Triple H has fueled speculation that fans might witness Goldberg in one final match, which would mark his retirement from in-ring competition. At WWE Bad Blood this past Saturday, World Heavyweight Champion GUNTHER cut a promo after Triple H introduced plans for the Crown Jewel Championship. During his speech, GUNTHER directed harsh words toward the WWE Hall of Famer, who was seated ringside with his family.

GUNTHER revealed that he had lied when he claimed Goldberg was his favorite wrestler during a conversation with Bret Hart on Raw a few weeks prior. The statement was a jab, as Bret Hart has publicly expressed his disdain for Goldberg. GUNTHER then insulted Goldberg, questioning how a “one-trick pony” like him could fool a wrestler of GUNTHER’s caliber. He added a personal dig, saying he hoped Goldberg was a better father to his son, Gage than he was a professional wrestler.

This provoked Goldberg, who jumped the barricade, leading to an intense staredown between the two. Security intervened before Goldberg could enter the ring. Sami Zayn also got involved, attacking GUNTHER as part of their ongoing rivalry leading up to their Raw match. Despite the chaos, Goldberg stood tall in the ring, his music playing as he told GUNTHER, “You’re next,” promising he only needed three minutes.

One More Match?

Goldberg has been vocal about Vince McMahon’s promise of a retirement match after he put over Roman Reigns in 2020, a promise that was never fulfilled as his contract expired. However, on Monday, Triple H fueled further speculation by tweeting that they would “talk soon,” hinting that a match between Goldberg and GUNTHER might be in the works, though nothing has been officially confirmed.

Fans can expect to see some legendary faces at WWE Bad Blood, whether that be on camera or in attendance.

Tonight’s Premium Live Event takes place at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA, with a loaded card and the supposed return of ‘The Big Guy.’ Roman Reigns and Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa and Jacob Fatu are expected to headline the show. 

PWInsider.com reports that Scott Steiner, Rick Steiner, Diamond Dallas Page (DDP), Madusa, and Jacqueline Moore are slated to be at the show for fan interactions and/or potential on-air appearances. Arn Anderson shared on his Twitter that he and Tully Blanchard will be at the show via this statement: 

“Heading to very familiar surroundings for WWE Bad Blood tomorrow in Atlanta. Having Tully there should provide some serious flashbacks, and it will be an honor to walk the halls of the fresh, new WWE. To all my friends who still work there see ya tomorrow!”

Familiarity

The names mentioned above had runs in WCW, some becoming household names in the promotion. With the event being held in Atlanta, a city deeply associated with WCW, WWE is bringing them in for the show. 

For all of your Bad Blood coverage, make sure to stick with SEScoops for the latest news throughout the day.

WWE is bringing back the Bad Blood event for an upcoming PLE this Saturday at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, GA, and has now released lost footage of the inaugural event. 

WWE is reintroducing this theme to celebrate the anniversary of the very first Hell in a Cell match, which took place on October 5, 1997. The match featured The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels, marking Kane’s debut.

Kane made his way down to the ring after multiple week teases of his impending arrival on television by Paul Bauer. Kane laid out his brother after a long staredown with a tombstone, allowing Michaels to go over. 

WWE Vault released footage of welders putting together the structure, an infamous promo by The Undertaker, and clips of Kane’s arrival. This match changed the course of history and served as the launching pad for the Kane character, who went on to have a 20+ year career. 

There is also footage of when WWE revived Bad Blood in 2003 for a Hell in a Cell match between Triple H and Kevin Nash, with Mick Foley as the special guest referee for the World Heavyweight Championship main event. The event also saw Goldberg take on Chris Jericho. 

The previous time it was used was the following year when Triple H faced Shawn Michaels in another Hell in a Cell match as the main event. You can check it out below: 

Mercedes Mone was just one of many who watched the Vince McMahon docuseries on Netflix. The top AEW star did so through with a blunt and wine. 

A week after the docuseries’s release, Mone has seen all six episodes of the widely discussed series and gave her thoughts about them in the latest edition of the Mone Mag. While excited to watch it, she felt a little disappointed and didn’t feel like there was too much new for her to learn about McMahon. She then proceeded to look back on her time working for McMahon. 

“I’ll say this, as I watched, I couldn’t believe that I got to work for Vince, what a crazy genius he is, and how he really elevated wrestling to a whole stratosphere. He created a universe fans have enjoyed for decades and still do. He made wrestling larger than life. He did it all, and he tried it all. And he failed so many times, too. Where the business is at today is all because of him and his ideas. And that’s what I really liked it.”

Mone proceeded to tell a behind-the-scenes story about her former boss and noted that he admitted he was wrong in one instance. 

“This should probably be a Moné Memory, but while we’re on the subject of TV tapings, behind the scenes, and Vince McMahon, I remember one time I had a storyline and match with Nia Jax. During the match, Vince accidentally called over the headset for the referee to ring the bell. And it was way too early. We were confused, but we played along.”

She continued, “When I got backstage, I remember going to Triple H and being like, what the hell just happened? Triple H explained it was an accident and, playfully, told me to go and confront Vince. So I did. Vince admitted he was wrong and then shared a laugh about it.”

Due to a creative disagreement with McMahon, Mercedes left WWE in May 2022 and later got her release before going to NJPW. She signed with AEW this past March. 

CM Punk wanted to do something special for his longtime fans in Chicago due to the support they gave him over the years while he was away from wrestling. 

When he returned to the business in August 2021 at AEW Rampage: The First Dance, Punk went all out while in the spot after seven long years of fans chanting his name. Now, he has given insight into how much money he had to shell out to give all the fans who attended that episode ice cream. 

During a sit-down interview on the No-Contest Wrestling Podcast with O’Shea Jackson Jr. and T.J. Jefferson, Punk revealed that he spent $40,000 of his own money on ice cream bars for every fan in attendance that night. 

The gesture was made out of sympathy and empathy for people. He also understands why wrestlers may have been upset with him while the fans chanted for Punk while working in the ring.

“Anytime they were in Chicago, there was anticipation or hope that I’d show up,” Punk explained. “That’s why I spent $40,000 on ice cream bars when I came back in 2021—because that was legit a thank you.”

Punk added, “I wouldn’t be anywhere, and I wouldn’t be back here if it wasn’t for a great many circumstances, but one of them is the fans—especially in Chicago.”

WWE attempts to cover all of its bases when it secures bigger venues for its premium live events. 

The company had filed a complaint with the Texas Attorney General to prevent the release of a bidding contract for the Royal Rumble in 2023. In the suit, the company claimed that the deal was a trade secret and contained proprietary information that fit an exemption in Texas’s public information law.

WWE opted last month to withdraw it. Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics shared a copy of the full contract he obtained between WWE and the state of San Antonio. 

The initial release of the agreement had three pages noticeably missing, as WWE didn’t want it public. This is because it includes the wording of their exclusivity period.

In the contract, it was stated that the Alamodome could not run any other wrestling event from 90 days before the event and 60 days after it takes place. You can check out the wording of the exclusivity period part in the agreement below: 

This shows the type of arrangement problems that other promotions, such as AEW, can deal with when booking venues for events and how much planning goes into it.

AEW Dynamite airs tonight at 8/7c on TBS, live from Pittsburgh, PA, at the Petersen Events Center. This episode will feature some big matches and the return of Britt Baker. 

The biggest thing to be confirmed for the show is AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada, which has a twist attached to it. Okada’s Continental Championship is on the line for the first 20 minutes of the bout. 

This only adds to the drama that every Danielson match carries these days, with the stipulation that the next match Danielson loses will be his last as a full-time wrestler. 

AEW Dynamite Preview

(airs live Wednesday, October 2 at 8/7c on TBS)

• AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson vs. Kazuchika Okada – Okada’s Continental Championship is on the line for the first 20 minutes
• AEW International Champion Will Ospreay vs. Ricochet
• Dr. Britt Baker, D.M.D. vs. Serena Deeb
• Hangman Page vs. Juice Robinson

Dynamite launched in October 2019 that helped launch the company as the second biggest promotion in the world. Although not confirmed, there has been speculation that AEW’s new television deal with Warner Bros. Discovery could be announced on this show. Former AEW World Heavyweight Champion Swerve Strickland also seemingly confirmed the rumored AEW-FOX deal for a new one-hour program. 

WWE NXT airs tonight at 8/7c on the CW Network, live from the Allstate Arena in Chicago, IL. This episode will feature two title bouts, an appearance from WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair, and a Miz TV segment. 

WWE has loaded up the card to set the tone for what fans can expect on the CW Network compared to what they’ve been used to seeing on the USA Network. 

WWE NXT Preview

• NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez vs. Giulia will open the show
• NXT Champion Ethan Page vs. Trick Williams – CM Punk to be Special Guest Referee
• Street Fight: Wes Lee vs. Zachary Wentz
• Miz TV segment with Oba Femi and Tony D’Angelo
• Fatal Attraction (TBD) vs. Jaida Parker and Lola Vice
• WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Jade Cargill & Bianca Belair to appear

Expectations are high for the gold brand in its new journey. Fans look forward to seeing the program be rated TV-14, according to The CW’s official listings. 

Shawn Michaels has confirmed that big aesthetic changes are coming to the show. We’re expecting a renovated ‘NXT Arena’ at the WWE Performance Center, refreshed on-screen graphics and more.

Jey Uso has been the WWE Intercontinental Champion for exactly one week and has already changed the belt. As seen below, Uso has made a noticeable change to the belt with new blue side plates: 

In an emotional scene on Monday’s episode of Raw, Uso kicked off the show where he celebrated winning the title belt from Bron Breakker a week ago in the main event. This is where Uso cut a promo about how he was afforded the opportunity to open the show. 

He was welcomed by a lively crowd chanting YEET as he made his way to the ring alongside his son, Jace. This is when he got emotional as he talked to a standing crowd and thanked his mother, who is his biggest supporter.

This led to the former champion coming out to interrupt, but he did so in a respectful way, congratulating him. They shook hands with a big smile on the face of Breakker. Uso praised the young star and it appeared that Bron has turned babyface for now. 

Uso said that he would be a fighting champion every week if that’s what it meant. As of this writing, it’s unclear when his next title defense will come against. 

Killswitch, who is one of AEW’s longer-tenured wrestlers, has suffered a medical scare.

The former Luchasaurus was rushed to the hospital over the weekend after suffering severe lung damage. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful reported the news on Monday evening. 

The masked wrestler was taken to the hospital by his wife on Friday after he was found collapsed. Once arriving at the medical facility, tests were down, and his blood oxygen level was below 80 percent. 

Per the report, doctors said that he had pneumonia in both lungs, and he was told that he was “days away” from suffering permanent lung damage. Now, he is on the road to recovery, with the expected timeline of about a month. However, as of this writing, it’s unknown how long he will be out of action and off AEW programming. 

The AEW star has been part of the promotion since it launched in 2019, where he began his tenure in a tag team with Jack Perry, named Jurassic Express. Together, they won the Tag Team Titles. 

In 2023, he turned heel and joined Christian Cage’s Patriarchy faction. He was last in action when he worked AEW All In London 2024, competing in a Casino Gauntlet match, where he helped Cage earn a shot at the AEW World Title. 

We wish Killswitch a speedy recovery.

Cody Rhodes is confident in Darby Allin’s skill set, both inside the squared circle and on the microphone as a promo guy. With such a belief in the fan favorite, he does not doubt that Allin can be a top guy for AEW. 

Rhodes has been able to see Allin progress in pro wrestling as the former AEW Executive Vice President wrestled the popular star various times in the promotion before he left in February 2022 and returned to WWE. Since then, Rhodes has become a top star for WWE and won the Undisputed WWE Championship. Allin recently headlined AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam against Jon Moxley, falling short and giving up his World Title shot at WrestleDream. 

While speaking on Superstar Crossover, Rhodes responded to Allin, who asked in a separate interview whether Cody thought he could be the face of AEW.

“So the answer is a guaranteed Yes, but don’t let Darby fool you. He was never insecure, and he was never not confident. Darby is almost overconfident, and that’s that’s what we do. We talk smack. We wrestle each other. This is entertainment. I don’t mind it, but sometimes your overconfidence is actually arrogance, when, in his case, instead of it being arrogance, the experience that he’s had now with Sting, the experience he’s had seeing the different changes in the company, all of that, that is the experience that you need to lead you to, where you see the clarity, and you see the moment go, ‘Hey, I can be the guy.’ Absolutely, 100% could potentially be the person.”

Rhodes said that the spot was available to more people than everyone thought, and, being that guy, has a more demanding schedule. 

AEW may be looking elsewhere for the developers of its future video games following the mixed response to its inaugural game, Fight Forever, which was released on all major consoles and PC in June 2023. 

While the gameplay was fun and easy to pick up, fans voiced their frustration with the lack of depth in the game, game modes, and bugs that the game had. In April 2024, it was reported that the developers were pressured to “deliver something faster than what it should’ve been,” leading to the issues. 

Mike Straw of Insider Gaming reports that sources have told him the decision makers at AEW are “strongly considering” finding a new development partner moving forward as the future of the AEW games hangs in the balance. 

“They [AEW] knows that things didn’t go the way they expected,” one source said. “The game was over-budget and it under delivered when it came out. It has AEW strongly considering moving to a new developer for their games.”

The promotion wants to see where else they can go with their games. Their original deal with Yuke’s called for one year of post-launch content, which included four season passes that added wrestlers, moves, game modes, and venues. Yuke’s last released a DLC game pack in July, adding Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada, and Mercedes Mone. 

Sources told the media outlet that the primary focus is on the gaming future as a whole, and everything is on the table regarding the future. The two sides reportedly butted heads before the game was released, including problems with AEW EVP Kenny Omega, who was at the point of “hating” working with Yuke’s. 

Others felt that Yuke’s was trying to “take advantage” of Omega due to his inexperience in helping with game development.

Fans can expect to see more of Roman Reigns on WWE television as the company looks to close out 2024 in a strong way. 

Reigns had an unbelievable run as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion that ended at the hands of Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40. He went on a multi-month hiatus from WWE television as the company built up Solo Sikoa as the new Tribal Chief, signed the Tongas, and brought in Jacob Fatu to form a new Bloodline faction. 

Reigns returned to WWE programming at SummerSlam by costing Sikoa his title shot against Rhodes in the main event. Since then, Reigns has gotten the upper hand on The Bloodline and vice versa. 

In recent weeks, Reigns has aligned himself with Rhodes as a unit. They will team together to take on Fatu and Sikoa at WWE Bad Blood on October 5. On Wednesday, Reigns was announced for six WWE SmackDown episodes.

You can check out the schedule here: 

• October 11, 2024: Bon Secours Wellness Arena – Greenville, South Carolina
• October 18, 2024: Colonial Life Arena – Columbia, South Carolina
• October 25, 2024: Barclays Center – Brooklyn, New York
• November 8, 2024: KeyBank Center – Buffalo, New York
• November 15, 2024: The Fiserv Forum – Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• November 22, 2024: Delta Center – Salt Lake City, Utah

It should be noted that WWE is advertising Reigns for Survivor Series on November 30 and Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 14.

AEW Dynamite: Grand Slam airs tonight at 8/7c on TBS, live from the historci Arthur Ashe Stadium in Queens, NY. This episode will feature championship matches, and Nigel McGuiness coming out of retirement to battle AEW World Championship Bryan Danielson.

AEW Grand Slam Dynamite Preview
(airs live Wednesday, Sep. 25 at 8/7c on TBS)

• Coming Out Of Retirement Match: Nigel McGuinness vs. AEW World Champion Bryan Danielson (*if Danielson is medically cleared to compete)
• AEW World Championship Opportunity: Jon Moxley vs. Darby Allin
• AEW World Tag Team Championships: The Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson) (c) vs. Kyle Fletcher and Will Ospreay
• AEW Women’s World Championship: Mariah May (c) vs. Yuka Sakazaki
• AEW Trios Championships Open Challenge: Pac, Claudio Castagnoli, and Wheeler Yuta (c) vs. TBA
• Lumberjack Strap Match: Hangman Page vs. Jeff Jarrett

After Dynamite goes off the air, AEW will tape Saturday’s Collision, which also has a jam-packed advertised lineup.

AEW Grand Slam Collision Preview
(airs Saturday, Sep. 28 at 8/7c on TNT)

• Tornado Trios Match: The Learning Tree (Chris Jericho, Big Bill, and Bryan Keith) vs. The Conglomeration
• AEW Continental Championship Eliminator Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Sammy Guevara
• AEW TNT Championship Open Challenge: Jack Perry vs. TBD
• Saraya’s Rules Match: Saraya vs. Jamie Hayter
• Lumberjack Strap Match: Hangman Page vs. Jeff Jarrett (Note: This match is listed for both shows, likely taped for Collision after being live on Dynamite)
• Three-Way Lucha Libre Match for Hispanic Heritage Month: The Beast Mortos vs. Hologram vs. Dralistico
• MxM Collection Segment: Unveiling of Max Caster’s jacket makeover

Despite being arrested for domestic violence, Nikki Garcia’s husband, Artem Chigvintsev, won’t be facing charges. He had been arrested on charges of felony corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant in late August. 

Following the incident, the former WWE star filed for divorce after contacting attorneys and looking to get the proceedings. On Tuesday, it was revealed in a statement by the Napa County District Attorney’s Office that Chigvintsev will not face charges relating to his arrest. The statement reads as the following: 

“Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley announced today that her office has declined to file criminal charges against Artem Chigvintsev, age 42, in connection with his arrest on suspicion of felony domestic violence. The decision not to file charges against Mr. Chigvintsev was made after a thorough review of the criminal investigation and careful evaluation of the evidence presented to the DA’s Office.

While we take every arrest seriously and stand firmly against domestic violence, we have an ethical obligation to only file charges when supported by the evidence. We are required to prove any and every criminal charge ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ which is the highest standard in the American criminal justice system. If the available evidence doesn’t rise to this level of proof, then we cannot ethically file charges.

Domestic violence can either be filed as a felony or a misdemeanor and has a statute of limitations of three years or one year, respectively. At any time within the statute of limitations, the Napa County District Attorney’s Office may revisit the case if it learns of other incidents, or otherwise learns of facts or evidence not previously known.”

The couple got together in 2018 before welcoming their four-year-old son. They got married in 2022 after a multi-year delay in the ceremony happening. Artem has yet to publicly comment on the situation. 

WWE is bringing back the shark cage stipulation for a key match featured on the upcoming Bad Blood premium live event, which is just under two weeks away. This stipulation will be applied to the Women’s World Championship match between Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley.

During this week’s episode of WWE Raw, a graphic announced that Dominik Mysterio will be locked inside a shark cage—an infamous gimmick used to prevent outside interference while two wrestlers settle their score.

The segment saw Ripley reveal the news to her heel allies, who quickly panicked. Ripley then dropped Morgan with a headbutt, leaving the champion laid out in the ring as the segment ended.

This feud has deep roots. After WrestleMania 40, Morgan accidentally injured Ripley in a backstage segment that was originally meant to spark a feud leading to their match. Ripley, who had just retained her title against Becky Lynch at WrestleMania, suffered a significant shoulder injury during the segment. As a result, Ripley was sidelined for months and forced to vacate the championship.

To crown a new champion, WWE held a battle royal on Raw, which saw Lynch claim the title. However, at the King and Queen of the Ring premium live event, Morgan, with help from Mysterio, captured the championship, setting up her ongoing rivalry with Ripley.

At SummerSlam, Ripley put over Morgan after interference from Mysterio, with the championship on the line.

John Cena has opened up on the sexual misconduct allegations made against Vince McMahon for the first time public while speaking with the AP. 

The former WWE CEO retired from this position and Chairman amid the sexual misconduct scandal last July. However, after thinking he got bad advice, he returned to the company at the top of the Board of Directors this past January. 

The Relationship

Regarding whether it was tough to reconcile his feelings for McMahon after the allegations were made, Cena stated that everyone makes mistakes, and he still loves his longtime boss.  

“No. I mean, everyone has the right to have their perspective. I have the right to have mine. When you love somebody, you take them as imperfectly perfect as they are. We all make mistakes, we all have poor decisions. Lord knows I’ve made my collection of poor choices. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to love somebody. There’s no way I can go on record and say I don’t love Vince McMahon.”

WWE Sale

One of the reasons that McMahon returned to WWE was due to him wanting to explore a potential company sale. Cena was asked about it, but noted that he didn’t know what was going on. 

“That’s way above my paygrade. I just don’t know what’s going on with that. I love Vince McMahon. He’s everything you could want in a great friend, business partner, father, mentor. I love the man. But his business dealings are his business and what he shares with me, that’s between us. But I don’t know what’s going on with the corporate structure in the WWE or the creative direction of the WWE. But when I’m there as a performer, it’s (WWE champion) Roman Reigns’ show. In my mind, he needs to be in the conversation, and in my mind, he’s the greatest of all time.”

Cena was spotted at McMahon’s 77th birthday party last August. McMahon made his first appearance at a WWE event since returning last Monday at Raw when Cena made his return to WWE.

WWE confirmed the WrestleMania 39 match between Edge and Finn Balor during Monday Night Raw. 

Edge came out for a promo segment where he talked about how he wanted to finish his feud with Balor tonight/ The Judgment Day came out to the stage but wouldn’t get any further. Edge knew why, and he knew if he chased after them, they would just jump him. 

He said he would give Balor what he wanted, a WrestleMania match. Edge said he’s tired of wasting his time, which is running out, on them for the last year and a half. He said every week, he has left him laying and even made him say that he quit.

Memory Lane

He recalled Beth Phoenix being hit with a chair. Edge thinks there is one way for it to end, and that’s Hell in a Cell at WrestleMania. Balor said he’s been to hell, and it spit out a demon. This led to a brawl. 

As previously reported, WWE had plans to do Edge vs. Balor at the Royal Rumble in the Hell in a Cell match where Balor would portray his demon character, but it was nixed due to Edge filming a Hollywood project. 

When WWE finally was able to convince Steve Austin to come out of retirement last year for a match at WrestleMania 38 – Night 1 against Kevin Owens, he left the door open to do another match. 

WWE has taken him at his word and tried to get him to agree to step into the ring again, this time at this year’s WrestleMania 39. 

Fightful Select reports that multiple pitches have been made to Steve Austin since last year and those in WWE believe he’s open-minded to wrestling again should the right situation and money come his way. However, the offers so far haven’t seemed like either of those. 

No Response

As previously reported, WWE pitched him on the idea of doing a match with Brock Lesnar last summer or in the fall, but the money wasn’t right. Later, Austin was offered more money to possibly face Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 39, and “we’re just told he didn’t get back to WWE on it.”

Austin, who has gotten into great shape, was pitched additional ideas to be on the WrestleMania 39 card, but not for marquee matches. 

One name rumored online to have been pitched was LA Knight, and Fightful was able to confirm that match was pitched, but it’s unclear whether Austin is interested in it. Austin is slated to do some WWE-related promotional work for WWE 2K soon.

Bray Wyatt missed Sunday’s WWE live event at Madison Square Garden where he was supposed to take on LA Knight in a match. 

After the former WWE Champion missed the show, it led to fan concern regarding his status. He has also been absent from WWE television as of late, with his last appearance coming in the way of a muscle man video.

Fightful Select reports that after talking with those who have worked with Wyatt, he is currently sidelined with a “physical issue,” and they’re not sure about when he could return. 

Rumors

There had been rumors that Wyatt walked out because of issues with creative, but as of this writing, the media outlet was unable to confirm that with anyone in the company. 

Wyatt was slated to appear at other house shows and SmackDown episodes, but was pulled from those due to the issue. Although he has been sidelined, WWE has continued with the feud between Wyatt and Bobby Lashley. 

At one point this weekend, Lashley wasn’t scheduled for Monday’s Raw. It should be noted that Wyatt and Uncle Howdy’s materials have not been sent to the site of SmackDown in the last two weeks. Also, Wyatt hasn’t been planned for those shows and is not scheduled for Raw. 

WWE has started to announce inductees into this year’s Hall of Fame class just weeks before the ceremony takes place. On Friday’s SmackDown, WWE confirmed Rey Mysterio as the first person to be part of the class. 

It’s been reported that Konnan will do the honors for Mysterio. The Great Muta is also expected to be announced soon for the class.

It looks like Stacy Keibler will be going into the WWE Hall of Fame as Pwinsider.com reports that the WWE is “very close” to finalizing a deal to announce Keibler. She would be the first female member of the class to be announced. 

Stacy Keibler in the WWE Hall of Fame

The report added that Keibler and WWE have been in talks for a few weeks now, with an ope source stating the deal was “99% done.” Another source said they expect the induction to be likely, although it wasn’t a done deal as of last Friday. 

Keibler broke into the wrestling business by working for WCW in 1999, and after the company was sold, she went to WWE in 2001, where she stayed with the company until mid-2006. She decided to depart from the company to focus on other opportunities. 

The ceremony will take place on Friday, March 31, from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Ridge Holland is dealing with the toxicity of social media with negative fans on the one-year anniversary of Big E’s unfortunate injury. 

On March 11, 2022, Big E suffered a broken neck when taking a belly-to-belly suplex from Holland during a tag team match on an episode of WWE SmackDown. Big E landed on his head, fracturing his C1 vertebrae and C6 vertebrae. 

Big E didn’t suffer spinal cord damage or need surgery. He wanted to wait a year before getting another check-up to see how his recovery was going. Holland did check on Big E in the hospital after the event and gave him gifts. 

The Tweet

Holland noted on Twitter that he has been getting death threats and labeled as racist by fans online:

“Death threats. Threats to my family. Lobbying for me to lose my job. Being labeled as racist. Great stuff keep ‘em coming.”

Xavier Woods saw the tweet and responded with, “Pro Wrestling is extremely dangerous. All of us involved understand that. Ridge & his family do not deserve to be treated this way. Please do not send any hate towards them. Instead use your energy to do something positive like sending love to E. Be kind. Please be kind.”

Cody Rhodes knows firsthand what it’s like to depart from WWE, reinvent himself outside of the company bubble, and make a return to the promotion. Now, he wants to see Matt Cardona do just that. 

Cardona was with WWE for several years until 2020 when he departed in 2020 before going to AEW that same year for a brief run. He went to Impact Wrestling in January 2022 where he found success. He also found a lot of success in GCW and NWA. He has held the GCW World Championship, the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, the Impact Digital Media Championship, and several other titles.

While speaking on Good Karma Wrestling, Cardona came up in the interview. Rhodes called him the king of the indies and wants to see him return to WWE. 

Praise

“I’m really proud of him,” Rhodes said. “He’s out there, he’s doing the Indy God thing with the Indiana Jones hats. Everything Matt’s doing, Matt has been the king of the indies now, this is going on year two. You only usually get one run in that role. He’s going on year two. What Matt does next is gonna be huge. If he goes to AEW, that’d be cool. But if he comes back to WWE, that’s what I want. It would be off the charts. I think he’s a huge get, a huge free agent, and he’s the best he’s ever been.

Rhodes returned to WWE at WrestleMania 38 where he has since been pushed as a top star. He will challenge Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at WrestleMania 39.

H/T to WrestleZone for the transcription

The decision to end The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WWE WrestleMania is still questioned among fans as Vince McMahon is the one to have made the call for it to end in 2014 at WrestleMania 30 at the hands of Brock Lesnar. 

For years, the undefeated streak wasn’t mentioned at all and in the later stages of Taker’s career, WWE started to use it to further sell WrestleMania. 

While speaking with Ariel Helwani of BT Sport, The Undertaker was asked who were the others that were considered to break his undefeated streak. He named Edge and Vladmir Kozlov. 

The Names

“By the time we got to WrestleMania, we pretty much knew what was going to go down, but there were a few people I guess that he wanted to break the streak. (Vladimir) Kozlov, he wanted him. It was early on, and I think he wanted Edge to go over and Edge refused. He said, ‘No. I can’t do it.’ That’s how much he respected the streak and me and what that streak meant to the business. I didn’t know that at that time. I didn’t know that until years after. That says a lot about the human being he is.”

Regarding whether he felt Brock should have said no to ending the streak, Taker said he didn’t think Lesnar needed it as he was already a major attraction and a made guy so in his eyes, it didn’t enhance Lesnar anymore. He thinks it would’ve been a great thing for Roman Reigns while he was on the rise. 

“I think it could have helped somebody else. When I got there that day, I was still going over. It’s in the early afternoon. I remember sitting in the dressing room and came in, and as soon as he came in, I knew what it was. He changed the finish. I gave him my spiel and what I thought. It wasn’t no for the sake of not wanting to do the job. It was ‘no’ in the sense that I didn’t feel like Brock needed it. Vince’s counter was, ‘If not Brock, then who beats you?’ Vince can sell ice to an Eskimo. I brought up as many points as I thought, like, looking long term down the road. Vince, his deal too is, who down the road? At that point, I’m year to year. I don’t know when I’m going to pull the trigger and say enough’s enough, so I think he wanted to make sure he got that. I don’t think he ever envisioned that character riding off into the sunset with a perfect record.”

Taker continued by noting that he didn’t know when he was going to retire, but selfishly he would’ve stayed undefeated. However, that’s not how the business goes. He knows there was a lot of talent that let him beat them and it was the right thing to do to pay it back. 

Taker said that the business itself is bigger than the one character and Lesnar was worthy of it. He added that “He was a huge draw at this point, but I don’t think that it helped him the way it would have helped, say Roman at the time.”

H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription

Don’t expect to see The Undertaker portray his deadman gimmick again because he is done wearing the trench coat and hat. 

This explains why he didn’t portray the gimmick in January when he appeared on WWE Raw XXX where he did a segment with LA Knight and Bray Wyatt. Fans were shocked to hear Kid Rock’s American Bad Ass song play and see Taker drive out on a motorcycle reminiscent of his character that he portrayed in the early 2000s. 

The Undertaker’s Take

While speaking with Ariel Helwani of BT Sport, The Undertaker noted that those involved with the segment expected him to come out with his iconic character, but those days are gone. 

“They had a different vision. They didn’t even know that I wasn’t going to have the hat and coat. They totally thought I was coming [out as] old Undertaker. I was like, no. That’s part of me and the storytelling, right? When I lifted the curtain, and when I lifted it back and pulled it back, that’s gone. It’s gone now.”

Helwani followed up with asking whether he was done with that and he said, “I won’t bring the hat and coat back out, no.”

He added that because he is now in a public speaker role, he doesn’t think the character can be portrayed in that way anymore.

H/T to Fightful for the transcription