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B-Fab Comments On Reports Of Top Dolla’s Backstage Heat In WWE

Members of the Hit Row faction were part of the dozens of talents released by WWE this year. B-Fab was the first to be let go on November 4. The rest of the group was released 15 days later, only weeks after making their main roster debuts.

Though their release became a controversial topic when reports emerged of ‘Top Dolla’ A.J. Francis ‘rubbing people the wrong way’ leading to the departure of the group.

B-Fab responded to these talks during a recent K&S WrestleFest signing. She explained that people make up stories when they don’t know the truth:

“Here’s the thing, people will always say anything to make sense of when things happen even if it’s not true or they don’t know the details. Things like that. AJ is an amazing guy and is so smart. A huge wrestling fan, knows his stuff, very dedicated to the whole group.

We had a lot of idea for the group. AJ is a professional and a huge fan.” said B-Fab, “People just say things because they want to make sense about what happened, especially something unfortunate as this.”

Top Dolla has previously responded to the reports as well. He claimed that standing up for himself was considered wrong by WWE officials and that he had ‘plenty of stories’ about being disrespected himself.

Apart from this, B-Fab also confirmed that she had a 30-days non-compete clause while the rest of Hit Row has a 90-days non-compete clause after being upgraded to main roster contracts.

Thanks for Fightful for the transcribed quotes

Bron Breakker On Where The Idea For His Character Came From

Bron Breakker has managed to impress a lot of people with his performance in a short amount of time. The powerhouse style of wrestling has helped the young star set himself apart from the older crop of NXT talents.

The 24-year-old recently had an interview with Yahoo Sports. He talked about things such as his experience of the NXT locker room and more.

When asked about his character, Breakker revealed that the idea for it came from his Football career. The former Fullback claimed that his character is based a lot on who he is in real life:

“The idea of Bron Breakker, the character, it’s a lot of who I am, there’s a lot of reality in it, the idea came from when I was playing football in college and a little bit in the pros, when I blocked people, I just wanted to break them in half.

That was my mentality. I was a hard-hitting guy who loved doing the dirty work. I thought that if I used to do it in football, I could build the character around it.”

Bron Breakker also talked about his future goals in WWE. He said that the obvious goal is to go to the main roster and perform.

The NXT star then explained that his long-term goal is to be on the card for a WrestleMania event and be a reliable talent for the company.

Tony Khan Admits It’s Time To Be ‘Discerning’ With New AEW Signings

Tony Khan has been on a signing spree the last few months. The AEW president has signed over 25 new stars to his company in 2021.

The sheer number of acquisitions however has also attracted some criticism from fans, with many worrying that the new signings have overshadowed the Day 1 AEW talents in many cases.

Khan was asked about his strategy for new stars heading into 2022 during a recent interview with TVInsider. Replying to it, Tony admitted that it’s time to be discerning about talent acquisition:

“I do think I have to be more discerning than ever in talent acquisition because we have such a strong roster. I was aggressively expanding with the launch of Rampage.”

Tony Khan went on to list some of the major names that have joined their roster in recent times before discussing AEW’s partnership with other companies:

“We’ve also continued our partnerships with great international companies like New Japan Pro Wrestling and Lucha Libre AAA. We have a lot of great talent working, but it’s time for me to be more discerning than ever in terms of acquisitions.”

Inspite of this claim, Khan promised that the list of talents will continue to expand. When asked if we will see more talents coming in next year, he said “Absolutely, there will be more people coming into AEW.”

What do you think about AEW’s hiring strategy in 2021? Let us know your thoughts on all the signing of the year in the comment section below.

Jake Roberts Reveals COVID-19 Diagnosis

AEW star and WWE Hall of Famer Jake Roberts has revealed that he has tested positive for coronavirus.

The wrestling veteran revealed the news on Twitter. He wrote “I’ve waited so long. Actually thought I was bulletproof. Yes I’ve gotten Covid-19!”

The former WWE star followed this up with another tweet. He mentioned how he hasn’t made an AEW appearance in nearly 3 months. Jake Roberts claimed that Tony Khan has gone above and beyond to keep everyone safe:

“Yes after not going to do my AEW work for nearly 3 months. Tony Kahn knows I’m high risk and has gone above and beyond all expectations trying to keep everyone safe. Pretty sure I got it from family or when I was out shopping.”

Jake Roberts revealed in July earlier this year that he has signed a new 2-year contract with AEW. Though he had been off TV in recent months after undergoing a foot surgery where he had pins inserted in his toes.

A positive test for the wrestling legend is concerning news, especially because of his battle with COPD which makes it hard for Roberts to breathe. COVID-19 is known to attack the lungs of its patients.

SEScoops wishes a speedy recovery to Jake Roberts.

Watch Mercedes Martinez Make Her Return On Dynamite

Mercedes Martinez is all elite.

This week’s episode of AEW Dynamite featured the second and last semi-final match of the TBS championship tournament. It saw Thunder Rosa and Jade Cargill going up against each other.

Towards the ending of the match that was mostly dominated by Cargill, Rosa got a figure four locked in. However, Cargill got to the ropes forcing the break.

Mark Sterling then created a distraction that led to a hooded figure attacking Thunder Rosa. This interference allowed Cargill to hit Jaded for the pinfall victory.

Thunder Rosa tried to attack Cargill after the match but the hooded figure returned. She put Rosa down once again and then revealed herself to be the former NXT star Mercedes Martinez:

https://twitter.com/AEWonTNT/status/1476376186460819457

Martinez and Cargill continued the post-match beatdown until Ruby Soho ran down to the ring and forced both the women to retreat.

Tony Khan took on his Twitter after the show. The AEW president confirmed that the wrestling veteran has officially signed with his promotion:

The former WWE star had made a number of appearances for AEW in 2019 before she got re-signed and returned to NXT.

Mercedes Martinez was released from her WWE contract in August. Before making her AEW return, she also made her Impact Wrestling debut in October.

Backstage News On Toni Storm’s WWE Release

The release of Toni Storm is the most shocking wrestling news of this week. It’s especially surprising due to the fact that she appeared on WWE TV just last Friday and competed in a championship match on SmackDown.

The former NXT star also competed in last night’s Live Event from Washington, DC. She was part of a triple threat match also featuring Charlotte Flair and Sasha Banks.

While the reason for Storm’s departure has not been revealed yet, PWinsider is reporting that it was not related to yesterday’s match and the bout went as planned.

The story making rounds is that the former NXT UK women’s champion flew herself home from Baltimore after the live event and then asked for a release.

The internal WWE announcement regarding her departure doesn’t state the release as another budget cut. Fightful select has noted that many in WWE were ‘blindsided’ by Toni Storm’s request.

The site also noted how it would have been difficult for officials to not grant the release after firing a lot of talents over the last several months due to budget cuts.

Toni Storm had recently opened up about the lack of opportunity on the main roster. She had only wrestled 7 televised matches since being called up in July.

There is no word yet on what the former champion is planning for her future. She should have the standard 90 days non-compete clause that is expected to expire on March 29 next year.

Christian Cage: ‘To Get My Career Back After 7 Years Is A Gift’

After 7 years of absence, Christian Cage made his in-ring return at the Royal Rumble PPV earlier this year in January. He subsequently joined AEW in March where he has been really able to showcase his talent once again.

The former world champion recently had an interview with ET Canada. He discussed a number of things such as whether or not he would like to see Jeff Hardy join AEW.

Speaking of his own time in AEW so far, Christian explained that being able to get his career back after losing it is like a gift for him:

“It’s a gift. It really is. To get my career back, to be able to take it back after losing it for seven years is pretty special. And you know, for me at this stage, I just wanted the right platform where I could finish my career the way that I wanted to.”

Christian Cage On What Convinced Him To Join AEW

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yuTqx4SMcg

Christian Cage then recalled his first conversation with the AEW president Tony Khan. He claimed that it was enough to convince him to join the promotion:

“Having one conversation with Tony about it,” recalled Cage, “I wasn’t even halfway through the conversation with him and I was like, ‘this is the place for me.’ It was based solely on him.”

Apart from this, Christian Cage also talked about things such as getting the chance to work with younger talents and more. You can check out his full interview below:

https://youtu.be/pX4jOFVC5EU

Renee Paquette Details Her Epic Wedding To Jon Moxley

Jon Moxley is one of the people who lives and breathes wrestling. His wrestling gimmick is just an extension of his real-life self. This point is only proved further by the story of his marriage. Mox’s wife Renee Paquette welcomed the duo of Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux on the most recent episode of her Oral Sessions podcast.

Scarlett first told the story of her engagement to Killer Kross in September this year. She recalled how both of them were having a bad day and there were no friends around. But Kross explained that together they could turn even the bad days into something special.

Naturally, the topic of their marriage was brought up and Renee asked about their preparation for it. Bordeaux revealed that they haven’t finalized anything but claimed that she would like to elope:

“I was on the road most of this month. I got to try on a couple dresses. I haven’t thought anything yet but I think I’d really like to elope. I want to go somewhere where there’s mountains. I was looking at Montana. I really just want close friends and family there because we’re talking about it and I’m like, ‘I don’t think a 100-person wedding or more people is for me. A lot of these people we might not even see in 10 years.’

I feel like I want [it] to be for us. I want to be surrounded by people who care about us. I just want to do it somewhere beautiful and have really good food. When we plan [it] it’s going to be maybe two or three weeks ahead. We’re just gonna call up our people and be like, ‘Alright, get on the flight. we’re going.'”

How Renee Paquette And Jon Moxley Got Married

Jon Moxley with Renee Paquette
Jon Moxley aka Dean Ambrose with Renee Paquette

In response, Renee Paquette told the story of her own marriage to Jon Moxley. The couple got married in an impromptu ceremony. It took place in the early hours of April 9, 2017, at their home in Las Vegas. They had hired a 24-hour pastor from yelp. Paquette revealed that they spent a total of $500 on the marriage:

“That’s the way to do it I feel. You spent so much money trying to cater things and get people somewhere and booking a venue and blah blah blah. It’s like you really just want it to be you guys. You want it to be nice and simple.

Jon and I got married for $500 which included the tip and that was it. We called it a day. I happen to have a white dress hanging in my closet. Same thing we were like, we had a weird bad day. I went up to bed and a bit of a mood. He comes storming up after me. [He was like] ‘We’re gonna get married right now.’ [I was like] ‘Okay, shit, here we go.'”

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

Scarlett Bordeaux Has A Good Reason To Want NXT 2.0 To Be Successful

The rebranding of NXT has mostly been met with criticism from the fans. The new version of the show has failed to attract the younger audience as officials had hoped. Many believe that WWE should either revert back to the old presentation of the show or shut it down. However, Scarlett Bordeaux who was one of the last stars to be trained under the development brand before its repackaging is rooting for NXT 2.0 to succeed.

Scarlett and her fiance Killer Kross recently appeared on the latest episode of Oral Sessions with Renée Paquette. When asked for their thoughts on NXT 2.0, Bordeaux claimed that she wants it to be successful. She explained the reasoning for it, saying that a failure for the brand would lead to more of their friends losing their jobs:

“We have so many friends there. No matter what we want everyone to be successful and have jobs. We want it to do well, because if it doesn’t do well, that’s even more people we care about out of jobs. So we want [it] to be successful.

Scarlett Bordeaux continued: “It’s different. I’ll say this. It maybe feels a bit more sterile compared to what it was for me. We understand why they’re trying to appeal to the largest market and we want it to do well. I prefer the old grungy underground NXT personally. I just think there’s a lot of really talented, awesome people in that company. We want to see our friends do well.”

During the same interview, Killer Kross also gave his thoughts on his time with WWE. He explained that he doesn’t regret his run with the company overall. Though the former NXT champion also revealed the one thing he would change about his tenure. You can check out his comments at this link.

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

Killer Kross Doesn’t Regret WWE Run: “I Learned So Much”

Killer Kross was one of the victims of the lack of coordination between NXT and main roster officials. Many believed that he had all the tools for a successful career on Raw and his unique gimmick would help him stand out. Fans were outraged when he was repackaged upon his call-up. It was evident from his debut loss against Jeff Hardy that the main roster officials did not understand his character at all. The point was proven further when both Kross and Scarlett were released from their WWE contracts after a lackluster run in November.

However, even after the poor treatment on the main roster, the former NXT champion is not bitter about his WWE run as a whole. He talked about it during his most recent appearance on Oral Sessions with Renée Paquette. Killer Kross mentioned that he got to learn a lot during his WWE tenure. He claimed that he would have gone through with it, if he had known how his run would pan out:

“This may shock a lot of people but like I said, I like to look at the glass half full. If someone had presented a crystal ball and said, ‘This is how your career is gonna go [in] WWE and by the end of it, this is what’s gonna happen. There is nothing you can do about it. Would you like to go? Or would you just say skip this period?’ I would honestly have gone. Because I learned so much. And I grew as a person and especially with what was going on in the world at that time like it served many purposes in a greater aspect of either mentally, physically, spiritually.”

Killer Kross On One Thing He Would Change About His Main Roster Run

Killer Kross
Killer Kross

Killer Kross was asked about the one thing he would change about his WWE run. Replying to it, the former champion mentioned how fans were already fantasy booking the NXT version of his character against main roster stars. He explained that he would have kept the gimmick when he moved to the main roster:

“If I could have done something differently, I mean, very simply put, I would have attempted to maintain continuity at what we’re doing in NXT. And taken that to the main roster because fans were already fantasy booking us to be walking down the aisle of WrestleMania.

The fans were telling the company what they wanted to see. And so the matches were there. The tickets could have been sold. If we just listened to what people were telling them that they wanted. This would have been super easy in my opinion. If we could have done things differently, that’s what I would have done.”

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

Toni Storm On Lack Of Opportunity After Main Roster Call Up, What She Learned During Pandemic

WWE announced back in July that Toni Storm was going to be called up to the main roster. She was confirmed to be a part of the SmackDown brand via a vignette during the July 9 episode. However, it turned out to be one of those cases where the officials had no clear plans for the NXT star. She made her in-ring debut beating Zelina Vega during the July 23 episode of the show and disappeared from TV for a couple of weeks after that. This trend continued in the following months and Storm had wrestled only three matches on SmackDown before the Survivor Series PPV in November.

The former NXT UK women’s champion opened up about the time during her recent appearance on Out Of Character podcast. She admitted that sitting in catering doing nothing was not a good feeling:

“It’s the worst cause you just don’t know. Obviously, wrestling [can be] so unpredictable. Next week you could be main eventing and winning a title and everything could be happening or nothing. You don’t know. This is show business at the end of the day. It’s a topsy turvy industry.

When you’re sat in catering, it’s not a good feeling. Just sitting there waiting for your shot. Waiting for your big break. Waiting to show everyone what you’ve worked your life to be good at. I just sat there [asking] ‘When am I next? What’s happening?’ Now [when] stuff starts happening, I’m still like, ‘what’s going on?’ Oh, my God. What is my life?”

Toni Storm On What She Learned During The Pandemic

Toni Storm
Toni Storm

Toni Storm also talked about the pandemic and the lockdown everyone was forced to endure. She admitted that being alone was not a good experience. Though finding a silver lining in the situation, Storm claimed that the ordeal gave her time to know herself a little better. It was a good time to focus on herself. Storm claimed that she learned about what she wanted from life:

“I got to know myself a little more. You know what I mean? I got to know real Toni a little bit because it’s been just years of constant, just being Toni Storm. Just traveling all around, working all around. Just doing this constantly. Then I was kind of forced to be alone and locked away. I was in North of England when it happened and by myself. I was given so much time. I was alone so much.

At first, I hated it. And then I really started to enjoy it and [started to] know more about me and was more in touch with myself. It was a good opportunity to like, learn more about who I am and what I want out of life. And so, in that sense, that was the positivity there. I mean, it still sucked. There was no enjoyment. That was just like the worst but it was a good time to really focus on who I am as a person. I think everyone needs that from time to time.”

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

Toni Storm Discusses Her Main Roster Call Up, Vince McMahon

Toni Storm is living the dream of becoming a WWE superstar and competing around the world. After spending almost 4 years in development, the female star has finally become part of the SmackDown roster. Not only that but she has been engaged in a feud with one of the biggest female stars of the industry in Charlotte Flair.

The former NXT star recently appeared on Out Of Character with Ryan Satin and discussed her journey till now. Talking about her main roster call-up, Storm recalled how she first got called in for a few dark matches. Though according to her, she tried not to get too excited about it:

“So I was just cruising along in NXT, minding my own business and I got called in for a few dark matches. I didn’t think too much of it. [I] didn’t want to get too excited. Because every time you are like ‘oooo’ and [it] never works out. So I just went along with it.  [I] did a few dark matches. [and] did my best. Next thing I know I’m on SmackDown. It’s been a crazy ride ever since. My whole life has changed. I’m a different person. I am a whole different being.”

Toni Storm On If She Has Talked To Vince McMahon

Toni Storm
Toni Storm

Toni Storm’s main roster call-up finally became official when WWE aired a vignette for the same during the July 9 episode of SmackDown this year. Even then, the SmackDown star didn’t want to get her hopes up. When asked how she reacted to the news, Storm said that she didn’t know what to do:

“I didn’t really know what to do. I just kind of fluffed around like, ‘oh, I don’t want to talk about it in case it doesn’t happen.’ To be honest I didn’t really say much. I was just [like], ‘Yeah this might be happening. I don’t know if it is. We’ll see.’ [I] just I didn’t get my hopes up or anything. [Because] this is like the ultimate goal. My life goal. My life dream. So hearing about [It] I was like ‘oh yeah, I’ll believe that when I see it.’ And then I turned up to work next week and was like. ‘Oh, okay. Yeah, it’s happening.'”

The former NXT UK women’s champion has been a part of the main roster for close to six months now. Though she is still adjusting to her new life and the people she gets to work with. Toni Storm was asked if she has talked to Vince McMahon about what he wants from her character. She replied by saying that they have only had a few chats:

“We’ve only had a few chats so far. We haven’t had a chance to really get to know each other yet, but I’m sure if I can keep doing a good job and slap the taste out of that girl’s (Charlotte Flair) mouth. Then maybe there’ll be some longer chats.”

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

Bianca Belair On What She Is Looking Forward To In 2022

2021 was a strange year for Bianca Belair. From winning her first championship in WWE at WrestleMania 37 to losing the title in a disheartening manner at SummerSlam, the year brought a lot of surprises for the female star. The former champion recently had an interview with Milwaukee Record. She talked about things such as her time in NXT and more.

When asked about the upcoming year and what she is looking forward to the most, Bianca claimed that despite the downfalls, 2021 was an amazing year for her. She then said that she would like to win the SmackDown women’s championship back:

“2021 was an amazing year, you know. So amazing that even through my downfalls in 2021, it’s just that I’ve had so many successes that my momentum has been able to just keep going and it’s been amazing.

I just want to continue to carry that momentum into 2022. What I can say, I think that one thing that can make 2022 really just top 2021, not even top 2021, but just make it all just come full circle is to eventually get back my title from Becky Lynch. So that’s really what I’m looking forward to in 2022.”

She was also asked if there is anyone in particular in NXT that helped her become who she is and the EST took the name of Sara Amato, better known by her ring name Sara Del Rey. Apart from this, Bianca Belair talked about her decision to open up about her mental health issues, celebrating Christmas in WWE, and more.

The Bella Twins On Why They Briefly Left WWE In 2012

The Bella Twins have been with WWE for the most part since they signed with the company in 2007, except for a brief period. The sisters left WWE back in April 2012 for a while before returning to the organization almost a year later in March 2013.

During their recent appearance on Wrestling with Freddie, the former champions talked about the dark days of women’s wrestling and more. They also explained the reasoning for their sudden departure from the promotion back in the day.

Nikki Bella explained that The Bella Twins had signed a 5-year contract with WWE when they first got into the company. Their contracts were coming up and they weren’t happy with how women were being treated in the promotion:

“Our five years were coming up. I remember at that point; Brie and I just did not like how women were treated in WWE. Two-minute matches but were allowed ten minutes on live events. While we were working hard on live events, we were never allowed a showcase on TV and our stories didn’t have depth and we just weren’t treated right.”

The Bella Twins On Why They Refused To Re-Sign

The former Diva’s champion continued by saying that they tried to remind the officials about their contracts but they couldn’t get a response. The duo ultimately decided to stop reminding the company. The officials finally reached out to them when their contract had already expired and the female stars decided not to renew them:

“They were like ‘we’ll give you these stories,’ and I was like, you couldn’t even have a conversation with me. I remember we’d just had this conversation and I said ‘we’re leaving.’ They still probably thought Brie and I were going to sign after the show or that week, they kept calling. Literally, when we left RAW in Chicago, after the championship match, we left and that was it.”

Nikki Bella defeated Beth Phoenix to win the Diva’s championship during the April 23, 2012 episode of Raw. Her contract expired the day after the championship win. Nikki dropped the title to Layla the following Sunday at Extreme Rules after The Bella Twins informed the officials of their decision. They had a rematch for the title on the Raw after the PPV and the twins left the company after that show

H/t to WrestlingInc for the transcribed quotes

Wrestling World Remembers Brodie Lee On 1 Year Anniversary Of His Passing

The wrestling world has come together to remember the late Jon Huber, known to wrestling fans as Brodie Lee or Luke Harper on 1 year anniversary of his passing on December 26.

Lee, who was a former Intercontinental champion and TNT champion sadly passed away on the same date a year ago due to a lung issue.

The sudden passing of the 41-year-old had shocked the wrestling world. All the industry had paid tribute to the wrestling veteran and they have once again reminded everyone that Brodie’s legacy has not been forgotten.

The WWE champion Big E penned down an amazing tribute to the former WWE star. He claimed that he still have dozens of things he wants to tell the late star every day.

E mentioned how he is grateful that so many people have made a commitment to keep the memory of Brodie Lee alive and he hoped to continue to honor him.

AEW’s Alan Angels took on his Twitter to remember the former champion. He noted how Lee was one of the few people in wrestling he never heard anything bad about.

https://twitter.com/Alan_V_Angels/status/1474976520519180290

Other people who paid tribute to the late legend include WWE and AEW names such as Members of The Dark Order, Renee Paquette, Matt Cardona, and more. You can check out all the tributes below:

Kevin Owens On What He Sees Himself Doing After Retirement

Kevin Owens feels a sense of accomplishment in helping other people achieve their goals, and that’s why he sees himself becoming an agent once he has called it a career and retired from active competition.

The former Universal champion recently had an interview with Les anti-pods de la lutte. He talked about things such as possibly becoming a world champion again down the line and more.

Discussing his future goals, Owens said that he would like to help anyone who needs it, before claiming that he might consider doing it professionally once he has retired:

“I have a huge sense of accomplishment when I see other people working hard and who deserve to be recognized for their passion or their talent, to see it happening. I think it’s really cool.

So, I could see myself working as an agent one day, because I already have those feelings of accomplishment even if I’m still active.” said Kevin Owens, “That said, I don’t see myself hanging my boots any time soon, but just to know that it could be a possibility one day, it’s good to know and comforting.”

Though it doesn’t appear that KO will be calling it a career anytime soon. He has recently signed a new contract with WWE and reports suggest that he is being paid handsomely to stay with the promotion.

Kevin Owens is not only receiving a lot of money but he has also received praise from a number of people including Ric Flair. You can check out Flair’s comments here.

H/t to WrestlingInc for the transcribed quotes

Matt Hardy On What He Would Like To Do After His Retirement

Matt Hardy is very well aware that he has more wrestling years behind him than in front. Though the 29-year veteran would like to continue his involvement in the business once he has hung up his boots. The wrestling legend recently had an interview with Essentially Sports. He discussed things such as why the broken character didn’t work in AEW and more.

When asked if he would like to become a producer after his retirement, Hardy replied positively. He acknowledged that he has limited time left in his in-ring career and claimed that he would like to continue his involvement in the business:

“Yeah. I mean, whenever I finish my in-ring career which obviously I have a lot less years left than I do behind me, but I would definitely see myself being a producer or someone involved in the creative process. Because at the end of the day pro-wrestling is my passion.

I want to wrestle in the ring as long as I can, as long as my body will physically let me.” said Matt Hardy, “But, once that’s said and done, I can still be involved and I can still contribute but being a producer and you’re still able to, kind of, still live out your passion to some degree.”

The former Impact world champion was also asked if he would like to become the AEW champion somewhere down the line. Replying to it, Matt Hardy claimed that he would definitely like to win a championship in the company. Though at this stage of his career and considering what the company is built around, he is not sure that the world title will necessarily be the best fit.

Matt Hardy On Why The Broken Character Didn’t Work In AEW

After fighting hard to win the rights of his Broken character, Matt Hardy finally got a chance to use the character with the creative freedom he desired when he signed with All Elite Wrestling in March 2020.

However, the gimmick still failed to get traction and the wrestling veteran had to switch personalities. During a recent interview with Essentially Sports, the AEW star discussed the reasoning behind it.

Hardy explained that the broken character didn’t work because of the lack of fans in the arena. He also teased the potential return of it:

“The Broken Matt Hardy Character is a very fan-driven character and it was just very hard for it to work as well as it should without having fans in the venue. Obviously, the whole world was in the midst of this pandemic.

So, we just changed courses and then I went to a more reality-based character in Money Matt and you know, we took a step back from Broken Matt. Who knows, now the fans are back, maybe you’ll see Broken Matt again down the road.”

Apart from this, Matt Hardy also talked about the backstage culture of AEW. He explained that from all the way down to Tony Khan at the very top, people in AEW have the mentality of making the product as good as they can.

The former champion claimed that everyone is allowed to feel comfortable in AEW. If you have an issue, you can talk to anyone including Tony Khan.

Baron Corbin On How Vince McMahon Came Up With His Happy Corbin Character

Baron Corbin has adopted a number of different monikers since being called up to the main roster in 2016. From Constable to King Corbin and from Sad to Happy Corbin, the lone wolf has embraced whatever character he has been given.

The former US champion talked about his different names on the latest episode of Out Of Character podcast with Ryan Satin. When asked which one of them is his favorite, the WWE star picked the one that irritated people the most:

“Whichever one irritates the people the most, constable irritated people because most people were like ‘I don’t know what a Constable is,’ and I also didn’t as well. Happy irritates people a lot too so I like that one as well, it gives confusion too.”

How Vince McMahon Came Up With Happy Corbin

'King' Baron Corbin
‘King’ Baron Corbin

Baron Corbin also discussed his current character of Happy Corbin. He mentioned how after staying around him for so many years Vince McMahon has started laying out characters for him based on their interactions. He revealed that one such interaction led to him getting his current gimmick:

“Could’ve been something with Vince where I’m making him laugh or just having fun being one of the guys with him and then he goes ‘I’ve got one of these ideas where you’re just over the top happy.’ He always tells me that people don’t like you, they’re really not going to like you when you’re happy all the time.”

Corbin later revealed that he didn’t know about the Happy Corbin name change beforehand and he learned about it on Twitter. The same thing was true with his new music and he didn’t know that the officials were going to change his entrance music before he showed up at the arena.

H/t to WrestlingInc for the transcribed quotes

Watch The Rock Surprise His Mother With New Car

The Rock has continued the tradition of surprising people with new vehicles, this time gifting his mother a new car for Christmas.

The great one took on his Instagram to post a video and some photos of his mom with the new car. In the caption he mentioned how she was shocked to receive the gift:

“Surprised my mom with a new car for Christmas today. She was shocked. She got a few good ugly cries in. Then once her grandbabies joined her inside the car. She was overcome with pure joy.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CX7k6WorvTr/?utm_medium=copy_link

This isn’t the first time The Rock has gifted a new vehicle to someone in his life. The people’s champion has a long-standing history of gifting cars to people who have been close to him or helped him during tough times in his life.

The former world champion has previously given similar gifts to his housekeeper and stunt double. He also gifted long-time WWE employee Harvey Wippleman a new Ford F-150 pickup last year for helping him when he was younger.

The Rock has been open about how much he loves his mother. He has also discussed the hardships she has had to face in her life when the former WWE star was young.

Recent 205 Live Match Was Heavily Edited Before Airing (Report)

Last week’s episode of 205 Live featured a match between Sarray and Lash Legend. The fight received a lot of criticism from the fans for being one of the worst worked matches of recent times.

As it turns out, fans weren’t the only ones that felt that the bout was lackluster. The officials also considered it to be a match that was very weakly performed.

According to Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the 205 Live bout was one of the ‘most edited’ matches of WWE TV before it aired.

The match was so poorly produced that the officials cut it down to 3 minutes of ‘highlights’ and even then, it was considered the worst TV match for WWE this year.

Lash Legend is one of the most accomplished female athletes on the roster. She has played college basketball and also had a brief stint with WNBA.

This was only the second televised match for the young star who made her debut the week before. She defeated Amari Miller during her first match.

Sarray on the other hand has 10 years of experience in wrestling. She has wrestled for a number of Japanese promotions before joining WWE in March this year.

You can check out the match in question below:

Shawn Michaels On How Triple H Is Adjusting To Time Away From WWE

After working non-stop for many years, Triple H has had to take an extended break from WWE recently due to his health scare in September. According to his best friend Shawn Michaels, the game has finally started to embrace the time off and he has started realizing that it’s not such a bad thing. Michaels recently had an interview with Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture.

During the talk, HBK was asked if he has been keeping in touch with the WWE vice president and how he has been doing. Replying to it, Shawn discussed how Triple H has worked so much over the last several years and explained that it takes a while to get used to the free time:

“Most of it is me bothering him to be perfectly honest, he has worked so much over the last several years and I don’t think he understood that it becomes your normal. For him to step away for a little bit, look, that takes getting used to. I went through it obviously; I am one of the rare people that was ready to do it and embrace it. But when it just happens out of the blue and you’re not expecting it”

Shawn Michaels Says Triple H Is Adjusting To New Schedule

Shawn Michaels Crown Jewel
Shawn Michaels & Triple H at WWE Crown Jewel

Shawn Michaels continued to explain how going from a lot of work to nothing is an adjustment. Though according to him, the holidays have helped Triple H realize that the time off is not that bad:

“For him to go a hundred miles per hour to nothing was an adjustment. But I think he is, especially around this time of year, he’s now starting to realize like ‘hey this isn’t too bad.’ I think he’s bordering enjoying himself now to be perfectly honest. It’s a well-deserved break for him, for sure.”

Apart from this, Shawn Michaels also talked about the talents that have left NXT in recent times such as Adam Cole, Kyle O’Reilly and more. He revealed how he feels about their departure. You can check out his comments on the matter here.

H/t to WrestlingInc for the transcribed quotes

Ric Flair Offers Big Praise To Kevin Owens: ‘I Think The World Of Him’

Kevin Owens is one of the most beloved professional wrestlers among his peers. He has received praise from a number of wrestling personalities and now Ric Flair has joined the list. The Nature Boy talked about the former Universal champion re-signing with WWE on the latest episode of his Woo Nation Uncensored podcast.

During the discussion, Flair explained that Owens is one of the most respectful and nice guys he has ever met. He mentioned how Kevin asked Stone Cold for his permission before he started using the stunner:

“I think the world of Kevin Owens, not a more respectful nice guy I ever met, unlimited talent, he’s got a hell of an interview. The word respect, I told you this story before but before he ever used the Stunner, he called [Stone Cold] Steve [Austin] and asked him. That’s respect.”

Ric Flair recalled how Kevin Owens was very respectful towards him during a segment they worked together on. He then praised the former NXT champion’s work ethics:

“Kevin wants to be at work, there are some guys getting paid that don’t care if they’re at work or not. Kevin wants to be at work, he wants to be on top and he wants to be thought of in that light and he’s very close to it.

Give me another year of watching him but he can be anything he wants to be, But most of all, he’s a very respectful man.”

Apart from this, Ric Flair also talked about things such as the comparison between WWE and AEW and explained why he thinks WWE is still the best wrestling company in the world.

Thanks to WrestlingInc for the transcribed quotes

New Championship Match Confirmed For WWE Day 1

A new match has been confirmed for the Day 1 PPV that will see Sami Zayn challenging Shinsuke Nakamura for his Intercontinental Championship.

This week’s Christmas Eve special of SmackDown featured a 12 Days of Christmas gauntlet match that included 12 contestants.

Zayn won this match and earned himself a title shot after last eliminating Ricochet. The high-flying star was Sami’s only elimination of the bout

The other participants of the match included Drew Gulak, Mansoor, Erik, Ivar, Shanky, Jinder Mahal, Sheamus, Cesaro, Angel, and Humberto.

WWE Day 1 Updated Match Card

This is the seventh match that has been announced for the upcoming Day 1 PPV. Here is the updated match card for the show:

  • Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar
  • Fatal 4 Way WWE Championship Match: Bobby Lashley vs. Seth Rollins vs. Kevin Owens vs. Big E
  • Intercontinental Championship Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs Sami Zayn
  • Raw Women’s Championship Match: Liv Morgan vs. Becky Lynch
  • SmackDown Tag Team Championship Match: The New Day vs. The Usos
  • Singles Match: Edge vs. The Miz
  • Singles Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Madcap Moss

The inaugural Day 1 PPV will take place on Saturday, January 1, 2022, from the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia.

Tay Conti Releases Statement On Her Social Media Hiatus

Tay Conti has come forward to comment on her social media hiatus and respond to the people who have accused her for Sammy Guevara’s split with his fiancé.

The AEW star posted a statement on her Insta story earlier today where she mentioned how she had to take some time off of social media because she was reading unnecessary comments.

Conti noted how her personal life is nobody’s business and nobody has the right to harass her by creating false rumors about something that wasn’t her fault.

She ended the statement by thanking the people who have supported her through the ordeal. You can check out Tay Conti’s statement in the photo below:

Tay Conti 1

For those who don’t know, AEW star Sammy Guevara announced a split with his long-time girlfriend Pam Nizio earlier last week. The couple had gotten engaged in August.

Since Sammy did not mention a reason for the split, many rumors started brewing up about the sudden end of their relationship.

https://mobile.twitter.com/sammyguevara/status/1474558251169722369/

Some people started accusing Tay Conti, who is a close friend of Guevara and regularly appears on his YouTube vlog.

This campaign against the female star led to her deactivating her Twitter account for a while. Sammy Guevara has since commented on the matter. He has also clarified that Conti had nothing to do with his breakup.