A lot of people get startled or go blank when they receive the call from WWE about their release, but it wasn’t the case for former NXT star Tyler Breeze when he was released in June this year. The prince pretty has previously discussed how he started preparing for life after WWE the day he got hired by the promotion. He said that he wanted to have the freedom to say no to a contract extension.

He revealed his immediate reaction to the call during a recent interview on The Danger Zone podcast. Breeze claimed that he was actually surprised it didn’t happen earlier:

“I was surprised didn’t happen earlier. I was very lucky it didn’t happen earlier. So when it happened, I just went, okay, what can we do now? Now we have options of what we can do. I don’t have to do anything, but what can I do? And then I started having fun with it to where it was like, okay, I could do this, and this, and this, and this, and this and this. Great, awesome. Away we go. Next chapter.”

The former WWE star discussed how some people take it worse than he did because they either haven’t prepared for their release or they haven’t been with the promotion for a long time. Apart from this, Tyler Breeze also discussed his wrestling training. He explained how his trainer Lance Storm not only taught them how to wrestle safely but also gave them knowledge of things such as taxes and managing your money.

While Tony Khan is highly excited with Rampage beating SmackDown in the key demo ratings during their recent competition, Eric Bischoff believes it wasn’t really a victory for AEW. The former WCW president continued talking about the outspoken nature of the AEW owner on his 83 weeks podcast.

He first said that he is pulling for AEW to be hugely successful. However, Bischoff then claimed that Khan predicting their win in advance was a bad choice. He went into the statics and explained how it wasn’t really a victory for AEW:

“To come out and predict that AEW was going to defeat SmackDown on FS1 was a bad choice. SmackDown delivered somewhere just under 800,000 viewers, AEW delivered just under 600,000 viewers. Not a good look. It wasn’t slightly; it was to the tune of 30-35%, that’s not insignificant. Even more so, that all happened on FOX Sports One.

[Tony Khan’s] tweet didn’t do AEW any favors.” said Eric Bischoff, “You might have served the internet fan base but you’re not serving your business well because you got your ass kicked on Friday night. Simple as that.”

The former SmackDown director also reiterated his comments saying that the wrestling audience wants a Monday Night War version 2.0 so bad that they are all participating in a cosplay competition.

Tony Khan hasn’t been quiet about the remarks from Eric Bischoff either. He recently responded to the former TNA star saying that he was amused by the comments Bischoff made about the competition between the two companies.

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcribed quotes

There has been some speculation that the mysterious SummerSlam absence of Sasha Banks had something to do with her role in The Mandalorian TV series.

These rumors stirred up from the comments made by the boss herself but now she has claimed that she won’t be a part of the upcoming season of the show.

Banks revealed this during a recent interview with Bleacher Report. Sasha said that being part of the show was incredible but she won’t be appearing on the next season:

“I’m not on the next season, but it was incredible being on The Mandalorian on Star Wars. To be on a franchise that is so huge and so loved, just look at the reception from fans outside of the WWE Universe. It was the best feeling of all time.”

Sasha Banks Teases Future Projects

Though not being part of The Mandalorian doesn’t mean fans will not get to see Sasha Banks in the acting world anymore. According to her, the show was a learning curve and she can’t wait for her fans to see what’s next:

“It was such a learning curve and something I wasn’t expecting, but now I’m in this whole new Hollywood world and it’s going amazingly. I’m so excited for the fans, and I can’t wait for my fans to see what’s next.”

Apart from this, Sasha Banks also talked about the Luke Skywalker appearance during the final episode of season two. She discussed how she was at SmackDown when the episode was released and claimed that it was really cool to see her co-workers freak out about something that she was part of outside wrestling.

Bret Hart is considered to be one of the greatest technical wrestlers of not only his own generation but all of wrestling history. The Hitman has now revealed which past and present stars he considers to be the best.

The former world champion was asked which stars he would put in his Mt Rushmore of the best technical wrestlers during a cameo appearance. Hart responded with names such as Curt Hennig and AJ Styles:

“If I was gonna do a Mt Rushmore of all the heads and put the best technical wrestlers of the world on that list.” said Bret Hart, “I would have to put Dynamite Kid on that list. I would have to put Curt Hennig on that list.

I would probably put AJ Styles and maybe CM Punk or Daniel Bryan. Those will be some of the guys that I think would be fitting for a monument of that task.”

This isn’t the first time Bret has praised some of these names. He has called Hennig his favorite opponent of all time in the past. Bryan has also previously been compared to a modern-day version of Bret Hart.

The former WCW champion has not made a wrestling appearance in a while. He presented the AEW world title at the inaugural Double Or Nothing PPV and then made a brief appearance at SummerSlam 2019. He was last seen congratulating Ken Shamrock on his Impact Hall Of Fame induction in a video package in October 2020.

The Undertaker has got people talking with his latest public appearance In Saudi Arabia ahead of the WWE Crown Jewel 2021 PPV this Thursday.

The dead man donned his iconic gear ahead of the big WWE show. He showed up at the concert of rapper Pitbull for a sold-out event at The Boulevard in Riyadh.

The concert kicks off the 2021 Riyadh Season Festival and The Undertaker introduced the Grammy Award-winner to the audience.

You can check out some videos of him at the show below:

While WWE has not confirmed anything regarding the former world champion, this appearance is obviously stirring up rumors about a potential return for the last outlaw.

The Undertaker was last seen on WWE programming during the Final Farewell segment at last year’s Survivor Series PPV. He has since maintained that he is retired and he won’t be stepping back in the ring for a fight.

Though this doesn’t necessarily mean that the legendary star cannot make a non-wrestling appearance for the promotion. The high-stakes Saudi show seems to be just the place for one such comeback.

Apart from Taker, the Crown Jewel event is expected to feature stars such as Brock Lesnar and Goldberg. Here is the final Crown Jewel match card.

Vince McMahon believes that he owns the wrestling genre and that’s why he doesn’t like losing to any other company such as AEW, according to Jim Ross.

JR discussed the end of Wednesday Night Wars on the latest episode of his Grilling JR podcast. Ross says McMahon is a fiercely competitive person and didn’t take kindly to NXT coming up short against AEW.

Discussing how WWE moved NXT to Tuesday nights after their long losing streak against AEW Dynamite, Ross said that he respects and appreciates the competitiveness of his former employer:

“He didn’t like getting his ass beat every Wednesday night. And I know we didn’t win every Wednesday night, but we won most of them. Winning one is too many for him. He’s very competitive; he believes he owns the genre.He is the godfather and I get it, I understand it, and I respect and appreciate his competitiveness.

He works better when there’s a little pressure on him and I think that’s been proven time and time again. He’s a different breed of cat when it comes to that stuff.”

The AEW commentator continued by saying that Dynamite beating NXT in ratings for most nights was definitely an issue leading to WWE switching nights. Jim Ross also discussed the recent big AEW signings such as Bryan Danielson, CM Punk and Adam Cole. He said that competition is ultimately good for the industry.

• Jim Ross Slams ‘F*cking Ridiculous’ Rumor About Him

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcribed quotes

The Usos vs. Shelton Benjamin and Cedric Alexander has been announced for the kick-off pre-show of the upcoming Crown Jewel PPV from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The match was first announced by Kayla Braxton on the latest episode of The Bump. The news has since been confirmed by WWE on their official website.

As of this writing, the Usos are not scheduled to defend their SmackDown tag titles against The Hurt Business at Crown Jewel. The company is only promoting this match as a classic showdown between the two teams.

The Usos have long been associated with Roman Reigns. They have formed the bloodline faction with Reigns after his heel turn.

Benjamin and Alexander, on the other hand, reunited with Bobby Lashley during a recent Raw episode after their break-up earlier this year. Though they haven’t been seen with the All-Mighty all that much in the last couple weeks.

With this latest announcement and the confirmation of the King Of The Ring and Queen’s Crown finals, the match card for the upcoming PPV seems to be complete.

The fifth WWE Saudi Arabian show will take place on Thursday, October 21. The PPV event will start at 12 pm EST. Check out the worldwide start time & updated match card for Crown Jewel 2021.

AEW star Maxwell Jacob Friedman thinks Roman Reigns is “absolutely incredible” – but not as good as him, of course.

AEW Rampage topping WWE SmackDown in the key demo during last week’s head-to-head collision has been the topic of discussion among fans the past few days.

The self-proclaimed Fastest Rising Star in Pro Wrestling appeared on Rasslin’ with Brandon Walker this week. In typical MJF fashion, he complimented Roman Reigns while also getting in some not-so-subtle digs.

“Roman Reigns lost in the key demographic to Ruby Soho, and Ruby Soho sucks so I don’t know what to tell you,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, that’s not me shitting on Roman Reigns. I think Roman Reigns is a hell of a performer, he really is.”

He added, “I think [Reigns] is absolutely incredible. Am I better than him on the mic and in the ring? Sure, but I’m not gonna go out of my way and talk shit about him because I respect him.”

“I know that they’re all watching our stuff.”

– MJF

WWE executives have said they do not consider AEW to be competition. MJF isn’t buying it.

MJF is under contract with AEW until 2024. He loves working for AEW, but he’s a businessman first and foremost. He’d consider jumping to WWE (for the right price) and would welcome the chance to work with Roman Reigns.

“Again, someday I might work there. I’m also sure if he sees this, he’ll pretend he doesn’t know who I am because that’s what they do over there. When in reality, I know that they’re all watching our stuff. Again, I cannot stress this enough, a huge fan of Roman Reigns. I think he’s great. Would love to work with him one day.”

WWE extended last Friday’s episode of SmackDown an extra half hour to go head to head with Rampage. Though despite putting out a segment between Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, the company still lost to Tony Khan’s promotion in key demo ratings. You can check out a detailed breakdown of numbers from Friday here.

• CM Punk Fires Back At Sasha Banks After Rampage Tops SmackDown

H/T to Fightful for the transcribed quotes

Bray Wyatt would rather team up with Danhausen than face the current ROH star in a dream match inside an All Elite Wrestling ring.

A fan recently made a tweet about potential dream matches that people would want to see in AEW if there were no contractual barriers. He listed Orange Cassidy vs. Danhausen as the match he would like to see.

Someone else then said that they would want to see the former WWE star facing Danhausen in a tooth match. Joining in on the conversation Wyatt suggested that he would rather unite with the former FIP star:

The Fiend was released from his WWE contract back on July 31. Assuming a standard 90 days non-compete clause, he should become a free agent later this month on October 29.

There has been a lot of chatter about where Bray Wyatt should go next but no clear indication of where he might actually end up. Impact wrestling is reportedly interested in signing the former world champion.

Tony Khan on the other hand is taking a cautious approach because of his contractual status. The AEW owner has said that he would like to talk to the eater of worlds ‘at the right time.’

Alexa Bliss has got people speculating about a potential return to her old gimmick for her inevitable comeback to WWE programming.

The former women’s champion recently posted a GIF from her Twitter. In the tweet, she is first seen in her current persona which then changes to a more normal look:

Bliss has been playing the character originally introduced by Bray Wyatt. She first got involved in this storyline during a match between Wyatt and Braun Strowman at last year’s Extreme Rules PPV.

She took over the persona completely after WrestleMania 37. Randy Orton defeated The Fiend at the show in what would be Bray’s final PPV appearance for WWE. The female star then announced following the event that she didn’t need Wyatt anymore.

This year’s Extreme Rules PPV saw Alexa Bliss going up against Charlotte Flair. Flair not only defeated Bliss in the bout but she also tore up her doll Lily.

The former champion took time off from WWE programming for a surgery afterward. Though, unlike other injured stars, she was picked by Raw during the recent Draft, suggesting that the female star would not stay out of action for long.

Now it would be interesting to see if Bliss really returns to her goddess persona upon her comeback and when she actually comes back.

This week’s Crown Jewel go-home episode of Monday Night Raw managed to keep the overall ratings steady but the show saw a big decline in the key demo in face of some tough competition.

The show featuring the Charlotte Flair vs. Bianca Belair women’s championship match in the main event drew an average of 1.593 million viewers per showbuzz daily.

This a small 0.7% increase from last week. The Raw episode featuring Drew McIntyre and Big E facing The Usos in the main event had drawn 1.582 million viewers.

The stat that didn’t go into WWE’s favor is the key demo rating. The show drew a 0.39 rating representing a total of 510,000 viewers of the 18-49 demographic.

This is a big 7.14% decline in the key demo numbers compared to last week’s episode of the show. The October 11 episode had scored a 0.42 rating in the 18-49 demo.

In comparison, last week’s episode of Dynamite that aired on Saturday night drew a total of 727,000 viewers and a 0.28 rating. A week prior on its usual timeslot, the AEW show had drawn a 0.37 rating in the key demo.

A viewership decline was expected for Raw with competition from NFL and MLB games. Though it’s still a concerning figure for officials considering that it’s the lowest key demo rating in the red brand’s history.

WWE is all set to present the Crown Jewel 2021 pay-per-view event from the Mohammed Abdu Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this Thursday, October 21.

The fifth show in the partnership between the Vince McMahon owned promotion and Saudi General Sports Authority will feature stars such as Brock Lesnar, Goldberg, Edge, Roman Reigns, Becky Lynch, and Sasha Banks.

Crown Jewel will serve as an important stop for WWE on their road to the next WrestleMania event. It will determine whether the rivalry between Lesnar and Reigns will conclude or carry on.

The show will also feature the crowning of a new King Of The Ring and reveal the winner for the inaugural Queen’s Crown tournament in the historic finals.

• WWE With Long Travel Week Ahead Due To Saudi Arabia Show

WWE Crown Jewel 2021 Worldwide Start Time

Fans can watch the WWE Crown Jewel 2021 event on Peacock in the USA and WWE Network around the rest the world from 12 PM EST. Here is the worldwide start time for Crown Jewel:

• Eastern – 12 pm
• Pacific – 9 am
• India (New Delhi) – 9:30 pm
• Japan (Tokyo) – 1 am
• Germany (Berlin) – 6 pm
• Australia (Melbourne) – 2 am
• Brazil (Rio De Janiero) – 1 pm
• UK – 5 pm

WWE Crown Jewel 2021 Final Match Card

Apart from the Universal championship match and the tournament finals, the PPV event will see Goldberg facing Bobby Lashley in a no holds barred SummerSlam rematch. Also, Edge will be going up against Seth Rollins inside Hell In A Cell.

Here is the final Crown Jewel 2021 match card:

• Universal Championship Match: Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns
• WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Big E
• Triple Threat SmackDown Women’s Championship Match: Sasha Banks vs. Bianca Belair vs. Becky Lynch
• Raw Tag Team Championship Match: AJ Styles and Omos vs. Randy Orton and Riddle
• No Holds Barred Match: Bobby Lashley vs. WWE Hall of Famer Bill Goldberg
• Hell In A Cell Match: Edge vs. Seth Rollins
• Singles Match: Mansoor vs. Mustafa Ali
• King Of The Ring Tournament Final: Xavier Woods vs. Finn Balor
• Queen’s Crown Tournament Final: Doudrop vs. Zelina Vega
• Kickoff Match: The Usos vs. Cedric Alexander and Shelton Benjamin

You can check out the Crown Jewel betting odds here.

WWE’s Saudi Arabia events such as the upcoming Crown Jewel PPV are usually associated with being one of the biggest paydays for the company and all the talents working the show, but it’s not the case for Mustafa Ali.

The former Retribution leader recently made a tweet about the upcoming show. In the post as seen below, he revealed that he will be donating his earnings from the event:

Mustafa Ali will be facing hometown star Mansoor in what is expected to be a concluding match for their ongoing rivalry at the upcoming Crown Jewel PPV.

These two have been engaged in a storyline since June this year after Mansoor officially became a member of the Raw roster in May. The former 205 live star was trying to convince Mansoor that the rest of the WWE superstars were backstabbers.

They had their first match during the July 5 episode of Raw which was won by Mustafa Ali. Ali faked a knee injury to outsmart his opponent and win the match.

These two later started teaming together but their alliance was short-lived. The Saudi Arabian star was attacked by his partner after their loss to the Hurt Business during the October 11 Raw, setting up their upcoming match.

You can check out the updated Crown Jewel match card here.

Paul Heyman takes any storylines he is part of to the next level. A good example is her ongoing rivalry with Kayla Braxton who Heyman believes has a crush on him.

The special counsel to the Universal champion recently had an interview with Comicbook.com. He discussed things such as the roster changes made during the recently concluded draft and more.

Heyman brought up Braxton a number of times during the interview. However, when asked if there is a feud between the two, the former ECW owner said that he doesn’t dislike her at all:

“I don’t … I like Kayla. I think Kayla has great taste in men, because she has such a crush on me. I don’t dislike Kayla at all. I think Kayla’s a remarkably talented person, but she’s a stalker, and she’s stalking me, and she’s bothering me.

And she’s nagging me. And she pokes pokes, pokes, pokes, pokes, pokes, every time, with her freaking questions, and her interrogatories.” said Paul Heyman, “It’s like being in a deposition. It’s just like, ‘Leave me alone. Go bug somebody else..”

The former Raw executive director continued by saying that Kayla loves to gossip and thinks that she is Wonder Woman. He then again iterated that he has nothing against the broadcast star.

It doesn’t look like the banter between Heyman and Braxton will end anytime soon, even if Paul’s alliance with Roman Reigns might be threatened later this week. Here is the updated Crown Jewel match card.

• Paul Heyman Thinks Brock Lesnar’s UFC Run Is Old News

Tony Khan stepped up his trash talk game ahead of SmackDown’s head-to-head collision with Rampage. Though Eric Bischoff believes that he should ‘shut up’ and focus on his own product.

The former WCW president talked about the recent clash between the shows of WWE and AEW on an episode of his 83 weeks podcast. He also discussed the comments from the AEW president.

Bischoff said that if TK called him for advice; his suggestion would be to shut up and wrestle. Eric explained that Tony should focus on putting out the best product he can:

“If Tony were to call me and ask for any advice, here’s what it would be — shut up and wrestle, dude. Just put out the best product you can and you’ve proven you can. Focus on that. Now this is weird coming from me, right? The guy who challenged Vince McMahon. The guy who gave away their finishes. So people listening to this would go ‘what the hell’.

But here’s the difference. I was actually competing with him.” said Bischoff, “I was going head-to-head. Real head-to-head. Like, my show started the same time his show started each and every week.”

• AEW Rampage Beats WWE SmackDown Head-To-Head in Key Demo

Bischoff: ‘Tony Khan is Inventing New Mistakes’

The former WCW official also responded to the remarks Khan made about the mistakes made by WCW leading to their downfall. Eric Bischoff claimed that Tony Khan is inventing some new mistakes of his own. He also said that AEW is having a cosplay competition with WWE:

“And another thing, Tony comes out and says ‘We’re at the 1996 stage of WCW and going to not make their mistakes.’ Tony, you’re inventing some mistakes, brother, by coming out there and constantly comparing yourself or deriding your competition, but not having the willingness to say, ‘Okay, let’s go head-to-head. Let’s really compete. Let’s see who can get whose market share.’

And by the way, Tony, in 1996 I was kicking WWE’s ass. Every week! In a real head-to-head competition, not a cosplay competition.”

Apart from this, Eric Bischoff said that he is a little disappointed in the rhetoric he is hearing out of the AEW owner and some of the talent. You can check out his comments in the clip below:

Former MLW world heavyweight champion “Filthy” Tom Lawlor is on his way out of the promotion after his recent casket match, according to latest report.

After a successful run with Court Bauer’s fight league, Lawlor’s two-year contract with the company is expiring soon. The UFC fighter turned pro wrestler is planning to leave MLW when his contract is up, according to a report by Fightful.

Lawlor has already been written off TV with his recent casket match against King Muertes. The bout saw Tom losing to the current Caribbean heavyweight champion.

Sources within the company have confirmed the departure of the veteran talent as well. According to the site, they all spoke very highly of the former champion.

Filthy Tom Lawlor’s Future

Tom Lawlor has previously expressed interest in an MMA return. He said that while he left his glove in the ring after his last fight with Jordan Young in June, he is not officially retired. Lawlor had won this match by unanimous decision.

He is also currently working with NJPW. The MMA star made his debut for the Japanese promotion in July 2020 and became the first-ever NJPW strong open weight champion in April this year.

Lawlor made his MLW debut back in 2017 and he has been one of the promotion’s top stars since. Apart from a reign with the MLW world title, he won the 2018 battle riot match as well as the 2020 opera cup tournament.

There is no word yet on if the MLW star has any interest in joining the WWE or the AEW roster. We will have to see how his NJPW deal affects his future plans.

WWE is set to make even more changes to the character of Karrion Kross after deviating from his original persona upon his main roster call-up earlier this year.

According to the Wrestlevotes Twitter account, the idea is for the former NXT champion to be more of a “psycho” and yet still be calm. The presentation of his entrance music is also set to change:

“Source states WWE is shifting Karrion Kross’ character once again. Plan is for him to be more of a “psycho” yet still “calm & cool.” As of now the helmet stays, but for whatever reason, still no Scarlett. Presentation of entrance including theme music set to change as well.”

As the report notes, the officials still have no plans for Scarlett to be reunited with the former NXT star on the main roster despite the fan criticism.

Karrion Kross in WWE

Karrion Kross signed with WWE back in February 2020. He was dominant in NXT, winning the brand’s top title a couple of times during his stint in developmental.

• Karrion Kross Admits Significant Differences Between NXT & Raw

Kross made his main roster debut in July this year, though the company made significant changes to his presentation. He also lost his debut match against Jeff Hardy.

At first it was suggested that Kross may be built up slowly leading to a reunion with Scarlett. Though now it’s evident that the company has no clear direction for him.

Many believe that it’s the right time to turn Jeff Hardy heel after having worked only as a babyface since his WWE return in 2017. The high-flying star has now revealed that he has thought about it too.

The former world champion recently appeared on WWE’s Out of Character podcast for Fox Sports. Among other things, he also discussed the prospect of a potential heel turn.

Hardy was asked if being a heel is something that interests him. Jeff admitted that it does, but he has found it hard to turn fans against him.

“Yeah, yeah it does but I don’t think I can — like when I did the Anti-Christ thing, I mean it’s really hard to make people hate me and I think it would be kind of like done in a different way but it would be definitely something I never really dove into before.”

Jeff Hardy Planning A Heel Turn

Jeff Hardy explained how he is not as fast as he used to be due to his age and the 2015 knee surgery caused by his bike accident where he broke his leg. That is why he thinks it’s time for him to focus a bit more on his character work:

“I don’t know how much longer I’m gonna be wrestling but almost like a darker side of Jeff Hardy I think needs to kind of come out and I haven’t figured it out yet but I have these crazy ideas.

I wrote down a few of ‘em, but yeah, it’s my time to kind of focus more on the character stuff instead of the high-flying moves and the TLC matches and all that stuff because I think there’s something that’s waiting to be unleashed within me.”

Jeff Hardy had also recently discussed how he wants to bring back the Willow character one more time before retirement. Now the question is if the return of the character can open the door for his heel turn.

Rhea Ripley has not only lost her wrestling gear but one of the belts for the women’s tag team championship in a bag that was left behind in New Mexico

The female star took on her Twitter to post about it after the house show in hopes of finding the missing bag. She later made another tweet featuring a photo of her, wearing the ring gear in question:

“My MosherZ of Albuquerque I know this is a stretch but, if any of you have seen a black travel suitcase around Office Boulevard & Montaño rd please hold onto it and let me know.” wrote Ripley, “It has all my gear in it, including my title. Cheers!”

WWE held a live event from Rio Rancho, New Mexico on Saturday. The former NXT star competed in a fatal four-way match also featuring Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Bianca Belair on the show.

Rhea Ripley made her official main roster debut in March this year. She won the women’s tag team championship with Nikki A.S.H. during the September 20 episode of Monday Night Raw last month.

Since the current champion did not provide any further details, it’s hard to say if her bag was stolen or left behind. We’ll keep you posted on the story.

You don’t usually think about dying in the ring when you are wrestling somebody. That is, unless you are wrestling Goldberg, According to Dolph Ziggler.

The show-off recently had an interview with XeniaDidThat. He discussed things such as his stand-up comedy career, whether he sees himself leaving wrestling and becoming a full-time comedian, and more.

During the interview, Ziggler said that he wants everyone to think that he made the most of the time when he goes out. This prompted the question of if he has ever thought about dying while being in the ring. To this he replied:

“A lot of times you don’t [think about dying in the ring] but maybe if you’re in there with Goldberg, you think about it a lot more.”

Apart from this, Dolph Ziggler also discussed how he has won the trust of WWE officials over the years where they now allow him a lot of freedom during press tours.

The former world champion started his WWE career in 2004. At this point, he has been with the promotion for over 17 years where he has won over a dozen titles.

Ziggler got the chance to face Goldberg in a singles match at SummerSlam 2019. The former Universal champion won this match in a quick fashion.

• Dolph Ziggler Reflects on That Punch from Hugh Jackman

A lot of people were skeptical about it until CM Punk actually made his return to wrestling. Though Samoa Joe knew it was bound to happen, long before anyone else.

The former NXT champion recently made an appearance on the Kurt Angle podcast. He discussed things such as wrestling the straight edge star very early in his career during their ROH days and more.

Talking about Punk making his pro wrestling return earlier this year, Joe claimed that he knew the former world champion would be back as soon as he saw him on the set of WWE Backstage:

“If I know one thing about Punk: if he’s out on something, he’s out on it,” he began. “You won’t see him being around it, you won’t see him looking at it. You won’t see him staring at it, it’s out of his.”

Joe added, “The minute I saw him on the FOX set, I knew his eyes were turning back towards it.”

He continued by saying that he thinks CM Punk was just looking for the right time to step back into the ring after that. He wanted to be happy and from whatever Joe has seen of his AEW run so far, the former WWE champion is happy.

CM Punk joined the WWE Backstage panel in November 2019. He officially made his pro wrestling return back in August this year and went on to make his in-ring return at the All Out PPV in September.

• Samoa Joe Approves Of NXT’s New Direction: ‘Just Another Era’

H/T to Fightful for the transcribed quotes

The NJPW Strong Showdown tapings were held from the 2300 arena in Philadelphia over the weekend. The tapings featured stars such as Will Ospreay, Jon Moxley, Minoru Suzuki and more.

SEScoops correspondent Samira was on hand for both nights and sent in these detailed results.

Showdown saw several big announcements, including the confirmation of the NJPW debut of former WWE star Buddy Matthews for an upcoming show in November.

The main event match of the first night of tapings saw Suzuki going up against Chris Dickinson. He defeated Dickinson using his signature gotch-style piledriver.

The second night featured a Philly street fight between the teams of Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer and Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston for the main event.

This extreme match was won by the team of Suzuki and Archer with the opponents shaking hands at the end. Here are the quick results from both nights of NJPW Strong Showdown tapings

NJPW Strong Showdown Night 1 Results:

• Hikuleo defeated Kevin Knight
• Bateman, Misterioso, and Barrett Brown, defeated Brody King, Karl Fredericks, and The DKC: Bateman pinned DKC to win the match for his team.
• JR Kratos, Royce Isaacs, and Jorel Nelson defeated David Finlay, Alex Coughlin, and Yuya Uemura: Isaacs won the match for his team when he pinned Uemura with some help from Nelson. Kratos and Coughlin got into a fight after this match. Crowd chanted “F**k you Kratos” and in response, Kratos flipped everyone off.
• Juice Robinson defeated El Phantasmo: After the match, Juice called out Impact Wrestling star Moose.
• Alex Zayne defeated Ariya Daivari: The two showed respect to each other by shaking hands at the end.
• Fred Rosser & Rocky Romero defeated Tom Lawlor & Danny Limelight: Rosser pinned Lawlor for the win. In response, Lawlor attacked him after the match. Danny then gave scissors to Lawler. Lawlor ended up cutting Rossers’ hair while the crowd chanted “you sick f**k”
• Ren Narita & Clark Connors defeated Will Ospreay & TJP: Ospreay tried to attack Narita after the bout but Narita countered. He then got on the mic and expressed the desire to face Will Ospreay.
• Jay White defeated Fred Yehi: post-match, Jay White issued an open invitation for anyone from any company to come and fight him for the Never Openweight title.
• Minoru Suzuki defeated Chris Dickinson: After the match, Suzuki says tomorrow night: “Jon Moxley. Eddie Kingston. F**k you.”

NJPW Strong Showdown Night 2 Results:

• Yuya Uemura & Kevin Knight defeated Juice Robinson & David Finlay
• El Phantasmo & Chris Bey defeated Lio Rush & Ariya Daivari: Bey pinned Daviari for the win
• Jonathan Gresham defeated Alex Coughlin: The two shaked hands after the match
• Fred Rosser, Karl Fredericks, Rocky Romero, Ren Narita & The DKC vs. Tom Lawlor, JR Kratos, Royce Isaacs, Jorel Nelson & Danny Limelight: The match ended in DQ after everyone started attacking each other. Rosser showed up with a shaved head after last night. At one point, Tom got onto the mic and said that he was tired of Romero and Rosser who he called with his WWE name Darren. He said that Darren will be the next loser to the title.
• Brody King, Daniel Garcia and Chris Dickinson defeated Bateman, Misterioso Jr and Barrett Brown: King picked up the victory for his team.
• TJP defeated Clark Connors: Connors was holding the rope but the referee didn’t see it
• Jay White & Hikuleo defeated Fred Yehi & Wheeler Yuta: White won the match by pinning Yuta. He grabbed the mic after the match but dropped it and then left without saying anything.
• Will Ospreay defeated Alex Zayne
• Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer defeated Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston: The brawl went all over the place including the parking lot. The opponents shook hands after the bout.

Brian Cage has revealed that he would have turned heel and feuded with Tessa Blanchard had he stayed with Impact Wrestling instead of going to AEW. The former Impact star recently had an interview with Dynamite Download. He discussed things such as the partnership between AEW and Impact and more.

During the interview, Cage also revealed nixed plans for a feud between him and the then Impact world champion that got nixed because of his departure:

“If I had stayed with Impact instead of going to AEW, I was going to turn heel and that would have been my perfect heel character because I was going to come out and celebrate with Tessa, and then I was going to take her head off.

That was going to be a feud with Tessa, I would get my win back and the title from her.” said Brian Cage, “I’ve never been able to be this heel. Every time I’ve been a heel, it’s always to be the strong, silent, meathead, high school bully kind of heel.”

The AEW star returned to Impact Wrestling in January 2018. He stayed with the promotion for a couple of years before leaving to join Tony Khan’s company in January 2020. He made his debut in May.

Though it seems that Cage is not happy with the lack of spotlight on him in the AEW roster. His wife Melissa Santos recently made a post about him being underutilized and Brian seemed to agree with her comments.

Being a three-decade veteran in the industry, JBL knows what it takes to be successful in wrestling. According to him, the hardest thing to learn in the business is the psychology and timing.

The former WWE champion recently held a Q&A session on his YouTube. He discussed things such as getting in the ring with Brock Lesnar and more.

Discussing the psychology of wrestling, JBL recalled an interaction with Vince McMahon before a show in Canada. He explained how Mr. McMahon suggested him to take his promo to a completely different direction:

“Vince asked me, this is when I was JBL, ‘What’s your promo?’ And I had this promo where I tell them they suck and America’s better and all this blah, blah, blah. And he said, ‘No, no, no, just tell him you love them,’

And I thought about it. I thought, you know, I think that’s going to work, and I went out there. I said, ‘I just want you all to know that I love you. I think you’re the greatest so proud of you being our neighbor.’ People booed me out of the building.”

JBL On What Is The Hardest Thing To Learn In Wrestling

JBL went on to explain that being a heel is not about getting a response from the crowd. He then revealed what he thinks is the hardest thing to learn in wrestling:

“It’s about believing that you’re the good guy. JBL always thought that he was the good guy. JBL always thought that he was on the right side of everything,

And that’s what added to people hating JBL was ‘how can you be that out of touch?’ And to me, that part of it, the psychology and the timing, is the hardest thing to learn.”

JBL was also asked if being a second-generation star makes it easier to make it in wrestling. Replying to it, the former WWE star discussed how it’s easier for some but difficult for others.

This week’s supersized SmackDown on FS1 featured a number of interesting segments and some King Of The Ring and Queen’s Crown tournament bouts.

Fightful Select has a new report that provides some backstage news. It reveals the names which produced the matches that aired during the show.

According to the site, the Happy Corbin SmackDown segment that featured Shinsuke Nakamura, Rick Boogs, and Madcap Moss, was produced by Shawn Daivari

Adam Pearce who also makes on-screen appearances as an authority figure was the producer assigned for the Seth Rollins segment hyping up his upcoming Hell In A Cell match against Edge.

The Queen’s Crown semi-final match between Carmella and Zelina Vega had Shane Helms as producer. Vega won this short bout on SmackDown to advance to the finals.

Finally, the King Of The Ring semi-finals between Finn Balor and Sami Zayn was produced by Joseph Park. Balor picked up the victory in this bout.

Joseph Park is best known for his almost 2 decades-long run with Impact Wrestling as Abyss. He signed with WWE as a producer back in 2019. Park also made an on-screen appearance as the statistician for AJ Styles in August.

• Sasha Banks Reveals Her Pick To Win The Queen’s Crown Tournament