Former WWE star Tony Nese has announced the birth of twin boys.

The 39-year-old posted photos of the newborns with his wife Liz on Instagram. He announced that the twins have been named Bryce and Benjamin Nese:

“Welcome to the world Bryce and Benjamin Nese. They came in 35 weeks with both weighing 6 lbs 1oz each. Our hearts will forever be full.”

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A post shared by Tony Nese | Online Coach (@tonynese)

The couple have two children a girl and a boy already. A number of current AEW and WWE stars congratulated them on their Insta post.

• Tony Nese On What Vince McMahon Said About His He-Man Inspired Gear

Tony Nese In WWE

Tony Nese was signed by WWE after taking part in the 2016 Cruiserweight Classic tournament. He was eliminated in the second round by Brian Kendrick.

Nese would make his main roster debut during the September 26, 2016 episode of Raw. In late 2017 he started aligning himself with Enzo Amore’s faction.

The group dubbed The Zo Train also featured Ariya Daivari, Drew Gulak, and Noam Dar. Nese was kicked out of the faction in December. He was lined up for a feud with them but the storyline was dropped after Amore’s firing from the company in January 2018.

He had a run with the Cruiserweight Championship after defeating Buddy Murphy in the WrestleMania 35 pre-show. Tony Nese remained with the company for 3 more years without any notable feuds before being released in June 2021.

• Tony Nese Calls 205 Live ‘Wrestling Purgatory’

Adam Cole has confirmed his break up with Britt Baker.

The two AEW stars had been together for 8 years. They started dating back in 2017 before the inception of the company. Their relationship status had been subject of much speculation in recent months.

During a recent interview with The Takedown, Cole confirmed that he and Baker are no longer romantically involved but they remain good friends:

“We are no longer a couple, but when I say that we both still love each other and are still friends and still so supportive of each other, that could not be more true.”

Adam Cole also addressed the online discourse around their relationship. He encouraged people not to pick sides and know that they still care for each other:

“I don’t want anyone to ever think that me and Britt dislike each other. I think it is possible, in situations, for people who are in relationships to kind of go their separate ways, but still care about one another. The last thing I would want is fans to pick sides or anything like that.”

The former NXT Champion stressed that he wants Britt Baker to be as happy and successful as humanly possible. He noted that Baker will remain an important part of his life and there is absolutely no ill will between them.

The Undisputed Kingdom leader returned to AEW during the WrestleDream PPV on October 12. In a promo at the following Dynamite episode, Adam Cole turned face and confirmed that his rivalry with MJF was not over.

Deonna Purrazzo has opened up about being body-shamed online and various wrestling personalities and fans coming to her support.

The Virtuosa has been carving a unique spot for herself in the women’s wrestling space over the last few years. After being rejected by WWE early in her career, Purrazzo showed that she can lead a division with her TNA run. She is now finding her place in the AEW locker room after officially joining the company in January this year.

Getting the spotlight on stages like these, however, comes with some consequences as well. Deonna has had to deal with negativity and body shaming online in recent times.

The 3-time Impact Knockouts Champion opened up about defending herself from such troll comments during an interview with Chris Van Vliet. She explained that she needed to speak up because she is much more than just her looks or a number on a scale:

“Oh my gosh, yes they did. That’s the unfortunate beauty of the internet is when people come for you for such silly things like your body or whatever it is. I wanted to defend myself.

I felt like I needed to say something, and what I said, I mean, I feel in my heart and soul like I’m so much more than what my body looks like. I’m so much more than a number on the scale.”

• Deonna Purrazzo: ‘Britt Baker-MJF Incident Doesn’t Reflect My AEW Experience’

That’s All That Matters: Deonna Purrazzo

Deonna Purrazzo sent out a tweet earlier this year after some trolls targeted her following her AEW debut. She mentioned how her worth is not determined by her body or other’s perception. A number of wrestling veterans including the likes of Mickie James and Brian Myers came to her support after this.

The former TNA star seems to be taking things more positively since then. She mentioned how her husband Steve Maclin supports her no matter what and it’s all that matters:

“First of all, I’ve never been a size small, but my husband loves me whether I would be a small or I’d be an extra extra large, like he thinks I’m beautiful no matter what. And honestly, that’s all that matters. I have a college degree. I’m working on getting a master’s degree.

I have worked in every company in the world. There’s a reason people want to work with me, because of my body of work, not my body, and for people to agree with that and then say such nice things, I cried because the internet hurt my feelings, but then I cried because the love I felt for my friends and my family.”

Purrazzo has competed against names such as Toni Storm, Thunder Rosa and Mariah May since joining AEW full-time. She is still in the hunt for her first championship in the company.

Check out our exclusive interview with Deonna Purrazzo from earlier this year:

WWE has announced that Seth Rollins will be going up against Bronson Reed in a singles match at the upcoming Crown Jewel special.

This week’s episode of Monday Night Raw featured another chaotic confrontation between the two stars. It started with Rollins calling out Reed during the opening segment of the show.

The security tried to stop the two WWE stars from getting physical but failed. Reed tried a couple of times to deliver a Tsunami on Rollins but the Architect moved out of the way. The segment ended with Bronson going through the announce desk at the ringside.

Bronson Reed’s reign of terror started with an attack on Seth Rollins back on the August 5 Raw. The former Shield member then returned to cost Reed his Last Monster Standing Match against Braun Strowman on the September 30 episode of the show. The two stars have been feuding since then.

• Seth Rollins: ‘Betraying the Shield Changed Wrestling for the Better’

WWE Crown Jewel 2024 Updated Match Card

This is the third match that has been announced for Crown Jewel apart from the two champion vs champion bouts made official by Triple H previously. Here is the updated card for the show:

• WWE Crown Jewel Championship Match: Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs. World Heavyweight Champion Gunther
• WWE Women’s Crown Jewel Championship Match: Women’s World Champion Liv Morgan vs. Women’s Champion Nia Jax
• Singles Match: Seth Rollins vs. Bronson Reed

WWE Crown Jewel will be taking place on Saturday, November 2 from the               Mohammed Abdo Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

• How WWE Can Make The Crown Jewel Championship Matter

Cody Rhodes wrestled in a first-time-ever match after this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw from Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania went off air.

The Bloodline made their presence felt in the main event of the Red Branded Show this week. The match featured Jey Uso defending the Intercontinental Championship against Bron Breakker.

Solo Sikoa and his disciples first showed up claiming that they wanted to help their cousin. Things went sour quickly however and Fatu in the end took out Jey. This allowed Breakker to pin the former Bloodline member and win the title back.

While the rest of the Bloodline seemingly retreated after this match, Jacob Fatu stayed around. He competed in a Philadelphia Street Fight against Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes after the show went off air.

• Cody Rhodes Compares Paul Heyman To Legendary Director

The Samoan Warewolf took the loss in what was his singles debut for the company. He had previously wrestled only tag team matches since his debut back in June.

The American Nightmare did not appear on the broadcast of the show this week. Though he has invited the World Heavyweight Champion Gunther for a face-to-face confrontation on Friday’s SmackDown.

The Friday Night show may also feature Jey Uso again. The now former champion will be looking for an explanation from his family members about the events of Raw.

• Cody Rhodes Reveals What His Daughter Thinks About His Work

Bron Breakker is IC Champion again thanks to some help from The Bloodline.

The main event of this week’s Raw from Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania featured Jey Uso defending the IC title against Breakker. Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu showed up in the arena halfway through the bout to ‘help’ Jey retain the title.

The duo of Tama Tonga and Tonga Loa were also not far behind. Tonga showed up to encourage the defending champion but things turned into chaos when Jey superkicked his cousin. Tama Tonga then tried to level him but ate a superkick too.

Solo Sikoa still looked to help his cousin and he took a spear from Bron Breakker after pushing Uso out of the harm’s way. Jacob Fatu then came up face-to-face with Breakker to distract him. Jey was not convinced however and he leveled both Fatu and Breakker with a tope suicida.

• Bron Breakker Has A ‘Steiner Math’ Singlet In Works

The ending of the bout saw Adam Pearce running down to escort Tonga and Loa out of the arena. Jey looked to land a spear on his opponent in the meantime but Fatu attacked him.

The Samoan Wearwolf dropped his cousin on top of the announce desk. Bron Breakker then took advantage as he dumped Jey back into the ring for a super spear and the pin.

Jey Uso’s Intercontinental Championship reign ends at only 27 days with his loss while Breakker starts his second run with the title.

These events are likely to motivate Jey to finally join forces with Roman Reigns and Jimmy Uso against Solo Sikoa’s disciples. The group would still be one member short and Sami Zayn may be next on the list of potential allies for the original Tribal Chief.

• Bron Breakker Opens Up About NXT Segment With The Undertaker

If The Bloodline saga is Cinema, then Paul Heyman is the Martin Scorsese behind it.

The Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes recently spoke to Watch Fox 57 News to promote the October 18 SmackDown from Columbia. He talked about things such as what his daughter thinks about his work, finding a work-life balance, and more.

While talking about his involvement in the Bloodline story, Cody mentioned how it has done wonders for WWE’s business. He explained that he only has a set role in the whole thing while the real architect behind it all is Paul Heyman:

“I’m always of the thought that my point in the story was just to be the guy who beats them. I know that sounds really arrogant. But I thought maybe that’s just what I do. With Solo Sikoa who will be there tonight, of course Roman Reigns will be there tonight.

But I’d say from kind of the more behind-the-curtain aspect that when all is said and done and people look at how unbelievable that story has been over the years. What it’s done for WWE and WWE’s business, Mr. Paul Heyman should probably be considered kind of the Martin Scorsese behind it all.

He’s really a fascinating unique individual and has a sense of what the audience may want and they don’t even know they want it. Just super genius.”

• Cody Rhodes Names One WWE Rule He Never Wants Anyone To Break Except John Cena

The former ECW owner has not been seen on WWE programming since the June 28 SmackDown. He was kicked out of the Bloodline by Solo Sikoa after Heyman refused to acknowledge him as the Tribal Chief.

As the Bloodline story has picked up steam again with Roman Reigns’ return recently, however, one has to imagine that the wise man’s comeback will not be long behind.

Cody Rhodes has opened up about maintaining work-life balance and what his daughter thinks he does for a living.

The Undisputed WWE Champion has taken over the role of the face of WWE since returning to the company in 2022. With Roman Reigns being on a part-time schedule, the American Nightmare is the one who fulfils all the responsibilities falling onto the shoulders of the ‘quarterback’ of the promotion.

The added pressure, however, also means that it’s much harder for him to maintain a balance between his work and personal life. Rhodes opened up about it during an appearance on Watch Fox 57 News, and revealed advice he got from Triple H:

“I think it’s a matter of….I’ve heard my boss and head of creative Triple H say ‘There is no such thing as a work life balance. You’re either working or you’re having the life moment. You’ve got to be committed to whatever it may be.’

With us, my wife having been in the industry herself. She’s really understanding of particularly the champion schedule, all the things that come with it and the fact that we have that.”

• Cody Rhodes Names One WWE Rule He Never Wants Anyone To Break Except John Cena

I Don’t Know How To Explain It: Cody Rhodes

Cody Rhodes also revealed that his 3-year-old daughter Liberty doesn’t understand the full scope of his work. According to him, she only knows the business as ‘going to WrestleMania’:

“My three-year-old, she only knows what I do as WrestleMania cause that was the first show she went to. So she’s [like] ‘Going to WrestleMania?’ [I’m like] ‘Yep’ ‘Going to WrestleMania?’ Every week.

For [me] to slowly start to see her uncover the business is going to be unique. Because I don’t know if I know how to explain it to her yet. I don’t know. Right now it’s just colorful lights and entrances. She hasn’t seen a full match yet.”

The WWE Champion is scheduled to compete at the upcoming Crown Jewel PPV from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on November 2. He will be taking on fellow World Champion Gunther in a rare champion vs champion match.

• Cody Rhodes Shares Five-Year Vision For WrestleMania In The UK

The work culture of World Wrestling Entertainment has been under scrutiny since Janel Grant filed her lawsuit against former Chairman Vince McMahon. Now more former employees have spoken up about unfair treatment during their time in the company.

Rolling Stone recently published a piece giving insight into the chaotic writer’s room under Vince’s leadership. Several former writers described the day-to-day hardships of working in the challenging environment in detail, including one saying that WWE is a ‘kingdom ruled by fear.’

The women who ended up a part of the mostly male-dominated space say that they became hyper-aware of their gender because of how they were treated. On the condition of anonymity, one former female writer claimed that she was touched inappropriately by her colleagues:

“They would touch me where they would have me come closer [to them], they would pull me by my waist to come somewhere or move closer to them. I’m just super aware that it’s kind of close to my butt and most people don’t touch me by the waist ever. I thought, ‘This is strange.’”

• Janel Grant fires back at Vince McMahon’s doctor, Peak Wellness with new court filing

While this behavior was not explicitly sexual, the female employee says that it felt like a means of controlling her in a way that didn’t happen to male writers.

Another former writer revealed that she was fired from her position when she complained to HR. When enough female writers complained about the treatment, a Zoom call was held by the leadership in 2020. While the writers were encouraged to speak on their issues, the leadership was ultimately dismissive of their problems.

The Zoom call was followed by an in-person meeting with the entire writer’s room. The leadership there allegedly told everyone not to go HR if they had any problems in the future and that they were acting like ‘middle schoolers.’

When asked about the allegations made into the Janel Grant lawsuit back in January, WWE’s current head of creative Triple H had told reporters that he didn’t want to get ‘bogged down’ by the negative and focus on the positives instead.

One former writer told Rolling Stone that they don’t believe there will be any major changes in the overall work culture of the company despite the leadership change. They said that there are ‘a lot of people complicit’ in continuing this culture and they don’t have faith that it can be undone overnight.

• McMahon Responds As Janel Grant Asks WWE To Waive NDAs for Others

Dolph Ziggler says his Money In The Bank Cash in was only made possible because the fans stuck by him even when he was constantly losing.

The Nemeth Brothers were the most recent guests on Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw podcast. They talked about things such as their inspiration to get into wrestling, training under names such as Dusty Rhodes, and more.

JBL who was on commentary for Ziggler’s big moment mentioned how has never experienced anything like that. Dolph explained that before the cash in people had started thinking that he would lose the briefcase:

“The reason that reaction and that moment happened was 100% the fans. Like at the time, I was the guy with the briefcase who always kept trying to cash in—would catch a brogue kick or something in the face.

It got to a point where they thought they were either going to take it off of me or when I came to cash in, that I wasn’t going to get it. I was going to lose the match or something. But the reason the crowds were so great, even leading up to that, was Vince at the time,

He said, ‘Listen, I know you lose a lot’—[I’m like] about 99% of the time—but he goes, ‘I know you lose a lot and now with this briefcase, you’re going to lose even more, and it’s going to be a bigger deal. But the next day after you finally cash this in, everything changes.’ So we did that, kept [losing] more and more.”

• Nic Nemeth Reveals What He Doesn’t Want to see on John Cena WWE Retirement Tour

I’ve Never Heard Anything Like That: Dolph Ziggler

Dolph Ziggler won the Money In The Bank during the namesake PPV in July 2012. He held on to the briefcase for almost 9 months before cashing it in during the April 8, 2013 episode of Raw. He defeated Alberto Del Rio to win his second world title.

Per the former World Champion, he was hoping the crowd would react favourably to him. The people in the arena did not disappoint:

“[I] finally cashed in. I was like, ‘Man, I hope this crowd’s into it. They seem kind of lively and fun.’ I’ll never forget my music hit—it was a two-second delay—and it’s just like prickers all over my body.

I went, ‘Whoa! what’, and I still had to stay focused and be in the moment, walk down there to do it. But I’ve never heard anything like that in person ever.

It was because they stuck by the guy who kept losing and kept failing to cash in. They said, ‘All right, we’re going to help this guy,’ and they did. We got it, and they lost their minds. It was so fun.”

Ziggler also revealed that the original plan was for him to just cash in the briefcase and win at once. He had to convenience Vince McMahon to let the match go a little longer and have several false finishes before he finally defeated Del Rio.

• Nic Nemeth Wants To Defend TNA Title Against Top AEW Star

Dominik Mysterio is rightfully tired of old men with bad hair coming in and trying to steal his much-deserved spotlight in WWE. The Raw star recently talked with Foundation Radio about things such as not wearing a mask like his father, Jey Uso being his next target, and more. Dominik was also asked about his heat with CM Punk and The Rock.

Mysterio first mentioned his history with The Straight Edge Star saying that he would like to get into the ring with Punk now. Coming to The Rock, the former NXT North American Champion expressed that he is tired of the old heads coming back to WWE and thinking they can hang with the young generation:

“Honestly, I’m just tired of these old heads, thinking they can hang and come in here with this younger generation. I don’t even want to speak for everyone else. I’m speaking for just myself. At the end of the day, I’m my own person. I’m the greatest Mysterio of all time.”

• Dirty Dom: Looking Back At Dominik Mysterio’s Most Dastardly Deeds

Best Hair And Best Mustache: Dominik Mysterio

Dominik Mysterio also claimed that people like Punk and The Rock are all mad at him because he has the best hair and Mustache in the business:

“If these old heads want to come in and get it, they all can. CM Punk, The Rock, it doesn’t matter. They’re just mad because they don’t have hair, and I have the best hair and the best mustache.”

Mysterio previously crossed paths with CM Punk way back in 2010. The former world champion was leading the Straight Edge Society at the time and Dominik along with sister Aalyah made an appearance on TV to support their father Rey Mysterio.

• Dominik Mysterio Reveals What Fueled His ‘Bad Guy’ Run

Cody Rhodes proved once against why he is the face of WWE after the October 18 SmackDown from Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina went off air.

There were two dark matches that took place after the show. The first dark match saw Sami Zayn teaming with The New Day to defeat Pete Dunne and The Judgment Day.

The Undisputed WWE Champion came out for the second dark match. He successfully defended his title against Solo Sikoa in a Columbia Street Fight.

The American Nightmare grabbed the mic after his win but his promo went into an unexpected direction. Rhodes spotted a sign from a cancer survivor in the crowd.

Cody Rhodes then went into the crowd himself to gift his weight belt to the specific fan before he concluded his promo and sent the crowd home happy.

• Cody Rhodes Names One WWE Rule He Never Wants Anyone To Break Except John Cena

What Happened On SmackDown

The former AEW star has distanced himself from The Bloodline drama after his Bad Blood victory. During SmackDown, he cut a promo talking about his upcoming Crown Jewel match with fellow world champion Gunther.

The story of the faction continues in the meantime. This week’s episode of the Blue Branded Show featured an appearance from the Intercontinental Champion Jey Uso.

Uso confronted Solo Sikoa in the opening segment and asked him why he was dividing the family. Though the IC Champion still denied joining forces with Roman Reigns when the two ran into each other backstage later in the night.

Reigns then had another brawl with his cousins in the main event of the show. He even got his hands on the Ula Fala for a short while before the numbers game overwhelmed him. The show once again ended with Solo Sikoa and his partners standing tall.

• Cody Rhodes Shares Five-Year Vision For WrestleMania In The UK

The Motor City Machine Guns say it’s a dream come true to finally make their WWE debuts after teaming together for almost 2 decades.

The duo had been teased on WWE programming in recent weeks and the company officially announced their signing before this week’s episode of SmackDown.

Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin would go on to make their in-ring debut on the October 18 show and win a triple-threat tag match to put the whole tag division on notice.

The duo appeared on SmackDown LowDown after their big debut and made their first comments. Sabine said that it’s pretty crazy to finally be in this position:

“It’s pretty surreal. I’d like to say it’s a dream come true, but it’s more than that. This is a goal accomplished for us. It might have taken over 20 years to get here, to get to this position, but being one match away from being number one contenders for the WWE Tag Team Championships? That’s pretty crazy. Just saying it out loud kinda blows my mind a little bit,”

• Tommaso Ciampa Reacts To Reports of WWE’s Latest Free Agent Singings

Best Tag Team On The Planet: Motor City Machine Guns

The Motor City Machine Guns defeated both Los Garzas and A-Town Down Under upon their arrival. The win is a step towards winning the Tag Team Championships and the duo will now face DIY in a #1 contenders match next week.

Speaking about their upcoming bout, Alex Shelley claimed that they have come to WWE to prove that they’re the best tag team in the world. The team of Johhny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa are the perfect opponents to do this against:

 “We take things one step at a time, but DIY is exactly why we came to WWE. Exactly why we want to declare ourselves the best tag team on the planet, because we beat all the great tag teams that already exist in the WWE Universe. So I apologize to you in advance DIY, but you’re looking at the next WWE Tag Team Champions.”

Motor City Machine Guns first started teaming together in 2006. They made their TNA debut in April 2007. The duo never looked back after that and they have revolutionized tag team wrestling with their unique style since then.

Cody Rhodes has revealed the one WWE rule that only John Cena is allowed to break.

Vince McMahon was notorious for his weird rules for wrestlers during his reign. This included things like not using certain words such as ‘belt’ and not acknowledging the achievement of talents outside of the WWE bubble.

The new management under Triple H has relaxed a lot of these restrictions. Many current and former talents have praised the Game and his team for these changes, which have allowed talents to feel more relaxed in the company.

During a recent interview with SportBible, Cody Rhodes discussed how he has been allowed to break a lot of rules since he came back to WWE in 2022. The one instruction that still stands firm even for the Undisputed WWE Champion, however, is not to talk into the camera directly:

“When I went away and came back, I was allowed to bring everything back with me, including breaking a lot of the pre-existing rules. We’re out of the frame of looking at monitors sideways now. You know, what’s still a pretty big on-air rule but it’s good for production purposes, is not to talk into the camera.”

• Cody Rhodes Shares Five-Year Vision For WrestleMania In The UK

Until Somebody Beats Him: Cody Rhodes

The American Nightmare mentioned how the only person who is allowed to break this rule is John Cena. The 16-time world champion always acknowledges the cameraman Stu before his run to the ring:

“That’s John’s thing. John looks at the camera and mentions Stu the cameraman, runs to the ring. I don’t want to see anyone, including myself, do it – and I probably have done at some point. But that’s his [thing] and that’s the reason why it’s a rule – until somebody beats him and then it’s his.”

The freedom to break this one rule might be passed down to someone else, as Rhodes suggested, in the upcoming future.

John Cena has announced his retirement tour for 2025. Considering his recent years where Cena has given the rub to many up-and-coming stars, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if the Cenation Leader puts over someone big on his way out.

• Cody Rhodes Expects More ‘Cinematic’ WWE Productions and Storylines

The original plans for the ending of Bryan Danielson’s AEW World Title reign and his full-time run with the company were very different. The wrestling veteran’s run with AEW’s top price came to an end after only 48 days, making it the third shortest AEW title reign in the history of the company.

Since Bryan had been very open about his health issues leading up to his loss to Jon Moxley, many wondered if the company sped things up because of his problems. However, that the plan always was for Bryan to drop the title at the WrestleDream PPV, according to the Wrestling Observer. His opponent was indeed changed from Darby Allin to Jon Moxley because the officials wanted to jumpstart interest in the promotion.

• Bryan Danielson Update Following AEW WrestleDream

Bryan won the championship at the All In event from Wembley Stadium on August 25. It was Bryan’s first title in the company and he made Swerve Strickland tap out for it. Darby originally won a shot at the AEW World Title after winning a Royal Rampage battle royal during the July 26 edition of the Friday Night Show.

Moxley then challenged him to put the title shot on the line in a match at the Dynamite: Grand Slam special on September 25. Mox would go on to win the match. He then defeated his former BCC teammate at the WrestleDream PPV on October 12. Jon Moxley won the match via referee stoppage after putting Bryan Danielson out with a sleeper.

• Wrestling World Thanks Bryan Danielson As Full-Time Career Ends At WrestleDream

Swerve Strickland has revealed the one match he thinks earned him the respect of the AEW management and led to his current status in the company.

The former AEW Champion recently appeared on the No Contest Wrestling podcast. He discussed things such as growing up around the world as a military kid, Hangman Page burning down his childhood home and more.

During the talk, Strickland was asked if he can remember any specific moment that changed the course of his career like the Austin 3:16 promo did for Stone Cold Steve Austin. Swerve first said that he can think of many such moments, though the one he named was his match with Hiroshi Tanahashi:

“Through the office from talks I heard it was me and Tanahashi on a Collision. When Tanahashi was like…it was me and him. It was going right into Forbidden Door. Cause I didn’t do Forbidden Door the main show, on the second Forbidden Door.

We were going back and forth and he was about to hit High Fly Flow but he slips off. I run up and I start fighting him up boom boom boom and he knocks me off and he hits me High Fly Flow and wins.”

• AEW’s Swerve Strickland Makes DC Comics Debut in Batman #153

That Was The Moment: Swerve Strickland

The match in question took place during the June 24, 2023 episode of Collision, only a day before the 2023 Forbidden Door PPV. It was only the second episode of the Saturday night show and the match in question opened the night.

According to Swerve, being able to adjust on the fly when The Ace of NJPW couldn’t hit his finishing maneuver properly showed people in the back that he had what it takes to become a champion. The AEW star also claimed that the bout might have saved the working relationship of the two companies:

“That was the moment Tony was like ‘I can trust him in anything. I can trust him with anybody’ That might be what saved the New Japan relationship with AEW. It might have been because he became the president like very soon after that.

But he gets hurt, all that goes away. All of it. So there’s that. Then shortly after that I started wrestling a lot of the veterans. It was like me and RVD, me and Jeff Hardy, me and Billy Gunn, me and Sting. It was like Swerve can make it work. Swerve can do it. I was like ‘Bring it on.'”

After the Tanahashi match, Swerve shared the ring with the likes of CM Punk, Bryan Danielson and Sting. He would go on to win his first singles title in the company almost a year later at Dynasty.

• Swerve Strickland Reveals How Shawn Michaels Influenced His Current Success

Karrion Kross says there was zero heat between him and Bobby Lashley leading up to their Philadelphia Street Fight at WrestleMania 40.

The former NXT Champion competed in his first-ever WrestleMania match this year. He led The Final Testament against Bobby Lashley’s The Pride. The two teams had a short but eventful match with The Pride coming out victorious.

During a recent appearance on Chris Van Vliet’s Insight podcast, Kross told the truth about his supposed heat with the former WWE Champion leading up to their Mania match. He said that he hates to break the kayfabe but he loves and respects Lashley:

“Zero [heat], it was a work. He knows I feel this way about him. It’s not the first time I’m saying it. And unless you would have asked me about this, I would have never said it. I love that dude to death.

After the match, I wanted to tell him afterwards so he didn’t think I was trying to butter him up before we went out. I told him after the match was done, expressed how much I love him.”

Karrion Kross explained that he was an ECW fan growing up and was super excited when WWE brought it back in 2006. The period of Bobby Lashley as the ECW Champion was especially his favorite because he loved seeing an athlete the size of The All Mighty doing all sorts of crazy things.

• Karrion Kross Shares Violent Vision for WWE’s Next Championship

Bobby Lashley’s Crazy Idea

Continuing on the build for their WrestleMania match, Kross revealed that Lashley wanted them to lean into the rumors. The former TNA champion had even suggested a shoot fight before the show to make their match feel more organic:

“Bob was like, ‘You know what we should do? All these guys, they like to talk and they like to run to the dirt sheets and stuff. Dude, we should fight at the beginning of the show. We should get in a fight because all these guys are going to go and call the dirt sheets and tell them that we actually had a fight, and it’s going to stir people up into what we’re doing on TV.’ I was like, ‘Bob, what? Hold on a sec. First of all, what happens if nobody breaks up the fight?’ And he was like, ‘damn, I didn’t think about that.'”

It wasn’t only Lashley who had crazy ideas to make their match as big as possible. Kross revealed during the same interview that he had some pretty out-of-the-box ideas for weapons he could have used during the bout.

Bobby Lashley’s WWE run unfortunately did not last very long after this bout. The company decided not to renew his contract and Lashley departed the promotion in August this year. Though reports suggest that he has already found a new home and is expected to make his debut there very soon.

• Karrion Kross: “I’m Here To Kill The Old To Make Way For The New

Kurt Angle has paid tribute to late One Direction Member and his former opponent Liam Payne after his passing earlier this week.

The English singer passed away on 16 October after falling from the third-floor balcony at the CasaSur hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The 31-year-old was a long-time wrestling fan and even wrestled a match against the Olympic Gold Medalist back in 2013 to promote One Direction’s Midnight Memories album.

The former world champion posted a short clip of their match where Liam wrestled under a mask and full-body suit. Kurt Angle said that it was an honor to step in the ring with the late star:

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Liam Payne had made multiple appearances on The X Factor early in his music career. He auditioned at the age of 14 for the Fifth series of the show and made it past the first round before being cut at the Boot Camp stage.

The English star would return during the Seventh series of the show where he was later put together with Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, and Zayn Malik, officially forming the famed band.

Simon Cowell’s Syco Entertainment signed the group after their appearance on the reality show and they started breaking records with their very first album.

The wrestling match between Liam and Angle took place during the band’s 1D Day live stream which featured the band members taking part in various performances, interviews and more.

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Karrion Kross has revealed that he had many crazy ideas for his WrestleMania 40 street fight which ended up getting shot down by creative.

The former NXT Champion recently had an interview with Chris Van Vliet. He talked about things such as where he takes inspiration for his character, doing a Jesse Ventura impression in front of the Hall of Famer himself and more.

When the topic of his Philadelphia Street Fight at the Shows of Shows this year came up, Kross revealed that he wanted to pay tribute to ECW with his bout:

“I had a list of insane weapons that I wish got approved for that match. It was Philly, I was in love with ECW, Heyman got inducted into the Hall of Fame. I had all kinds of crazy stuff.”

• Karrion Kross: “I’m Here To Kill The Old To Make Way For The New

That Would Have Been Great: Karrion Kross

Karrion Kross had all kind of out of the box ideas for things he could have brought out as a weapon, including the head of Al Snow:

“One of the weapons on the list was Al Snow’s head. I would have loved to have hit Snoop Dogg right in the head with head. That would have been my move. I would have done a flying tope out of the ring flying at Snoop Dogg over the table to hit him. That would have been great.”

The WWE star revealed that Bobby Lashley was right there with him in trying to make the match as big as possible. The former WWE champion had even pitched spots where Kross would powerbomb him from the ring through a table set up outside.

Karrion Kross led The Final Testament in a match against Bobby Lashley’s The Pride at WrestleMania 40. Bubba Ray Dudley was the special guest referee for the bout but they ended up getting only 8 minutes for this match.

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Bret Hart would have loved to face Rey Mysterio in a match.

The wrestling legend recently had an interview with Casual Conversations With The Classic. He talked about things such as punching Vince McMahon after the Montreal Screwjob, his first world title win in WWE, and more.

During the conversation, Bret was asked which current WWE superstars he would have liked to face in a match. While many would have expected him to name a raising star like Gunther, the WWE Hall of Famer went the other route and named a fellow legend who he never got to share the ring with.

“If I could pick one guy it would be Rey Mysterio. I always forget Rey Mysterio but I think Rey Mysterio is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.

He’s right up there [in the conversation for] the best there is, best there was, best there ever will be. He’s really good. He’s really special. Nobody can do what Rey Mysterio does.”

• Bret Hart – The Kliq Killed Wrestling With MSG Curtain Call

Still Wasn’t As Good: Bret Hart

Bret Hart also talked about the recent rivalry between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre. The two paid tribute to Hart’s classic encounter with Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13 during their SummerSlam match. When asked about it, Bret said that he took it as a node of respect:

“Yeah, I did notice it. I thought it was…I always take those as a sort of a node of respect. so I like it and appreciate it but it still wasn’t as good as my Austin match.”

The Canadian wrestling veteran defeated Steve Austin in a No Disqualification submission match at the Show of Shows in 1997. In the interview, Hart claimed that it is his favorite match ever because there was no wasted spot in it.

• Bret Hart Honors Leo Burke, Credits Him For Famous WWE Finish

Bret Hart has told the full story about the night he punched Vince McMahon.

The incident in question happened right after the infamous Montreal Screwjob. The legend goes that Vince had hidden in his office after the show and he only came out to apologize to Hart after being propped up by The Undertaker.

The popular version of the tale is that Bret warned McMahon about leaving and punched him when he didn’t. However, there were more than a dozen wrestlers in the room at the time and everyone has a different recollection of events.

The Canadian Wrestling Legend cleared up the rumors of what actually happened during an interview with Casual Conversations with The Classic. He explained that Vince was actually trying to set him up to look good in front of the boys:

“I’ll tell you the truth: it was one punch, and it was a good punch. You had to kind of be in my shoes. I know this is hard to explain in a short couple of seconds, but I was actually being set up by Vince McMahon. He was kind of calling my bluff. He was trying to instigate a tussle or something. Cause he thought that’s how it looked best for him.

I could feel it happening. It’s like ‘This guy’s trying to start a fight with me in the dressing room and wants to sort of stand up to me in front of all the wrestlers and prove that he’s some kind of tough guy’—or I don’t know what it was. But I remember that I got madder and madder. I remember we kind of confronted each other. It wasn’t like Vince walked up to me, and I just drilled him in the head—you know, it was like that never happened.”

• Bret Hart – The Kliq Killed Wrestling With MSG Curtain Call

Sweetest Thing I Ever Did: Bret Hart

Bret Hart claimed that he didn’t want Vince to feel like he had won. Given the circumstances, he chose to drill the former WWE owner with an uppercut and the boss was knocked out cold from it:

“He came at me, and we really tied up like a pro wrestling match. If you were in the room, there was about 30 people—they were all gonna jump on us and pull us apart, just the way Vince wanted. I remember thinking, ‘I can’t have that happen.’ I’ve got to knock him out.

I remember if I had gone with a right-hand punch, they would have hooked my arm and that would be the end of it. We’d never hear anything good about that day. I decided to go for an uppercut. I came right between our arms, and I literally, honest to God, I’m not exaggerating—I lifted him about a foot off the ground, knocked him completely out cold, like a starfish.

His legs and his arms and everything were out like that. He was out cold for about 5 minutes. We all just stood around looking at him. I remember I broke my hand, but it was the sweetest thing I ever did, and I wouldn’t change any of it.”

Bret Hart would depart WWE for WCW after that night. He later returned to the company in 2006 for a Hall of Fame induction and he also wrestled a few matches in 2010 and 2011.

• Bret Hart Honors Leo Burke, Credits Him For Famous WWE Finish

Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, World Heavyweight Champion Gunther, and UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall all got to share the same stage at the most recent WWE Live Event.

WWE has been on a UK tour and their latest live event came from Manchester England. The American Nightmare came out during a segment in the show and stated that he had something to say.

Rhodes would then bring out Aspinall who hails from Manchester itself. Before they could continue however, Gunther interrupted the duo and we had the rare sight of seeing all three world champions under the TKO umbrella in one ring.

The trio would talk about the Crown Jewel PPV on November 2 before Chad Gable interrupted their segment and challenged the Ring General for a world heavyweight championship match.

As expected, Gunther would go on to beat the former Alpha Academy leader with a powerbomb in the match that took place right before the intermission.

• Cody Rhodes Shares Five-Year Vision For WrestleMania In The UK

Cody Rhodes Defeats Solo Sikoa

Cody Rhodes would have a title defense of his own against Solo Sikoa later in the main event. He took several crazy bumps during this cage match but ultimately retained his title against The Bloodline leader.

WWE has announced that Gunther and Cody Rhodes would be facing each other in a champion vs. champion match at the upcoming Saudi PPV.

Women’s Champions Nia Jax and Liv Morgan will also be going up against each other on the same show with the winner of these matches receiving the ‘Crown Jewel Championship’ as reward.

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Brock Lesnar’s status with WWE has not changed despite recent rumors of his return at least on the creative front.

The talk of the former Universal Champion potentially returning to TV picked up again when he was referenced by both Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins on this week’s episode of Monday Night Raw.

The possibility has been denied by the company on a high level according to a new report from Fightful Select however, and a source told them ‘There are no creative plans in place for Lesnar, and if conversations have occurred, we’ve not been briefed on that.’

Despite Triple H suggesting that it would be up Brock himself to make the decision, the report says that creative haven’t heard any updates regarding him in months. They’d be surprised if Lesnar is brought back in the middle of a federal investigation.

Regarding references to The Beast Incarnate being dropped on WWE programming, it was noted that people had been instructed to avoid mentioning the former champion in the last number of months. People close to Rhodes have not heard about any change.

• Brock Lesnar WWE Return: RAW Teases, Vince McMahon Lawsuit and more

Brock Lesnar was booked for Royal Rumble this year and he was supposed to be involved in a program with World Heavyweight Champion Gunther leading up to WrestleMania 40.

The plans were canceled when the former UFC star was referenced in Janel Grant’s lawsuit against Vince McMahon and Lesnar’s name was effectively banned from the company after that.

The officials even went to great lengths to minimize the inclusion of Lesnar from the already complete WWE 2K24 video game and removed him from covers and other promotional materials.

Jelly Roll believes WWE’s doing better than ever because they’re able to serve two masters at once.

The American Singer is a noted wrestling fan who has talked about his love for the business many times. He even made an appearance for WWE at SummerSlam 2023.

While appearing on Logan Paul’s Implaulsive podcast, the topic of wrestling was naturally brought up. The Grammy-nominated artist said that he’s truly a fan and explained that their storytelling is the best it’s ever been:

“Dude, I’m truly a fan, and I think the storytelling right now is probably the best it’s been in a long time—I think it’s the Best it’s been since the Cena era. And to see Cena coming back around, you know what I mean.

I think before that, it was the Attitude Era almost. It’s like I think we’re seeing; I would say wrestling’s bigger than it’s ever been right now. So it’s really fun.”

Austin Theory Reveals Viral Jelly Roll Moment Was His Idea

They’re Doing The Best They’ve Ever Done: Jelly Roll

The rap star went into depth to explain why the company is breaking record after record. He said that they’re able to keep people interested in a world of fast-paced storytelling while unfolding meaningful long-term stories at the same time:

“They are finding a way, the WWE to serve two masters: They’re serving that they’re keeping people engaged every single week and they’re keeping it fast cause the times need fast stories, but they’re also allowing bigger stories to develop over longer periods of times.

Watching The Bloodline develop over 36 months, for taking 3 WrestleManias for Cody to finish his story. But they kept us so engaged that we almost had forgot that we had been watching these big storylines play out. Cause they were giving us these fast nuggets that we needed for Instagram and TikTok too. So I think they’re doing the best they’ve ever done.”

Logan Paul also talked about a potential return to WWE during the same episode and he teased going up against a Bloodline member very soon.

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WWE continues to push the boundaries of social media storytelling in the ongoing Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes feud with a new video from the former Universal Champion.

Owens posted the video on his Twitter account, mentioning that there have been a lot of questions about why he turned on Cody Rhodes after the Bad Blood PPV.

The former champion noted that people are judging him because of the attack. He blamed the company for not letting him tell his side of the story by cutting off his mic during his appearance on Friday’s SmackDown.

Kevin Owens then revealed that he even sent the company a video to explain his actions. He was hoping that the footage could air on Raw this past Monday and he is now giving them until Friday to do the right thing:

“Then over the weekend, I sent them a video that I hoped they would air on Raw last night, and they didn’t. Nobody could hear what I have to say. But of course, they had plenty of time for Cody to talk, but not for me. Look, the last thing I want to do is do this on social media because I hate it.

I’m giving them until Friday, this Friday on Smackdown, to air my video so that people could hear what I have to say. And if they don’t, then I guess I’ll post it here.”

• Cody Rhodes Breaks Silence On Kevin Owens’ Betrayal At Bad Blood

The latest episode of SmackDown saw Kevin Owens interrupting the show before the scheduled Women’s Tag Team Title match. He tried to address the crowd but his mic was shut down. Cody Rhodes came out to confront him after that but the security stopped the WWE champion from reaching Owens.

When Randy Orton showed up to calm Kevin down, the latter ended up shoving The Viper accidentally. Orton then responded with a punch to his face.

Cody Rhodes was told to leave the arena after this and Randy looked to sort things out with his tag team partner. Orton, however, was also attacked by the former NXT Champion backstage later in the show.