When Bryan Danielson decided to leave WWE, many thought that going to AEW was the only thing in his mind. Though the former world champion was also considering a third option – not being a full-time wrestler anymore.
The AEW star joined Renee Paquette for a live episode of The Sessions podcast at Starrcast V. Speaking about his decision to leave WWE, Bryan revealed the third option he was considering. He also joked that his wife Brie Bella wanted to kill him for it:
“People think I had two options between WWE and AEW. The reality is that I was considering three options, which was WWE, AEW or just not being a full-time wrestler anymore.” said Bryan Danielson, “Just being more of a full-time dad.
When I told that to Brie with the money that each company was offering me, I think she wanted to kill me? She might have wanted to kill me.”
Bryan then explained that his decision came down to a lighter schedule, creative freedom, and the itch to bleed in front of an audience:
“Really it came down to a little bit schedule, A little bit of creative freedom and also just this idea of I’ve been there for so long. Maybe something a little bit new would be fun. I also kind of wanted to bleed.”
We have seen many veteran wrestlers complaining about the changes in wrestling in recent times. People like The Undertaker have been criticized for not liking the friendly environment in the locker room. Eric Bischoff has the perfect advice for such legends.
The former WCW president recently appeared on Ryan Satin’s Out of Character podcast. Speaking about the people from his era that always talk about the negative, Eric suggested that they should be thankful for the run they had:
“When I hear my peers, people my age or [people from] that era. That are bitter and angry and always talking about all the negative things that happens.” said Eric Bischoff, “[I go] ‘Man, Don’t you know? Don’t you know how much fun you really had? Don’t you know how lucky you really were? Don’t you know that you’ve seen things, been places, and you’ve had opportunities that [only] 1% of the people in the world ever get to experience? Come on.'”
‘It Goes By Fast’: Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff also offered some advice to younger talents currently in their prime. He told them to take some time to appreciate what they have, because it goes by fast:
“Then I see younger guys and gals in the ring. I want to reach out to every one of them and say ‘stop right now.’ However wrapped up you are in whether or not you’re going to get to wrestle in main event of the next pay per view or whatever your thing is. Cause it is. I’m not making fun of them.
It is a competitive business. Being an actor or an actress, musician, whatever. if it’s talent, it’s competitive. So I get that part too. But take time to go ‘wow, look where I am. Look what I get to do. This is pretty awesome.’ Just appreciate it. Because it goes by you fast. Then It’s gone. Take the time to dig it. Because you should.”
All wrestling fans agree that the sport is not as popular as it used to be two decades ago. There are some who believe that shifts in the media world and the changes in people’s consuming habits are big reasons behind it. Eric Bischoff, however, thinks that the blame lies solely with the product.
The wrestling veteran spoke to Ryan Satin for his Out of Character podcast. Satin discussed how wrestling is not a mainstream programm anymore and mentioned the changes in media. Bischoff called it a ‘pissant’ excuse. He explained that the real reason behind it is that wrestling has failed to evolve:
“The product is boring. It’s just nothing new has happened. Nothing has changed. Nothing has emerged. Nothing has evolved. It’s the same formula. Up until recently the same process, we’re talking about WWE which is by far the dominant [company].
There is no competition. AEW is not competition, no matter how much Tony Khan wants to believe it is. It’s not. We’re in the same business, Tony. That’s not the same thing as being in competition. [You’re] not taking market share, Tony. You’re just in the same business. It’s kind of like having a little mom-and-pop hamburger stand on the corner and saying that you’re in competition with Arby’s. You’re not.”
Nothing Has Changed: Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff explained that wrestling was a teen product before the 90s. The rise of WCW forced Vince McMahon to change his formula as well. This led to massive changes and the overall growth of the industry:
“Other than the fact that a new company has emerged in this space, what’s changed? Nothing’s changed. Whereas with the Attitude Era, the reason that wrestling was a part of pop culture, is because there was a seismic shift in the presentation of the product.
It went from a teen and preteen product in the 80s and into the mid-90s, until it became an 18 to 49 year old product with actually Nitro, which led into the Attitude Era. Because Vince had to compete with that. He changed his formula, the product evolved. It became attractive to an entirely different audience. That’s called growth. What have we seen since then?”
Edge has returned to Raw, and so has his classic theme song.
The former world champion made his comeback after several week off at SummerSlam. He entered the arena with a remix of The Brood theme and helped The Mysterios pick up a victory over Judgement Day.
The wrestling veteran then showed up on tonight’s Raw from Toyota Center in Houston. He brought back the ‘Metalingus’ theme by Alter Bridge and received a huge pop. We also got the ‘Rated R Superstar’ announcement for his entrance.
Edge apologized to the fans for being an asshole for the past few months. He created Judgement Day to help young talents and pass on his knowledge.
He said that his proteges thought that they had learned everything they needed. The Attitude Era star then promised to kill what he created: The Judgment Day.
Fans seemed very excited to see Edge reverting back to his old theme song. They took on social media to share their enthusiasm for this change:
Edge is back. More importantly his music is back. Let’s never speak of that other music again. #WWERaw
— WWE Creative Humor (a sub of TKO Creative Humor) (@WWECreative_ish) August 2, 2022
This wasn’t the last of Edge we saw on the night. The Usos beat The Mysterios in a unified tag team title match in the main event of the show. The Judgement Day attacked Mysterios after this bout.
Edge tried to make the save. However, he hit Dominik Mysterio with a spear in confusion. The show ended with the Rated R Superstar chasing down Finn Balor and Damian Priest while Dominik recovered in the ring.
The Street Profits are one of the most popular tag teams of WWE who have been together since 2016. Though if the events of Raw are any indication of things to come, then their days of teaming together are numbered.
Tonight’s episode of the show from the Toyota Center in Houston saw Seth ‘Freaking’ Rollins coming out to talk about Roman Reigns.
When the Raw stars interrupted him, he discussed how they have been losing a lot lately. Rollins mentioned their loss to The Usos at the latest SummerSlam PPV this past Saturday. He said The Street Profits should just break up.
Angelo Dawkins and Montez ford then fired back at The Architect mentioning how they beat him and Buddy Murhpy for the Raw tag team championships. Ford also noted that Cody Rhodes beat him with “only one boobie.”
This led to Seth Rollins challenging the duo for a fight on Raw. Ford and Dawkins decided to play rock-paper-scissors to determine who will face the former world champion. However, Ford then grabbed the referee and ran down to the ring.
Dawkins disappeared from the segment as the match began. The commentary was discussing what the future holds for the former tag champions during the bout.
Seth won this match with a Curb Stomp but he continued his attack post-match. Angelo Dawkins then came out again to save his partner and end the segment.
The Street Profits have said on multiple occasions that they don’t want a traditional breakup. However, the company does seem to be moving in that direction based on events of Raw.
Chris Jericho is known as the ‘master manipulator’ because of his understanding of different fandoms. The veteran knows how to get a wrestling crowd excited. He is also an expert in making people rock to his beats as the lead singer of Fozzy.
The AEW star recently shared his opinion on the fans of different pop culture streams. In an interview with ComicBook, Jericho noted the similarities between the fans of Kiss, Star Wars and wrestling:
“I always find that wrestling fans, Kiss fans and Star Wars fans are all very similar. They hate everything. Complain about everything, yet support everything, and watch everything and buy everything.”
– Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho has been feuding with Eddie Kingston the last few months. This multi-layered rivalry has seen the two wrestling stars trying to one up each other on every turn. The latest chapter of this was the Barbed Wire Deathmatch that main evented the July 20 Dynamite. Jericho defeated Kingston in this bout.
Though The Painmaker didn’t come out unscathed. He had to be stretchered out of the arena. It has since been revealed that Jericho broke his nose during the bout.
You can check out Chris Jericho’s interview with ComicBook here.
Bryan Danielson is a known supporter of the vegan life. He adopted the lifestyle in 2009 and has stuck with it since then. It appears the former world champion has even managed to change the mind of Vince McMahon regarding it.
The AEW star was part of the Starrcast V. He spoke to media during the convention. When asked about his conversation with Vince McMahon regarding veganism, Bryan told a funny story of how the boss reacted to it at first:
“It’s interesting because I remember Chris [Jericho] telling me. When I first had that NXT match with Chris. He came to the back, and he says [to Vince McMahon] ‘You got something with this kid.’ [Vince replied] ugh, he doesn’t even eat meat'”
There’s something to It
Though Bryan Danielson revealed that things have changed since then. According to him, McMahon has started accepting the benefits of veganism in recent years, even if he doesn’t believe in going full vegan:
“But the conversations I’ve had with him in the last several years, He’s said there’s something to that for health and for longevity, for that sort of thing. I don’t think that he’s a believer that you should be entirely vegan, but I think he believes now that there are a lot of health benefits to doing it. Especially if you’re doing it purposefully on specific days or whatever.”
You can check out Bryan Danielson’s media interaction below:
Becky Lynch had abandoned the moniker that helped her become the most over wrestler in WWE when she turned heel after her SummerSlam return last year.
The former Women’s Champion had defeated Bianca Belair for the SmackDown Women’s Championship in a quick manner, angering a lot of fans.
She completely changed her look after this victory and started promoting herself as Big Time Becks. A full year after that, Becky faced Bianca once against at SummerSlam, this time for the Raw women’s championship.
The former champion put over the EST this time around. After the match, she showed respect to her opponent and shook her hand.
Bayley made her return after this with Dakota Kai and Io Shirai. This group tried to intimidate Belair but Becky Lynch stood by Bianca’s side, cementing her face turn.
The WWE star then cleared any doubts about her future on Twitter. She changed her handle to The Man, hinting at the return of the beloved character:
Though latest reports suggest that Lynch may have suffered an injury in her match against Bianca Belair. If this is true then we may have to wait some more to see The Man’s comeback on WWE TV.
Ric Flair fulfilled his promise of delivering an exceptional final match. The wrestling veteran won the tag team bout against Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal during the Ric Flair’s Last Match PPV from Nashville.
The event also featured some other interesting matches as well as some notable guests. People like The Undertaker, Bret Hart, Mick Foley and more were at ringside and they were shown during the broadcast.
Other wrestling personalities who were in attendance include:
Rey and Dominik Mysterio
Michael Hayes
Shane Helms
Mojo Rawley
Jimmy Valiant
Mickie James
Dennos Condrey
The Nasty Boys
Rikishi
Miro and CJ Perry (Lana)
Dave Sahadi was the director of the broadcast for Ric Flair’s Last Match. According to reports, the live crowd was ‘far rowdier’ than it came off on the screen.
Veteran announcer Bob Caudle was filmed in advance several weeks ago in his home. Caudle was filmed in front of a green screen because he was unable to travel.
Finally, 90 Day Fiance star Tim Malcom was around all week for various Flair events. He is a big fan of the sport and wrestling has been mentioned many times on his shows.
Ric Flair’s final match was everything fans expected and more. The wrestling veteran gave one of the best performances of his life and won the bout.
However, he also took some scary bumps during the fight and was a bloody mess coming out of it. This only added to the concern of fans who were already worried about his health going into the event.
PWinsider provided some early updates on his health following his match. They noted that two doctors were waiting for Flair in the locker room and he was checked immediately after he returned.
According to a source, the former world champion was ‘great’ after the bout. He was spent after the outing but he took some rest. After being checked out by the doctors, Ric Flair said that he was starving and wanted to go eat.
As scary as the bout was, the news coming out of the show is that the Nature Boy is fine, and he was headed out to enjoy the rest of his evening in Nashville.
The 73-year-old had been talking about his health issues openly before the PPV. It’s a good news for fans that he appears to have come out of the match relatively healthy.
Seth Rollins has had one hell of a wrestling career filled with many accolades. However, he has also had his fair share of troubles in his journey to becoming one of the most successful pro wrestlers of all time.
This was especially true for his training days. Former NXT trainer Road Dogg had recently talked about this. He explained that The Architect would become annoyed with advice given to him during his developmental run.
The former world champion responded to these claims during an interview with Sports1. Rollins admitted that he was pretty stubborn at the time:
“I used to be pretty stubborn, that’s true, and that was a problem starting in WWE twelve years ago and going through the NXT roster.
On the other hand, my personality helped me because you need confidence to make it in WWE, but it was difficult with me.” said Seth Rollins, “It must also have been because I came from another world.”
The WWE star also talked about his visionary character. He was asked about comparisons to ‘The Macho Man’ Randy Savage and whether the colorfulness of his gimmick is inspired by the wrestling legend.
Replying to it, Rollins said that his main goal was to differentiate himself from how Roman Reigns is doing things but admitted that he is a big fan of wrestling from the past and Savege.
There were a lot of rumors surrounding Bobby Lashley’s shoulder injury before WrestleMania 38. The All Mighty dropped the WWE championship to Brock Lesnar at Elimination Chamber, ending his reign in just 21 days due to it. It was believed that the reigning US champion will have to take time off for surgery, and he will miss the Show of Shows. However, he made his return just in time for Mania and competed in a singles match against Omos.
Lashley opened up about his injury during a recent interview with The Masked Man Show. He revealed that he had a 75 percent tear in his rotator cuff and his labrum was torn. Everyone, including Vince McMahon told him to get surgery:
“I tore my shoulder two months before WrestleMania. I couldn’t even raise my hand. I kept that quiet. I took like three weeks off and I said, I have to make it to WrestleMania.” said Bobby Lashley, “I called Vince [McMahon], Vince was like, ‘Ah, let’s take off. Let’s go get surgery,’ spend four months off and everything like that. I was like, ‘I can’t do that. There’s no way I’m gonna do that.’”
Bobby Lashley recalled how he stayed home for a couple of weeks but the time off wasn’t suiting him. So he decided to start rehabbing and managed to get cleared by WrestleMania:
“I started rehabbing and I got back in and then I made it for WrestleMania. I mean there’s no downtime. Every other sport has off-season. We don’t have an off-season.”
Lashley also talked about his US title win over Theory. Bobby said that he will defend his title in an open challenge on this Monday’s episode of Raw.
Bryan Danielson has a history of concussion-related issues that have once forced him to retire from in-ring action. That’s why fans started worrying about his future when he recently suffered another concussion. According to the former world champion, he himself thought that doctors were going to tell him to retire after his latest injury but his brain scan changed things.
Danielson opened up about his injury while speaking to Renee Paquette for a live episode of her The Sessions podcast at Starrcast V. He revealed what the doctor had said to him before his return:
“He said, ‘After you start feeling better, we’re going to have to have a serious talk about your long-term health.’ I thought what that meant was, ‘After you feel better, I’m going to talk to you about not wrestling anymore.'”
However, things changed after the result of his brain scans came out. Per Bryan, he has been putting extra work to keep his brain healthy, and it helped him:
“Then my brain scans came back so goddamn good that not a single person could say anything about it.” said Bryan Danielson, “I do put a lot of work and effort into keeping my brain healthy and doing things outside of normal stuff to keep my brain healthy. I think that’s paying dividends a little bit,”
Danielson later explained that he has done 100 sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. It is a procedure where they put you in a tube with 1.5 atmospheres of pressure and flood your brain with a lot of oxygen. Bryan Danielson suffered the injury in the Anarchy In The Arena match during Double or Nothing in May. He returned to ring during the July 27 Dynamite.
The SummerSlam PPV featured not one but three big returns. The opening match of the night saw Bianca Belair retaining the Raw Women’s title over Becky Lynch.
Bayley made her long-awaited comeback right after this. Though she wasn’t alone. Both Dakota Kai and Io Shirai made their returns as well and formed a new faction with the former women’s champion.
Triple H was the first person to react to the formation of this new group. The new head of WWE creative took on his Twitter and said that we’re just getting started:
Shirai also commented on her surprise SummerSlam appearance. There had been reports that The former NXT star’s contract was expiring soon. Many believed that she was done with the company after NXT Stand & Deliver in April.
However, Shirai not only made a big return but got a new name in IYO SKY as well. She updated her Twitter profile to reflect this change and noted that she is back:
AEW star Ruby Soho couldn’t contain her excitement seeing her friends. She first referenced the Riott Squad which she led during her time in WWE. Soho later noted that she was happy for the WWE stars:
There will never be a Squad to me, that can top my girls but…
Other people who reacted to these big returns included Paige, NXT star Jacy Jayne, Carmella, Natalya, Wade Barrett and more. You can check out their reactions below:
WWE presented its second biggest event of the year in SummerSlam this Saturday from Nissan Stadium. The show was headlined by Brock Lesnar vs Roman Reigns Last Man Standing match.
The Pay Per View event featured many headline-making moments. Though something else also caught people’s attention that wasn’t in WWE’s favor.
Just before the main event of SummerSlam started, Kane made an appearance. The Hall of Famer announced that 48,449 fans were in attendance for the show.
With a seating capacity close to 70,000, this would fill up the stadium significantly. Though many fans posted photos of the tarped-off hard cam side of the arena:
— I am a legendary guy Every woman want me (@RonnieP31135076) July 30, 2022
The company had sold about 38,000 tickets for SummerSlam on Saturday morning, according to the WrestleTix Twitter account.
WWE is known to inflate attendance figures, but this attendance is still a significant decrease from WrestleMania 38. The show was divided into two nights, and WWE had still managed to sell a lot more tickets for the event.
The promotion has claimed that a total of 156,000 people attended the show in the AT&T Stadium. The real numbers were said to be around 131,000.
The Money In The Bank 2022 was also originally advertised for the Allegiant Stadium, but it had to be moved to the MGM Grand Arena due to low ticket sales.
The Stadium Shows are said to be the vision of WWE Co-CEO Nick Khan. However, if this trend continues, then the company might have to reverse this decision.
The first WWE PPV event after Vince McMahon’s retirement is officially in the books. The new WWE management under Triple H and Stephanie McMahon managed to create some iconic moments during SummerSlam.
Fightful Select provided some backstage news about the PPV. They revealed the producers for the key matches on the card.
The opening match of SummerSlam saw Bianca Belair retaining her Raw women’s championship against Becky Lynch. Bayley made her triumphant return after the match. Though the returning star wasn’t alone.
She formed a new faction with Io Shirai and Dakota Kai. According to the report, Tyson Kidd was the man behind this headline-making segment. The other women’s match in Ronda Rousey vs Liv Morgan was produced by Petey Williams.
Another match that got people talking was the Money In The Bank rematch between The Usos and Street Profits. Shawn Daivari produced this bout.
The match between Logan Paul and The Miz was produced by Shane Helms. Paul received big praise for this bout because it was only his second official match.
The main event of SummerSlam saw Brock Lesnar facing Roman Reigns in a Last Man Standing match. This was built as the final match between the two stars.
The fight featured the iconic spot where Lesnar lifted the whole ring using a tractor, among others. This spectacle was produced by Michael Hayes.
Other matches of the night included Pat McAfee vs Happy Corbin produced by Abyss, and The Mysterios vs. Judgement Day produced by Jamie Noble. Finally, Bobby Lashley vs Theory was produced by Adam Pearce.
WWE under Vince McMahon was known to try and erase stars from history whose legacy was deemed damaging for the company. It’s ironic that Mr. McMahon himself seems to be getting the same treatment.
The chairman was accused of having an affair with an ex-WWE employee earlier this month. He was reported to have paid her $3 million for an NDA.
This revelation triggered an internal investigation. Mr. McMahon was forced to retire from all his WWE positions last week after more NDAs were discovered, totaling $12 million in settlements.
SummerSlam 2022 was the first WWE Pay-Per-View after the chairman’s retirement. Among other things, it featured a match between Pat McAfee and Happy Corbin.
What’s worth mentioning is that the video package that aired before the bout showed McAfee’s interaction with Stone Cold Steve Austin from WrestleMania 38. However, it avoided showing Vince McMahon.
PWinsider further reported that the office which was built as Vince’s Office backstage before his exit was simply listed as the CEO office at SummerSlam.
There was a separate office for Triple H with a ‘Paul Levesque’ sign. All the old signs that would have featured McMahon’s name were nowhere to be found on the latest WWE show.
What do you think about WWE purposefully avoiding the mention of Vince McMahon at SummerSlam? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
The SummerSlam PPV started off strong with a big return of Bayley after the opening bout between Becky Lynch and Bianca Belair. She was then joined by Dakota Kai and Io Shirai, to form a new faction.
Fightful Select provided some updates on this big development. They noted how the former women’s champion had been training for weeks in preparation for her return.
Dakota Kai made her surprise return at SummerSlam after being released in April this year. She was a name people within the company thought Triple H would make a priority to bring back.
The former NXT women’s tag champion had gotten several main roster looks. There were writers who were ‘baffled’ when she wasn’t included in the draft last year.
Multiple companies were interested in signing her after her release, including AEW. Though her talks with Tony Khan didn’t move past the introduction stage.
There were people within the company pushing for her signing but it’s unknown why the AEW president didn’t bring her in.
Io Shirai had been in news lately with reports of her contract expiring soon. She had been out of action due to an injury since April, and there had been no creative plans for her in NXT 2.0.
This new women’s stable is a product of the new WWE management. The report says that the idea for it was pitched a while ago before Kai was released. Vince McMahon wasn’t interested in the idea, and he rejected it.
Raquel González and Kay Lee Ray were both also pitched as members of an alternate version of the faction before their respective main roster call-ups.
Big E broke his neck while taking an overhead belly-to-belly suplex from Ridge Holland. There is no surety that he will ever return to the ring. Though despite the circumstances, the former WWE champion is keeping a positive attitude. He says he has no ill will towards Holland for injuring him.
The New Day member recently appeared on The MMA Hour. When asked about Holland, E revealed that he has apologized multiple times and even sent presents to his house. The former champion explained that injuries are part of the business and holding a grudge will not help him at all:
“We’re good, man. Things happen. It’s a part of what we sign up for. It’s not something I ever would have wanted, but it happened. Me hating him or holding a grudge doesn’t help me at all.” said Big E, “He’s been very apologetic, so we’re good man. I hold no ill will against him at all.
I generally think he’s a good human being. I truly do. I’ve enjoyed our interaction prior, and I wish him well. I don’t want this to be the albatross around his neck, whether I have to retire early or not. I can hug my loved ones. I can live my life. My life is good. So, there’s no ill will whatsoever.”
It’s been a week since Vince McMahon retired from WWE but the fans have not seen any major change in WWE programming. Per Tommaso Ciampa, things aren’t that different behind the scene either.
The former NXT champion had an interview with Sportskeeda ahead of SummerSlam. He discussed topics such as his pairing with The Miz and more.
Speaking about the recent management change, Ciampa claimed that he hasn’t noticed any big difference. According to him, it’s business as usual in WWE:
“So I feel very much business as usual, and I mean, you control what you control, right? That’s been my MO” – Tommaso Ciampa
The former NXT star said that his MO has always been to control what you can control. This includes things such as your health and fitness. He explained that everything else sorts itself out.
When the opportunities come, you have to make the most out of them and hit a home run every time. Tommaso Ciampa mentioned how things had started to work for him under Vince McMahon on Raw with this philosophy.
He doesn’t think anything has changed now that Triple H has taken over, and the former DIY member claimed that he just has to keep doing what he is doing.
You can check out Tommaso Ciampa’s full interview below:
Happy Corbin receives a lot of heat from fans for not wrestling a specific way, but the wrestling star credits all these haters for his success.
The former US champion recently had an interview with TVInsider. He talked about things such as the evolution of his character and more.
Corbin has spent the majority of his career as a heel. Speaking about his haters, he said that he thanks the doubters for hating him:
“There are a lot of doubters in my world about my ability or whatever they want to complain about. That’s a pat on the back for me because I’m continuing to find success within WWE thanks to the doubters and haters because I’m the bad guy.
I’m not their favorite. I’m not doing 800 moves they want to see.” said Happy Corbin, “I don’t let social media influence anything I do on television. It all helps play to my success. I’m going to do me no matter what.”
The SmackDown star also discussed taking Madcap Moss under his wing and helping him find his footing in the main roster. He noted how Dolph Ziggler did the same thing for him early in his career.
Corbin said that you need guys like that to help lift you up. Happy mentioned that Moss has the potential to become a future world champion.
Triple H taking over the WWE creative not only changes things for WWE but AEW as well. It’s believed that many AEW talents who were previously reluctant to jump ships will now be more open to it.
One such talent in Tony Nese recently talked about this change. He took part in a virtual autograph signing for Captain’s Corner on Facebook.
Nese, who has previously worked under Triple H was asked about his opinion on The Game taking over the main roster creative. He said that a lot of people feel H is the perfect person for the job:
“In working for him, I think it’s awesome, from what I’ve gathered from talking with him, I think he’s perfect for the job and a lot of people feel the same way.
I don’t know too much, that’s past my pay grade.” said Tony Nese on Triple H, “I like his style and I was a fan of the black and yellow NXT. It doesn’t have to be the same type of people as long as the booking style comes back.”
The former WWE star joined the Vince McMahon-owned promotion back in 2016. He first competed in Raw under the cruiserweight division and later moved to 205 under Triple H.
After getting released from his WWE contract in June 2021, Tony Nese joined AEW in October. He has been competing regularly for the company since then.
Before his final match later this week, Ric Flair held ‘The Roast of Ric Flair’ on Friday. During the show, the 16-time world champion received video messages from many wrestling personalities including The Rock. The Great One sent out a video message remembering how Flair used to travel with his dad and visit his home often.
He gave multiple examples of how Ric treated him nicely and said the best thing about the wrestling veteran is the human being he is:
“Even at eight years old, I’ll never forget, you’re always so kind to me. You were so kind to me. So good to me. You made me feel like a million bucks when I was just a little punk kid. Then when I got a little older, I met you at the NWA convention again in Las Vegas. When I was 12 years old. I went up to shake your hand. ‘Excuse me Mr. Flair I’m…’ and before I could introduce myself you went – ‘Dewey!’
You gave me a big hug then. You treated me special. You made me feel so special. I’ll never forget that. Then years later, of course I had the honor of sharing the ring with you. Working with you at the same time. Then of course, years later, my dad passes away. You were one of the first ones to say ‘I will see you down in Florida for his funeral.’
Aside from your incredible accomplishments that have been so business shifting, creating new paradigms. That drip, that Ric Flair ‘woooo’, that drip aside, besides all that, that you brought to the game. The best thing about you in my opinion, is the human being that you are. Thank you for being such a good, kind human being to me, and my family.”
You can check out The Rock’s message to Ric Flair below:
The SummerSlam will be the first PPV event under the leadership of Stephanie McMahon & Triple H, and The Game is making his presence felt everywhere.
The new creative head of the company took part in the latest WWE tryouts in the spree, alongside people such as Paul Heyman and Big E.
Triple H addressed the potential recruits at the end of the tryouts. He claimed that the things they learned during the tryout will stay with them for their entire career:
“It’s not often you get to witness the future happening right in front of your eyes, somewhere in this group of people is potentially the next Rock, the next John Cena, potentially the next Roman Reigns, the next Becky Lynch, the next Bianca Belair.
The things you learned here if you have a career in this, will last you your entire career,” said Triple H, “But from day one, everyone has been amazing.”
The former world champion also noted that stepping in the ring is the easy part. According to him, stepping to the mic and talking to people they don’t know is the hard part of the process.
The King of Kings later spoke to media for the first time since Vince McMahon’s retirement. He addressed things such as Heyman’s role at the camp and more.
The SummerSlam weekend is usually filled with many exciting and unexpected moments. This time it also includes a surprise engagement for an AEW star.
Ohio Valley Wrestling held an event in Nashville on Friday. It saw the reigning OVW Women’s Champion Leila Grey defending her title against Freya The Slaya.
The AEW star successfully defended her title. After the bout, she was proposed by her boyfriend and current OVW Rush Champion “Certified” Luke Kurtis.
The indie promotion’s official Twitter account posted a photo of the couple. Reacting to it, Leila Grey noted that she will be sharing a long sentimental post very soon:
“And just like that… I’m a FIANCÉ!!!!! I love you so much @The_LukeKurtis Long sentimental post coming soon” she wrote.
And just like that… I’m a FIANCÉ!!!!! I love you so much @The_LukeKurtis Long sentimental post coming soon?? https://t.co/2uoABwMOrT
Leila Grey has mostly been working as an enhancement talent on AEW Dark after making her debut last year in March. Though she has picked up some singles and tag team victories in recent episodes.
The female star had a match on SmackDown earlier this year as well. She faced Raquel Rodriguez under the ring name Cat Cardoza. The indie talent lost to the former NXT star in a short match during the April 22 episode of the show.
SEScoops will like to congratulate Leila on her engagement.
