The Royal Rumble PPV brought in a lot of surprises but there were also some names who were brought in but never used.
According to PWinsider, Aksana, Kaitlyn and Jillian Hall were all brought in as security precautions in case some talents didn’t pass the medical protocols. They were obviously not used.
Stars such as The Undertaker and Kurt Angle were backstage for the show. They were photographed with other names who appeared at the event
One name that was long-rumored but wasn’t at the show was Paige. She has been teasing potential feuds but there is no word on if it’s leading to anything.
Nikki Bella and Brie Bella ‘The Bella Twins’ made their return at the Royal Rumble. The belief backstage is that we will see more of them for WrestleMania 38.
WWE Hall Of Famer Ivory was among the names who filmed a Table For 3 episode during the weekend. She also entered the women’s Royal Rumble at #18.
Previous reports have revealed that the plans for both the Rumble matches changed numerous times over the course of Saturday.
One of the changes was the return of Molly Holly who was a late addition to the show. The idea was for her to interact with Nikki A.S.H. to help build Nikki up.
Though it doesn’t appear that the changes were for good. The PPV has been slammed by the fans online and backstage morale is also said to be down after the show.
A lot of the career accomplishments of Becky Lynch has been the result of fans pushing for her to be in the position rather than the office wanting her in the spot. One big example of it was when the outpouring fan support forced WWE to make her the inaugural SmackDown women’s champion back in 2016.
The Man discussed this moment on her recent appearance on Steve Austin’s Broken Skull Sessions. Becky first mentioned how she had been scared of getting fired during her early WWE career because she wasn’t as athletic as some other girls. Lynch then discussed how the fan support leading to her title win made things even more special:
“When they first debuted the Women’s Championship, everybody in the arena started chanting Becky. When they heard everybody chatting, all the fans chanting. [They were like] ‘Oh, okay, well, we gotta put it on her’, and so, that meant the world [to me]” said Becky Lynch, “Because it wasn’t necessarily the office saying ‘This is our girl.’ It was the audience saying ‘This is our girl.”
The SmackDown Women’s Championship was Lynch’s first title in WWE. She won a six-pack elimination challenge by last eliminating Carmella at Backlash 2016 to win the title. She held the championship for 84 days before dropping it to Alexa Bliss during the TLC PPV later that year.
If you use the quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription
A number of big names were visibly missing from the Royal Rumble PPV and one of them was the former Universal champion, Finn Balor.
WrestleVotes provided some updates on the former NXT champion. They confirmed that he is not out of action due to any injury:
“Confirmed with a source that Finn Balor is not injured in anyway, he is out of the country however. WWE expects him back in plenty of time for WrestleMania.”
Balor confirmed he was in fact out of the country at the time of the Royal Rumble. He posted the following photo Sunday morning in front of the famous Temple Bar in Dublin, Ireland:
The former NJPW star returned to NXT in 2019. During a recent interview he admitted that he was tired of the politics and has had enough in the main roster before his run at the developmental brand:
“I was kind of like worn out by dealing with the politics and the office and the writers and all the everything that goes with it and I just had enough and when I returned to NXT,” said Finn Balor, “I really feel like that rejuvenated me in the ring.”
The former champion has since returned to the main roster. According to him, he had pitched the idea of going to NXT UK but officials told him that he was needed on SmackDown at the time.
WWE apparently tried to bring in CJ Perry better known to fans as Lana for last night’s Royal Rumble PPV but failed.
According to PWinsider, the officials had reached out to the former WWE star. There were some in the company who believed as late as the Rumble week that she would be coming back.
However, Lana’s name stopped being mentioned as the PPV got closer and the expected appearance obviously never took place.
The female star wasn’t the only released star WWE had tried to bring in for the Rumble. They had also contacted Jeff Hardy for a potential appearance.
The head of WWE talent relations John Laurinaitis personally reached out to Hardy for a return and Hall Of Fame induction but Jeff turned down the offer and instead asked for his drug test result.
Lana originally worked as a manager for Rusev in WWE when she signed with the company in 2013. She later had an in-ring career before being released in June 2021.
Bad Bunny made his surprise return at the Royal Rumble PPV and the rap artist once again impressed everyone with his performance on the show.
This surprise appearance made many wonder if we will be seeing more of the music star in coming times and if his Rumble spot will lead to another WrestleMania match.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider recently provided some update on this situation. He revealed that Bunny will not be a part of the Show of Shows this year.
The commentary team mentioned that the Grammy-winning artist has two different tours sold out. He will actually be performing in Miami Florida on April 2 and 3.
Though this doesn’t mean we have seen the last of the Puerto Rican star. Per the report, Bad Bunny ‘is pretty much considered a part of the company’ at this point.
This means that the pop star can drop in at any time and be involved in an angle whenever he likes and when his schedule allows it to happen.
Ronda Rousey has only returned to WWE programming but it appears that WWE already has planned the next big outings for her.
Dave Meltzer talked about the former UFC star on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio. He reiterated that the current plan is for her to challenge the SmackDown women’s champion Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 38.
Just like the last time, Ronda is going to be a regular on SmackDown leading to this program. She is expected to wrestle on weekly shows as well.
Though this isn’t all as officials already have plans in place for her WrestleMania 39 opponent. The idea is for her to face Becky Lynch at the show of shows next year.
Ronda Rousey’s deal is for her to do the two Manias and Meltzer speculates that she will be gone from the company after that.
The former Raw women’s champion made her return to WWE TV during the Royal Rumble PPV last night. She entered the women’s rumble at #28 and won the match.
WWE has announced that the baddest woman on the planet will be making an appearance at this Monday’s episode of Raw. It’s likely that we will see a confrontation between her and Becky Lynch at the show.
Ronda Rousey made her triumphant return at the Royal Rumble PPV. She went on to win the women’s battle royal at the show. The rowdy one can now pick her opponent for WrestleMania 38. The SmackDown women’s champion Becky Lynch is ready to face Rousey if she picks her, though she doesn’t think it will be a good idea.
Ariel Helwani caught up with Lynch after last night’s PPV and he asked her about the turn of events. Becky first congratulated Ronda on the birth of her baby. Although she didn’t forget to mention that she is the champion.
Becky Lynch is ready for Ronda Rousey
When asked if she thinks Rousey will pick her, The Man claimed that she is not sure about it:
“Here’s the thing, Ariel, she hasn’t done this in three years. I don’t know that she’s gonna want to go into the full meal. You know what I mean? Like, sometimes you have to warm up to these things, have a little bowl of gazpacho. You know, maybe a little melon ball appetizer. So maybe she’ll go for a little melon ball appetizer before getting into the main course. That’s what I would do if I was her, but we’ll see what she does.”
Becky Lynch was then questioned about the possibility of meeting with the former UFC star once again at the show of shows. The current champion mentioned how she has already beaten her before. Though she explained that it’s a match people want and she is ready for Ronda Rousey if she comes her way:
“I mean, I’ve already beaten her. Sure. Of course, that’s the match people want. That’s the match people have wanted for well, nearly four years now. I think that would get them excited and that will get me excited. But now it’s in her court. It’s up to her if she wants it. If she wants it, I’m ready to go. If she doesn’t, well, she can warm up with the gazpacho and I’ll give somebody else a shot.”
Royal Rumble this year took place in The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, MO, which is the hometown of the Viper Randy Orton.
While the former world champion didn’t get a lot of moments to shine at the PPV itself, he did get a moment with his hometown crowd afterward.
Orton got in the ring after the PPV went off air. Both him and his tag team partner Riddle posed together to send the crowd home happy as seen in the video below:
It wasn't his night, but @RandyOrton got one of the biggest pops we've ever heard ?
Riddle entered the Royal Rumble match at #20 while the legend killer entered at #29. Both were among the five superstars eliminated by the eventual winner Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar, who entered the match at #30 also eliminated Shane McMahon and Bad Bunny apart from Randy Orton. He took out Drew McIntyre last to win the bout.
RK-Bro dropped the Raw tag team championships to the Alpha Academy at the January 10 episode of Raw earlier this month. This ended their 142 days long reign with the championship.
There is no word yet on what WWE is planning for Randy Orton at WrestleMania this year. Though it wouldn’t be a surprise if he ends up facing his tag team partner Riddle at the show of shows.
William Regal has helped recruit many of the current WWE stars and the wrestling veteran knows what is needed in a talent to become a champion.
The former NXT general manager recently took time to endorse two such former WWE stars who he believes independent promoters should book for their shows.
Regal named the former NXT UK women’s champion Toni Storm and former Mae Young classic competitor Tegan Nox as wrestlers who deserve opportunities.
Toni Storm & Tegan & Nox
Regal wrote, “As well as booking Toni Storm you should be booking Stephanie Newel (Tegan Knox). Stephanie is a top class Pro and lovely lady. If you’re a promoter you’d be mad not to.”
Capt. Shawn Dean, who books talent for AEW, took notice of Regal’s advice.
Tegan Nox joined WWE in 2017 and took part in the 2018 edition of the Mae Young Classic tournament. She was called up to the main roster in July last year but Nox was subsequently released from her contract in November.
Toni Storm on the other hand asked for her WWE release in December. The former NXT UK star has so far been silent about her departure from the promotion.
William Regal had been with WWE since 2000 in his latest run. After retiring from in-ring action, Regal started working as a talent scout and on-screen general manager for NXT. He was released earlier this month.
Ronda Rousey made her WWE return with a statement as expected during the Royal Rumble PPV from America’s Center in St. Louis, MO.
The former Raw women’s champion entered the women’s Royal Rumble match at #28 to a huge pop. She then went on to win the match by last eliminating Charlotte Flair.
Sarah Schreiber caught up with Rousey backstage after the event and she made some interesting comments about her return.
The megastar first claimed that her victory was a statement. When asked for her reaction to the moment, the former MMA star said that she would go back and love her baby because her priorities have changed.
Ronda Rousey was then asked what can we expect from her now that she is back. To this Rousey responded: “There was quite a reaction tonight, and you can expect me not to fall for it this time.”
This backstage interaction indicates that the rowdy one may play the villain in this story. It will be interesting to see how WWE books Ronda Rousey on her road to the grandest stage of them all.
Royal Rumble is not only the place for old veterans to have another moment but it also provides an opportunity for young prospects to make a name for themselves. One such star who will get an opportunity to showcase her talent at such a stage for the first time is WWE superstar Aliyah.
The former NXT star recently had an interview with The National News. Speaking of her upcoming Rumble appearance, she expressed her gratitude for the opportunity:
“I’m so excited, I was in NXT for like six years and every year I was in there I would think ‘Okay, maybe this is the year. Is [this] the year I’m going to be the Royal Rumble?’ I would pray and hope and it’s finally happening. I’m so happy and I’m so grateful.”
One of the most unexpected announcements for the upcoming show was the inclusion of Impact Knockouts Champion Mickie James. Talking about James’ return to WWE, Aliyah said that she has always wanted to get in the ring with her:
“I’m so excited. I’ve always wanted to get into the ring with her and it’s finally happening, so it’s very cool to see. I grew up watching her and idolising her. I’m super looking forward to it,”
After almost 6 years in the developmental, Aliyah was called up to SmackDown during the 2021 draft. She recently made some headlines after scoring the fastest recorded win in WWE over Natalya.
After WWE announced Mickie James for the Royal Rumble, there is lots of speculation on which other outside names can appear at the show. One of the biggest names thrown around is Cody Rhodes, who recently confirmed that he is not under contract with AEW and AJ Styles is all for it.
The Phenomenal One recently spoke to WrestlingInc. During the talk, the former world champion was asked if he would like to see Rhodes at the Rumble and he said “Of course. Who wouldn’t?” Styles also called him out to make it possible:
“Well, I think I read it on your website that he said he wasn’t coming back. I don’t know about that. Cody, I am going to call you out man, I don’t know about that one.” said AJ Styles, “Because, you’re able to do independents while working for AEW, right? So what’s the difference?”
Cody Rhodes is one AEW star who has always been open to a potential crossover with WWE. During an interview earlier this month, he explained that they want to keep things fresh in AEW. The former TNT champion claimed that their doors are open if the right business opportunity arises.
Whatdo you think about the potential of Cody Rhodes making an appearance at the Royal Rumble tonight? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Many things have changed in wrestling in recent decades. Things such as the reduced drug usage and better locker atmospheres have been for the better. However, not everything that has changed is good. The one difference that especially bothers Randy Orton is the dwindling level of respect among the new stars for each other.
The viper talked about it in a recent interview with Ariel Helwani for BT Sport. While he didn’t name names, Orton explained that the stars coming out of NXT nowadays are more concerned about themselves instead of making their opponent feel safe.
“I would never name any names, but you see the general attitude coming out of NXT is ‘Alright, I’m here. Where’s my stuff? Where’s my music? I’m gonna go do my thing.’ You have to respect everybody that came before you. You have to respect everybody that you’re in there with.
If I’m out in the ring with you, I have to be able to know that you’re gonna put my body first and you’re going to protect me in everything that you’re doing and you have to know that about me. With that comes respect. I just feel like sometimes now, that level of respect has dwindled. If anything, that’s what’s upsetting to me as an old-timer.”
Randy Orton Wants Talent to Show Respect for Their Opponents
Randy Orton
Randy Orton mentioned how many of the development talents nowadays do not have a wrestling background. They got here because of their size or their accolades in other sports. The 22-year veteran explained that the downside of this is that they don’t know how to show the proper respect to their opponents:
“They don’t understand that when you’re so big, you don’t have to take any bumps because you’re the giant. You got that guy in the ring opposite you, bumping all over the place and wearing his body down to make you look like a giant. You owe him a steak dinner. You need to thank him every chance you get.
If he needs a bag of ice after the match because he took all these big moves because you’re a big son of a bitch and he was trying to make you look like a killer.” said Randy Orton, “Then you go get that ice for him. See if he’s ok. Check on him. I feel like guys take for granted how much we’re beating each other up.”
Randy Orton Has A Problem With Selfish Talents
The former world champion continued by saying that the young stars take for granted how gruelling the business can be in the long haul. According to him, the locker room is like a band of brothers and you need to have each other’s back. However, it’s hard to trust somebody when they are only concerned about themselves:
“When you can tell guys don’t get that. Or it’s not as much of a team player mentality, but it’s more me, me, me, me, me. There’s a time and a place for that. But when it’s all the time, then that’s not a good look. When I can’t trust you to respect me enough to be thinking about my body and my health rather than you knocking my head off on live TV and making it look like you killed me. Then we got a problem.”
Vicki Askew, the mother of WWE owner and chairman of the boards Vince McMahon has sadly passed away at the age of 101.
According to her obituary, Askew passed away of natural causes in her sleep at her home in The Woodlands, TX on Tuesday, January 20.
Born on July 11, 1920, in Florence, South Carolin, Vicki was the only daughter of four children. Her family moved to Stanford when she was a young girl and Vicki spent her childhood there.
She gave birth to two sons namely Rod and Vince. The elder of the two Rod unfortunately passed away at the age of 77 last year.
After graduating from high school, she pursued a career in Civil Service. She worked as a secretary and administrative assistant until her retirement from the Chamber of Commerce in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
Vicki Askew was an avid tennis player and she played until the age of 94. She also had a beautiful soprano voice and sang in several church choirs.
Her funeral services were held on January 22. A Memorial Mass for the Ebensburg community will be held on Saturday, January 29.
SEScoops extends our thoughts and prayers to the whole extended McMahon family.
Ronda Rousey has been in news lately after it was reported that the former Raw women’s champion would be returning to WWE for the upcoming Royal Rumble PPV.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer recently talked about the former UFC star. He confirmed her contractual status with the company.
Meltzer revealed that Ronda is under contract with the promotion at the moment. Though he couldn’t report whether she has signed a new deal:
“Either a new deal was put together or WWE froze her three-year deal since she really only worked the first year and a few months of it.”
– Wrestling Observer Newsletter
Ronda Rousey made her official WWE debut during the Royal Rumble PPV in 2018. She went on to win the Raw women’s championship at SummerSlam that year.
After a historic 231 days reign with the title, The Baddest Woman on the Planet dropped the championship to Becky Lynch in a triple threat match at WrestleMania 35.
WWE usually keeps their doors closed when it comes to allowing outside talents to make appearances for the company. Though it appears things may change in future.
The January 21 edition of SmackDown saw not only Eric Bischoff but Jeff Jerrett also making a surprise appearance during the show.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer recently talked about this. He noted that we can expect more such WWE cameos in future because Fox likes these surprises.
According to Meltzer, “the idea is to try and create buzz with the idea of who unannounced may show up on television each week.”
The WWE officials are also discussing the idea of signing outside stars to short-term contracts. Such wrestlers could be used to work with younger talents.
Former NXT champion Samoa Joe was originally signed to a similar deal in 2015. He was then offered a long-term contract after becoming a top merchandise seller.
Joe ended up having a seven-year-long run with the promotion before being let go earlier this month. He was once released on April 15 last year but was brought back by Triple H before his non-compete clause expired.
There is no word on if any specific names are being considered for such roles. It’s still interesting to know that WWE is looking to open the forbidden door some more in the upcoming times.
WWE’s development brand in NXT is now directly under the control of Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard. There are several names they see as future megastars.
Dave Meltzer talked about the revamped brand on the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter. He revealed how the officials feel about certain names.
Per Meltzer, officials are ‘very high right now’ on LA Knight. The former Impact world champion was originally supposed to be called up to the main roster in spring.
However, he has recently been competing in dark matches on SmackDown and Raw. WWE even posted a video of Knight having a confrontation with Dolph Ziggler and Robert Roode. So it’s possible that his progression may have been sped up.
A couple of other names the officials seemed to be impressed with are Brutus Creed and Julius Creed, the Creed Brothers.
Internal comparisons have been made between Julias and a young Kurt Angle. The Idea internally is that ‘both will at some point be WrestleMania headliners.’
Finally, the officials are high on Von Wagner and Xyon Quinn because of their look and size. They are ‘very forgiving’ of the young star’s inexperience in the ring and the management is hoping that they will pick things up in time.
Only time will tell which one of these talents actually end up becoming big stars, but it’s still good to know that officials are looking at names that can be future champions.
Brock Lesnar appearances are generally a rare occurrence but it appears we are going to see a lot of the Beast Incarnate during this WrestleMania season.
If local advertisements are to be believed, then the WWE champion will be a part of this year’s Elimination Chamber PPV from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Not only that but Lesnar is also expected to make at least a few appearances after the Saudi PPV. Here are the shows he is currently being advertised for during the WrestleMania season:
Monday Night Raw – February 14 from Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis IN
Elimination Chamber – February 19 from Jeddah Super Dome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Monday Night Raw – February 21 from Colonial Life Arena in Columbia SC
Friday Night SmackDown – February 25 from Giant Center in Hershey PA
Friday Night SmackDown – March 11 from Legacy Arena in Birmingham AL
Brock Lesnar is also scheduled to defend his WWE Championship against Bobby Lashley at the Royal Rumble PPV this Saturday.
The SmackDown appearances are in line with the reports suggesting that WWE is planning a match between the former UFC champion and the Universal champion Roman Reigns for WrestleMania 38.
Though the advertised Raw appearances are interesting. It suggests that Lesnar may end up keeping the WWE title until the PPV in Saudi Arabia before dropping the championship to someone.
The internal restructuring in WWE seems to still be going at full pace as another long-term employee has left the promotion after over a decade.
According to reports from PWinsider, long-time executive Amanda Tustian who was working as the Director of OTT (Over The Top) Content Operations left WWE yesterday. Though there is no word on the reason behind her departure.
The female executive had been with the promotion for almost 12 years. She was hired back in February 2010 as the Creative Writing Assistant.
In her role, Tustian assisted the creative vice presidents of Raw and SmackDown. She also handled the travel logistics for a team of 14 employees.
She was appointed the Talent Development Coordinator in October 2011. She stayed in this role till August 2013 and helped with various tasks concerning talent recruitment. This included booking extras for events.
This trend of changing responsibilities continued throughout her career. Amanda Tustian was finally promoted to the role of WWE Director of OTT Content Operations in September 2020.
Tustian’s LinkedIn profile mentions that in her last role, she oversaw the launch of WWE Network on Peacock. She helped migrate over 14,000+ hours of content and metadata to the NBCUniversal-owned streaming service.
Royal Rumble is a PPV of surprise appearances. Reports suggest that this year it will include the return of another star who hasn’t been in quite some time.
Former WWE star Aksana is in St. Louis and is scheduled to appear in the Women’s Royal Rumble match, according to PWinsider.
Aksana
Aksana in WWE
Aksana signed a developmental contract with WWE in 2009. She trained at Florida Championship Wrestling held the FCW Divas Championship once during that run.
She made her main roster debut in October 2011 in a Divas Halloween costume battle royal. She was never a major character on WWE television. She did, however, have a brief on-screen relationship with Cesaro. She also had short-lived tag team with Alicia Fox named Foxsana.
The Lithuania native never won a championship on the main roster.
Aksana was with WWE for almost 5 years before getting released in June 2014. She’s been away from the wrestling world since her release.
Disney and WWE have made a streaming deal that will see the entertainment giant carry the WWE Network in Indonesia, per Sports Business Journal.
The deal will make all the WWE Network content available on Disney+ Hotstar streaming service including this year’s Royal Rumble PPV from Sunday, January 30.
The subscribers will be able to see all the WWE shows in the Indonesian language, and English. Though this isn’t the first deal between the two organizations.
WWE previously signed a deal with Fox in Latin America. The California-based company inherited this deal when they took over Fox Entertainment assets in 2019.
The wrestling promotion also has a deal with Hulu for the streaming rights of Raw and SmackDown. Disney is the majority owner of Hulu. Though this deal is set to expire later this year.
The recent spree of WWE releases has made many believe that Vince McMahon might be gearing up for a sale of the company. Disney’s name has been thrown around as potential buyers for the promotion numerous times.
Although president Nick Khan recently claimed that they aren’t actively looking to sell the company despite interest from parties. You can check out his comments on the matter at this link.
After decades of running PPVs on Sundays, WWE has finally made the switch to Saturday. This weekend’s Royal Rumble will be the latest of the WWE premium events to be moved to a Saturday and Rey Mysterio thinks it’s a good idea.
The former world champion recently had an interview with Barstool Wrestling. He discussed things such as his son Dominik Mysterio’s progression and more.
When asked about WWE switching to Saturdays for their big events, Rey Mysterio said that the whole company is making a change for good:
“I don’t mind it. I can kind of see why they switched from Sundays to Saturdays. You know, just the whole company overall, is making a change for good. A lot of people have to work Monday mornings, [so] going to an event on Sunday and having to wake up the next morning [is not convenient].
Even kids. kids have to go school. So I think Saturday is a good family day to go out and have a good time. Even if it’s just the homies, [who] wanna go have a beer and check out some wrestling. What a perfect day to enjoy.”
Rey Mysterio will be entering his record 13th Royal Rumble match this Saturday. He will have the opportunity to join the exclusive club of stars who have won the rumble multiple times including names such as Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin.
If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription
Dominik Mysterio comes from a family of wrestlers and it’s no surprise that he wants to face fellow generational wrestler and internet sensation Hook.
The WWE star recently had an interview with My Mom’s Basement podcast. During the talk he was asked which Forbidden Door wrestlers he would like to face.
Mysterio unsurprisingly took the name of fellow second-generation wrestler Hook immediately, before revealing some more of his dream opponents:
“HOOK. That would be a fun one. For the culture, Penta (El Zero M) and (Rey) Fenix. Me and my dad against Penta and Fenix, I think we would knock the doors down and bring the house down. We would tear it down with those guys.
Andrade would be another one. He left us, but he’s another one.” said Dominik Mysterio, “(CM) Punk. Sting. There are so many guys I would love to work with. We’ll see what the future holds.”
The 24-year-old also revealed which WWE stars he would like to face. He explained that he would like to go up against names such as Santos Escobar and Angel Garza because of the culture they come from.
Mysterio later said that he would love to get his hands on Seth Rollins again now that he has wrestled a few matches and won a title in the company.
Rey Mysterio is one of the most recognizable stars in wrestling right now. Though his beginning in the business was very humble. The wrestling veteran wasn’t even paid in cash for his first wrestling match back in 1989.
The WWE 2K22 cover star was recently interviewed by Brandon Walker of Barstool Wrestling. During a discussion about Mysterio’s longevity in the business, he explained that he’s truly blessed to be still wrestling in 2022.
“So I was talking to Edge the other day in the locker room. He was saying, ‘Rey, you know, we’re the only two guys left that have been part of five decades of wrestling.’ I started in 89. So I was part of the 80s, 90s, 2000s, 10s, and 20s. Now, that’s amazing, man! I’m truly blessed to be able to be in this for this amount of time.”
Mysterio’s First Match was in a Parking Lot
Rey Mysterio (Photo: WWE)
When Walker showed his amazement at the fact that Rey Mysterio has been wrestling so long, the wrestling legend recalled his first match. He revealed that it took place in parking lot of a church and he was paid for it with a sandwich and a Coca Cola:
“That was my first match. I was 14 years old. Imagine that. It counts because I got paid. Not money, but I got a sandwich and a Coca-Cola. It was in front of maybe 80 fans outside of a church, in a parking lot church in Tijuana.”
Apart from this, Rey Mysterio also talked about the upcoming Royal Rumble PPV, being the cover star of WWE 2K22 video game and more. You can check out his full interview in the embedded video
After almost 17 years in the business, Bobby Lashley has started to understand that wrestling is about more than just impressive-looking moves. He believes that it’s about telling a story and that’s why the All-Mighty thinks that Roman Reigns is the best wrestler in the business right now.
The former WWE champion was recently asked about his training routine during his appearance on The Pat McAfee show. Replying to it, Bobby explained that his training is the same but as time has gone on, he has started putting more thought into his character work. He also offered some big praise to The Tribal Chief:
“Roman is the best in the game right now because he’s the best storyteller. He has incredible character. He sticks to his character and he makes everything that he does mean more.” said Bobby Lashley, “So as you go on in your career [you understand that]. When you’re young, you want to throw everything out there.
When you start getting to the point of really just understanding what it’s kind of about [you think more]. Mine is [that] I’m mean. So I throw a few mean things in there like the whiplash when I sling the guy against the pole and everything like that. That’s just dirty and that’s mean. As I’ve gotten further in my career, I just think of things to make my character better, not just another cool move that I can throw out there.”
Bobby Lashley is currently scheduled to challenge Brock Lesnar for the WWE championship at the Royal Rumble PPV this Saturday. You can check out the betting odds for the PPV here.
