was reported in December that Owens had signed a new multi-year contract with WWE as his previous contract was set to expire at the end of January.  The deal is reportedly for three years and in the range of $2-3 million per year. 

Owens was asked whether re-signing was a fairly easy decision to make. “I mean, WWE really didn’t let me think about it much in terms of — they made it clear they wanted me to stay.”

Owens then opened up on having the contract talks directly with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. 

“No,” Owens said. “Vince McMahon, I dealt with Vince directly and he made it clear he wanted me to stay, and we made an agreement right then and there. It wasn’t — I’m a big believer in…my career is going to go the way it goes and I’m going to do my best with it. I’m there now for a couple more years and I’m going to do my best to get opportunities and knock them out of the park and reap the benefits. As I’ve documented before, there’s ups and downs to this thing — to WWE, to wrestling, to the industry. I feel like I’m on a really great upswing right now and I’m enjoying what I do, like I’m really enjoying myself a lot lately. So that’s great, and hopefully it keeps going that way. If it eventually stops feeling that way and I feel like I’m on the downswing, then it’s up to me to try to find a way back up. I’ve always taken that outlook. Yeah, I’m really having a great time these days.”

Owens has been recently trash-talking about Texas on WWE TV and social media, which is reportedly due to him facing Steve Austin at WrestleMania 38. This would mark Austin’s first match in 19 years if he does come back. 

H/T to F4Wonline.com for the transcription

Drew McIntyre has detailed what his initial reaction was to the gnarly bump Madcap Moss took in their match at the Elimination Chamber event.

On Feb. 19, McIntyre and Moss had a singles match inside the Jeddah Super Dome in Saudi Arabia. At one point during the match, McIntyre hit a reverse Alabama Slam and Moss landed awkwardly on his head and neck.

There was a look of concern on the face of Happy Corbin and referee Jessika Carr immediately checked on Madcap Moss. The good news is, Moss was able to finish the match and he was reportedly feeling fine after being checked out by WWE’s medical staff.

McIntyre’s Initial Reaction

The folks at In The Kliq got a chance to speak with Drew McIntyre and asked him about the scary bump. McIntyre said he didn’t know just how bad it looked initially (h/t Wrestling Inc).

“I didn’t realize how bad it was, but I saw the clip back. I understand that, let’s just say, he zigged when he should have zagged. The move didn’t go the way it’s supposed to go. I was aware of that, but I did not realize how bad it was. And the fact that you know, he was okay. I did double-check that. I could see it in his eyes he was good. He was double-checking to make sure he could finish the match and after the fact, the necessary precautions were taken, and thankfully now he’s all good.”

McIntyre has been feuding with Moss and Corbin in the leadup to WrestleMania. The former two-time WWE Champion made his return at the Royale Rumble after being taken out by Moss and Corbin in storyline.

The reality was McIntyre needed a short break to heal from a neck injury.

More information regarding the WWE 2K22 Roster has been released.

The game features a staggering number of wrestlers who are no longer with the company. Out of the 149 playable characters in the game, 59 wrestlers (nearly 40%) are no longer with WWE – either legends or simply released.

It’s been reported that WWE’s decision to release over 80 wrestlers last year had a big impact on the game’s development and the drastically affected plans for DLC.

There are several wrestlers featured in the game that work for WWE’s rival promotion, AEW, such as Keith Lee, Kyle O’Reilly and Buddy Matthews (Murphy). Here’s the full list: 

• Alexander Wolfe
• Andre The Giant
• Ariya Daivari
• Big Boss Man
• Billie Kay
• Bruan Strowman
• Bret Hart
• The Brian Kendrick
• Cesaro
• Chyna
• Danny Burch
• Diesel
• Ember Moon
• Faarooq
• Fandango
• Gran Metalik
• Hulk Hogan
• Isaiah Swerve Scott
• Jake Roberts
• Jeff Hardy
• Jim Neidhart
• John Morrison
• Johnny Gargano
• Kalisto
• Kane
• Karrion Kross
• Keith Lee
• Kevin Nash
• Kyle O’Reilly
• Lana
• Lince Dorado
• Macho Man Randy Savage
• Mia Yim
• Mickie James
• Murphy
• Nia Jax
• Oney Lorcan
• Papa Shango
• Peyton Royce
• Razor Ramon
• Reckoning (Mia Yim, again)
• Road Dogg
• The Rock
• Roddy Piper
• Samoa Joe
• Scott Hall
• Slapjack
• Steve Austin
• Ted DiBiase
• Tegan Nox
• Timothy Thatcher
• Toni Storm
• Trish Stratus
• Tucker
• Tyler Breeze
• Ultimate Warrior
• Undertaker
• William Regal
• X-Pac

The game is scheduled for a worldwide release on March 11, 2022, and is currently available for pre-order.

Check out SEScoops’ official WWE 2K22 Review

Logan Paul hopes to make a “bucket list” dream come true at WrestleMania.

The YouTube star and podcaster made a surprise appearance on last week’s WWE Raw. He was revealed to be The Miz’s mystery partner for a match against Rey and Dominik Mysterio at WrestleMania 38.

Paul appeared on The MMA Hour on Monday and spoke with Ariel Helwani about his current involvement with WWE.

“Yeah man, I don’t know what’s going on, I don’t know what’s going on dude, I say yes to things that sound kind of fun,” he said about WrestleManai. “They wanted me to compete at WrestleMania. I like The Miz, I’ve had him on our podcast, we’re both from Ohio and we’ve always just gotten along. So, yeah, we ended up (laughs) teaming up against the Mysterios, which are a legendary WWE family in themselves… Same shit dude, I don’t know.”

Jake Paul’s Bucket List

Jake Paul then revealed his childhood dream is to jump off the top rope.

“I have one bucket list item that I’ve wanted to do my whole life,” he said. “This is before I ever considered doing WWE, or it even being a possibility, and that is to jump off the top rope. I want to jump off the top rope. I want to sail through the air like a fucking eagle and land on someone.”

Boyhood dreams are known to come true at WrestleMania. Logan Paul might get his chance to scratch an item off his bucket list in just under 5 weeks at WrestleMania 38.

The Miz and Logan Paul vs. Rey and Dominik Mysterio is scheduled to take place at WrestleMania Saturday.

Watch Jake Paul’s appearance on The MMA Hour and make sure to visit MMANews.com for all the latest UFC news.

WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan has announced he and second wife Jennifer McDaniel have divorced.

The Hulkster and McDaniel were married in 2010. No word on exactly when the marriage dissolved, but he says they are no longer together.

Over the weekend, Hulk Hogan posted a video on Instagram along with rock star Bret Michaels. Hogan was accompanied by a blonde woman who is not Jennifer McDaniel, which prompted him to clarify things on social media.

Hulk Hogan was previously married to Linda Claridge Hogan from 1983-2009. They have two children together, Nick and Brooke.

Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar will face off at a WrestleMania for the third time in just over one month at WrestleMania 38. This time, the match will be title vs. title, with Reigns putting his Universal Championship on the line and Lesnar his WWE Championship. In the end, the titles will be unified.

However, according to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, there’s no plans for the titles to remain unified long term.

Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer noted that the company still wants to have two world champions, and this will be no different than when WWE has unified titles in the past. In the end, they’ll go right back to having two champions.

Meltzer went on to note that it’s not feasible in the current media landscape for WWE to only have one world champion. With Raw airing on USA Network and SmackDown airing on FOX, both networks want their own champion. In the past, when the brand split first started, the company had a traveling world champion across brands at one point.

However, fans should expect to see the championships unified in the main event of night two of WrestleMania 38 in Arlington, Texas.

WWE WrestleMania 38 Card So Far

The other matches confirmed so far for WrestleMania 38 are:

• WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship (Main Event for Night One)
  Charlotte Flair (c) vs. Ronda Rousey
• WWE Raw Women’s Championship
  Becky Lynch (c) vs. Bianca Belair
• Dominik Mysterio and Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz and Logan Paul

Additionally, Edge will be wrestling at the show against a yet to be determined opponent, and Vince McMahon is currently being rumored for a match against Pat McAfee.

• Pat McAfee Responds To Reports Of Vince McMahon Match

Do you like having a world champion on each brand, or would you rather see WWE have a traveling champion across the brands? Let us know in the comments section below!

Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube.

Wrestling fans on the west coast have pleaded for their first live AEW event, and those wishes are about to come true.

Following AEW Double or Nothing at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on May 29th, the company will travel to The Forum in Inglewood, CA for AEW Dynamite on June 1st, the company’s first show in California. They will follow that up with a live edition of AEW Rampage in Ontario, California on Friday, June 3rd at the Toyota Arena (the capacity will be around 8,000 fans). Inglewood is suburban L.A., and Ontario is just east of Los Angeles and six miles from the town that the Young Bucks grew up in, Rancho Cucamonga.

AEW previously had plans to run the Toyota Arena in Ontario back in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic hit and shut down touring.

The news of the Ontario, California show was first revealed on Wednesday morning by The Young Bucks during Being The Elite (you can watch the video above). Tickets go on sale for AEW Rampage in Ontario on Friday, March 11th.

AEW followed that up by officially announcing the show as well via social media.

Later on Monday, the Los Angeles area (Inglewood) Dynamite event was revealed via AEW’s social media channels. Tickets for that show at The Forum also go on sale March 11th.

Check out the Top Rope Nation wrestling podcast for your weekly dose of pro wrestling talk featuring interviews, analysis and exclusive news: Apple – Spotify – YouTube.

Johnny Gargano is now fielding offers for appearances and business inquiries.

Gargano became a free agent in late 2021 after his WWE contract expired. The company made an effort to keep him on board, but he had other plans.

During his time away from the wrestling world, Johnny Gargano has been active online with his Twitch streaming account. Earlier this month, he and wife Candice LeRae became proud parents of a beautiful baby girl, Quill.

He also wanted the freedom to selectively pick and choose select projects.

“Johnny Wrestling” is now accepting bookings and business inquiries at JohnnyGarganoBookings@hotmail.com.

Johnny Gargano hasn’t wrestled on the independent scene since 2015. He participated in a WWE tryout camp in June 2015 and wrestled for NXT for six and a half years.

As one of the most talented wrestlers in the world, he probably won’t remain independent for very long. For now, his publicist/manager is ready to field series offers.

• Johnny Gargano Says He Could Show Up Anywhere If Fans Chant “Johnny Wrestling”

Kevin Owens is one star who always goes above and beyond when it comes to fan interaction. He not only interacts with fans in the arenas, but Owens takes the time to respond to people on social media and other such places whenever he can. Turns out, it was a wrestling veteran who inspired this trait of the former world champion.

The former NXT champion told this story during his most recent appearance on Ryan Satin’s Out Of Character podcast. He recalled how he used to email Lance Storm to ask for advice. Despite his busy schedule, the former WCW star would always respond to him. That has made him want to do the same for the next generation of wrestlers:

“I remember I would email Lance Storm through his website, and ask for advice. And he would always answer. I didn’t do this every week or anything, but I did it a few times. And he would answer me. He doesn’t remember doing this. But to me, that was so huge. You know, that he will take the time to answer me. Just this, for all he knew, just this silly kid who has a dream and probably won’t make it. Maybe he will, but come on. He’s a busy guy who’s on the road. He had a family when he would come home, but he still took the time to do that. That really went a long way for me.

So that’s just him, a performer responding to somebody that hopes to one day reach what he was accomplishing at the time. But then I realized, that helped shape kind of something that I wanna be. I wanna be a positive influence on the people that are gonna be doing this after me. “

If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

• Kevin Owens Keeps Saying Stuff That Would Upset Steve Austin

All Elite Wrestling is heading to Detroit, Michigan for the first time this summer.

AEW Dynamite and Rampage will take place from Detroits Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday, June 29th.

The venue is the home arena of the Pistons (NBA) and Red Wings (NHL). It has a max capacity of over 18,000 fans, but maxes out around 14,000 for wrestling events.

According to WrestleTix, WWE Raw on March 12, 2018 sold 13,791 tickets. WWE’s most recent show there, a Super Show featuring John Cena last summer (August 1, 2021), sold 10,790 tickets.

Tickets for AEW’s Detroit debut go on sale Friday, March 11th at AEWTix.com and Ticketmaster.

Cody Rhodes Reacts to AEW Detroit

Former AEW star Cody Rhodes commented on AEW heading to Detroit. He said it’s “very cool to see!” and congratulated his wife Brandi and AEW live event coordinator Rafael Morffi for “making Detroit finally happen.”

Becky Lynch will defend the Raw Women’s Championship against Bianca Belair at WrestleMania Saturday, also known as “Night 1” of WrestleMania 38. The news was first reported by Joey Hayden of the Dallas Morning News.

As the card for WrestleMania takes shape, WWE has begun announcing which matches will take place on which night.

We are less than 5 weeks away from WrestleMania weekend and only three matches have been signed for “the most stupendous two-night WrestleMania in history.” Expect additional match announcements to begin rolling out as soon as this week.

WrestleMania 38 Schedule

Here is the updated schedule for WrestleMania 38:

WrestleMania Saturday

• Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair
• SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey

WrestleMania Sunday

• WWE Champion Brock Lesnar vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns (Winner Take All Unification Match)

Visit our official WrestleMania event hub for details on how to watch the event, rumored matches and more.

Sam Roberts made a surprise appearance on Friday’s edition of WWE SmackDown.

Roberts interviewed The Usos backstage, and also spoke with Drew McIntyre for a digital exclusive segment.

On the latest episode of his NotSam Wrestling Podcast, Sammy Bran Muffins, now known as Sammy SmackDown, spoke about the experience.

As it turns out, the appearance came together on short notice. Sam got a call from an unnamed WWE employee late Friday afternoon asking if he could be in Hershey, PA by 7:30pm for SmackDown.

Roberts immediately started “map questing” if he could make it from Westchester, NY (where he lives) to Hershey, PA in time. He estimated he could be at the venue by 8:02pm local tim, when SmackDown would already be on the air for two minutes. The WWE employee told him, “Well just get in the car!”

“I mean, when I tell you that for three hours, every 10 seconds, I’m just glancing at the GPS, glancing at the gas take, glancing at the road to make sure that I don’t run over something and end up with a flat tire,” said Roberts. “I think it was the quickest three hour trip that I’ve ever been on because my mind was occupied the entire time. I was like one tense muscle driving the entire way to Hershey, Pennsylvania.”

The rest, as they say, is history. Roberts took care of business on SmackDown to the delight of fans on social media.

Eric Bischoff continues to be outspoken about All Elite Wrestling’s level of success.

The former WCW President has been critical about various aspects of AEW. He acknowledges they have amassed a “super loaded” roster, but doesn’t feel the company has realized its full potential.

On the latest episode of his 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff explained what he believes are AEW’s shortcomings.

“AEW has to grow their business,” he began. “They haven’t thus far. Now they’re inching up since NXT is no longer head-to-head. Dynamite, they’re probably 10% or 12% some are estimating ahead of where they were this time last year. But they’re still having a hard time consistently breaking a million viewers. It’s up and down with a super-loaded roster.”

AEW Dynamite viewership has increased year-over-year. The viewership trend is positive since moving to TBS at the start of this year. That said, there is still significant room for improvement.

• Tony Khan Doesn’t Want To Make These Mistakes Made by WCW

Appealing to a Wider Audience

Bischoff’s critique is sensible. AEW has all the star power they need at this point. So, what will it take for AEW Dynamite viewership to 1.5 million viewers each week?

“At some point, they’re going to need a world champion, or two, a men’s champion and a women’s champion.. They’re going to need somebody that’s a legitimate larger than life star, not just physically, but larger than life to a broader audience.”

Bischoff says AEW and Turner might be satisfied with one million viewers each week. If they intend to draw viewership that rivals WWE Raw and SmackDown, they need to appeal to a wider audience.

“They’re going to need to focus on some larger than life type characters that are going to attract more than just the hardcore fanbase that they currently have.”

Eric Bischoff is a free agent who has appeared on WWE and AEW television in recent years. His most recent national TV appearance took place last month on SmackDown.

Eric Bischoff Critiques AEW

Here are some related articles covering Eric Bischoff’s comments about AEW:

• Eric Bischoff Claims Tony Khan Manipulates Ratings Data To Make AEW Appear Competitive

• Eric Bischoff Believes Tony Khan Is ‘Not Serving His Business’ With His Tweets

• Eric Bischoff Thinks Tony Khan Should ‘Shut Up And Wrestle’

Britt Baker is one of the most successful women’s wrestlers in the world, but it was a long journey to the AEW Women’s World Championship.

If you haven’t heard, she’s also a dentist. Baker somehow maintains two successful careers. This is a testament to her work ethic and determination. As it turns out, her dental school education kept her from fulfilling her dream of joining WWE.

On the latest episode of the Talk is Jericho podcast, Baker spoke to Chris Jericho about her hopes of signing with WWE several years ago

Baker had a tryout with the company and was in the same class as Lacey Evans. She felt confident WWE would offer her a contract, but her dental school education knocked those plans off course.

At the time of her WWE tryout, Canyon Ceman was a top executive in the talent development division. Baker described him as “the gatekeeper” who brought independent wrestlers on board to the company’s developmental system.

“He pulled me aside at the end of the tryout,” Baker recalls. “And he was like, ‘You know, you’ve just started dental school. As a father, I have a hard time pulling you from a professional degree.’ My heart dropped.”

Baker says she would have left dental school in a heartbeat if it meant she could join WWE. Looking back, she owes Ceman “the world” for not offering her a contract at the time.

“I would have left dental school in a heartbeat to go to WWE,” she said. “Because I was young, dumb, and I was like, ‘I’m going to be NXT Women’s Champion,’ like that would have got me far, right? He stayed in touch with me every few months after that. Like, ‘Let me know when you finish dental school, send me your matches.’ He always kept up with me.”

Ceman was released by WWE last year after nearly a decade with the company.

• Former Top Executive Reflects on His 9 Years With WWE

Britt Baker went on to join All Elite Wrestling in 2019. She captured the AEW Women’s World Championship at last year at Double or Nothing and is considered one of the most popular stars in the indsutry.

Baker defends the AEW Women’s champion against Thunder Rosa next weekend at AEW Revolution.

John Cena took a unique approach to promoting the Peacemaker series before its release. He decided to show up to all promotional events in his full costume.

The Cenation Leader recently had an interview with People. He discussed things such as the potential of a crossover between Peacemaker and The Rock’s Black Adam.

Speaking of his promotional tactic for Peacemaker, Cena claimed that it was very similar to the approach he took with his character as a full time WWE performer:

“I just wanted to try to familiarize the audience with my little piece, pun intended.” said the 16 time world champion. “It’s very similar to the approach that I use with the WWE when I was performing full-time there.

I would be in all interviews in the John Cena outfit of a ball cap, T-shirt, shorts and wristbands. People began to associate that character and become familiar with that character. That’s just the same approach I used in Peacemaker.”

• John Cena Receives Backlash for Peacemaker Tweet

The former world champion discussed how a lot of people may shy away from the approach because it’s not indicative of who they are.

John claimed that he just wanted the audience to become familiar with Peacemaker. As a testimony to his success, he mentioned how people were already cosplaying the character when they released a teaser for it at San Diego Comic-Con.

There have been wild rumors going around about the upcoming WrestleMania 38 PPV event. One of them is that Vince McMahon himself is going to be involved in a Mania program with Pat McAfee.

The former NFL player is not unaware of this chatter either. He recently posted a video of his previous wrestling performances on Twitter and claimed that whatever he is a part of, it’s going to be a banger:

“You all seem to know A LOT more abaht what I’m up to than me.. I’m excited to see what happens at this point as well. WrestleMania chatter is WILD right now. Just a reminder..If you think imma be a part of something that isn’t a BANGER… you’re AHT of your damn mind” wrote McAfee

The reports of Mr McMahon getting involved in a WrestleMania program first came out last week. At the time it wasn’t clear whether he would actually be wrestling a match.

More details on the plans for this feud have come to light since. It suggests that while a match may actually take place, we will most likely not see the boss taking on Pat McAfee directly.

Vince McMahon is scheduled to make an appearance at McAfee’s podcast this Thursday. We should get a better idea for the direction of this feud on the show.

A lot of people would panic upon receiving the news of getting fired from their jobs. Though according to Keith Lee, it wasn’t the case when he heard about his WWE release.

The AEW star recently had an interview with Busted Open Radio. He discussed things such as his debut for Tony Khan’s promotion and more.

Discussing his reaction to the news of his release, Lee claimed that he was very calm. He said that he had confidence that he will figure out what he needed to do:

“I think that when it happened, I was extremely calm, don’t think that it was because I had any sort of plan. It was more so that I had a lot of confidence,

And even with sudden changes occurring and things of that sort,” said Keith Lee, “I was confident that one way or another, I would figure out what I needed to do to move forward and continue doing what I love to do.”

• Keith Lee Would Have ‘Loved To Battle’ WWE Star

The former NXT champion also discussed how he didn’t have a plan for his future because his interaction with people backstage in WWE were all very positive.

Keith Lee was released from his WWE contract in November last year. He made his debut for AEW during the February 9 episode of Dynamite.

Thanks to WrestlingInc for the quotes

AEW announced a couple of new matches for the Revolution PPV during the latest episode of Rampage. One of them was a tornado trios match.

The company revealed that Matt Hardy, Andrade El Idolo, and Isaiah Kassidy will be teaming up to go up against the team of Sting, Darby Allin, and TNT Champion Sammy Guevara.

However, Fightful is reporting that this wasn’t the original idea for the bout and the plans for this announced Revolution match were changed last minute.

According to the site, the match was originally going to be a regular tag team match. It would have seen Matt Hardy teaming with Andrade to face Sting & Darby Allin

There is no clear reason why Guevara and Kassidy were added to the bout. It’s possible that they didn’t want a current champion to miss the show.

AEW has announced a total of 9 matches for the upcoming Revolution PPV so far. This includes Adam Page defending the world title against Adam Cole.

Other matches for the show include the Face Of The Revolution ladder match and a dog collar match between CM Punk and MJF.

You can check out the match card and broadcasting details for the PPV here.

James Gunn is known to take relatively unknown characters and make them mainstream names. John Cena’s peacemaker is the latest example of it.

Now that the Peacemaker series has created a buzz, people wonder if we are going to see him cross over with The Rock’s Black Adam.

When asked about it in an interview with People, Cena claimed that it would be an honor. Though he mentioned how it’s not his choice to make:

“I’ll say the same thing every time with possibilities in the sort of universe… it would be an honor and a privilege to be able to perform with him.

I think there still is a passionate marketplace that wants to see him in.” said John Cena, “But I’m sorry, man, that’s just not my choice so I don’t know. It’s so far beyond me. It’s beyond what I’m able to control.”

• John Cena Receives Backlash for Peacemaker Tweet

The 16-time world champion also discussed the success of the Peacemaker web series. The show broke the record for the biggest single-day release for an HBO Max original.

Peacemaker has been renewed for a second season. Cena mentioned how making the show was a balancing act and admitted that its success is a tremendous feeling.

While AEW has done a great job building up their day 1 talents into recognizable wrestling names, many believe they have yet to create a megastar. Eric Bischoff believes that they need a legitimate larger-than-life character if they want to take their programming to the next level.

The former WCW president talked about this during the latest episode of his 83 Weeks podcast. He mentioned that AEW has seen a 10-12% increase in audience since NXT moved to Tuesday nights.

However, Eric Bischoff discussed how the company is still struggling to get over the million viewers mark consistently. He claimed that AEW will need a star who can appeal to broader audience if they want to grow further:

“They’re going to need somebody that’s a legitimate larger than life star, not just physically, but larger than life to a broader audience. Or they’re going to have to accept the fact that AEW is basically a million viewers a week tops.”

• Eric Bischoff Says He’s Not Surprised Cody Rhodes Left AEW

Eric Bischoff later said that this won’t really matter if TBS is happy with the rating and if AEW officials are happy with their spot as well.

Although if they want to push similar ratings to Monday Night Raw, then they have to focus on some larger-than-life characters and attract more than just the hardcore fans.

Thanks to WrestlingNews.co for the quotes

Diamond Mine manager Malcolm Bivens has big plans for his faction Diamond mine.

Since the rebranding of NXT, Diamond Mine has become a prominent group on the developmental show. Besides the leader Roderick Strong and Bivens, the other members are rookies. Regardless, WWE has pushed the group in NXT 2.0, and are they having a successful run.

The Creed Brothers won the 2022 Dusty Cup by defeating former NXT Tag Team Champions MSK at NXT Vengeance Day on Feb. 15. The tag team will challenge the NXT Tag Team Champions Imperium’s Fabian Archer and Marcel Barthel. While it’s unclear when the match will occur, it may happen at NXT Stand and Deliver on Apr. 2.

In an interview with The Black Announce Table Podcast, Ms. Sookoo asked Bivens what he expects for the group after The Creed Brothers tournament win. He shared that he expects the match at NXT Stand and Deliver. He also believes Niles will challenge for the NXT Women’s Championship at some point and hopes the faction wins all of the NXT titles.

“I think it’s the NXT championships. I am eyeing Stand and Deliver in Dallas and we also have the pitbull of NXT Ivy Nile and I think she has her eyes set on the NXT Women’s Championship, so If I could have all the gold that’d be great. That be fantastic,” said Bivens.

Will the Creed Brothers Defeat Imperium?

As NXT 2.0 progresses, the brand is slowly replacing it’s veterans with newer talent. The show has also seen veteran NXT talents either move to the main roster, get released from the WWE or choose to leave. After winning the Dusty Cup, the WWE may have The Creed Brothers defeat Imperium to win the NXT Tag Team Championships to become the face of the NXT 2.0 tag team division.

WWE main roster could also use a fresh tag team like Imperium on either the Friday Night Smackdown or Monday Night Raw roster. In addition, Gunther may also be staying in the United States and possibly lead the group on the main roster. However, it’s unclear if WWE has interest in taking Imperium faction from NXT 2.0.

Bryan Danielson admits Jade Cargill has a certain quality that makes him a bit jealous.

Cargill made her AEW debut back in Nov. 2020. Since that time, she has been on a tear and is the inaugural TBS Champion. Cargill has also been a ratings draw for AEW as her match with Ruby Soho on Dynamite’s TBS debut outdrew Hangman Page vs. Bryan Danielson in most demos.

Danielson Speaks On Cargill’s Star Power

Bryan Danielson was a guest on the Masked Man Show and revealed why he’s a bit jealous of Jade Cargill (via Fightful).

“Pro wrestling is very unique in the sense that anybody if they work hard enough, can get pretty good at this. Whether you make a living from it, that’s a different thing, but can get pretty good at the technical aspects of professional wrestling.

“Again, I think that comes down to a certain discipline. In my short time working with her, she works very hard. She…can I say that I’m jealous? [Laughs]. In the sense that, she’s been wrestling a little over ten months, maybe now 11 months, and she comes out with more presence and looks like more of a star than I have ever looked in my entire career.”

Cargill has defeated the likes of Thunder Rosa, Ruby Soho, Red Velvet, Anna Jay, and others. She is approaching the two-month mark of her TBS Championship reign.

Fans have been wondering about how Vince McMahon’s return to the ring at WWE WrestleMania 38 is going to be booked as he is putting his health at risk by taking bumps at 76-year-old. 

He also hasn’t taken bumps in years, but it turns out that WWE is planning to avoid the Chairman from taking many bumps when he wrestles Pat McAfee at the show in Dallas, Texas. 

Dave Meltzer reported today on F4WOnline.com that it will be a “smoke and mirrors” match. This would mean there could be various things happening in the match such as outside interference so the person helping McMahon would take the majority of the bumps. 

WWE did this for Bret Hart in 2010 at WrestleMania 26 in his match against McMahon. Since November, WWE has booked Austin Theory in backstage segments with McMahon and Theory looks up to McMahon as a mentor in storyline in addition to trying to impress the boss. 

Meltzer also stated that WWE is doing some out-of-the-box things this year because they know they need to increase ticket sales as they have more than 20,000 unsold tickets for both nights of the show. Thus, with McMahon wrestling and the company trying to get Steve Austin to return to the ring for a match against Kevin Owens, it should increase sales. 

As noted, the storyline will kick off this Thursday on The Pat McAfee Show when McMahon makes an in-studio appearance.

Drew McIntyre has given his take on Cesaro and WWE failing to come to terms on a new deal.

Cesaro had been with WWE since 2011 when he competed under the FCW developmental system. Throughout his run with the company, Cesaro held the United States Championship and was a seven-time tag team titleholder.

Earlier this month, PWInsider reported that Cesaro “quietly” made his exit from WWE when his contract expired. He doesn’t have a non-compete clause since he was never released.

Drew McIntyre’s Take On Cesaro’s Exit

Appearing as a guest on the In The Kliq podcast, Drew McIntyre shared his view on Cesaro’s departure from WWE (h/t Fightful).

“That’s a shame. So many people come and go from the company. I’m one of them, and we always see each other down the line, but it sucks more when it’s a friend and somebody that you really want to wrestle.

“That was my number one match, I think it was his number one match. We’ve both and wrestling for 20 years, but never had a singles match. So we’re gonna be a bit longer, it’ll happen eventually. But, you know, he’s got his family. He’s got his new kid, and he’s going to be just fine. He is far too talented not to be.”

It’ll be interesting to see where Cesaro will go from here. It isn’t out of the realm of possibility that negotiations with WWE could reopen. Of course, companies such as AEW may be on the table as well as NJPW, and Impact Wrestling. There’s always the indies as well.

Wrestling legend “Diamond” Dallas Page is a long time friend of the Rhodes family, and thus, may be able to provide some insight into why Cody has left All Elite Wrestling.

Rhodes’ exit from the company he helped start came out on February 15th, with both Cody and Brandi Rhodes commenting on their exits, as well as an official company statement on the news. Since then, there has been nothing new to report despite rumors persisting that Cody will sign with WWE.

DDP shed some light on the Cody situation during an interview with Fightful. A portion of that interview was released early via Fightful Select.

“Cody called me two days before,” Page said. “He said, ‘Listen, I’m gonna tell you something. But I can only tell you so much. But I know if I don’t call you and tell you, you’re gonna want to kill me. You’ll be so pissed off, so I have to call and tell you that I love Tony Khan. He’s a great guy. He loves me. But we’re gonna split up and I want to go off and do something else. I can’t tell you about what it is right now, but I promise at some point I will.'”

Page explained, “I don’t want to know sometimes. You know what I mean? I want to be surprised. I gave him all of my viewpoints on everything. I don’t know if you’re doing this, I don’t know if you’re doing that, I don’t know if you’re doing this. But I gave him my viewpoints and then Cody’s a man. He’s very successful. To me whatever he does, I wish him the best. I hope I helped him with some of my insights to help direct him. But he’s gonna do what he’s gonna do.”

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Several reports have circulated about Cody potentially losing influence backstage at AEW and that being a catalyst for his leaving the company. The two sides were unable to come to an agreement on a new contract, and AEW also opted to not utilize their option on Cody’s initial deal with the company. Per Dave Meltzer, Cody and Brandi had three year contracts with two year rollover options that were not exercised by Tony Khan.

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