Triple H made some interesting remarks about female talents during his latest Takeover: In Your House media call. It appears that Tony Khan does not agree with a specific part of it.
The Game was talking about how their roster has the best female talents in the world and he claimed those who are not in their company want to join it.
Khan took exception to Triple H’s remarks. On the latest Busted Open Radio, he explained that it’s ok to think that your product is the best and what offended people was the thinking that everybody wants to work for WWE:
“I think where people got offended yesterday is when he said ‘everybody wants to work there.’ That was like; people are confusing the two things.
If you want to say like ‘hey, I think my show is the best. I think my product is the best’, there’s nothing wrong with that. Like you should feel that way. That’s good.”
The AEW president then said that it’s crazy to think that everyone wants to go to WWE and there are plenty of AEW talent who have no interest in competing for the rival promotion:
“But when you say it like ‘anybody of any value wants to work here’, that’s not true. It’s crazy. There’s plenty of people who work in AEW that have no interest in working there.”
What did you make of Triple H’s remarks about the female talents? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
Veteran wrestler Shawn Daivari is back with WWE in his producer role after being cut in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Per the latest updates from PWinsider, the former TNA star has returned to the company as a producer. He was backstage at this week’s episode of SmackDown.
Daivari’s presence at a WWE show this week is interesting because he was just working as a producer for NWA during their latest TV tapings last week.
With WWE preparing for their return to the road next month, there has been a push within the company to increase the number of producers, in order to alleviate the workload across the board.
Shawn Daivari’s return seems to be a move in that direction. Though he isn’t the only producer WWE has added to their roster recently and Molly Holly is currently in the middle of a tryout for a similar role.
The former TNA X Division champion originally had a WWE run as a wrestler from 2004 to 2007. He wrestled for promotions such as TNA, ROH, and Lucha Underground after his release from the company.
Daivari was originally brought in as a producer back in January 2019. He was with WWE for more than a year but the former champion was released from the promotion during the coronavirus budget cuts in April 2020.
Mark Henry made a surprise appearance at AEW Double Or Nothing last month. He was then announced as their newest star but the company promoted him as a Coach & Guest Analyst. This made many wonder about his in-ring status for the company and the former world champion recently cleared the air on his future inside the squared circle.
During the latest episode of Busted Open Radio, Mark Henry talked about Sting’s recent performance. He then claimed that he will be wrestling for AEW in the future, though the former WWE star didn’t give a timetable or date for it:
“Sting has made me feel like fifty is not old,” Henry said. “Sting is one of those guys that, and if there’s anyone out there in this world I’d appreciate if you tweeted this out, Sting is a credit to the elder statesmen in wrestling. He has made me feel there’s a lot that I can still offer, not just behind the scenes, but possibly in the ring.
I don’t know when that’s going to be. But I’ve said it before, I want to wrestle again before it’s all said and done.” said Mark Henry, “I want to wrestle in four decades, and that time is upon us.”
Sting made his debut for AEW during a Dynamite episode last December. He wrestled a cinematic match for the company during Revolution in March and the 62-year-old then had his first live match since 2015 during Double Or Nothing.
This isn’t the first time Mark Henry has talked about an in-ring return in recent times. The former champion revealed back in February that he was training for one more match. It would now be interesting to see who turns out to be his opponent for this bout.
Matt Cardona attacked Nick Gage during a recent GCW event and now Cage has returned the favor with an appearance on Cardona’s podcast taping.
The GCW champion invaded a special live edition of Major Wrestling Figure Podcast at Jimmy’s Famous Seafood in Baltimore, Maryland this Friday night and had a confrontation with the former WWE star.
While Cage and Cardona didn’t get physical during the show due to the interference of the security guards, the two came within a few feet of each other and exchanged words.
GCW then announced that the deathmatch specialist will be defending the GCW world heavyweight championship against the Impact wrestling star at the upcoming GCW Homecoming Night 1:
— GameChangerWrestling (@GCWrestling_) June 12, 2021
Matt Cardona and Nick Gage had been trading online shots for a while and this rivalry turned physical when Cardona showed up at the GCW’s Zombie Walk show this past Sunday.
The GCW champion had just defended his title against Jimmy Lloyd in a match that ended in no contest. The former WWE IC champion attacked the world title holder and challenged him for a match.
Nick Gage accepted this challenge with his appearance on Matt Cardona’s podcast today. The match between the two will be taking place on 24 July during night 1 of GCW’s homecoming event from Showboat Atlantic City
Former WWE star Zach Gowen recently had an interview with Jonah Ferstand on the Rewind Recap Relive podcast where he talked about his interactions with Brock Lesnar during The Beast’s original run with the company in detail.
The former WWE star had a short feud with the former Universal champion. This led to a match between the two during a SmackDown episode in August 2003, which helped establish the Beast Incarnate as a heel in the company.
Gowen went into the details of his violent encounter with Lesnar during his interview. He recalled how he got knocked out during the bout:
“He was supposed to give me three powerbombs, like a triple powerbomb where you hold on, and then after two, he felt I got knocked out. Like he felt my body go limp for a second. I hit the back of my head on the mat.
I was knocked out on the powerbomb. It was supposed to be three, but he felt that I was in danger, so he just let me go.”
Zach Gowen then explained how the former Universal champion may have saved his life in that split second with his awareness:
“He might’ve saved my life if we’re being 100% honest, at that point. The angle was just one of those things that people still remember and talk about and it’s on YouTube so it’s going to live forever.”
Apart from this, the former WWE star also revealed that Brock Lesnar still remembers him after all these years. He mentioned that the Beast recently sent him a friendly message when his name came up in a conversation.
Zach Gowen had a short stint with WWE in early 2000. He made his debut for the promotion in May 2003 and had an underdog run before his release from the promotion in February 2004.
Braun Strowman is looking for a fresh start after his WWE release. As the first step in his quest; the monster among men has trimmed down his iconic beard.
The former WWE star recently shared a photo from his Instagram account where he shared his new look with the fans.
Strowman mentioned in the caption how this is the first time he has cut his beard in a decade which he had donned since his arrival in WWE back in 2013:
“Since I figured the cats out the bag already. I cut my beard for the first time in a decade and while I’m still adjusting to it I ain’t mad at it!!!!! big thx to my boy @jg0n for always making me #DapperAf”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CP9MVE5B5vZ/
The Meat Castle also posted this recent photo of himself with a tiger cub:
— The Monster of all Monsters (@Adamscherr99) June 11, 2021
Braun Strowman In WWE
Braun Strowman made a few uncredited appearances on WWE TV after his signing with the company, mostly as part of Adam Rose’s “Rosebuds” in 2014.
He made his official debut for the company in August 2014. The former champion attacked Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns upon his debut and established himself as the newest member of the Wyatt Family.
Strowman went on to have an impressive eight-year-long run with the company. He had won the universal championship just last year and achieved numerous other accolades during his time with the promotion.
The Rock hasn’t been seen on WWE programming since the SmackDown 20th anniversary show in 2019 but the latest reports suggest that he could make a return before the end of this year. Dave Meltzer of F4Wonline recently talked about the upcoming Survivor Series PPV which is expected to take place from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY this year.
The wrestling journalist interestingly noted that there has been talk of The Rock possibly returning to the company for the event. The Great One is expected to start the build-up for a match against ‘The Tribal Chief’ Roman Reigns during his return and “the hope is for Dwayne Johnson to make an appearance at that show but that isn’t locked in.”
There were speculations that The Rock could face the current Universal champion at WrestleMania 37 but these plans were foiled by the coronavirus pandemic. With the People’s Champion getting older, the two most likely destinations for a final match for him are WrestleMania 38 from Dallas, Texas and WrestleMania 39 from Inglewood, California.
Meltzer noted that The Rock “will want to set a box office record if he comes back, and the two places that he could do that would be AT&T Stadium and the new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA.” These plans are obviously not set in stone by any means. It’s still interesting to know that the company is actively discussing a potential return for the Hollywood star.
The recent WWE releases have sparked rumors about a potential sale of the company. Former WWE star Sean Waltman discussed the topic recently and commented on if Vince McMahon could actually sell the promotion.
The Hall of Famer talked about a number of things in the latest episode of his Pro Wrestling 4 Life podcast including the latest WWE releases and more.
Discussing the recent rumors of the cuts actually being preparation for a sale, Waltman revealed his thoughts on if Mr. McMahon can sell the promotion:
“Yeah, sure. I don’t know that he’s ready to do so yet, he might want to cash out. It could be like, ‘Yeah, I’ll sell, but I’ll still have some say over the company.’ Didn’t something like that happen when AOL bought Turner Broadcasting?
Didn’t Ted Turner still keep a little bit of stroke?” asked Sean Waltman, “But I think it’s just as likely they’re just trying to get the bottom line as best as they can get it working for their shareholders.”
The former DX member also talked about the future of the released stars and explained that AEW is not going to sign them all in the current landscape.
He then mentioned how the names which are on the top of the list such as Braun Strowman and Aleister Black can have a hard time deciding where they want to go but they will have plenty of options.
Eddie Guerrero is remembered as a legend in the wrestling industry but the wrestling veteran had his demons as well. His personal battles affected those who were close to him including his daughter Shaul Guerrero.
The female star who has chosen wrestling as a career too recently had an interview with Chris Van Vliet where she opened up about her experience of growing up as the daughter of the WWE legend.
During the interview, Shaul spoke candidly of her father’s issues with alcohol and drugs. She admitted to being scared of the late star during her childhood and explained that she didn’t really get to know him all that well:
“My dad scared the s–t out of me growing up, It’s no secret that he struggled with alcohol and drugs. I think unfortunately growing up until I was 12 or 13, that was pretty much all I saw. It was a complicated relationship with my dad. I didn’t really get to know him until I was 13, 14, 15. He passed when I was 15.”
Guerrero also recalled her experience on the day of her father’s passing back in 2005. She revealed who gave her the news and explained how she never had anyone truly pass away before that day:
“I was woken up by my dad’s sister Linda and my cousins, they woke us up and I have never had anyone truly pass away until that day. They brought us out into the living room and they told us what happened. I think they told me separately from my sister, because mom wasn’t there. She was completely distraught; it was a terrible day.”
Though later in the interview, Shaul Guerrero also shared some good memories of her father. She mentioned how Eddie used to do random acts of kindness all the time and told some stories of the same.
Eddie Guerrero wrestled for both WCW and WWE. He won numerous accolades in both promotions. Guerrero, unfortunately, passed away on November 13, 2005, due to heart failure, at the young age of 38.
Tony Khan has announced that the upcoming Impact world title match between Kenny Omega and Moose at the Against All Odds event will be taking place from AEW’s current home in Florida.
This week’s episode of Impact Wrestling featured a summit between the two companies. It included the AEW president Tony Khan and Impact executive vice president Scott D’Amore.
During the segment, Don Callis advocated keeping Sami Callihan out of the championship match this Saturday. He explained that it should be just Moose challenging Kenny Omega for his title at the upcoming show.
The Impact EVP praised Callis for his logical thinking. D’Amore said that the former Impact official understands the business very well before confirming that Saturday’s match will remain a singles bout.
Tony Khan, however, then made a big announcement. He revealed that the match between Omega and Moose will be taking place on their turf at Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida.
The Impact EVP also added his own announcement to the mix. He confirmed that the winner of this bout will defend the Impact world title against Sami Callihan at the Slammiversary PPV on 17 July.
Moose won a six-pack challenge at the Under Siege event last month to become the new #1 contender for the Impact world title. Sami Callihan then picked up a DQ victory over Moose last week during their singles match, thanks to interference from Omega and The Good Brothers.
The Mandalorian season 3 featuring WWE star Sasha Banks among others will start filming in late 2021 or early 2022 according to the latest reports.
According to Collider, the Star Wars spin-off web series The Book of Boba Fett has officially wrapped filming. It’s now in the post-production stage and is on track for the announced Disney+ premiere in December.
However, the series featuring Sasha Banks is not going into production anytime soon. That’s because the stage used for these shows is now being utilized for the filming of the Obi-Wan Kenobi limited series starring Ewan McGregor.
The second season of Mandalorian ended with Pedro Pascal’s title character giving up Grogu to Luke Skywalker for further Jedi training.
He himself seemed to be headed towards the Mandalorian throne after becoming the new owner of the Darksaber.
The third season is likely to focus heavily on how Pascal navigates through the challenges of becoming the leader of Mandalorians. It means we can expect to see a lot more of Banks’ character Koska Reeves during season three.
This would also mean that the former SmackDown women’s champion will be taking time off from WWE once again for the filming of the show. So she will likely be missing the next Royal Rumble PPV.
Disney has not confirmed a release timetable for season three of the star wars web series. With a late 2021 shooting schedule, we can expect it to hit the streaming service in mid or late 2022.
The unexplained absence of Bray Wyatt is a puzzling mystery for the fans. The lack of updates on his status has forced people to speculate about him and there are all sorts of rumors floating around about his removal from WWE TV.
Mike Johnson of PWinsider recently discussed one such rumor and he confirmed that the former universal champion has purposefully been kept off TV.
The wrestling journalist claimed that Wyatt does not have any backstage heat and he also noted that his WrestleMania 37 match with Randy Orton went exactly as it was planned.
The Fiend reignited an old feud with Randy Orton after being drafted to Raw during the 2020 draft. The two had a match at TLC in December last year which was won by Orton.
Bray Wyatt went on a hiatus after this bout while Alexa Bliss kept the feud with Orton alive. He finally resurfaced at the Fastlane PPV in March earlier this year with a new grotesque look.
WWE then booked a match between the former universal champion and Randy at WrestleMania 37. For the surprise of many, Randy Orton ended up winning this match as well.
While he made one final appearance on the post-WrestleMania episode of Raw, Bray Wyatt has been away from WWE programming since then.
Nikki Bella and Brie Bella are firm on their stand about wanting to make a WWE return and at least one of them has already started the preparation for it.
The Bella Twins recently had an interview with Entertainment Tonight where the sisters reiterated their comments about wanting to have a reign with the women’s tag team championships.
During the talk, Nikki said that she wants to change her ring style a bit to make a statement upon her comeback. She also revealed that she has already started the preparation for her return:
“For me, I’m definitely starting that preparation, I want to train hard for it. When we come back, I want to change my style in the ring a little bit. I want to make a statement.”
Brie did not provide a similar update to her sister. Though the Total Bellas star still claimed that the Bellas are definitely going to make a comeback:
“The Bellas are definitely going to make a comeback. We don’t know exactly when, but we said that we have one more run in us.”
Apart from this, the Bella Twins talked about giving birth, potential future careers for their children and more. You can check out their interview below:
The Undertaker recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated. The dead man focused the talk on a specific topic and offered high praise to one of his biggest rivals – Roman Reigns.
The universal champion is currently in the middle of one of the most impressive runs of his career. His character work since his heel turn last year has won him major praise from not only fans but from many industry veterans as well.
The Undertaker also joined this list during his latest interview. The last outlaw revealed that he was so impressed by Reigns’ performance that he actually went up to the big dog during his last WWE appearance:
“I’m so proud of where he is, the night of Survivor Series [in November], I went up to Roman and Jey and said, ‘This is the most compelling story that we’ve done in a while.’ And where he’s been able to take it, it’s so good. It’s not forced. Roman is hitting on all cylinders.”
The former world champion approved his pairing with Paul Heyman as well. He said that the advocate of Brock Lesnar is the perfect mouthpiece and this pairing works very well together.
The Undertaker Wishes For A Feud With Roman Reigns
Taker mentioned how there is a compelling backstory behind Roman Reigns’ heel turn. He said that Reigns is a great villain before expressing the desire to have a program with the Tribal Chief if he could:
“I think he’s a great heel—coldhearted, calculated, There is a compelling backstory and you still feel the tension when Roman appears. Like I said, I’m really proud of him. I wish I had the gas in the tank to work a program with him now. It would definitely be something special.”
After being on the top of the business for over 30 years, The Undertaker retired from wrestling last year. He had his final farewell at the Survivor Series PPV last November which was his final WWE appearance.
The dead man then did not make an appearance at WrestleMania 37. He seems to have eased into the post-WWE life but you can never say never in wrestling.
Would you like to see The Undertaker returning to the company for one final program against a heel Roman Reigns? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
The WWE release of Aleister Black sparked many interesting reactions online. It appears the reaction from people within the company were not too different.
The former NXT champion recently appeared on Renee Paquette’s Oral Sessions podcast where he talked about a number of things including his time in the black and yellow brand and more.
Discussing one specific reaction to his release, Black revealed that Paul Heyman reached out to him after the news broke out. The mad scientist of wrestling told Aleister that he was five years ahead of the business:
“He reached out to me on the day that it happened. It was very sad; Paul has always said to me, ‘Tom, I think that you’re five years ahead of the business. As brilliant as I think you are, I think that sometimes, that’s your biggest issue.
You’re so far ahead mentally that people have to catch up to it.’” said Aleister Black, “He [also said], ‘I still believe you’re going to do great things.’ I am absolutely far from being done.”
The former WWE star also talked about the current landscape of the wrestling business. He claimed that the business will never be bigger than WWE.
However, Black continued by saying that despite its size, the current landscape of wrestling is not dominated by WWE anymore. He mentioned how there are many companies now that have their own identity.
The competition between NXT and AEW Dynamite was a buzzing topic every week among fans during the Wednesday night wars but it wasn’t even mentioned backstage at the black and yellow brand, according to Ezra Judge.
The former WWE star recently had an interview with WrestlingInc where he talked about a number of things including the locker room environment at NXT.
When asked if AEW was ever a topic of discussion backstage at the Performance Center, Judge claimed that they never really talked about that stuff:
“No, nobody really talked about that stuff, one of the things that I know for myself is you can’t stay in your lane when you’re looking at somebody else’s lane. You start to veer into their lane. I know as a group, we were just focused on putting on the best product possible,
And everybody just showed up every day and gave it their best.” said Ezra Judge, “I honestly never heard of any comparisons or anything. I’ve always watched AEW. I like AEW. I like all wrestling.”
The former football star also discussed how people at both companies were aware of each other’s product but at the end of the day they were focused on delivering the best product they can.
Apart from this, Ezra Judge talked about things such as how close he was to making his in-ring debut, who were the locker room leaders at NXT, and more.
Hollywood icon Keanu Reeves will be joining Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and some other big names for the upcoming DC League of Super-Pets movie.
The former WWE star shared the news of Reeves and his good friend Kevin Hart joining the cast for the upcoming animation film on Instagram alongside a teaser:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CP3W_BDlW61/
The Rock will be voicing superman’s dog Krypto in the animation while his friend Kevin Hart will be playing the role of Batman’s dog Ace the Bat-Hound.
There is no word yet on which character Keanu Reeves will be voicing but the John Wick star will be joining a number of big names in the movie.
Apart from the Rock, other names announced for the movie include A Quiet Place: Part 2 director John Krasinski, Russian Doll’s Natasha Lyonne, Rogue One’s Diego Luna, and Saturday Night Live’s Kate McKinnon and Vanessa Bayer.
League of Super-Pets will see the beloved pets of some of DC’s top superheroes joining forces and forming a crime-fighting team of their own.
Apart from Krypto and Ace, the other names expected to be featured in the film include Wonder Woman’s kangaroo, Jumpa; and Supergirl’s cat, Streaky the Supercat.
DC League of Super-Pets is currently set to release on May 20, 2022.
Pat McAfee and Adam Cole delivered some impressive matches during their rivalry in NXT and now the two stars are teasing an extension to their feud at a much bigger stage.
The latest episode of The Bump saw the former NXT champion taking another shot at his arch-rival. During a conversation about the former football star, the former Undisputed Era leader discussed his hatred for him:
“Pat McAfee, again, the fact that he has tricked so many people into working alongside him kind of blows my mind that was a really, really big issue for me, but again, my hatred for Pat was so strong that again, it could have been anybody and I was laser-focused on Pat the whole time.”
Cole then talked about Pete Dunne’s alliance with Pat McAfee for their WarGames match. When the NXT UK star didn’t respond to a question about him, Adam Cole turned it into another brilliant opportunity to comment on his rival:
“I wouldn’t want to talk about that embarrassment Pat McAfee either, I don’t blame him.”
McAfee Fires Back at Cole
The football star didn’t keep quiet on these jabs. During the latest episode of his podcast, the SmackDown commentator was asked if he has come up with a name for the finisher he is going to use on Cole.
Replying to the question, McAfee discussed the recent shots from his opponent. He then interestingly invited Cole to come over to Friday nights:
“This morning he called me an embarrassment or something like that and went on this entire run. Hey Adam Cole, pal, listen. You are talking to mister Friday night now. Run your mouth on my internet? Come over Friday pal, say what you gotta say, and eat another boot to the f**king mouth.”
The big question stemming from this exchange now is if this is a sign of things to come. It would be interesting to see if Adam Cole does show up on SmackDown to reply to McAfee.
There have been signs pointing towards an imminent return for Brock Lesnar but the company hasn’t planned his return to WWE TV as of now.
Dave Meltzer talked about the former universal champion on the latest episode of Sunday Night’s Main Event podcast and discussed the chatter about the Beast Incarnate’s return to WWE programming.
There have been a lot of rumors about Lesnar potentially returning for a SummerSlam match against Bobby Lashley. However, Meltzer revealed that as of now, there are no plans for this match to take place at the show.
WWE chairman Vince McMahon will be the one making the decision about his return. A match with Lashley could take place at any time but the company has not made the call for the former world champion’s return as of last week.
Meltzer also interestingly noted that there are people within the company who do not want Brock Lesnar to return until Roman Reigns is ready to feud with him.
There is no word yet on when this fight could take place but a match between the two clients of Paul Heyman would be an encounter worthy of a SummerSlam or WrestleMania level event.
Brock Lesnar was recently moved back to the list of active WWE superstars but it seems we will have to wait some more for his actual return to WWE TV. Stay tuned for more updates on the situation.
There has been some speculation about Jaxson Ryker turning heel in the near future after his split with Elias but latest reports suggest that this is not the case.
According to reports from PWinsider, the plan moving forward is for the former forgotten sons member to continue working as a babyface, while his former partner plays the heel role.
After being taken off TV for several months due to a controversial tweet, Jaxson Ryker made his return to WWE programming in December last year. He aligned himself with Elias upon his return.
He continued teaming with the drifter until last month. Elias walked out on his partner during a tag team match against AJ Styles and Omos on the May 31 episode of Raw, effectively ending their tag team.
This week’s episode of the show then saw Ryker debuting a new look matching the Raw star’s new gimmick as an Iraq war veteran with PTSD.
The former NXT star had a match with his former partner on the show. The bout saw him picking up a count-out victory after Elias walked out of the match.
It’s interesting that WWE intends to present Jaxson Ryker as a babyface despite his past issues. We would have to wait and see what the company has planned for his future.
Indie star Camron Clay made her debut on NXT TV during this week’s episode of the show. The newcomer was dubbed as Amari Miller upon her arrival.
Amari Miller took on her Twitter after the show to react to her debut for the black and yellow brand. She thanked NXT and fellow development star Zayda Ramier in a tweet:
This week’s Takeover go-home episode of the show saw Mercedes Martinez coming out to the ring. She had a scheduled match against the newest NXT star but she was attacked by Xia Li before the bout.
Li tried to soften her future opponent before their upcoming match at Takeover but Martinez managed to fight her off. She then asked the referee to start the match against Miller.
Unfortunately for the new NXT star, Mercedes Martinez was able to pick up the victory in the bout. She was able to squash her opponent and Martinez pinned her rival after a few moves.
The star who has gone by the names such as Camron Clay, Camron Connors, and Camron Bra’Nae in the past was signed by WWE earlier this year. She joined the Performance Center in February.
Miller had been wrestling for almost 5 years before her signing with the promotion. She has previously worked for companies such as EVOLVE and WWN Live. She also made a SmackDown appearance as an enhancement talent in October 2019 where she lost a match to Lacey Evans.
Lio Rush made the announcement of his retirement from professional wrestling earlier today and now Tony Khan has commented on his decision. All Elite Wrestling reacted to the surprising announcement by releasing a statement on social sites, which featured the comments from their owner and president.
In the statement as seen below, Khan revealed that Rush had shared his plans with him before going public with it. Tony Khan also claimed that while the news was unexpected, he is glad that Lio has made a choice that will make him happy:
“Lio Rush reached out to me today, and he shared that he’d planned to announce his retirement from pro wrestling tonight. While this news was unexpected, I’m glad that he’s made a choice that he’s confident will make him and his family happy. Lio is a great talent, and I enjoyed briefly working with him, and I absolutely wish him the best.”
Lio Rush had made his debut for All Elite Wrestling just last month. He was revealed as a surprise entrant in the casino battle royal during the Double Or Nothing PPV on May 30. Tony Khan had even expressed interest in bringing the former WWE star back to his promotion for future appearances.
However, Rush made a surprising announcement earlier today. He made a lengthy post on Instagram and explained that a recent injury has forced him to reflect on his career and think about his future. The NJPW star then revealed that he has made the decision to retire from active competition.
NWA President Billy Corgan recently appeared on Talk Is Jericho podcast where he discussed the various aspects of running a wrestling promotion in detail.
The Smashing Pumpkins star first opened up about when he bought the company in May 2017 and discussed how he was coming from the whole debacle with TNA at the time.
Billy Corgan then interestingly revealed that WWE was offered to buy the promotion at a time but the company declined the offer:
“And then I purchased NWA. Crazily enough, it was owned by one person. It was so devalued. He tried to sell it to everybody. Nobody wanted it, as far as I know. He certainly offered it to WWE. They thought it was so worthless that they didn’t even just buy it just to take it off the market.”
Corgan also discussed the initial negative reactions when he first acquired the promotion. He admitted that at one point he even thought about starting a new company instead but he ultimately decided against it.
Apart from this, Billy Corgan commented on topics such as navigating things through the pandemic, how he was paying the wrestlers even when the company was not producing content and more.
The best in the world debate has heated up in recent weeks. NXT star Kyle O’Reilly has his own pick for the mantle which is different than the other names. The former undisputed era member recently had an interview with DAZN where he talked about a number of things including his run in NXT and more.
When asked who he thinks is the best in the world right now, O’Reilly took the name of the former universal and NXT champion Finn Balor, saying that he is the guy who has done everything:
“I think Finn Balor is, He’s a guy who’s done everything. (He’s) a former Universal champion. For whatever reason, he came back to NXT and has just helped elevate every single guy that he’s wrestled in NXT. He’s helped elevate the brand of NXT just by him being here,
And by him putting everything into his work, delivering, and busting his ass when he certainly didn’t have to. I think his work definitely speaks for itself because everything he’s done has just been top-notch. I know myself, I’ve learned a lot getting to wrestle Finn.”
“For my money, I’d say Finn Balor is at the top of that list right now.” – Kyle O’Reilly
Apart from this, the former tag team champion discussed things such as his upcoming NXT Takeover match, the influence of Shawn Michaels and more.
Kyle O’Reilly is currently scheduled to compete in a fatal five-way match for the NXT championship at the TakeOver: In Your House event this Sunday. He will be competing alongside names such as Pete Dunne, Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, and the current champion Karrion Kross.
Aleister Black has been announced for a meet and greet appearance in November. This is the first announced appearance for the former NXT champion after his recent release from WWE.
The announcement was made by Rack Attack Promotions on their Facebook page. They confirmed his appearance for their upcoming The Big Event show.
The event will be taking place on Saturday, November 13 in East Elmhurst, NY, from the LaGuardia Airport Marriott. Aleister Black will be present from 10 am to 2 pm at the convention.
The combo ticket for the meet and greet event are listed at $70. This includes a photo with the former WWE star and an autograph on the item fans bring.
As expected, Black is being promoted as Tommy End. It is the indie name the former NXT star used before his signing with the promotion in 2016.
The former WWE star was released from his contract on June 2, alongside some other surprising names such as the former universal champion Braun Strowman.
Though Aleister Black has stated that his release was on friendly terms. He has claimed that he was on good terms with the boss Vince McMahon and expressed interest in returning to the company later down the road.
