UFC President Dana White has officially confirmed that not only will Phil “CM Punk” Brooks get another fight in the largest MMA promotion in the world, he went one step further by confirming who his next opponent will be inside of the Octagon.

Punk made his UFC debut in a welterweight bout against Mickey Gall back at the UFC 203 pay-per-view event in September of 2016.

As seen in the fight, Gall dominated Punk and submitted him in just minutes in the very first round. This fight also marked Punk’s pro-MMA debut.

Punk continues to tease on social media that he will fight at the upcoming UFC 225 pay-per-view event. There has been speculation that Punk could fight part-time fighter and media member Mike Jackson, who fought Gall under the UFC banner.

White confirmed in a recent interview with TMZ Sports that Punk will indeed fight Jackson. It should be noted that White did not confirm when they would fight but it’s likely going to be at UFC 225.

UFC 225 pay-per-view event slated to go down on Saturday, June 9, 2018, at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois.

The main card will air on pay-per-view at 10 p.m. ET while the preliminary card will air on FOX Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET and the promotion’s streaming service, UFC Fight Pass. It should be noted that this event would be ideal for Punk as this is his hometown.

For more on Punk’s next fight in the UFC and the latest MMA news, make sure to check out MMANews.com.

The power couple of the WWE, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, continue to make the media rounds to promote the biggest event of the year for the sports entertainment company, WrestleMania 34.

At this year’s event, Triple H and McMahon will team up to take on former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey and Raw General Manager Kurt Angle in a Mixed Tag Team Match.

Triple H and Stephanie recently spoke with Fox News to promote WrestleMania 34.

During the interview, they were asked by signing Rousey if it open the doors to other athletes outside to pursue a career in the WWE. Here is what they had to say:

Triple H: “I do, you know the performance center and our recruiting efforts have sort of changed that perception outside of our world anyway. There’s been a lot of, whether it be NFL players or soccer globally or anything else that have had a desire maybe to try and want to do this but never had that pathway in front of them. The pathway is now there, I say it all the time: What I’m doing internationally with all these other markets is I’m trying to create pathways. I’m bringing a recruiting team there trying to create an environment where if somebody says “Man, I love that, and I’d like to try and do that,” there’s a way for them to do that. Ronda took that path that wasn’t there before. We created that path, she came to us; she approached us probably about the same time we approached her, but the pathway was there and I think now she will open a lot of eyeballs of athletes around the world to say “Well, why can’t I?”

Stephanie McMahon: “We recruit from the Olympics; we recruit from rugby, football overseas; we recruit from everywhere. I do think Rhonda has brought heightened awareness. She is arguably one of the world’s greatest athletes. She is also just a tremendous star. She just exudes this energy and charisma that you can really connect to because you have to have the total package. Athleticism alone is not enough. And I think Rhonda speaks to the caliber of athleticism that is in WWE but it also speaks to the women’s evolution, and I can’t wait to see how her presence will give the women’s evolution even more weight.”

Triple H and McMahon also talked about WrestleMania 34, the experience of the event and more. You can read the entire interview here.

WWE created the Legacy Wing of their Hall of Fame back in 2016 and currently features 16 wrestlers.

Those wrestlers include Martin Burns, June Byers, Judy Grable, Dr. Jerry Graham, Haystacks Calhoun, Bearcat Wright, Rikidozan, Toots Mondt, Luther Lindsay, Art Thomas, Mildred Burke, George Hackenschmidt, Frank Gotch, Pat O’Connor, Ed Lewis and Lou Thesz.

There is a new group of wrestlers that will be added to that honorary club this year according to a new report by Pwinsider.com, which you can see here:

– Former WWWF champion Stan Stasiak.

– Lord Alfred Hayes.

– Dara Singh.

– Cora Combs

– El Santo.

– Jim Londos.

– Rufus J. Jones.

– Sputnik Monroe.

– Boris “The Great” Malenko.

WWE holds their 2018 Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday, April 6th in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Smoothie King Center and will air on WWE’s streaming service, WWE Network. Bill Goldberg will headline the class.

Cody Rhodes made his name known while under the banner of the WWE. He signed with the sports entertainment company in 2006 and departed ten years later.

Since he decided to leave the promotion and explore the wrestling business outside of the WWE bubble, he has become one of the most demanded names on the indie market and has made quite a name for himself as a singles competitor.

Rhodes worked for promotions such as Impact Wrestling, New Japan Professional Wrestling (NJPW), and Ring Of Honor (ROH).

He was this week’s guest on X-Pac 1,2,360 to talk about various topics.

During the interview, he talked about reaching out to Kevin Owens before he left the WWE and how NXT inspired his career moves.

“I had a lot of time to prep… I kinda field tested all the resources I had. Kevin Owens for example is somebody I must have asked eight-hundred-thousand questions to. About everything from how travel is different from where to ask for more, where to not worry about the money. An absurd amount of questions, to timing, to the opponents, you name it, presentation, all of that. So, I had a lot of time to prepare. It was definitely this feeling of fear but I have this rule, that if it doesn’t scare you it’s not an adventure.”

“NXT was also a huge inspiration for me to leave because NXT is just Hunter’s independent scene, it’s amazing. He hand plucked all these buzz-worthy talents and had them fight against each other and it’s just those were the guys that were getting the attention of the crowd, capturing their imaginations and I was very inspired by NXT. I know that doesn’t sound like it makes sense to then leave WWE but that’s what it did, it was seeing those guys that already had a brand and who already had buzz…something I had to do.”

H/T to WrestleZone for the transcript

As seen on this week’s episode of WWE NXT on the WWE Network, the finals of the WWE NXT Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic were held and turned into a no contest once NXT Tag Team Champions The Undisputed Era interfered. 

This led to NXT General Manager William Regal officially announcing The Authors of Pain vs. Roderick Strong & WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne vs. The Undisputed Era taking part in a three-way match that will see the winners being crowned Dusty Classic winners and the NXT Tag Team Champions.

With Bobby Fish being out of action with an injury, Adam Cole is going to have to replace him to team up with Kyle O’Reilly. Regal announced late in the show that Cole has a few options. Either he can take part in the Tag Team Title Match and forfeit his spot in the Ladder Match to crown the first-ever NXT North American Champion, O’Reilly can work the match alone, or Cole can work both matches.

The NXT TakeOver: New Orleans event takes place on Saturday, April 7, 2018, in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Smoothie King Center and will air on the WWE Network. Here is the updated card:

NXT Championship Match: Andrade Cien Almas (c) vs. Aleister Black

NXT Women’s Championship Match: Ember Moon (c) vs. Shayna Baszler

NXT Tag Team Championship: Roderick Strong & WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne vs. The Authors of Pain vs. The Undisputed Era

NXT North American Championship Ladder Match: EC3 vs. Killian Dain vs. Lars Sullivan vs. Adam Cole vs. Velveteen Dream vs. Ricochet

Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

Former ROH World Champion Jay Lethal has made his name known while in the Baltimore-based promotion as he a record-setting two-time and longest reigning ROH World Television Champion.

Lethal spoke with Brian Fritz on Sporting News to talk about various topics. During the interview, he was asked about meeting Dalton Castle at a 2013 Ring of Honor tryout camp.

If you recall, On March 9, 2018, at Ring of Honor’s 16th Anniversary show, Castle successfully retained the title against Lethal.

“All he was looking for, in my opinion, was his character because I saw when he came to the Ring of Honor tryout, the ability was there,” Lethal recalled. “He was looking for something to capture the audience and he’s found that very quickly.

“He is the world champion for a reason. It’s not like someone said ‘look, Dalton’s doing really good, he’s stepped his game up’. No, I don’t think that was ever said. I think from day one Dalton has been amazing and someone maybe said ‘this guy is amazing, we’re going to recognize that.’ I don’t think it was a thing where we saw his growth. I think Dalton has always been amazing which is why he’s the world champion.”

Ring of Honor will hold their Supercard of Honor XIII event on Saturday night in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Lakefront Arena.

The event will air on traditional PPV outlets and the FITE TV app. He’s slated to team up with Hiroshi Tanahashi at the event.

“It’s an honor to team with Tanahashi but I would really love a singles match with Tanahashi,” he said. “The New Japan wrestling fan in me would really love a singles match with me and Tanahashi. Deep down inside, I want to wrestle anybody.”

Paul Heyman is no doubt one of the greatest managers in the history of pro wrestling/sports entertainment. He is right up there with the likes of Bobby Heenan and Freddie Blassie.

Heyman’s friendship with the reigning, defending, undisputed WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar started in the early 2000’s when Lesnar signed with WWE after he graduated from the University of Minnesota.

Lesnar, who is known to not be the greatest talker in the world, was paired up with Heyman after he was called up from OVW to the main roster. Heyman was his manager and mouthpiece.

They truly are a good combination. Heyman talks while Lesnar backs up everything that his advocate has to say to hype the upcoming match.

When Lesnar decided to come back to the WWE in 2012, he came alone, and that resulted in a mistake being made by the company.

A few months into his second stint with WWE, the company signed Heyman and brought him back on television to be Lesnar’s manager. This was a wise choice as Lesnar is the biggest star that the company has right now.

Heyman recently spoke with NOLA.com (transcript via Pwinsider.com). During the interview, he talked about his relationship with the WWE Chairman as well as which ECW star leaving hurt the most. Here is what he had to say:

“Strictly platonic (laughs). It’s an honest answer (laughs). … I think Vince McMahon has begrudgingly accepted the fact that I am the greatest advocate in the history of this industry. And I have begrudgingly accepted his acceptance of that fact.”

“All of them. Because I had an artistic relationship with everyone who worked on that roster. We had a bond with each other, all of us together as one. We truly had a family atmosphere. We had each other’s backs. It was the most close knit team you will ever find in this industry or in any sport. So every defection hurt because we were losing a member of our family.”

It turns out that the current, reigning, defending, undisputed WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar will indeed be coming back to the UFC.

It’s been well documented that his contract is up with the WWE this month after WrestleMania 34 where he’s slated to defend his title against Roman Reigns in the main event.

When Lesnar signed with WWE and later made his main roster debut in 2002, he was a young prospect, who was pushed heavily.

He was an amateur wrestler and made the transition into pro wrestling very quickly. There are only a handful of guys that have made the transition and had major success. Lesnar is one and WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle is another.

Although he was pushed to the moon by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and the WWE creative team, Lesnar was not one who liked to be on the road. In WWE, you are on the road for at least 300 days a year if not more.

That is taxing on someone’s body as well as the mind. Thus, Lesnar saw the exit door and took it following his match with Bill Goldberg at WrestleMania 20 in 2004.

After briefly competing in New Japan Pro Wrestling and having a successful run in the UFC, the current champion decided to return home.

Lesnar returned to WWE on April 2, 2012, on Raw by confronting and delivering an F-5 to John Cena. This move made sense for both sides. WWE needed star power, and Lesnar got paid extremely well for working a limited schedule.

Since he returned to the company, Lesnar has slowly but surely started working more events that include TV, PPV (pay-per-view) and house shows.

UFC President Dana White has confirmed that Lesnar will be returning to the UFC during Wednesday’s edition of “UFC Tonight” but didn’t know when or his opponent would be.

“Yeah, Brock Lesnar’s coming back. I don’t know when, but yes he is.”

Former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey is slated to team up with WWE Hall of Famer and current Raw General Manager Kurt Angle to take on Stephanie McMahon and Triple H in a Mixed Tag Team Match at WrestleMania 34.

Her signing with the sports entertainment company was spearheaded by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon’s daughter, Stephanie, and her husband, Triple H.

The former UFC champion appeared on ESPN today promoting WrestleMania 34. During the interview, she once again discussed her desire to work with CM Punk. Here is what she had to say (transcript courtesy of 411 Mania):

“I would really love to work with CM Punk. But um, I don’t know if that’s possible. No, I wish I did. I wish I was breaking the news right now that me and CM Punk are taking over the world together, but no, I’ve got no news to break. Just pleading eyes.”

Ronda Rousey is here for CM Punk coming to the WWE. pic.twitter.com/253El8x5Xs

— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) April 4, 2018

WWE RAW Announcer Jonathan Coachman has made his feelings known about the potential return of Hulk Hogan to the sports entertainment company.

His latest run with the company was a short one. On February 24, 2014, on Raw, Hogan made his first WWE in-ring appearance since December 2007 to hype the launch of the WWE Network.

At WrestleMania 30, Hogan served as the host and came out at the start of the show to hype up the crowd. Steve Austin and The Rock ended up coming out to have a memorable segment with him. However, he was later fired over racist remarks made in a leaked sex tape.

Coachman recently made an appearance on Busted Open and talked about the idea of Hogan returning as WWE has confirmed that they’ve been in talks with the former WWE Champion. Here is what he had to say:

“I think as far as the reason why Mark [Henry] and a big group of guys don’t want him to come back – or at least want him to be contrite – is at some point your seventh, eighth, ninth chance to come back and play a role should be enough,” Coachman said. “He’s a huge star, which is why he’s gotten so many different chances. But the bottom line is over the years Hulk has always asked for not the premium dollar, he’s asked for ridiculous amounts of money to come back and do something.”

“So, if he’s not contrite, he’s not apologizing, and he’s asking for a ton of money, again, I’m not privy to the conversations, but I know what he’s done in the past and if he’s asking for a ton of money, I don’t see the upside in bringing him back to do what? To be an ambassador? He’s had hip replacement surgery, he can’t work in the ring,” Coach said. “Yes, he has humongous star power, but is it positive star power? Is it star power that he would use to help somebody else? Because at this point you’ve got to give somebody the rub, you’ve got to pay it forward. You’ve gotta come back and you can’t be Hulk Hogan from WrestleMania I as the main eventer and that’s somebody that Hulk Hogan has never been. His track record speaks for [itself] when it comes to giving back or giving to another Superstar.”

“I thought, at least in the trailers, for the Andre the Giant documentary he looks like he was very thoughtful and gives a lot,” Coachman responded. “I don’t think it’s ever too late for somebody to change, but he’s damn near 70 years old. Unless he’s going to come back and be a positive ambassador then I don’t believe WWE needs him.”

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcript

For many years, wrestling fans wanted to see Samoa Joe sign with WWE following his success in Impact Wrestling and Ring of Honor. Finally, he signed with the company in 2015.

However, instead of being placed on the main roster right away like many fans thought would happen, WWE decided to place him in NXT.

He was in NXT for nearly two years. He was later called up to the main roster. On the January 30, 2017, episode of Raw, Joe made his official main roster debut by attacking Seth Rollins from behind and aligning himself with Triple H.

The former NXT Champion recently did an interview with alarabiya.net to talk about various topics. During the interview, he opened up on his relationship with Vince McMahon.

“I’m terrible at small talk, so me and Vince’s relationship is? don’t want to say dispassionate, but when we have talks, they’re very brief, short, we lay out a few things, and I go from there. It’s not a lot of, ‘hey how are you doin’, how’s this, how’s that’. It’s calling the play, what do we need to get done, and I go out and get it done.”

Strowman is slated to challenge Cesaro and Sheamus for the RAW Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania 34. WWE has made it known that he will need a tag team partner in order to challenge for the straps. However, he has yet to say who he has chosen. Joe has been someone rumored to be his partner.

“Braun out here talking about how he doesn’t get along well with other people, but I’m terrible at it. That sounds like something that’s very enticing to the fans, but I’m sure two minutes in I’d be punching him in the head.”

You can read the entire interview here.

Construction is underway for the stage and set up for WrestleMania 34.

Fans should expect the WWE to release a ‘set reveal’ video later this week as we’ve seen in recent years. This photo gives a good idea of what to expect this weekend.

WrestleMania 34 is set to be held on Sunday, April 8, 2018, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. This event airs on pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network. It’s the most successful and longest-running professional wrestling event in history.

• SEScoops WrestleMania 34 Predictions

Ring of Honor World Champion Dalton Castle has had a great run over the last few months and is now the top guy of the Baltimore-based promotion.

On December 15 at the Final Battle pay-per-view event, Castle defeated Cody to win the ROH World Championship for the first time. On March 9 at Ring of Honor’s 16th Anniversary show, Castle successfully retained the title against former champion Jay Lethal.

Castle recently spoke with Brian Fritz of Sporting News to talk about various topics. During the interview, he talked about winning the world title and offered high praise to Lethal.

“Jay Lethal, in my opinion, is one of the greatest wrestlers in the world. It’s amazing that we have him on the roster at Ring of Honor. It’s incredible that I get to share the ring with him as often as I do. I have not got to face him as often I would like to. When I walked into Ring of Honor, my second match at Ring of Honor TV, was against him for his Television title. It was a short one, but it was not lost on me, the privilege is was being in the ring with him. Then I worked my ass off and here we are three years later, I now Ring of Honor World Champion and he was challenging me for my title. To be in the ring with a talent like him is great. To do it on such a platform and spotlight of the main event at the 16th anniversary show was beyond what I could have imagined happening four years ago. It was great. And to show the world that I can hang with such a talent like him and come out the victor, it’s just one step closer to showing everybody I am as good as I claim to be.”

Now, Castle is slated to make his next ROH World Title defense against Marty Scurll this Saturday night (April 7th) at Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor event in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Lakefront Arena.

“I believe we wrestled each other a few months ago in San Antonio, Texas on a Ring of Honor tour show. We had a singles then. When Marty came in to Ring of Honor, I was his first match in the United Kingdom. It was his start moving forward. He had a really good run in his first loop of shows for us and ended up winning the Ring of Honor Television title on the final night of the tour. Then, we crossed paths a couple of times throughout the year. And here we are, me with the world title and him coming after me.”

“It’s going to be great. Marty understands that it’s important to be entertaining. I never want to go out there and not have the best performance of my life. Everytime we’ve been in the ring together, I feel like it’s been a lot of fun but as far an opportunity goes, this is just an opportunity for him to perform on this stage. He’s not bigger than me. He’s not faster than me. He’s not stronger than me. He is not better than me but he definitely is a big star and this is going to be a big match.”

You can read the entire interview here.

There is a lot of speculation about who will induct Kid Rock into the Celebrity Wing of this year’s WWE Hall of Fame class. Many believed that it could end up being The Undertaker due to Rock performing his theme song in the early 2000s.

According to Twitter account @WrestleVotes, the word is that Kid Rock’s WWE Hall of Fame inductor is also a WWE Hall of Famer. By looking at this tweet, the person behind the account noted that he’s expecting a can of whoop ass to be opened on stage Friday night.

That might be an indication that Steve Austin will do the honors. It should be noted that this is a rumor and not fact yet so please keep that in mind.

Austin will be in New Orleans this weekend to do autograph signings but has yet to be announced for anything WWE related. 

Hearing Kid Rock’s Hall of Fame inductor is a former Hall of Fame headliner himself. Still not 100% on it, but I’m expecting a can of whoop ass to be opened on stage Friday night.

— WrestleVotes (@WrestleVotes) April 4, 2018

WWE holds their 2018 Hall of Fame ceremony on Friday, April 6th in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Smoothie King Center and will air on WWE’s streaming service, WWE Network. Bill Goldberg will headline the class.

Here is the list of inductees and those who will do the induction speeches:

Goldberg – inducted by Paul Heyman

Ivory – inducted by Molly Holly

Dudley Boyz – inducted by Edge and Christian

Mark Henry – inducted by Big Show

Hillbilly Jim – inducted by Jimmy Hart

Jeff Jarrett – inducted by Road Dogg

Kid Rock (Celebrity Wing) – inducted by TBA

Jarrius “JJ” Robertson (Warrior Award) – inducted by Dana Warrior

– WWE is advertising Samoa Joe for the April 16th edition of Monday Night RAW at the XL Center in Hartford, CT.

The former NXT Champion has been out of action since suffering an injury back in January. It’s believed that Joe has been medically cleared to return, but WWE will wait until the RAW after WrestleMania for his television return.

He has been backstage at RAW for the past two weeks and is advertised for upcoming live events where he is slated to wrestle Roman Reigns.

– Stephanie McMahon is slated to team with Triple H to face Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle in a Mixed Tag Team Match at WrestleMania 34. WWE’s YouTube channel has released this video of McMahon training for her in-ring return, which you can see here:

Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore promotion is returning to this weekend with a new event.

The promotion will hold their 40th event this Saturday night (April 7, 2018) in New Orleans, Louisiana at The Sugar Mill. You can check out the updated card for this event here:

Twitch TV Championship Tournament Semi-Finals:
Swoggle vs. Alex Reynolds
Willie Mack vs. Killer Kross

Twitch TV Championship Tournament Finals – 3 Way Dance – Special guest referee Jerry Lynn:
Sami Callihan vs. (Winner of Swoggle vs. Reynolds) vs. (Winner of Mack vs. Kross)

Bourbon Street Fight:
Killer Elite Squad vs. Tommy Dreamer & Billy Gunn

The Rock N Roll Express & Mystery Partner vs. The Squad

The show will start after NXT Takeover: New Orleans ends at 11pm CST/Midnight EST. For those interested in attending the show, you can get tickets here.

Current WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz has been an important part of the WWE over the last decade.

The biggest match of The Miz’s career was when defeated John Cena for the WWE Championship back at WrestleMania 27 in 2011 in the main event. This marked the only time that WWE had booked The Miz in the main event of the biggest event of the year for the sports entertainment company.

The Miz recently spoke with Yahoo Sports to talk about various topics including his upcoming Intercontinental Title defense against Seth Rollins and Finn Balor in a Triple Threat Match at WrestleMania 34.

Although the match will not be slotted in the main event, Miz is planning to make it the caliber of a match that should’ve been placed as the headliner.

“Even though my match is not called the main event, I plan on making it the main event and people to talk about it for years to come, moments that last a lifetime. We have all of the components. Finn Balor and Seth Rollins, as much as I make fun of them and degrade them, they are two of the top, elite, talents in WWE.”

“To be one of the focal points of Raw, to know that Vince [McMahon], Hunter [Triple H], Stephanie [McMahon], Shane [McMahon], that all of the execs, believe in me and know that I can put out there and revolve a show around me, that my star power can bring people into an arena, make people watch at home, that is second to none. That trust, that is what you live for as a WWE superstar.

I was the person that elevated that title, that made it prestigious and that was my goal. My goal was to have this title where it was when I was a kid, when Ultimate Warrior was going up against Hulk Hogan. It was the biggest match that you could see. That is where I’m taking the Intercontinental title.”

You can read the entire interview here.

WWE has been putting a lot of promotion into the upcoming SmackDown Women’s Title match that will see Charlotte Flair make her next title defense against the undefeated Asuka at WrestleMania 34.

The general belief among fans is that Asuka will go over in this match and win her first title as a member of the main roster.

However, that might not be the case as the Smoothie King Center’s website is listing Flair vs. Carmella for the Smackdown Women’s Championship for next week’s Smackdown Live in New Orleans.

As we have noted earlier on the site, Asuka is advertised to face Nia Jax at RAW live events after WrestleMania.

This could be taken as an indication of the outcome of the title match at WrestleMania. Flair could retain or Carmella could cash-in her Money in the Bank briefcase at WrestleMania to win the title.

This should be taken as a rumor for now as cards for upcoming events can change at any time.

AJ Styles defending the WWE Title against Shinsuke Nakamura in a WrestleMania 34 rematch is also advertised as a dark match for next week’s SmackDown Live.

There’s no doubt about it, this WWE Superstar is a monster among most men. Braun Strowman has risen up the ranks in WWE in a short amount of time after making his main roster debut just a few short years ago as part of The Wyatt Family.

He has learned as he goes to be a top Superstar. It’s well known that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is a fan of big men.

Strowman is slated to challenge Cesaro and Sheamus for the RAW Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania 34. WWE has made it known that he will need a tag team partner in order to challenge for the straps. However, he has yet to say who he has chosen.

Elias, Big Cass, Samoa Joe and even Rey Mysterio have all been rumored to be his partner. The other name that is being thrown around is Bray Wyatt, who was last seen on TV a few weeks ago when he lost to Matt Hardy. It’s been rumored that Wyatt will be repacked when he returns.

Strowman added fuel to the fire of rumors about Wyatt being his partner by posting this photo on his Instagram story today:

@MachoT_YT @SmackNetwork IT been confirmed that ‘The Monster Among Men Braun Strowman’ tag team partner at #WrestleMania34 that Bray Wyatt will be his tag team partner on Braun Strowman’s Instagram. #WWE #WrestleMania34 pic.twitter.com/CETstThKUh

— Spencer Neville (@spencer_neville) April 3, 2018

Former WWE/WCW World Heavyweight Champion Bill Goldberg is set to be inducted into the 2018 WWE Hall of Fame class this weekend.

Goldberg rose to fame in WCW with a lengthy undefeated streak in singles competition from 1997 to 1998, which was considered the longest winning streak in professional wrestling.

After twelve years away from the WWE, he returned to WWE in 2016 and headlined Survivor Series against Brock Lesnar, and Fastlane against Kevin Owens where he won the WWE Universal Championship.

He lost the title to Lesnar at WrestleMania 34 in Orlando, Florida. He was last seen on WWE television the night after Mania on RAW.

Goldberg spoke with TV Insider for a new interview promoting his History Channel show Forged In Fire: Knife Or Death. In this interview, he opened up on his Hall of Fame induction.

“It’s overwhelming. It’s a completely foreign experience to me. It’s something I never aspired to be given, yet if you don’t strive to be the best at your given profession, you’re selling yourself short. So, I did that every time I put the boots, strive to be in the Hall of Fame if the Hall of Fame denotes the best at their profession. But I was very surprised because of past issues that we’ve had with each other. Simon Marcus, who is a top-level kick boxer who currently fights with Glory Kickboxing, stayed with me in preparation for his fight on March 31.

Goldberg continued, “He and I were doing a lot of soul-searching. I’m trying to teach him about business. The older you get, and the opportunities continue to repeat themselves, your age and experience makes you treat situations completely different than you did in the past. Especially your appreciation for opportunity. Therefore, capitalizing on that opportunity is a must because as a human being, you’re very lucky if you get a very good opportunity once in a lifetime. “To get as many [opportunities] as I have, I’m an extremely gifted person. If you don’t capitalize on it, not only are you selling yourself short, but you’re selling your family short. I don’t like letting things slip away. And the feeling I have now in my heart for WWE and our relationship is a complete flip side to how it was two years ago. The peace I have with that is comforting.”

Goldberg also had nice words for SmackDown General manager Daniel Bryan, who was recently cleared by WWE doctors to return to in-ring action. 

“The kid’s passion. You see it in his performances. To be able to persevere and get a second chance, it puts things in perspective. You look at things completely differently than you did the first time. I know that every step along the way, his appreciation will be tenfold. For someone working hard for something, it’s extremely rewarding that you can see them succeed and continue that journey. I’m excited to continue on that journey with him.”

WWE Champion AJ Styles is going into WrestleMania 34 with a ton of momentum, and many fans of the WWE believe that his title defense against Shinsuke Nakamura will steal the show this Sunday night at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana live on WWE’s streaming service, WWE Network.

Styles was recently interviewed by IGN to talk about various topics and promote this upcoming event. During the interview, he was asked about why he matches up well with Nakamura.

“I think we’re both unique and just from having been in the ring I know that he and I work well together. I can only say that from one experience, where we wrestled a one-on-one match, but I don’t know how to explain it. There’s just a flow to a match, to our match, that I really can’t compare to a lot of people. He’s so unique and unorthodox in his character and we just work so well when get step in that ring…I think there’s always something special about a build.

The fact that Shinsuke and I haven’t really touched each other these past few months. And that we’ve also never had a one-on-one match in the WWE. So it’s like, these guys are going to be in the ring together and they’re going to have to to go at it. No one’s going to stop it or break it up. The referee is going to either count to three or someone’s going to tap out. It’s going to happen.”

Since SmackDown General manager Daniel Bryan was recently cleared by WWE doctors, Styles as well as other WWE Superstars have gone on record by stating that they would like to wrestle the former WWE Champion.

“There are a few things that I’m selfish about and selfishly I’ve been wanting to wrestle Daniel Bryan in WWE for a long time. When he got hurt, I just figured it wouldn’t be a possibility. But now that he’s back, my mind is racing and I can’t wait to meet him in the ring. I’m so happy he’s back and able to live out his dreams and follow his passion.”

WrestleMania 34 is a stacked card from top to bottom. So much so that WWE officials feel that it’s not necessary to announce John Cena vs. The Undertaker in advance. This leads us to Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

The Rock is regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. He picked up his popularity in the mainstream while working in the WWE from 1996 to 2004 and was the first third-generation wrestler in the company’s history. He returned to WWE part-time from 2011–13 and continues to make sporadic appearances for the company.

Every year there is speculation on whether he will appear at WrestleMania. He hasn’t wrestled since WrestleMania 29 against Cena but did have technically a match with Erick Rowan at WrestleMania 32 but it was very brief.

Bryan Alvarez talked about The Rock potentially appearing at WrestleMania 34 during Tuesday’s edition of Wrestling Observer Live. Here is what he had to say:

“Well, you’re not advertising The Rock being there so there would be no reason, you could put him in there if you wanted to […] I do think that The Rock is going to be at WrestleMania. I think The Rock and Elias are going to do a segment together and they’re going to do a concert.”

Alvarez continued, “I don’t think The Rock got clearance to wrestle but I think he got clearance to do the show and I think that’s what is going to happen. We’ll see but I do think he’ll be a big surprise there.”

H/T to RingsideNews for the news

There’s no doubt that one of the biggest names that WWE and its Chairman Vince McMahon ever created was Hulk Hogan. He has been a household name in the world of professional wrestling for decades now.

He has wrestled some of the biggest names in the history of pro wrestling, and although he has a long-lasting relationship with the company, there have been some hiccups between the two sides throughout the years.

Most notably he left the sports entertainment company to join World Championship Wrestling in the 1990’s, and he worked in TNA Wrestling for a few years.

His latest run with the company was a short one. On February 24, 2014, on Raw, Hogan made his first WWE in-ring appearance since December 2007 to hype the launch of the WWE Network.

At WrestleMania 30, Hogan served as the host and came out at the start of the show to hype up the crowd. Steve Austin and The Rock ended up coming out to have a memorable segment with him. However, he was later fired over racist remarks made in a leaked sex tape.

Hogan noted on his Instagram account that he’s back to his old weight of 303 lbs and that it’s too bad that he’s not in the main event of WrestleMania because he’s “ready.” He wrote the following:

“Weighed in at my old weight of 303 today,to bad I’m not in the Main Event at Mania because I’m ready brother,but I will be cheering my friends on from home! HH.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhFjQkbgT7u/?utm_source=ig_embed

We now know which match will close the show this weekend at WrestleMania 34.

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and the rest of the creative team have been planning Roman Reigns challenging Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title at the biggest event of the year for the sports entertainment company since 2017.

The idea is to have Reigns go over on Lesnar to make him a top babyface, which is something that the WWE has been attempting to do for many years now despite the backlash from their fans.

Bryan Alvarez reported on Tuesday’s edition of Wrestling Observer Live that as of Monday, the plan is to have Lesnar vs. Reigns serve as the main event.

Keep in mind that historically, WWE doesn’t make the final call on which match will main event the show until the morning of each WrestleMania.

WrestleMania 34 is set to be held on Sunday, April 8, 2018, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. This event airs on pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network. It’s the most successful and longest-running professional wrestling event in history. Both Raw and SmackDown rosters will be featured.

H/T to RingsideNews for the news

WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair is finding her spot on the blue brand since being moved from WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night RAW, last year after WrestleMania 33.

The daughter of WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair has been a core part of the women’s division in the sports entertainment company since being called up to the main roster in 2015 during the Women’s Revolution storyline.

She has won championships both in NXT and on the main roster.

The WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion recently spoke with Xfinity to promote WrestleMania 34 where she’s slated to defend her title against the undefeated Asuka. Flair has high expectations for this upcoming title defense.

“Like you said, there have been so many firsts. But for me personally, I’ve had so many big matches. But how have we not crossed paths? So, when Asuka won the Women’s Royal Rumble and I was in the ring with her and Alexa Bliss and then Ronda Rousey came out, I was thinking, “I really want Asuka to pick me. That’s who I want at Wrestlemania.”

Just the Empress vs. the Queen. Not to sound corny, but it just feels right. It’s the perfect storm. And she has so much respect worldwide and I have such respect for her and her style. She already has a story, with us not even having this long build, it just works. I have the title, she has the streak. Who’s supposed to beat who? It’s two bulls going head to head.”

“(Laughs) I’ll just shake her hand. Because everybody bows down to the queen.”

The biggest acquisition in recent years from the WWE has been signing of former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Ronda Rousey, who is slated is set to team up with Kurt Angle to take on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in a Mixed Tag Team Match at WrestleMania 34.

“I haven’t seen her since the Royal Rumble, but Ronda didn’t get where she is in UFC without working hard and dedication. I think the only thing that’s different in our industry is the level of entertainment that you have to put behind it. But, she’s already done movies. So, if she can excel at something like that, I know she can do the same here. Having Kurt Angle as a partner, I’m sure he’s given her loads of advice, being an Olympic athlete and making the transition to WWE.

I have no doubt in my mind that she’s been in pressure situations. She probably does better under pressure. I hope I get to see her at Wrestlemania and tell her, “You know who you are.” That’s what my dad always says, “Just know who you are when you walk through that curtain because that’s all that matters.”

You can read the entire interview here.