Cody Rhodes says Kevin Owens is intimidated by his suits game.
The Undisputed WWE Champion appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Falon to promote the revival of Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 14. He discussed things such as the new era of WWE, the new management of the company, having his mother in his corner for WrestleMania 40, and more.
Discussing the upcoming NBC event, Rhodes credited the trio of Triple H, Nick Khan, and Dwyane ‘The Rock’ Johnson for bringing back the classic show. The American Nightmare also teased some surprises for the night:
“I think not only are we bringing back an exceptional card, great matches, great show, but there might be a few surprises here and there. Some things.”
When asked about his Saturday Night’s Main Event opponent Kevin Owens, Cody Rhodes told a story. He discussed how he started wearing suits regularly in 2015. The current champion noted that he’s made references to people who are intimidated by his suits game because of their own insecurities:
“I’ll tell you a story. I started wearing suits all the time. It was around 2015. It just became this thing. I wanted to represent wrestling and sports entertainment in a different way. So always suits, always customs. I didn’t feel pretentious about it. I wasn’t holding it over anybody. I just wanted to feel that. How I looked, right?
Well, I have said in the past that there are men in the wrestling game intimidated by the whole suit thing. Typically what I’ll say is ‘I think they have an issue with their manhood.’ If you know…I don’t want to use any crass language here. It is late night. It’s Thanksgiving.
Yeah. I don’t want to say the word, you know….Penis. But no one has been more frustrated and upset with the fact that I wear suits than Kevin Owens. So make your own assumptions there as to what that means. That is my opponent for Saturday Night’s Main Event.”
KO seemingly responded to this jab from his former friend on Twitter. He posted a photo of himself wearing a John Cena T-shirt, someone who Rhodes considers one of his idols:
Cody Rhodes says having his mom in his corner for his WrestleMania 40 victory was the ultimate highlight for him.
The Undisputed WWE Champion appeared on the most recent episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. He was there to promote his upcoming Saturday Night’s Main Event match against Kevin Owens. Rhodes discussed things such as the new WWE management, being the quarterback of the company, and more.
Fallon brought up a picture of Cody celebrating his WrestleMania victory with his mother and asked him about the significance of the moment. The American Nightmare recounted the story of his dad Dusty Rhodes briefly holding the belt in 1978 and said that he was blessed to share the win with his mother:
“Oh, my gosh, you got me. This title, long ago, 1978, just down the road, Madison Square Garden. My dad came up here and he wrestled “Superstar” Billy Graham. He won the match, but because of the nature of pro wrestling, sports entertainment, it was a count-out. He didn’t get to leave with this.
So at eight years old, you know, not totally understanding the suspension of disbelief in terms of what we do, what is, what isn’t, I just wanted it. It took me quite some time.
By the time I got it…I mean, here she is. She’s this lovely, but I would say mean little Cuban lady. Who’s very, who’s rather….couldn’t ask for a better mom, but not easily impressed. So this was the ultimate highlight for me. She raised a wrestler. She was married to a wrestler. She doesn’t have boots and tights, but she’s a wrestler herself. I was blessed that I could share that with her.”
When asked about remembering all these details as an 8-year-old, Cody Rhodes revealed that Dusty had the picture of him holding the title framed in his house. This is how the former AEW star knew that the championship meant a lot to his father:
“They had a picture frame. That’s how I knew it meant something to my dad, because he had done so many things. They had a picture frame with him holding it.
I remember asking him, like, ‘I didn’t know you were a WWE champion?’ And he explained to me that he didn’t leave with the title that night. That was the big, eight years old, ‘This is it. That’s my goal. That’s it.’ And it just took me a while, you know? Slow learner.”
WWE has started figuring out storylines to bring both Drew McIntyre and Alexa back to TV from their hiatus according to the latest reports.
McIntyre was last seen at the Bad Blood PPV in early October where he lost the Hell In A Cell match to CM Punk, culminating their nearly 10-month-long rivalry. The Scottish Warrior had taken time off from the company afterward for family reasons.
Now PWinsider is reporting that the officials have started discussing the creative to bring the former WWE Champion back. While no plans have been finalized yet, pitches have been made indicating that Drew is closer to a comeback.
Alexa Bliss on the other hand has not been seen on WWE programming since the 2023 Royal Rumble event. She failed to beat Bianca Belair for the Raw Women’s Championship at the show.
The former champion has since welcomed her first daughter Hendrix Rouge Cabrera into the world. She has also been dealing with a multitude of health issues, prolonging her absence.
This new report suggests that the company is planning to bring her back after the holiday season. While an exact date for her return has not been set just yet, the belief is that the former champion would make her comeback sometime during the WrestleMania season next year.
Bliss’ name has been teased in recent times. In a recent promo against Wyatt Sicks, Karrion Kross asked them where their sixth member was. This got people speculating about Alexa’s return and in a Twitter exchange, the former NXT Champion claimed he would welcome The Goddess in his Final Testament faction.
There have been a lot of rumors and speculations floating around about the status of Jade Cargill after the female star was brutally attacked by an unknown assailant during the November 22 SmackDown.
One-half of the current Women’s Tag Team Champions, Cargill was involved in a prominent storyline heading into the Survivor Series WarGames PPV. She was set to join Rhea Ripley’s team in the match beyond against Liv Morgan and her partners.
This sudden change made many believe that WWE was forced to remove Jade due to an injury and the attack was a storyline to write her off.
PWInsider is now reporting, however, that the former AEW star is not dealing with any kind of injury and the SmackDown segment was nothing but a storyline.
The injury report that WWE sent out regarding jade Cargill was just to put over the severity of the attack and set the stage for a future storyline involving the current champion.
The company has already turned the attack into a storyline with multiple suspects such as Nia Jax and Naomi all pointing fingers at each other.
WWE has since announced Bayley as the replacement for Jade Cargill in the WarGames match. The event takes place this Saturday from the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada.
The big question now is how long the company will keep Cargill away from the ring to sell the injuries and who will finally be revealed as her attacker.
AEW taped the November 30 episode of Saturday Night Collision alongside this week’s Dynamite from Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. The tapings featured a number of Continental Classic matches as well as an appearance from the Death Riders. Below are the complete spoilers:
Singles Match – Mina Shirakawa def. Leila Grey: Shirakawa picked up the victory with the Glamorous Driver.
AEW Continental Classic Gold League Match – Will Ospreay def. Juice Robinson: Ospreay was favoring his left shoulder, selling the Corner Brainbuster from Kyle Fletcher at Full Gear. Will picked up the victory with a Hidden Blade.
6 Men Tag Team Match – Private Party & Mistico def. MxM Collection & Johnny TV: Private Party hit their finisher on Johnny TV for the win.
AEW Continental Classic Blue League Match – Kyle Fletcher def. The Beast Mortos: Mortos countered a superplex from Fletcher into a crucifix bomb and almost got the pin. Fletcher hit a lariat and then brainbuster to get the win in the end.
Tag Team Match: The Outrunners def. Iron Savages: Jacked Jameson cut a promo before the Outrunners picked up a quick win over his clients. FTR came out after the bout to shake hands with the duo of Turbo Floyd & Truth Magnum.
Singles Match – Hangman Page def. Wheeler Yuta: Pac and Claudio Castagnoli were shown coming down the stairs into the crowd during the bout. The distraction allowed Yuta to roll Page but he kicked out at two. Hangman finally won the bout with a Dead Eye as Jon Moxley and Marina Shafir joined Pac and Claudio on the stairs. Page continued his attack on Yuta after the bout but the Death Riders just watched. The former AEW champion was about to Pillmanize his opponent when Jay White’s music hit. White forced Page to retreat and then taunted the Death Riders.
AEW Continental Classic Blue League Match – Continental Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. TNT Champion Daniel Garcia: The champion vs champion match ended in a time-limit draw. Okada offered to shake Garica’s hand after but doinked the TNT champion in the face.
Jake Roberts has revealed why he picked snakes as part of his gimmick over a different animal.
The WWE Hall of Famer recently spoke to Chris Van Vliet for a new interview. He discussed things such as DDP helping him with his alcohol addiction, his iconic promos, DDT not being used as finishers anymore and more.
Talking about his famous gimmick, Roberts discussed how he’s actually not a fan of snakes and joked that he should have adopted a different creature-based character:
“I don’t like snakes at all. I’m terrified of them. They scare the piss out of me, and you never get used to getting bit. I should have been like Billy the bug, just carry a cockroach around.
You know, if I shoved a cockroach in your ear, that would mess with your head, yeah, yeah, especially your ear. Little cockroach dug in there.”
The WWE legend was then asked why he still chose snakes as part of his character despite hating them. Jake Roberts explained that this phobia which he shares with a lot of fans is the thing that made him a successful heel:
“Because of that, because most people are afraid of snakes. Your parents tell you from the get go, keep away snakes. And that’s ingrained in you.
It’s sort of something that is taught to us from the very beginning, and kids dig it, because mom and dad can’t stand it. You know, it makes mama squirm. I love to see your mother squirm. I still love seeing that.”
Roberts also revealed that he’s received more than 15 snake bites over the course of his career. He discussed how people are told not to move quickly when a snake bites but it’s the natural reaction for anyone. He recalled one such incident where he got bitten by a large reticulated Python who ended up tearing a chunk off his arm.
Roman Reigns plans to have a similar approach to his Hollywood career as his recent WWE run.
After spending a decade being a full-time wrestler, Reigns has successfully transitioned to a part-time schedule in the past couple of years. Though unlike other part-time workers, Roman continues being the center of the company’s top storyline despite having wrestled only 16 matches since 2023.
The Original Tribal Chief was asked if he has any plans for a Hollywood transition during an interview with SI Media podcast. Reigns explained that not doing some acting work would be a waste of the talents he has developed as part of his wrestling career:
“I’ve said this before there’s so many tools and skills that I’ve built and learned along my way in WWE that it would probably be a waste if I didn’t somewhat transition and use some of these skills.
I don’t know if I would want to go to the full extent of Dwayne [Johnson] or even John [Cena]. Dave [Bautista] is very busy as well, he seems to have a little more balance in the way he conducts his schedule maybe. But you can tell he wants that; he wants to be that guy too.”
Though Roman Reigns is not looking to make a full-time transition where he’ll be working on multiple projects at the same time. According to him, he wants to make really good movies without oversaturating the market:
“If I’m going to make movies, I want to make really good movies and I want to be a part of really good stories. I want to work with a really good crew. People ,you know, directors and production teams who know what they’re doing. People I can learn from.
I want to work with other experienced actors. I don’t have an ego…so one of my things is, I want to be able to work with people who know what they’re doing and bring something great to the table as well that I can you know take with me. Steal a couple pages from their playbook and we can all make some great money together. But I don’t feel the need to oversaturate that or do too much in that space.”
The former Undisputed Champion discussed how he would also want to have enough time to spend with his kids. Even when he makes the transition and can’t take bumps anymore, however, he’ll continue his association with WWE:
“I plan on taking care of myself so I’ll probably be able to come back and kick someone’s ass no matter what. At least play that role anyways. Look it, and then have somebody fall down for me. But yeah good projects I definitely would love to be a part of.”
Paul Heyman believes companies should not have too many titles unless they can make all of them relevant.
Having too many championships is a problem that has plagued both WWE and AEW in recent times. Fans have complained about ROH titles being defended on AEW TV on top of having multiple mid-card titles of their own. WWE has also been criticized for lack of tag team title defenses in recent months, while the company is gearing up to add two more women’s championships to their lineup.
The former ECW owner revealed his thoughts on the subject during a recent interview with Shak Wrestling. He was asked about his time as the SmackDown head writer and whether the reports of him opposing the introduction of a mid-card title were true. Heyman who believed that another belt would undermine the tag team and cruiserweight divisions explained that any championship should be given enough time:
“Yeah. I’m not a big fan of a multitude of titles unless you can give them enough time. We had proper focus at that time on the championships that we held and didn’t feel that we needed more championships to tell better stories, and felt that therefore, the introduction of more championships only waters down the championships that we already have the spotlight on at the moment.”
Though Paul Heyman explained that the increased number of titles is not directly related to their relevance. According to him, a company should add or subtract championships based on how well they’re able to maintain the division:
“What works, works. What doesn’t, doesn’t. If you can make it relevant, all pun intended to the island of relevancy, then it will work. If you can’t make it relevant, then it won’t. If there are 14 titles and they all mean something, then you should be looking at doing number 15.
If you have seven titles and you’re struggling to put relevancy on all seven, then you need to cut down the number that you have. What’s working? If it’s working, let’s do more of that. If it’s not working, change it.”
Heyman returned to WWE TV this week helping the team of Roman Reigns to recruit their fifth WarGames member CM Punk. The wrestling veteran would be accompanying the OG Bloodline members for their match against Solo Sikoa and their allies at the Survivor Series event this Saturday.
Brody King knocked out more than just his opponent in the main event of the November 27 Dynamite from Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
The House of Black member faced Darby Allin in a Continental Classic gold league match. The bout was the main event of the night and the two stars took each other to the limit with their unique offence.
One such move saw King delivering the cannonball to Allin on a barricade at the hardcam side. The move didn’t go as planned however and Brody apparently ended up hitting some equipment causing both the camera and commentary feed to be taken out for a moment:
The ending of the bout saw Darby delivering a Coffin Drop to the heavyweight star. As he went for a second one, however, King countered. He grabbed the former TNT Champion on his way down and converted it into a sleeper hold.
Brody King then delivered a pile driver to his opponent to pick up a victory and three points in the ongoing Continental Classic tournament. Claudio Castagnoli came out after the bell and he had a stare down with Brody as the show went off air.
This wasn’t the only C2 match that took place tonight. Shelton Benjamin defeated Mark Briscoe in a blue league match to open the show while Claudio took out Ricochet in a gold league match later in the night.
Kamille has finally ended her partnership with Mercedes Mone.
AEW has been teasing increased tensions between the two female stars over the past few weeks. The final straw for their partnership came at Full Gear this past Saturday when Mone chewed her bodyguard out and told her to stay in the back for her TBS title defence against Kris Statlander.
The current champion then came out to gloat about her win over Statlander on the November 27 Dynamite. She proceeded to call out Kamille again saying that she can’t do anything right.
Before The CEO could fire the former NWA women’s champion, however, she snatched the mic from her. Kamille said that Mercedes can’t fire her because she quits:
The former NWA star officially made her AEW debut back in July. She attacked Britt Baker on her debut and formed the alliance with the current TBS Champion.
A lot of fans have been complaining since then that Kamille is miscast in her role as a bodyguard and considering her previous achievements, she deserves to be featured on TV as a singles star.
We’re going to have to see if this is the end of the former champion’s storyline with Mone or if she’ll go after the title held by the wrestling veteran next.
Brett Lauderdale says he doesn’t know why Ricky Starks was pulled from GCW shows.
The AEW star was announced for several upcoming GCW events after his surprise appearance at the Dream On show on November 23. The former FTW champion, however, was pulled from the announced dates only days after by the Elite promotion. This was a curious development as Starks’ other indie appearances were not canceled.
Lauderdale addressed these turn of events on the most recent episode of Game Changer Weekly. He explained that contracted talents reach out to him if they want to get booked. Brett noted that wrestlers are responsible for getting clearance from their employers themselves. He said that he has no direct line of communication with AEW so he can’t be sure why Starks was pulled:
“I found out about this the same time as everybody else did, for the most part. I’ve stated this many times before and it’s no secret. I don’t really have a line of communication with AEW. I’ve never talked to Tony Khan on the phone or via text in my entire life. They don’t talk to me. I’m not trying to say that in a negative context, but I guess we’ve never really had to talk.”
The indie promotion has featured many AEW talents on their shows over the years including top names such as Jon Moxley. Brett Lauderdale claimed that because of the lack of communication, he doesn’t know if the freeze applies just to Starks or other talents as well.
Speaking about all the different rumors that have been floating around, Lauderdale noted that he’s heard things too. Though he can’t say for sure if they’re true as reports have been wrong about the AEW-GCW relationship in the past. Brett said that he’s always thought the two companies to be on the same side, and admitted that it doesn’t feel great to have an announced talent be pulled like that:
“I would love to know if there’s something to be done or something we can be doing. We got to the point where this stuff was agreed upon, announced, and fans were looking forward to this. To promote something and have to pull it back is not ideal. At the same time, and I’ve said this many times, when you do book television or contracted talent, you do it with the understanding this could happen at any time for any reason. It sucks, but it’s part of the deal.”
The GCW official also commented on reports saying that Effy’s referencing Shad Khan on his podcast saying ‘Brett doesn’t have a dad who pays him to stay away’ might have caused the rift between the promotions. He noted that Effy is also an independent contractor and his podcast is not related to GCW in any way.
Ricky Starks has explained why he can’t be happy by just having a job.
The former FTW Champion finds himself in a precarious position with his current employers. AEW has not booked the 34-year-old in a match since March but they reportedly also extended his contract to stop him from entering free agency this year.
A lot of people think that Starks should just be grateful for having a job with the company still but the AEW star doesn’t seem to subscribe to this philosophy.
During a new interview with Chris Van Vliet, Ricky Starks talked about his All 2023 match with Bryan Danielson. While discussing the bout, the former champion recalled someone telling him that he should just be grateful for having a job:
“I’ll never forget someone telling me just be grateful that you even have a job. I remember someone being like, just be grateful we have a job. I’ll never forget feeling like, how dare you! Don’t tell me to be grateful for something that I’ve worked very hard for.”
Starks explained that people don’t know how hard he’s worked for the opportunities he’s gotten. Anyone who hasn’t lived his life shouldn’t tell him to be grateful for anything:
“That’s saying I know that you’re hungry for dinner, here’s a half-eaten loaf of bread, actually no, let me take that back. Here’s just the crumbs. F*ck you. Don’t tell me just be grateful for something, you don’t live my life. You don’t understand the things that I have gone through to even just get in this moment. It really set me off.”
The AEW star also talked about his recent hiatus from the company. He said that being kept home during the prime of his career just throws you off. You can check out his remarks on the matter here.
Former WCW President Eric Bischoff has announced that he’ll be making the trip to Orlando for an in-person appearance at next week’s episode of NXT.
This week’s episode of the Black & Silver show featured Trick Williams in a segment where he talked about his upcoming Deadline title defence against Ridge Holland. Holland later came out to deliver some words of his own.
The segment didn’t end with just the two of them, however, and Eric Bischoff appeared on the Titan Tron to address both the stars. The wrestling veteran revealed that he’ll be attending next week’s episode of the show in person to test both the NXT talents:
“Now, Trick, you’re right. Things have been very chaotic in NXT, and I really enjoyed it. But next week, I want to get a closer look because next week, I’m coming to NXT.
Ridge, you want the NXT title so bad? Trick, you want to keep it, right? Well, we’re going to find out how bad. What makes both you guys tick? If you think tensions are high right now, by the time I’m done, you guys are going to want to destroy each other at Deadline. Hell, maybe right there in the room. See you next week.”
Ridge Holland originally won the title shot by defeating Andre Chase on the November 19 episode of the show. The loss not only cost Andre the title opportunity but his Chase U faction was also forced to disband after it.
The NXT Deadline event will be taking place from The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday, December 7.
Roman Reigns says that the match with The Rock could still happen if the fans want it but they can also pivot things to a different direction if needed.
The Original Tribal Chief spoke to SI Media podcast recently to discuss a wide variety of topics including his status for the Raw Netflix premiere, his SummerSlam return, Paul Heyman’s recent behaviour, and a lot more.
When asked if the match with The Great One could still happen, the former Undisputed Champion explained that WWE is a company that always listens to fans. While they don’t let individuals dictate their programming, they work hard to satisfy the paying consumer in a way that enables the company to grow further:
“I think our fan base and the company’s proven that if our fans are loud enough and passionate enough about something [it’ll happen]. We’re a company who, we’re not being dictated to, and of course we have a vision for where we’re trying to go.
But we know who the consumers are, we know who’s paying their hard-earned money. We want to satisfy those people. But we have to do it in a regard that’s going to attract more eyes and bring more people in. Dwayne’s always going to be in that role. He’s always going to be a guy that just magnetizes and makes the broadcast even bigger. So if that’s the case and that the people want it.”
The Final Boss showed up at Bad Blood last month to confirm that his story with Roman Reigns and Cody Rhodes is not over just yet. Though there have been conflicting reports on what the next chapter of this feud with look like. One source suggests that the appearance was not building toward the obvious Roman Reigns vs. The Rock match for WrestleMania 41.
The Tribal Chief seemingly referenced the uncertainty of plans concerning The Hollywood star discussing how WWE has developed many talents who can take the center stage if needed. Roman Reigns is not backing away from the fight however, if the People’s Champion is down for it:
“But that’s what’s cool is, man, we’ve had such a strong set of talent in our roster. Who would have thought that Cody could have had so much admiration that it could have broke up the plans of Tribal Chief vs. The People’s Champion.
That in its own right is pretty outstanding. It’s amazing. So I think that just kind of goes back to – Yeah there’s a lot of meat on the bone and if Dwayne can’t come in and just boom – this is how it is brother.
Then that’s when you know you’re cooking up with some really good ingredients. I think that’s what makes…that’s why he is tied in the way he is. That’s why he’s a part of the board and a part of everything the way he is. Because we’re at an unprecedented time right now. Business is great and we just want to continue to push things up. So if that’s what the people want, and the people’s champ is down – I’m sure we can make something happen.”
Roman Reigns has confirmed that he’ll be making an appearance at Raw’s Netflix premiere on January 6.
The Monday night show’s debut on the streaming platform is shaping up to be a PPV-level event with names such as Cody Rhodes, John Cena, CM Punk, and more being announced already.
The Tribal Chief was also asked about his status for the specific episode and beyond during a recent appearance on the SI Media podcast. Reigns confirmed that he is booked for the premiere:
“I’m not exactly sure. I’m just trying to get to the premiere. I’m on the premiere. I don’t think I can share too much more than that at this point.
With Netflix spending an average of $500 million per year for the 10-year deal, it’s not hard to imagine that the company would want to see WWE’s top names being featured on Raw including The Head of The Table. It won’t come easy however, as USA officials would like the current lineup for SmackDown to remain as it is.
Roman Reigns knows that he’ll be the subject of a tug-of-war between the two platforms. Though he is not giving anything away when it comes to his future appearances beyond the January 6 show. The former Undisputed champion claimed that they have not scheduled his dates beyond the show just yet:
“We haven’t scheduled my exact dates for going into WrestleMania from Rumble forward, but that is definitely a topic that has to be addressed. It’s an understandable one for the impact, the amount of money that is part of this deal.
I completely understand. These are all great problems to have. Nobody loves being in the tug of war more than me. It usually works out pretty good.”
The OG Tribal Chief will be leading the team of Sami Zayn, the Usos and CM Punk against Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline and Bronson Reed at the Survivor Series: WarGames event on November 30. There are a lot of moving parts in this story.
Fans believe Paul Heyman, who brought Punk into the fold might double-cross Roman for abandoning him after WrestleMania 40. There is also the possibility of The Final Boss making a surprise appearance like he did at Bad Blood.
Shawn Michaels showed that he is in charge after a chaotic segment on this week’s episode of NXT on the CW from the WWE Performance Center.
This week’s episode of the company’s development show featured a backstage segment with General Manager Ava. She addressed the individuals who have lost their Iron Survivor qualifying matches over the course of the last few weeks. She announced that all the competitors would get one more chance to make the PPV card in Last Chance matches for both women’s and men’s sides next week.
Eddy Thorpe who lost his qualifying match to one-half of the current NXT Tag Team Champions Nathan Frazer was not pleased with the announcement. A number of tag teams have come out to brawl with the current champions during his bout last week. The NXT star tried to argue that he only lost the match because of interference but Eva said that she had given him everything he wanted. As the General Manager tried to leave, Eddy grabbed her hand to keep the conversation going.
A fight broke out between Bronco Nima and Mark Coffey at the same time. Bronco shoved Coffey into the door which in turn knocked out Ava who was entering the medical area. Shawn Michaels and other officials quickly ran down to check on the authority figure. Michaels was not pleased when Thorpe tried to explain himself and the WWE Hall of Famer shoved the young star against a garage door.
NXT Deadline will be taking place from The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Saturday, December 7. A total of 4 matches have been confirmed for the show till now. Apart from the Men’s and Women’s Iron Survivor Challenge matches, the event will feature Trick Williams defending the NXT title against Ridge Holland. Axiom and Nathan Frazer will also be defending the tag titles but their opponents are yet to be determined.
The former TNT Champion recently had an interview with WrestleBinge. He talked about things such as his dream matches, where he gets inspiration for his character, and more.
When asked about his response to people who constantly criticize AEW for their stories and business decisions, Cassidy discussed how they’re a very young company:
“I could say why do you care? I could say if you want AEW to fail then fine. I don’t know why you have to go on and say it out loud?
We are a very young company. We’ve been around for five years. We’ve just grown exponentially fast and gained traction very early thanks in to the part of Tony Khan.”
We’re Gonna Have Problems Throughout Our Tenure: Orange Cassidy
Orange Cassidy explained that changing their approach is not a one-time thing as people believe. Making adjustments is something they’re going to have to continue doing as long as the company exists:
“We’re going to have to go through adjustments. This isn’t going to be a thing that’s only now problem. We’re gonna have problems throughout our entire tenure. I mean this is just the way it is.
I always feel that the powers that be in AEW are trying to do their best to bring the best product. If that means we got to go somewhere else we’re gonna go somewhere else. This is just part of it. I really hope AEW doesn’t go anywhere.”
The 40-year-old challenged Jon Moxley for the AEW World Title at Full Gear this past Saturday but failed to dethrone him. The ending of the show hinted that Darby Allin was going to be the next challenger for Mox and we’ll have to wait and see where Cassidy fits into the picture now.
Ricky Starks has not entered the free agency market because AEW has chosen to extend his deal into 2025 despite his recent absence.
The AEW status of the former FTW Champion has been a mystery for fans for a long time. He has stated multiple times that he is not injured, yet Starks has not been featured in a match for AEW since March.
He recently made his return to the independent circuit, showing up at a GCW event to vent frustrations about being forced to sit home and let his momentum die out.
Fightful Select is now reporting that Starks’ AEW contract was actually set to expire sometime in spring this year and he was hoping to test the open markets.
The officials, however, decided to pick the option year in his deal. This extended his run with the company through the spring or summer of 2025.
Despite picking up the option year, Starks hasn’t been factored much into the promotion’s creative plans since his last match, and there haven’t been a lot of pitches to bring him back.
Ricky Starks was famously spotted walking with Cody Rhodes before his Royal Rumble 2023 victory. He was also seen celebrating The American Nightmare’s WrestleMania 40 win as part of the audience. Both these events are believed to have affected his standing within Tony Khan’s promotions.
Though the former champion was spotted in backstage photos of the most recent Full Gear PPV last Saturday, and the report claims that he was welcomed at the show.
Hopefully, the top brass will be able to communicate any differences with the 34-year-old after his latest visit and we’ll see him back on TV sooner rather than later.
Hornswoggle has revealed that he was paralyzed from the waist down when he was just four years old.
The former WWE star recently appeared on Undertaker’s Six Feet Under podcast. He discussed things such as his start in wrestling, hiding under the ring, and more.
Talking about the various health issues he has had to deal with throughout his life, Hornswoggle revealed that he was born with a bad case of scoliosis. He underwent surgery to make things better when he was just four years old but the former Cruiserweight champion actually ended up getting paralyzed from the waist down:
“When I was young my people, we’re born with scoliosis. When I was born, I had it real bad and when I was four, they tried to do the surgery on me to straighten it.
The doctor never did a surgery on a person like me. So he cut me open, he hit a nerve in my spine and ended up paralyzing me cuz he’s never done surgery on my people. I was four. I had that surgery and then was paralyzed from the waist down and just full body cast.”
Hornswoggle had to get another surgery where a rod was inserted into his back after this. After the second surgery, the doctor had warned Swoggle’s parents about playing dangerous sports:
“Then we found a doctor in Minneapolis who specializes in little person surgeries and put a rod in my back. First thing he says when we get out of surgery to my parents at the time is ‘Hey no trampolines and no contact sports.’
Years and years later obviously when I started working for WWE, He randomly like emailed or called my dad or something. He was like ‘I see he didn’t listen to me very much’ and my dad goes ‘yeah he didn’t listen to me either obviously'”
The former WWE star later revealed that over time his nerves have gone around his spine and cut feelings from his legs. While he’s still able to use his legs, he can’t feel any sensation in them. Per Swoggle his legs always just feel cold.
Big Boom A.J. has confirmed that he suffered an injury during his Full Gear match but announced that he is not done with wrestling just yet.
The TikTok star posted a video addressing the news first reported by Fightful Select. He noted that he was able to finish the match despite the injury because of the adrenaline of being back in the ring and in front of the crowd:
“The story is out there. I did break my foot in the ring Saturday night. I think it happened somewhere right around the flying clothesline. But you know, the adrenaline was kicking.
Everyone at the Prudential Center was bringing the boom. I had big justice in my corner, the rizzler right there. Of course, Ashley, Mama justice, Whole family right there. So I guess that adrenaline kicked in and I was able to finish the match.”
Tony Khan had extended the invitation to AJ to return to AEW after his match. The former indie wrestler confirmed during the video that he’ll be returning to the ring for the company after his recovery. He teased involvement with the wrestling promotion during his rehab as well:
“I have been in touch with Tony Khan today, also with the other executives at AEW, and I will be coming back. I will be back in the ring again. Do not worry about that.
Big Boom AJ has about a six-to-eight-week recovery here, but then I will be back in the ring again. I will be doing a few things with AEW during that time. So stay tuned. We got some real fun stuff coming your way.”
Big Boom went on to thank everyone at AEW who allowed to him to be part of the show after he had not been in the ring for 20 years. He said that both him and Big Justice are ‘All Elite’ and they’ll be back in the ring very soon.
Actress Vanessa Hudgens was in attendance for this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw from the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
The High School Musical and Bad Boys star was shown on screen during the broadcast. She spinned her braid like Bianca Belair and also acknowledged the Tribal Chief by copying the Bloodline’s trademark pose:
Hudgens is a longtime wrestling fan. She previously shared stories on her social media about Dirty Dom’s betrayal of Rhea Ripley and his new alliance with Liv Morgan at this year’s SummerSlam.
Vanessa was also one of the stars who posed with the Gold WWE Championship belt gifted to Snoop Dogg. After the belt was stolen from Snoop, names such as Pete Davidson, William Shatner and NFL star Rob Gronkoswki have all posted stories with it.
Tensions have reached an all-time high between New Day teammates Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston before the anniversary of the group’s in-ring debut.
The duo fought The Alpha Academy on the November 25 Raw. Kingston was in the ring to begin the action at the start, but Woods tagged himself in.
Otis imminently levelled both the New Day stars and he then took out Kingston with The Caterpillar. Tozawa tagged in and delivered a senton to Woods for the win.
Woods was very frustrated with the loss and he started chewing out Kingston after the match. The two continued arguing all the way to the back.
Their relationship reached an all-time low as both stars started taking personal shots at each other. Woods claimed that Kofi only got the world title opportunity because of him and that he ‘pissed it all away’ in 6 seconds in the loss against Brock Lesnar.
Kingston wasn’t behind in the war of words. He said Xavier wasn’t good enough to be a world champion like him and Big E. He reminded the 38-year-old that it was Woods who extended the offer to form a group and not the other way around.
This segment comes before the announced 10-year anniversary celebration for the 12-time Tag Team Champions which WWE has set for the December 2 episode of Raw. The tag team made their official in-ring debut on November 28, 2014.
The storyline seems to be building toward the TV return of Big E. The big question is what role the former NXT Champion will play when he finally returns to the company.
WWE has officially announced the new Women’s Intercontinental Championship for the Monday Night Raw roster.
The new title belt was unveiled by General Manager Adam Pearce before this week’s episode of the Red Branded show went on air. The company aired the segment during the broadcast later on.
Pearce mentioned how the Men’s IC title has been a beacon of opportunity in WWE for over 40 years and it’s been a championship held by workhorses of the business.
He then claimed that the Women’s Divison is the true workhorse of the company. Pearce went on to reveal the new title belt with the classic white strap:
A 12 women’s tournament is currently in progress to determine the first-ever Women’s US Champion with Bayley, Chelsea Green, and Michin already having advanced to the Semifinals. The final of the tournament will be taking place at Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 14.
Adam Pearce confirmed that a similar tournament to crown the Inaugural Women’s IC champion will begin on Raw next week. No participants have been announced for the same yet.
Gage Goldberg wants to see his dad take on Gunther after their bad Blood encounter.
The son of the former WCW Champion recently had an interview with WrestleBinge. He discussed things such as the origin of his name, whether he watches current-day wrestling, and more.
When asked if he has any plans of joining the business himself, the Colorado Buffaloes football star said that it’s more of a backup plan for him:
“I mean yes and no. For sure cuz wrestling would be cool having all the…. being amped up and everything. Having all the adrenaline, but then also like I know my place right now is with football.
So I’m going to live this out and see where that takes me. If it doesn’t work out, could be wrestling. Don’t know. It’s a backup plan.”
Gage was also asked about attending the Bad Blood PPV in Atlanta with his dad and the encounter with Gunther. The 18-year-old said that he kind of wants to see his dad fighting the Ring General now:
“I mean when he first came out, I wasn’t expecting anything. Then he started saying all that. Then I’m like ‘okay.’ I started whispering to my dad, I’m like ‘You might want to get in there and kick his ass’ or something like that.
But he got out there. He showed his presence for sure too. It was just like; I was like why are you calling him out? I don’t really know. I kind of want to see my dad kick his ass now.”
Bill Goldberg has announced that he’ll be having his retirement match in 2025. While an opponent and a date has not been revealed for his final match, it seems very likely that we’ll see him fighting Gunther during the WrestleMania season or at the next Saudi show in May.
Tony Khan doesn’t know how the WWE ID program will affect their hiring strategy and if they will have to face any conflict while trying to bring in any talent.
The AEW President took part in the post-Full Gear 2024 media scrum. He discussed topics such as the Costco Guys’ recent involvement with the company and more.
When asked about the newly launched WWE ID program, the wrestling executive noted that he is not completely aware of how the thing works but claimed that it’s definitely going to affect the independent scene:
“It’s interesting. I don’t really know how it’s going to work. I understand there is some kind of first right or refusal aspect of it. We haven’t come up where it’s been a conflict yet. I do think it’s going to affect the independent scene in some ways.”
Khan discussed how they have brought in many great indie talents over the years and mentioned that AEW provided work to many indie stars during the COVID-19 pandemic.
TK cited the new TNT Champion Daniel Garcia as an example of talent who started off in AEW Dark and has now become a champion in the company. Tony Khan then reiterated that they’ll be keeping a close eye on the WWE ID program:
“I expect we’ll keep signing great talent off the independents. I do think it’s a different mechanism. It’s something to keep an eye on. It hasn’t created major conflicts or anything yet, but I imagine it will definitely influence the independent wrestling scene. It’s definitely something to keep an eye on.”
WWE has partnered up with many indie promotions for their new program. The prospects signed to it will have access to the company’s training facilities and the promotion will produce content around their wrestling journey for their social platforms.
The talents will continue operating as they do in the independents and there won’t be any restrictions on who they can work for. The belief is that WWE will have the right to first refusal on talent. If any other company reaches out to them with an offer, the Endeavor-owned promotion will get an opportunity to sign them first.