It looks like Logan Paul will be getting his wish of wrestling John Cena at WWE WrestleMania 39. 

Paul earned plenty of praise following his match against Roman Reigns for the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship at Crown Jewel a few months ago. John Cena took notice as he shared a photo of Paul on his Instagram account with no caption. Later, Paul responded with the eyes emoji on Twitter of a tweet saying Cena was looking for a WrestleMania opponent.

Paul previously stated on his ImPAULsive podcast that he wanted a match with Cena and pitched the idea to Triple H. 

“After Crown Jewel, John Cena posted me on his Instagram and then I saw an article saying he’s looking for an opponent at WrestleMania. I favorited it, responded with the eyes. Truthfully, I think me vs. John Cena would break the internet. I texted Triple H right away, ‘Do you want to break the internet again?’ That’s a dream match. WrestleMania, in LA, on my birthday. Triple H, throw me a bone, give me a birthday present, let me take out John Cena. That’d be crazy.”

WrestlingNews.co reports that Paul vs. Cena is planned for WrestleMania 39. 

Other Planned WrestleMania 39 Matches

• WWE Championship Match: Seth Rollins vs. Cody Rhodes or Drew McIntyre
• WWE Universal Championship Match: Roman Reigns vs. The Rock or Cody Rhodes
• Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship Match: The Usos vs. Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens

Barring any injuries, the matches listed above are very likely to happen as planned at the show that takes place in April. 

Mike Tenay informed fans today that Don West passed away after battling lymphoma. He was 59 years old. 

West worked for TNA/Impact Wrestling from 2002 to 2012 as the color commentator alongside Tenay. He was also a great salesman and known for his hot deals on the TNA website. He returned to the company in 2017 for the Slammiversary XV pay-per-view event. 

West also worked for the Shop at Home Network and had a radio show in Nashville, Tennessee. Tenay tweeted the following: 

The Announcement

“Just heard from wife Terri that our brother @DonWestDeals will be spending New Years in heaven. Terri said D-Dub finally had to tap out from his match with lymphoma. We bonded as soon as we met, both as broadcast partners and friends. Years of great moments both on and off camera.”

West first revealed in June 2021 that he had been diagnosed with brain lymphoma.  West announced that after eight weeks of chemotherapy and 13 treatments of radiation, his cancer was in remission in September. Unfortunately, in December 2021, it was revealed that he was battling cancer for a second time.

A GoFundMe was previously set up to help West and his family with the medical bills. The wrestling world has already started to react to the news, as seen below: 

On behalf of SEScoops, we send our condolences to the Don West family. 

Sting has had another run in his legendary pro wrestling career in AEW by being paired with Darby Allin. This was after he wasn’t medically cleared to wrestle following a 2015 match in WWE with Seth Rollins due to him having spinal stenosis. 

Allin and Sting most recently teamed together to score a win over Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett at AEW Full Gear. Now that he’s in his 60s, Sting does have an idea in mind for how he wants to end his wrestling career

He shared that information with The Ringer’s Cameron Hawkins and noted that Darby is going to be involved in that match whenever it comes. 

The Vision

“I’ve plotted out my endgame. I know Darby’s going to be a part of it, for sure.”

– Sting

Sting has wrestled mostly tag matches throughout his AEW run. It doesn’t sound like that will be changing any time soon.

“I won’t have a singles match at this point,” said Sting. “Darby will be along with me and I’ll be along with him. But I have a few people [in mind] and I really don’t want to say now.”

Sting believes that if the former TNT Champion stays in the wrestling business with AEW, he’ll eventually land a role in creative control and/or leadership. They are heading to Pro Wrestling NOAH in Japan to team with The Great Muta (Keiji Muto) in January. 

Sting revealed earlier this month that he underwent surgery and had his knees cleaned out. It’s unclear when his next AEW match will take place.

Sting’s AEW run and the things he’s been able to do at this stage of his career are nothing short of incredible. He’s done it all in this business and is very lucky to write his final chapter on his terms – whatever he has planned.

Head over to The Ringer to read their full interview with Sting.

“Stone Cold” Steve Austin stepped back into the ring once more with Kevin Owens as the former Universal Champion’s guest on his KO Show at WWE WrestleMania 38 earlier this year. 

After Owens cut a short promo about the pathetic state of Texas, Austin came out to exchange words with Owens, leading to an actual match. 

Austin, one of the biggest stars in the history of the wrestling business, had not wrestled in 19 years as he decided to retire due to neck problems following a match with The Rock at WrestleMania 19 in 2003.  It was first reported in February that WWE had made a significant overture towards the Hall Of Famer for an in-ring return. 

The Moment

While speaking with The New York Post, Owens noted that he still doesn’t know how the match came to be. 

“I still don’t have a full grasp on how that happened,” Owens said. “All I know is I was told by several people, from Steve to Vince McMahon to Bruce Prichard, it couldn’t have been anybody other than you — meaning me — with Steve. I’m not sure who suggested it, who asked for it or how it came about. One day I’ll find out. But the point is that it’s extremely flattering to me that those three all thought I was the best choice. There’s really no higher compliment than that for me. It doesn’t get any better than that,” Owens said. “I said it the day after the match: It’s all downhill from here.”

Owens will team with John Cena to take on Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn in a tag team match on this Friday’s SmackDown. WWE is reportedly hoping to have Austin work another match at WrestleMania 39. 

This past July, Ric Flair wrestled in his advertised last match by teaming with Andrade El Idolo to defeat Jay Lethal and Jeff Jarrett, but that wasn’t the original plan. 

Fellow WWE Hall Of Famer Ricky Steamboat was originally planned to be part of the match, but didn’t end up not doing it. Steamboat is considered one of Flair’s greatest rivals dating back to their matches in the 80s and 90s.

While speaking to Bill Apter of Sportskeeda, Steamboat explained why he decided against being part of Flair’s last match.

The Real Reason

“Initially, when Conrad, who is the promoter, when we talked, I drove to Nashville and we had a sitdown. I was still training pretty good and feeling pretty good, and I said ‘okay.’ We hadn’t signed or sealed the deal on the money part of it, but what put the nail in the coffin is, about a week after that, I found out that Flair was wearing a pacemaker. All these years and I never knew. I immediately said, ‘I don’t think I want to do this.’ I don’t want my legacy to be that I was in the ring if he happened to pass away or something went wrong. I didn’t want that.”

Steamboat noted that he initially publicly stated that he turned down the match due to not having any interest in wrestling again, but it was due to him not wanting to throw Conrad Thompson or Flair under the bus. 

Steamboat had his own last match when he teamed with FTR (Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler) to defeat Brock Anderson, Jay Lethal and Nick Aldis on November 27, 2022 at Big Time Wrestling.

H/T to Fightful for the transcription

The December 27, 2022 episode of WWE NXT aired live on the USA Network from Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center. 

WWE NXT Results 

• Julius Creed defeated JD McDonagh
• Wendy Choo defeated Cora Jade
• Scrypts defeated Ikemen Jiro
• Lyra Valkyria defeated Lash Legend
• Scisim defeated Odyssey Jones, Edris Enofe, and Malik Blade
• Fallon Henley defeated Kiana James
• Wes Lee defeated Tony D’Angelo. 

Here are the takeaways from this week’s show:

Julius Creed vs. JD McDonagh

Julius Creed defeated JD McDonagh. JD missed a moonsault off the top rope and Creed hit a sliding lariat. The match opened the show and was as good as expected. 

Post-match, Indus Sher confronted The Creed Brothers and set up a match at New Year’s Evil. They vowed to take them out. 

Wendy Choo vs. Cora Jade 

Wendy Choo defeated Cora Jade with a top rope splash. This was the second match on the card. 

Choo got an early jump to start off the match. It ended when Choo hit her finisher for the win. 

Drew Gulak Is Back

Drew Gulak came out for a training segment and was accompanied by Hank Walker. 

He showed other NXT wrestlers the proper way to apply holds. Charlie Dempsey came to the ring and set up a match for next week. 

Wes Lee vs. Tony D’Angelo

Wes Lee defeated Tony D’Angelo. This served as the main event. It was a good back and forth match with near falls towards the end. 

Stacks attempted to interfere, but Dijak took him to the back, allowing Lee to score the win with his finisher. 

Grayson Waller Speaks

There was a backstage segment with Bron Breakker where he was asked about spearing Grayson Waller last week and Waller having a steel plate on. 

Bron said that he fell into his trap and he’s all recovered. He said that he plans to call him out tonight. Bron was informed that he wasn’t at the show. A video with Waller was shown and he praised Bron before noting that he’s smarter than Bron. Waller said that he went home to prepare for the match. Waller vowed to bring the NXT Title back home. 

Via issues may derail WWE’s plans for Tyson Fury at the Royal Rumble next month and WrestleMania 39 in April. 

The US Sun reports that WWE was planning to have Fury make a Royal Rumble appearance and work a match at WrestleMania, but that Fury’s issues entering the country are in the way. Those hopes are looking “slim and complicated.” 

The boxing superstar cannot enter the US because of links to alleged Irish mob boss Daniel Kinahan, who co-founded MTK Global, which represented Fury. It was shut down in April when Kinahan was hit with sanctions regarding his alleged crimes. 

Fury is among over 600 people with connections to Kinahan who are believed to be banned from entering the country.

Originally, Fury was set to face Jake Paul in a fight in New York City, but that had to be pushed back because Fury could not get into the country for the match, having appeared in a picture with Kinahan in February. Fury has said he has nothing to do with Kinahan.

“Because I had my picture taken with a man, it doesn’t make me a criminal. I’m just a boxer. There could be a criminal in this building.”

Fury-WWE Connection

An insider told the outlet, “Tyson is well loved at the WWE, and him popping up in any match, and a run to Wrestlemania would generate huge headlines and fan interest. However, his immigration status is proving tricky to deal with. Tyson and the legal team or getting this whole grey and tricky area resolved. But non-entry, quite simply put, means non-payment.”

The source continued, “And people may not believe this but turning up for a match or being part of the shows, not even fighting, earns him several million dollars. So this issue with his working visa in the States is costing him a large amount of cash. The WWE works with foreign athletes all the time in aiding their visa processing for appearances. The legal team are on the sidelines offering support in this matter, but ultimately getting approval is on Tyson’s head and how US immigration assesses his case.”

This source noted that Fury working matches in Saudi Arabia is always possible. Fury faced Braun Strowman at WWE Crown Jewel in 2019, which marked his pro wrestling in-ring debut and his only match to date in addition to appearing at Clash of the Castle in September.

WWE is putting in extra effort to try and avoid more travel woes for talent and crew that could impact Friday’s SmackDown on FOX episode, which is one of the biggest shows in recent SmackDown history. 

As previously reported, those working Monday’s house show in Columbus, OH, dealt with significant travel-related issues that caused changes to the lineup. Talent working the SmackDown event at MSG that same night dealt with their flights being delayed.

Some people working the house show in Columbus couldn’t even appear, including Alexa Bliss, Bobby Lashley, Seth Rollins, and Becky Lynch.

The Warning

On today’s Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez noted that some WWE talents and crew members were told to leave Tuesday to make it to Tampa, FL, for Friday’s SmackDown because of travel issues. 

It’s believed that there should be limited issues as many of the wrestlers are already in Florida as they live there. WWE’s post-Christmas tour runs through Thursday in Miami. Top wrestlers booked for the final SmackDown of 2022 will likely go to Tampa in advance.

The show will have a stacked lineup that includes Raquel Rodriguez vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey, Sheamus vs. Solo Sikoa, Kevin Owen & John Cena vs. Sami Zayn & Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.

More details regarding the contract negotiation process of WWE deals have come out as part of the overall changes that have happened in WWE following the resignation of Vince McMahon and the influx of new management. 

It was reported last year that no-cut clauses had not been a part of any of the negotiations. In an update, Fightful Select reports Vince “specifically was not in favor of adding a no cut-clause, but that others in the front office were.”

Against The Idea

Many in the front office of WWE have heard that WWE President and Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan had sounded open to the idea, but Vince had the final say and was “vehemently against the idea of a no-cut clause.” 

The edict didn’t prevent top free agents from signing with the company, but some people had inquired about it. One person thought it was Vince McMahon being stuck in his ways. This person added that it put in perspective how much talent had been released said “Vince McMahon liked me but…” when he ultimately had the say-so over who was cut.

Most of the talent that spoke with the media outlet had positive things to say about Khan and his method of management, “specifically thinking outside of the box as compared to WWE traditions.” 

WWE star Charlotte Flair has responded to AEW TBS Champion Jade Cargill showing respect to her on Twitter. 

Cargill and Flair are two of the most dominant female wrestlers in their respective companies and in the entire wrestling business. Flair has been pushed as a top star in the sports entertainment company for years, while Jade has stayed undefeated in the rival wrestling promotion. 

The Exchange

The AEW star recently noted on Twitter that she’d love the opportunity to face off against The Queen. This was after she was asked by a fan about which non-AEW wrestler she’d choose to defend her TBS Championship against. 

Cargill tweeted: “@MsCharlotteWWE – because she can GO.”

Flair replied with her own praise, tweeting: “Keep killing it, queen. #undefeated.”

Flair hasn’t wrestled since WrestleMania Backlash in May, when she lost her SmackDown Women’s Championship to Ronda Rousey. She recently teased her return on social media by revealing that she has been training for her eventual comeback.

Her husband and AEW star Andrade El Idolo previously revealed that she has been out of action due to ‘personal reasons‘ that she will one day discuss herself. WWE has reportedly been working on plans for her return. 

WWE has filed for several trademarks centered around slogans as the filing was made on Friday, December 23, 2022

WWE applied to trademark the terms “All Heart All In,” “Inspire The Impossible,” From Dreams To Destiny,” “Desire. Determination. Destiny.” and “Where The Stars Align” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Purpose

The trademarks all list the same Goods and Services usage descriptions, which are for general pro wrestling and sports entertainment use, as well as merchandise and other common uses.

Earlier in the month of December, WWE filed trademarks on its logo for metaverse-related purposes earlier this month. WWE has spoken in the past about its interest in breaking into the metaverse, which is why it opened an NFT shop, WWE Moonsault. There are occasional NFT drops to go along with holidays or premium live events.

Regarding e-sports, a field largely untapped by WWE for now, Stephanie McMahon is on the Board of Directors for FaZe Clan, a popular e-sports franchise.

As of this writing, there’s no word yet on what the new trademarks are for. Most recently, WWE filed to trademark its logo for various categories. 

Dave Bautista (Batista) has come a long way in life as he found a ton of success in the world of pro wrestling in WWE and now in Hollywood as an actor. Many wrestlers have tried acting like Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and plenty more in featured films over the years.

Bautista, The Rock, and John Cena have found the most success out of those who attempted it. Bautista has often spoken about wanting to carve a different path for himself by taking various roles to show his range.

While speaking to The Atlantic, filmmaker Rian Johnson discussed Bautista’s acting chop after working with him on “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” when asked who has surprised him the most. 

High Praise

“Dave Bautista. When I was writing [his character, a men’s-rights streamer named Duke Cody], I was picturing a scrawny dude who’s trying to overcompensate. When Bautista was brought up, I was instantly so smitten by the idea. I’ve been a very big fan of his dramatic chops as an actor.”

It was noted that Batista is “Low-key the greatest wrestler-to-actor ever,” Johnson replied, “I absolutely 100 percent agree. And I think somebody like [Paul Thomas Anderson] is going to give him a real part and is gonna look like a genius. As a person, Bautista is genuinely, immediately vulnerable when you meet him, and that’s what I was excited about. This is someone who has the physical trappings of someone who would play it big, but he actually brings sensitivity to the role.”

Batista gifted Johnson with a WWE Championship after filming the movie that is currently on Netflix. 

Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier have been friends and training partners for years. They also have a love for pro wrestling as they have both attended and even participated in WWE events in the past. 

Velasquez had an opportunity to become WWE Champion against Brock Lesnar in 2019 for an event in Saudi Arabia, but came up short.  Velasquez has also wrestled for AAA Lucha Libre in Mexico, while Cormier hasn’t wrestled a match yet, but has entertained the idea. 

During a recent appearance on Konnan’s K100 podcast, Velasquez revealed that he and Cormier have discussed doing a match together for AAA. Velazquez did not specify whether it was about competing in a one-on-one match or a tag-team scenario.

The Moment

“Daniel Cormier was actually at my house yesterday, him and Luke Rockhold came over. DC, we talked about doing a match as well — like doing something with me, him, AAA,” said Velasquez. “For me, man, it’s just good that I get to have like my family involved in it. You know, my kids get to watch it and they love it. They’re big fans of AAA and WWE. I’m just glad I get to bring my family into the sport that I’m doing now. With fighting, it wasn’t like that. I had to like kind of shelter them throughout that whole thing.”

Cormier, a former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion, was recently the referee during the Fight Pit Match between Seth Rollins and Matt Riddle at WWE Extreme Rules. Konnan, the head of talent relations for AAA, said he would be excited to work with Cormier and Velasquez in AAA.

H/T to Fightful

Shinsuke Nakamura made a name for himself in NJPW and was nicknamed the King Of Strong Style, but decided to make the jump to WWE several years ago, where he found a spot on the main roster. 

This Sunday, a rare situation is happening when WWE allows Nakamura to wrestle The Great Muta (Keiji Muto) at the NOAH The New Year show on January 1st, 2023. The match was first announced in October. 

While speaking to Yahoo Sports, Nakamura discussed the upcoming match, and during it, Nakamura revealed that Vince McMahon initially declined his request to face Muta. However, when McMahon resigned due to the hush money scandal, Triple H took over and approved the match. 

Initial Reaction

“I was like, “No way. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t think it would happen. It was something that would never have happened under the previous structure of the WWE. Noah came to me with the idea, and we discussed it, but my answer was no. Vince (McMahon, Chairman and CEO of WWE) stepped down in the summer, and I was advised by people within the company that it might be possible now. I still thought it would be difficult, but I even talked directly to Triple H (WWE’s vice president). When the decision was actually made, I was shaken.”

Nakamura noted that a big change happened between when Mutoh announced his retirement and when the match was decided, as a lot of changes happened when McMahon walked away. Nakamura admitted there was a feeling that many things would change in the future.

Apollo Crews has weighed in on William Regal’s return to WWE.

Regal had been WWE’s Director of Talent Development and Head of Global Recruiting, where he played a big part in helping Triple H build NXT into what it became. However, in late 2021, things changed for Regal as Triple H stepped away due to health issues.

The company made sweeping changes to NXT and WWE released Regal on January 5, 2022. He went on to sign with AEW, where he made his promotional debut at AEW Revolution in March. 

Once Triple H was put in charge of main roster creative, it only took a few months before Regal asked for AEW not to renew his contract option so he could return to WWE. It’s been reported that Regal has come to terms with WWE, and he is set to start with the company in the first week of January 2023.

The Influence

While speaking with Alistair McGeorge of Metro, Crews commented on the reports about Regal’s return to WWE.

“I feel like there’s a lot of young kids – not just young kids, but anybody can benefit from somebody with credentials like William Regal. If it’s something that’s happening, it’s gonna be fantastic for a lot of the younger kids, all of us, to get the knowledge and experience of someone who’s so well traveled, so well-versed. He’s been around for as long as I’ve been watching wrestling, really. I’m all for it,” Crews said.

Crews thinks the locker room should make the most of the opportunity to learn from someone like Regal.

WWE is still locking in its long-term plans for the first few months of 2023 and that includes which matches will serve as the main event of both nights of WrestleMania 39 in April. 

It’s been noted in various reports that WWE wants to have its WrestleMania plans for top matches locked down by mid-January. That includes commitments from top stars such as John Cena, The Rock, and Steve Austin regarding whether they plan to be part of the year’s biggest event. 

Cena is committed and just needs to finalize his schedule, as he will be filming a movie in February and March. 

The Big Match

Just over three months out from WWE’s biggest event of the year, the top matches hinge on The Rock’s availability. As of this writing, he’s still not committed.

WWE typically finalizes the WrestleMania main events in mid-January, so this will come down to the wire. According to our friends at WrestlingNews.co, here’s what we’re looking at:

• WrestleMania Saturday: Seth Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre or Cody Rhodes for the WWE Championship.
• WrestleMania Sunday: Roman Reigns vs. Cody Rhodes or TBD for the Universal Championship

If The Rock does work WrestleMania, it will be Rollins vs. Rhodes headlining Saturday night and Rock vs. Reigns on last Sunday night.

If The Rock does not work WrestleMania, it will be Rollins vs. Rhodes at Night 1 and Reigns vs. an opponent TBD at Night 2.

As of this writing, it’s not clear how the company will split the WWE Championship and Universal Championship before WrestleMania 39, but WWE wants to have a top title for each brand heading into the summer.

Time is ticking on WWE’s plans for the main events of WWE WrestleMania 39 as the company wants to have these plans locked in by mid-January. The company will need two headline attractions for the main event of each night. 

They will need to also figure out the plans for the men’s and women’s world title matches by January 28th, as that is when the WWE Royal Rumble premium live event goes down. 

The women’s roster will need two title challengers for its two world champions: Raw Women’s Champion Bianca Belair and SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey. On the men’s side, things are a little more complicated.

As previously reported, WWE is hoping to have Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns face The Rock at WrestleMania 39, but it comes down to The Rock’s busy Hollywood schedule. 

WWE has targeted this show because it takes place in Hollywood and will get more mainstream attention. Reigns has been championing himself as the head of the Anoa’i family for his entire run as The Tribal Chief. The stars are aligning for a battle between the two stars, but the match has yet to be confirmed.

Where Things Stand

In the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that Reigns vs. Rock is neither “off the boards” nor “a lock” for WrestleMania. The uncertainty of the match means that there have to be “back-up plans put in place,” although it’s unclear if those plans have been made yet. 

The report emphasizes that The Rock has to “make up his mind,” likely “just before the Rumble.” Should he not go forward with the match, fans have speculated Cody Rhodes is stepping up to challenge Reigns for the title at the show. 

“Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery,” a Netflix film with a limited theatrical run, has been released on the streaming service. 

Dave Bautista is among the cast, including Daniel Craig, Edward Norton, Janelle Monáe, Kathryn Hahn, Leslie Odom Jr., Jessica Henwick, Madelyn Cline, and Kate Hudson. Here is the synopsis of the film:

“Tech billionaire Miles Bron invites his friends for a getaway on his private Greek island. When someone turns up dead, Detective Benoit Blanc is put on the case.”

The Moment

Rian Johnson wrote and directed it and produced the film alongside Ram Bergman.

As seen below, while the movie was being made, the former WWE star gave Johnson a World Heavyweight Title belt while entering the set to his WWE theme music, “I Walk Alone” by Saliva. 

Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special” started streaming last month on Disney+ featuring Bautista. 

Bautista portrays Drax in the franchise. Also, part of the cast includes Kevin Bacon, Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord, Zoe Saldaña as Gamora, Vin Diesel as Groot, and Bradley Cooper as Rocket.

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” hits theaters May 5, 2023. Bautista has indicated this movie could be the end of his run as the character.

Marcus “Buff” Bagwell has updated his fans regarding his sobriety. 

The former WCW star noted in a post on Twitter that he’s been sober for 117 days and is on a healthy path toward recovery. Bagwell added that sharing his experiences on Cameo and with those at live events has been super beneficial for his process. 

His full tweet reads, “117 days sober. My walk of sobriety has just begun but I have learned so much in just a few months! Thank you to all those who continue to support me. Sharing my experience on my cameos and at recent live events has been a huge part of knowing I’m on the right path.”

Progress

Back in October, in a video posted on the DDP Yoga YouTube channel, Bagwell revealed that he was working on the “Change Or Die” project to document his addiction issues before going to rehab. Bagwell said that when an intervention was done on him, and he initially didn’t want to go to rehab, he decided to go through with it. 

WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page commented on Bagwell’s post to tell him that he is super proud of the progress he’s made. 

The WWE Hall Of Famer has been instrumental in Bagwell’s recovery as he’s been working next to him at his compound. He previously helped Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Scott Hall with their addictions. Check out the tweets below.

AEW fans have been concerned regarding the health of Adam Cole as he’s been on the sidelines for months. 

The promotion is being cautious with him, although there is still no timetable on when he will return to the squared circle. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer has reported the update after a fan asked him on Twitter where things stand with the former ROH World Champion. 

Still No Return

“He’s doing much better. The last I heard is they were being cautious. Don’t have any time frame for a return. With concussions, you can’t predict a time frame,” Meltzer tweeted.

Cole has been out of action since he suffered a serious concussion at the Forbidden Door pay-per-view this past June when he was involved in a Four-Way for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship on the show with Jay White, Kazuchika Okada, and Hangman Page. 

The popular star fell to the ground at the end of the match, leading to White covering him immediately. He reportedly suffered another concussion at Double Or Nothing. 

In August, Cole resurfaced for one show so he, Kyle O’Reilly, and Bobby Fish could turn on The Young Bucks but he hasn’t been seen on TV since. Cole has been a part of AEW since September 2021.

In May, Sasha Banks and Naomi walked out of an episode of WWE Raw over a creative dispute about how they were being booked as WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.

They put their titles on John Laurinaitis’ desk and left the arena before the company stripped them of the titles and suspended them. The commentary teams for both Raw and SmackDown publicly chastised them for weeks. 

Once  Laurinaitis and Vince McMahon were gone from the company, some fans believed it would only be a matter of time before the two returned. For Naomi, fans are still waiting for that day to happen while Banks negotiated her WWE release months ago and is slated to start working for NJPW next month. 

Banks reportedly signed a highly-lucrative contract with New Japan’s parent company Bushiroad. Although not confirmed, it’s believed Banks will feud with Kairi (Sane) over the IWGP Women’s Championship. 

Dax Harwood, who is good friends with Banks, offered some insight in a new interview with AdFreeShows while promoting his new podcast “FTR With Dax Harwood.” He noted that she worked hard for the company and became a big star, but still feels slighted.

Insight

“I think that, just like me, I feel that sometimes she gets a bad rep because of how passionate she is and how much she wants,” Harwood explained. “You know, she wants it all, but she wants to work for it. That’s the same with us. Like, I want everything this business, but I want to work for it and I want you to know that I’m going to work hard for you, and that’s her, man. She knows what she deserves, and she knows what she’s earned, and she works her ass off to get it, and if she doesn’t get it, she feels slighted and she has a reason to feel that way. Huge star, huge heart, beautiful human being, the greatest woman wrestler of all time. I think she’s just incredible.”

FTR was in action on Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite, where they lost to Austin & Colten Gunn.

H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription

Mike Mansury has opened up about the journey that has led him to AEW after working as Vice President of Global Television Production for WWE and is now working in AEW as a co-Executive Producer and Senior Production Executive.

He did so when appearing on The Sessions with Renee Paquette. It started off with the end of his time in WWE. 

Leaving WWE

He explained that it was inferred that he was going to be the successor to Kevin Dunn and while he was praised for his work, they didn’t know what to do with him until they figured out what Dunn’s future was. 

“I knew that there was more that I was capable of but I had already excelled at everything they allowed me to do at that point. I was looking for that new challenge and even if it was something that were outside of the scope of what people would have defined as my potential, it would have been nice to be able to kind of spread wings a little bit and take on a new challenge so, once I kind of realized I was in the lane that I was in and the path to the destination wasn’t really gonna change or even progress that much, I knew it was time to make a change.”

The Decision

He decided to leave WWE in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic started. After giving them his notice, they offered him the opportunity to rescind his resignation. While he appreciated the offer, felt that if he did not give notice and bow out then, he would never do it. 

“I remember I had gone back up to Stamford and they had offered me the opportunity to rescind my resignation and I was beyond appreciative of it but you know, I told them, I said, ‘Look, I know we’re heading into uncertain times but if I don’t do this, I’m never gonna do it and I need to.’

AEW Talks

Mansury dove into his talks with AEW and how joining the promotion came about. It happened when  Mike and his wife were in Singapore as they moved to the country for his job with ONE Championship MMA. 

Mansury felt it was not the right time, and AEW already had a solid team with Keith Mitchell at the helm, but Mitchell retired from his role months after those talks. 

“I don’t think they knew Keith was gonna wind up retiring a couple months later. But a lot of folks on the AEW side that we had known from WWE had spoken to Tony [Khan] a lot and had talked to me about coming down and just checking things out and just saying hello. But ultimately, you know, ONE was the new home.”

Things picked back up again as the two sides began talking over the summer between Mansury, Tony Khan and Chief Legal Officer Megha Parekh. They expressed to Mansury that they feel AEW is ready to break into their next level and he felt like there was some unfinished business. 

“I don’t know that I left wrestling feeling fulfilled. I think when I left the WWE, I was burned out at that point and I was frustrated.”

H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcription

According to a new report, WWE won’t be going to India after all. WWE had plans to run a show on a “grand scale” in Hyderabad, India, and would consist of “a mix of superstars, both Indian and international.”

It was later reported that the show would be on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, from the G.M.C. Balayogi Sports Complex, an indoor stadium in Hyderabad with a capacity of 5,000 people featuring SmackDown talent mostly. 

WWE never announced the show, nor was it confirmed whether the company had plans to air it as a special on Peacock, tape it for the local market, or just have it as a house show. 

Postponed

According to WrestleVotes, the show has been postponed, although no reason was given. It’s also unclear when the company plans to reschedule the show: 

Sanga & Veer Mahaan vs. The Creed Brothers had been booked for the WWE NXT Deadline event earlier this month, but it was later nixed. 

The match was reportedly pulled due to Veer dealing with a minor injury and the promotion is being careful with him, so they pulled the bout as he was supposed to be featured at this India event. 

Edge had a memorable homecoming in the main event of the August 22 edition of WWE Monday Night Raw despite not being around every week leading up to the show to do the match with Damian Priest or the Finn Balor match at Extreme Rules. Since then, he hasn’t been seen since.

Fightful Select reports that Edge is on a deal with limited dates, which is why he has appeared periodically since splitting from the Judgment Day group. 

One WWE higher-up said that the vignettes this past summer were a way to “buy some weeks” on television for him before he made his return to television and give them a little more time to build to some important matches throughout the rest of the year. This happened with the Balor and Priest matchups.

His Deal

In 2020 when Edge was medically cleared and made a deal with WWE, it was reported the Hall Of Famer had signed a three-year contract for 25 appearances and five matches per year.  Edge had talks with All Elite Wrestling before his WWE deal was signed. 

However, Fightful’s new report notes that it was either incorrect or amended, as Edge competed in ten matches in 2021 and has already competed in six matches in 2022.

It’s unclear when his deal is up or how many appearances are left on his existing deal, but if the length was correctly reported, that deal could be up soon. It’s always possible that the deal was frozen due to injury, but that’s not confirmed if that’s the case.

Sasha Banks has reportedly arrived in Japan, days before she is expected to start the next chapter in her pro wrestling career. 

It was anyone’s guess that Banks would end up in wrestling after she and Naomi walked out of WWE in May of this year. That changed when it was recently reported that Banks was scheduled to be at NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 17 event on January 4.

She is slated to do multiple dates for NJPW/STARDOM as she has been able to get her release from WWE.

Arrival

According to a report by PWInsider, Banks has now arrived in Japan ahead of her appearance at Wrestle Kingdom 17:

“PWInsider.com is told that Mercedes Varnado, aka Sasha Banks, is now in Japan in advance of the 1/4/23 New Japan Pro Wrestling Tokyo Dome event.”

Banks’ appearance at the upcoming show is still yet to be officially announced by NJPW so it looks like it will be saved as a surprise. Many fans expect that she will be setting something up with the winner of the IWGP Women’s Title match between Champion KAIRI & Tam Nakano.

The top matches on the card include Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title, and Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Title.