EVOLVE returns this weekend with two new shows.

EVOLVE 102 is scheduled to take place on Thursday and EVOLVE 103 on Friday in New Orleans, LA as part of WrestleMania weekend.

The promotion has stacked the lineups for these upcoming events, which is a good idea since the tough competition that they will go up against with all of the indy shows as well as the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony taking place on Friday night. Here are the cards:

EVOLVE 102

The Main Event – EVOLVE vs. The World Match #1
Matt Riddle vs. Daisuke Sekimoto

The Rivalry Goes Into Singles Competition – EVOLVE vs. The World Match #2
EVOLVE Tag Team Champion Chris Dickinson vs. Travis Banks

EVOLVE vs. The World Match #3
EVOLVE Tag Team Champion Jaka vs. Munenori Sawa

EVOLVE vs. The World Match #4
Darby Allin vs. WALTER

Non-Title Match
WWN Champion Keith Lee vs. Austin Theory

Four Way Freestyle
AR Fox vs. DJZ vs. Jason Kincaid vs. Tracy Williams with Stokely Hathaway

Special Challenge Match
Timothy Thatcher vs. Dominic Garrini

EVOLVE 103

EVOLVE Championship Match
Zack Sabre Jr. defends vs. Matt Riddle

The Definition Of A Dream Match
Daisuke Sekimoto & Munenori Sawa vs. Timothy Thatcher & WALTER

High-Flyers Showdown
AR Fox vs. Will Ospreay

Tag Team Scramble – 2 In At A Time, No Tags Needed, 1st Fall Wins It
(if Dickinson & Jaka lose the fall, they will lose the EVOLVE Tag Team Titles)
EVOLVE Tag Team Champions Chris Dickinson & Jaka vs. The End vs.
James Drake & Anthony Henry vs. Tracy Williams & Dom Garrini

Non-Title Special Challenge Match
WWN Champion Keith Lee vs. Darby Allin

Special Attraction Match
Austin Theory vs. DJZ

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross is widely considered the greatest professional wrestling commentator of all-time.

This WWE Legend has been the voice of the WWE for the majority of 20 years. However, just like any other television program, producers are always looking for the next new announcer/host and they like youth. The chairman of the sports entertainment company, Vince McMahon, is no different.

Ross was slowly but surely phased out for Michael Cole, who has been the main announcer for the WWE’s flagship show, Monday Night RAW, for the last decade.

The WWE Hall of Famer recently spoke with Sportskeeda to talk about various topics including fans of the WWE not enjoying Michael Cole’s work. Here is what he had to say: 

“Fans today have a very unique voice, and they’re very willing to share it on social media. Michael works his ass off. He’s a good family man, he’s a company man, he works diligently to do his job. I respect him for all those things. I’ve always liked him, he’s a good dude, and folks won’t understand that. They only judge him for his television persona, rightly or wrongly. It’s kind of frustrating. When Michael Cole came on the scene, he was replacing me. Without sounding so overwhelmingly egotistic, that was challenging for him, because I was what the audience was accustomed to. Let’s not forget I had 19 years of establishing my body of work before I got to WWE at WrestleMania 9. I felt badly in a lot of ways for that, but there’s nothing I can do. Michael knows he does good work, and it’s a tough job right now.”

Ross added, “The key thing is to discover who you are and be that person. The more authentic one can be, I believe, the more successful they will become. Wrestling fans are very intelligent nowadays, they’ve always had a keen sense of the genre and the uniqueness of it. I think that the fans understand what’s going on, and they should be respected more by a lot of guys.”

Ross also talked about his work for New Japan Pro Wrestling, WrestleMania week and more. You can read the entire interview here.

Shinsuke Nakamura has taken the WWE by storm and is now preparing for his first WrestleMania event with the sports entertainment company.

Outside of the sports entertainment company, Nakamura is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling where he is a former three-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, five-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion, one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion.

Before his WWE main roster debut, Nakamura competed in WWE’s developmental branch, NXT, where he is one of only two wrestlers to have held the NXT Championship on more than one occasion.

Nakamura recently spoke with The New York Post to promote WrestleMania 34 where he is slated to challenge AJ Styles for the WWE Title.

“It’s an amazing thing for WWE history I think. We crossed over, we crossed the border line in Japan and the States, different company and that’s why I say this is destiny. Actually I don’t care about the ratings, five stars, six stars, seven stars, whatever. But I really want to enjoy this match. I want to do everything I can do. I want to take everything he can do.”

For years, Nakamura and Styles have wanted to have a match with each other in a WWE ring. That will be achieved this Sunday. For Nakamura, his next dream match under the WWE banner is against SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan.

“So, I join the WWE and soon he needed to quit. That was shock to me. Huge shock. Next dream match for me.”

SportsBettingExperts.com Oddsmaker Jim Murphy has released the early betting odds for Sunday’s WrestleMania 34 event.

Roman Reigns is a slight favorite at -350 over Brock Lesnar at +300 to win the Universal Title. Also, AJ Styles is the underdog at +150 against Shinsuke Nakamura at -180 in the WWE Title Match.

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.

Here are the betting odds:

WWE Universal Title Match
Roman Reigns: -350
Brock Lesnar: +300

WWE Title Match
AJ Styles: +150
Shinsuke Nakamura: -180

Tag Team Match
Daniel Bryan/Shane McMahon: -250
Kevin Owens/Sami Zayn: +210

SmackDown Tag Team Title Match
The Usos: +110
The Bludgeon Brothers: +130
The New Day: +250

John Cena: +210
The Undertaker: -250

United States Title Match
Randy Orton: +110
Bobby Roode: +150
Rusev: +500
Jinder Mahal: +350

RAW Women’s Title Match
Nia Jaxx: -250
Alexa Bliss: +210

Women’s Battle Royal
Carmella wins: -210
Field wins: +180

Men’s Battle Royal
Elias wins: -150
Field wins: +130

SmackDown Women’s Title Match
Asuka: -350
Charlotte Flair: +300

WWE Intercontinental Title Triple Threat Match
Finn Balor: +115
Seth Rollins: +150
The Miz: +350

Cruiserweight Title Match
Cedric Alexander: -150
Mustafa Ali: +130

Mixed Tag Team Match
Ronda Rousey/Kurt Angle: -750
Triple H/Stephanie McMahon: +500

For several weeks now, WWE fans have been wondering when the WWE will announce that John Cena would face The Undertaker at WrestleMania 34.

As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW in Atlanta, GA at the Philips Arena on the USA Network, Cena once again issued the challenge to “The Deadman” for a match at the biggest event of the year for the sports entertainment company.

Many fans of the WWE thought that with this episode being the go-home edition of WrestleMania 34 for the RAW brand, Taker would make an appearance and accept the challenge. However, that wasn’t the case.

Over the past few years, he has gone from being a full-time talent to a part-timer. After years of speculation of when Taker would retire from pro wrestling, it appeared that he had his farewell at WrestleMania 33 in the main event against Roman Reigns last year in Orlando, Florida. After the match, Taker put his gloves and hat in the middle of the ring before leaving.

Taker was last seen on WWE television back in January during the RAW 25 Anniversary episode where he cut a promo in the ring about how he has beaten everyone that there is to beat. Cena vs. Taker will reportedly take place at WrestleMania with the WWE announcing the match during the show. 

Here is an excerpt from the teaser that the sports entertainment company posted on their official website:

“Will The Undertaker return to battle John Cena at WrestleMania?

After coming up short in several attempts to secure a WrestleMania bout, including the Royal Rumble Match, a career-altering contest inside Elimination Chamber and a WWE Championship Six-Pack Challenge Match at WWE Fastlane, John Cena has seen his Road to WrestleMania hit a dead end.

However, before accepting his fate and preparing to go to The Showcase of the Immortals as a member of the WWE Universe, The Leader of the Cenation decided to exhaust one more option and challenged The Undertaker to a one-on-one match on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

So, what now for Cena? With The Undertaker offering no answer to his challenge, perhaps the showdown between the two iconic Superstars is simply not meant to be. Is Cena destined to experience this year’s Showcase of The Immortals as a spectator? Will he aid another Superstar to victory or perhaps offer his expert knowledge of The Grandest Stage of Them All as a guest commentator? Or, is there still a chance that a match between John Cena and The Undertaker may take place? Find out this Sunday at WrestleMania, streaming live on WWE Network at a special start time of 7 ET/4 PT”

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.

WWE is scheduled to hold a live event at Madison Square Garden in New York City on July 7th. The promotion recently updated the card for the show.

The sports entertainment company has officially announced the first match for this upcoming show, which will serve as the main event.

Roman Reigns vs. Samoa Joe in a singles match is being promoted. Keep in mind that this is a match that is also being advertised for several other events this summer.

Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, The Miz, Alexa Bliss, Asuka, Sasha Banks, Elias, The Bar, Matt Hardy, and Bray Wyatt are also being advertised for this live event.

The WWE will be announcing more matches for this live event in the coming weeks.

WWE NXT Superstar Johnny Gargano has interesting expectations going into his next big match under the sports entertainment company’s banner.

The bad blood between former tag team partners, Tommaso Ciampa and Gargano, started last year.

After DIY failed to regain the title in a ladder match on May 20 at NXT TakeOver: Chicago, Ciampa turned on Gargano to end their partnership.

However, NXT officials had to wait on doing a feud between the two for several months as Ciampa was placed on the sidelines due to injury.

Now, Gargano will attempt to get his revenge on his former tag team partner at the upcoming NXT TakeOver: New Orleans special as they will compete in an “unsanctioned match” at the upcoming event.

“I still remember the Tommaso Ciampa that was my best friend, but he’s not that guy anymore. He’s a snake…I still don’t understand why. It’s something that has haunted me for 10 months. It’s something that I’ve thought about time and time again. I don’t think I’ll ever understand why. We were just coming off our first main event. We didn’t win, but I thought things were going pretty well. Obviously, I was wrong.”

Gargano added, “The match with Andrade Almas didn’t go my way, but to have a match like that and for it to be rated five stars, I’m extremely confident right now. It was unanimously praised, but this match will be completely different. I’m not going for five stars with this one.”

You can read the entire interview here.

Adam Cole was with Ring of Honor from 2009 – 2017. During his run with the company, he held the World Championship three times and World Television Championship one time. Over the last year, it was expected that Cole would sign with the sports entertainment company and it would have happened sooner had the WWE and Ring of Honor legal issues not taken place.

It was later announced that the former ROH World Heavyweight Champion had signed with WWE and would be featured on the NXT brand.

As a result of that signing, he made his debut at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III last August in Brooklyn, New York at the Barclays Center. Instead of him just sitting in the crowd at the NXT special, WWE had much bigger plans for him.

As seen at the event, Cole beat down then-NXT Champion Drew McIntyre along with Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly after McIntyre’s big win over Bobby Roode. Ever since he has taken the WWE by storm.

Cole recently spoke with Brian Fritz of Sporting News to talk about various topics. During the interview, he was asked about joining the sports entertainment company.

“It’s been great. Just seeing on every level how precise and how much WWE is trying to accomplish. It’s constantly in full effect. Even the Performance Center, the way that whole thing operates. The way the NXT TV show operates. Then being at the Royal Rumble and seeing how that operated. There’s so many moving parts but they’re in complete control at all times and everyone is trying to make everything as good as possible. It’s amazing to see the level at which everybody is on and the actual size and scope of everything. At first, it was overwhelming and now, getting the chance to see how everything works, it’s cool to be a part of it.”

As of this writing, WWE is promoting Cole for two matches at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans this Saturday night at the Smoothie King Center on the WWE Network.

He’s slated to take part in the NXT North American Championship Ladder Match alongside EC3, Killian Dain, Ricochet, Velveteen Dream, and Lars Sullivan as well as NXT Tag Team Championship Match against Pete Dunne & Roderick Strong and The Authors of Pain.

“It will be interesting. First and foremost, I think the focus has been the Undisputed Era has the NXT Tag Team Championship so, of course, we have to focus on making sure we hang on to those but at the same token, the six-man ladder match for this new NXT North American Championship, that sounds pretty darn cool too. This new championship being introducer at TakeOver, you want to talk about having a history-making night, that would be amazing to be able to walk out as North American Champion, to be able to retain the NXT Tag Team Championships.

We say all the time we want to shock the system. I have no idea how we’re going to do this but we’re going to try our best to pull it off as best we can and just have the absolute best matches that we can. You want to talk about a high-pressure night — NXT TakeOver: New Orleans is going to be high pressure.”

You can read the entire interview here.

WWE Hall of Famer and current General Manager of the flagship show of the sports entertainment company, Monday Night RAW, Kurt Angle decided to take some time to reflect on his career.

He left the WWE in 2006 but returned last year to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Ever since it was announced that Angle would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, fans started speculating that he would wrestle again in the biggest sports entertainment company in the world.

Angle returned to in-ring competition under the WWE banner at last year’s Survivor Series pay-per-view event in November.

Now, he’s slated to team up with former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey to take on Triple H and Stephanie McMahon at WrestleMania 34 in a Mixed Tag Team Match.

Angle posted the following on Instagram to reflect on his 12-year absence from WrestleMania. He wrote the following:

“12 years have gone by since my last Wrestlemania. Can’t wait to perform on the biggest stage of all stages. It’s in my blood. Hey New Orleans…. I’m comin’ !!! #itstrue #wrestlemania34 #TeamAngle/Rousey.”

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

WWE has officially announced who will be inducting Mark Henry into the WWE Hall of Fame this year.

On Tuesday morning, the sports entertainment company announced that former WWE Champion The Big Show would do the honors.

“I’ve spent a lot of time going up and down the road with Mark Henry,” Big Show told WWE.com. “I’ve had battles with him, and I know what kind of a human being and community leader he is. I can’t think of anyone more deserving of the WWE Hall of Fame. It is my honor to induct my friend.”

BREAKING: @WWETheBigShow will induct @TheMarkHenry into the #WWEHOF Class of 2018 this Friday! https://t.co/t5lCZkfQqM

— WWE (@WWE) April 2, 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 SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair has addressed missing a recent WWE TV event.

If you recall, the sports entertainment company had announced that Flair suffered an undisclosed injury and was pulled from her non-title match against Natalya on last week’s episode of SmackDown Live. This would’ve been a rematch.

She was also scheduled to team with Bobby Roode against Finn Balor and Sasha Banks on Mixed Match Challenge but wasn’t be able to compete on the show and thus, Becky Lynch replaced her.

It was later revealed that Flair underwent minor dental surgery due to a mouth infection. 

Flair is slated to return to show of the blue brand this week as well as the Mixed Match Challenge for the finals as she and Bobby Roode face Asuka and WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz.

Flair, who is slated to defend her Smackdown Women’s Championship against Asuka at WrestleMania 34, recently did an interview with Barstool Sports. During the interview, she addressed her recent injury. Here is what she had to say:

“I’m good. They just kept me off TV because it was so swollen and I was talking funny from the stitches. They cleared me to wrestle, but I just looked a mess. So, I’ll be back next week.”

H/T to Joshua Gagnon of WrestlingInc.com for the quotes.

With WrestleMania 34 quickly approaching, it comes with media for all WWE Superstars, and that includes Triple H.

It’s been well documented that WWE SmackDown General Manager Daniel Bryan has been officially cleared to return to in-ring competition by WWE doctors.

The former WWE Champion has been an underdog for his entire career. From his days on the independent scene to when he arrived in WWE. Although the company wasn’t fully behind him at first, he has overcome the challenges that were put in front of him and became a fan favorite.

Bryan, who was forced to retire in 2016 due to his history with concussions, is now back.

Triple H made the rounds at ESPN last week. During his appearances through the “ESPN car wash,” he spoke about Bryan’s WWE in-ring clearance.

Here is what the former WWE Champion had to say about the fan favorite being cleared (transcript courtesy of Wrestling Inc):

“There’s a certain point in time when Daniel is not still cleared by us, but he’s gotten clearance from his team and his people and all his things, and I’m sure he was already training and doing things,” Triple H said. “Maybe not taking bumps, but training and doing the things he wanted to do to get himself back in shape just in case this did happen. So while we were making him go to additional doctors … and running more tests and doing all these things to ensure that everything was all right, he was preparing.”

“Part of me was so afraid in the period of time when it [was] all going down that he was going to walk and say ‘forget it’ and go wrestle for someone else that doesn’t care, that doesn’t take their health into consideration — because that’s pretty much everywhere else — and risk his life and his health and his family and his baby and risk all of it,” Triple H responded. “And it’s not worth that. We take enough risk every day in what we do. Every day. Luckily we never got there, and luckily things worked out. It’s funny, because as Bryan was putting out things like, ‘I’m going to do this if they won’t let me do that,’ he was already working the information. He was already getting those tests done. He was already getting that stuff done. … Looking back on it, he was already prepping. He was prepping everything about it.”

“I put so much more pressure on myself to [lose] to somebody than I ever did to win a title because … I just want it to be [such a big moment] for this guy,” said Triple H. “Watching that story evolve over that long period of time — from a behind-the-scenes standpoint — being behind it with him and being like, ‘Man, I know this is not the plan right this moment, but this is where we need to go.’ Just seeing that feeling and getting to that moment, having that match with him and having that moment, and knowing what’s coming later and being out there in that moment for him … when you have the circumstances that all work out to make this fairy-tale moment — it’s just awesome.”

Bryan is slated to team up with Shane McMahon to take on Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 34. On the flip side, Triple H will team up with his wife, Stephanie McMahon, to take on Ronda Rousey and Kurt Angle.

While Triple H got a bad wrap for marrying Vince McMahon’s daughter when he was still an active wrestler, not many people thought that he would be in the position that he is now.

While it was believed that Triple H would be an executive in WWE, it was pretty much ruled out that he would be the guy in control of everything. Triple H even went on record by saying that he didn’t want to wear a tie and suit.

However, that all changed when McMahon pushed for his son-in-law to slowly but surely become someone he could lean on not only with creative but business related things.

Triple H recently did an interview with Raute Musik to talk about various topics. During the interview, he was asked if he’ll be in the business as long as Vince Vince McMahon.

“I think for Vince McMahon, it’s his passion and his life. It’s just who he is as a human being and as a person. For Stephanie, this has been her family business and her life, and a passion as well. Same thing for me. I’ve had a long career and deeply into this. Vince McMahon will do this until he can no longer do it. I think we feel the same way. We have a strong passion for this, and for us to take his vision is very important for us.

Take that vision, which he has done really well, to take that vision from where it is and beyond where it will be to bring the brand, the company, the business and all of it, like he did. To have a vision beyond what it is today and where it can go. I think that the WWE, in the form of entertainment, as a media juggernaut, and a content creator, and all of that, I think is just scratching the surface of where we can be in the future, and I look forward to that future. When Vince McMahon will no longer be around, I hope Stephanie, and I can do it justice and in the future of where it needs to be and hopefully, futures beyond that will take it beyond anywhere we can imagine it to be.”

“The Game” was also asked about potential holding a pay-per-view event in the UK again, which hasn’t been done since 1992.

“Any pay per view, or promotional event of that caliber are all difficult to put on and are all challenging. When you are talking about WrestleMania and a week-long series of events, that is difficult to put on in the United States, the difficulty level multiplies exponentially outside of the United States. That being said, we are definitely looking at possibilities into a lot of things. One thing we have shown, over the years is never say never. I know fans are hungry and excited for it if it happens. It is something we think about, and are logistically trying to figure out how it can work. Whether it is one of our standard pay per views, or WrestleMania, we are certainly open to all of it, and as we always say, you never say never in WWE. We are open to all options, and without sounding cliches, but if it is best for business then we will certainly be open to doing it.”

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcript

Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that WWE Champion AJ Styles might have suffered an MCL injury earlier this month.

Styles and WWE have been quiet about the nature of the injury that kept him out of the ring for more than a week. The word going around within the WWE is that it was related to his MCL.

Styles returned to the ring at last weekend’s WWE live events but did not wrestle again on this week’s SmackDown Live.

He’s slated to defend his title against Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania 34 in just over one week.

The WWE Champion an interview with USA Today for the Win. During the interview, he talked about various topics including the most recent injury that kept him out of action. Here is what he had to say:

“A little of nothing. It was just one of those… got hit in the back of the knee. I think it scared more people than it actually scared me. I knew I was going to make it to WrestleMania, there’s nothing wrong with me.”

“Yeah, I mean it really does bother me because they don’t know the extent of it. They started worrying, more than anything, which I appreciate that, but it’s just one of those things where you’ve got to wait to hear the facts and information before you get so worked up about something. It is what it is, and we can’t stop this from happening, but why don’t we hear from the guy who actually has the issue before we jump to conclusions and get worried?”

You can read the entire interview here.

WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair has taken the WWE by storm 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.

At first, she was portrayed as her real-life personality then she started to come out of her father’s spotlight and become her own person.

Flair was recently interviewed by Planeta Wrestling. During the interview, she was asked who she would want to face if she were in the main event match at WrestleMania. Here is what she had to say:

“If this wasn’t the main event, me vs. Asuka, I would definitely say a Fatal 4-Way against the Four-Horsewomen.”

Flair is slated to defend her title against the undefeated Asuka at WrestleMania 34. Also in this interview, she was asked about Jim Ross saying that she is the Hulk Hogan of women’s wrestling.

“I guess I’m tall, blonde and tanned. It’s a very big compliment. It’s really nice for JR to say that about me.”

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcript.

Since 2014, WWE has attempted to establish Roman Reigns as their next “face of the company.” Reigns had headlined multiple major WWE pay-per-view events, including the last three WrestleManias (31 lost to Seth Rollins, 32 beat Triple H and 33 when he defeated The Undertaker).

There has never been a babyface that has been pushed like Reigns that is disliked more by fans in the history of professional wrestling. Historically, when a babyface is not getting over with the crowd, the promoter or booker would turn them heel. Reigns is truly a different case in that sense.

Reigns was recently interviewed by NBC Sports to promote Wrestlemania 34 and his match against Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title. In this interview, he was asked about potentially being paired with Paul Heyman on WWE television.

There have been rumors that this could happen if Lesnar decided to leave WWE. Here is what the “Big Dog” had to say:

“I think it would be really cool. Obviously, it comes down to a couple of different things creatively, but I think it would be really neat. I think it would be able to show a different aspect of myself.

It really just depends on the route that we want to take my character; if there’s any type of evolution that needs to be made in the next couple of years. I think with a character like Paul Heyman, the different things that we could do would be really cool. It would show not only myself, but also him in a totally different light. I wouldn’t just be the guy bouncing around not saying anything. If there’s something I need to say, I’m going to step up and say it because regardless if I’m with a guy like Paul Heyman, I would not be a Paul Heyman guy, he would be a Roman Reigns guy, that’s the way that would work.”

Reigns added, “My role is my role and I don’t plan on changing that for anybody. If there’s something that needs to be said or if someone needs to step up in the locker room and mention something, that’s always going to be where I want to be. As long as nothing crazy or drastic would change, I think we’d be able to do a lot of really cool stuff. I’m into it.”

WWE RAW Superstar Nia Jax has been quickly moved up the ladder in WWE. She was positioned as a big star while she was competing in WWE’s developmental brand, NXT, and when she was called up to the main roster.

Slowly but surely she has gone from beating jobbers to being a big name in the women’s division on the RAWbrand.

Jax was recently interviewed by the Mirror. During the interview, she spoke about WWE using real-life issues like body-shaming in her feud with Alexa Bliss.

Jax is slated to challenge her best friend for the RAW Women’s Title at WrestleMania 34 next month. Here is what she had to say:

“I think it’s amazing. I think it’s something that people know but they don’t want to talk about it, they always want to keep it hidden. I feel like we’re tackling it head-on and it should be [tackled]. Young women and young girls, and boys, should actually be hearing this and seeing the conflict that we go through and seeing somebody stand up for themselves and not have to allow somebody to bully them, because of the way they look, what their shape is, or the color of their skin is. You should always stand up for yourself. So I think it’s amazing. I’m very honored to be a part of it.”

She added, “Oh yeah. You know, growing up… it’s crazy how real this storyline is to my real life. And especially with Alexa being such a close, best friend of mine for so long, she has seen it. She [her character] has hurt me [my character], because I’ve confided in a lot of these stories that have happened to me. It surprises me that it has become such a big storyline in WWE, because it relates to me completely.

You can read the entire interview here.

You could make an argument that the Attitude Era in the WWE would not be the same without two WWE Hall of Famers.

Those WWE Legends are Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler, who have called some of the biggest and historic matches/segments in the history of the sports entertainment company.

They were featured on the Raw brand for the majority of their time with the WWE. It’s safe to say that they are if not the best commentary team, they are at least in that conversation that was ever put together by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon.

Jim Ross was a recent guest on WrestleZone Radio. During the interview, he commented on the criticism of his commentary at the recent NJPW Strong Style Evolved event. Here is what he had to say:

“I read some of the criticisms about my work and the broadcast in general but essentially people want, the die-hards who follow New Japan World, they want their team. They want Kevin Kelly and Don Callis to do the show. I don’t blame them. I don’t even get mad about it. The only thing that gets frustrating is when you’ve got wrestling fans who’ve got like 40 followers on Twitter that tell you, “your career sucks,” and that you should be dead or not allowed to be on television. That’s kind of crude, I think. Does that really feel necessary for not knowing the certain name of a certain hold?

I have a pet peeve about that deal, to be honest with you. A bodyslam is a God damned bodyslam. You can give it 18 different names to sell t-shirts, that’s fine and I don’t care but to me it’s a bodyslam. We find ourselves talking about this variant or that variant and worry about not pissing off the talent because we didn’t give their hold a name or use the name they use in their niche marketing. I find it almost embarrassing to be quite frank about it.

I enjoyed the show, I enjoyed working with New Japan, I love working with the guys who produce AXS TV.”

H/T to WrestleZone for the transcript

Jinder Mahal has had an interesting run with the sports entertainment company.

If you recall, in April of 2011, Mahal made his main roster debut and would eventually find himself as a member of the Three Man Band (3MB) trio alongside McIntyre and Heath Slater. In 2014, however, his run with the WWE came to an end when he was released from his deal.

After he was released from WWE, he returned to the independent circuit for two years where he would reinvent himself creatively and physically before being brought back to WWE around the time of the Superstar Shake-Up. After some time on RAW upon his return, the shake-up moved him over to Tuesday nights on SmackDown Live.

Mahal would win a Six-Pack Challenge match that earned him the status as No. 1-contender for the WWE Championship, which was then-held by Randy Orton who defeated Bray Wyatt at WrestleMania 33 for the strap. 

Mahal would later beat Orton for the title and held it for several months before losing it to AJ Styles on an episode of WWE SmackDown Live on the USA Network.

Stephanie McMahon recently spoke with the Times of India, and during the interview, she was asked if Mahal’s run as WWE Champion last year was a success. This is what she had to say:

“I think his Championship run was incredibly interesting and successful to our global audience and not just to India. If he became a bit of a hero in India as a result, well that is awesome too… Jinder of course is playing the antagonist here in the States.

I think he was received as a homecoming hero when he performed live in India and whenever there is a local star there is significance to the audience there. Our audience is so much bigger, it is global, so we have to entertain everyone.”

When speaking about Rusev, you have to bring up his wife due to her being such a big part of his life and career.

Lana debuted on the October 23, 2013 episode of NXT by scouting Rusev. The following month, WWE put her as Rusev’s manager on television. They had a short run while in the developmental brand. Lana made her main roster debut on an episode of SmackDown where she and Rusev in the following weeks appeared in a series of self-promotional videos and speeches.

Fast forward to May of that year; they made their television debut. WWE has kept both Rusev and Lana strong on television. Rusev would end up winning the United States Title while with her.

When Lana and Rusev are together, they have success, but when separated, not so much. However, Rusev has caught some fire now that he has been paired up with Aiden English on SmackDown Live.

Lana recently spoke with Hollywood Life to talk about various topics. During the interview, she talked about her husband being a super athlete and talented person.

“I think he is a super athlete and I have been saying that for years. I would introduce him as a super athlete and he truly is one of the best in ring competitors. I also think in Total Divas, he also showed that he is really funny and entertaining. On the show, he shows that he has a great personality.”

Lana also commented on SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan being medically cleared to return to in-ring action.

“We are so excited. We are so excited to have him back. I know for me, personally, I was in tears when he did his speech on coming back because it gives me hope that no matter what anyone says, I am going to continue for my dreams and continue to wrestle and compete.”

Goldberg has had quite the career in professional wrestling. He made his name known while being the top star of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) at the peak of the Monday Night Wars.

While under contract with WCW between 1997 and 2001, 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. WWE has announced that Paul Heyman would induct Goldberg into the 2018 WWE Hall of Fame class.

Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the reason Heyman is inducting Goldberg into the WWE Hall Of Fame this year is due to Heyman being one of the instrumental figures in the Lesnar vs. Goldberg storyline heading into WrestleMania 33 last year.

Heyman largely produced Goldberg’s material and helped put together the angles for all the Goldberg vs. Lesnar matches. Thus, that’s where they developed a personal relationship.

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and other members of the creative team made a decision to add Rusev to a key match at WrestleMania 34 at the last minute.

As seen on this week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Pittsburgh, PA at the PPG Paints Arena on the USA Network, it was announced that Rusev had been added to the United States Title match at WrestleMania 34. It will now see Randy Orton defending the title against Bobby Roode, Jinder Mahal, and Rusev in a Fatal 4-Way.

We now know the reason for this as Dave Meltzer reported in the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the reason why Rusev was added to the match at WrestleMania 34 was because of his massive merchandise sales.

Those who are wondering what the WWE originally had planned for him, it was noted in the report that Rusev was initially slated to be in the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royale at the event, but plans were changed.

WWE Chairman Vince McMahon is re-launching the XFL under Alpha Entertainment. The announcement was made earlier this year during a press conference. McMahon noted that the new XFL will begin in 2020. There will be eight teams with 40-man rosters, a ten game regular season, and a four-team postseason including a championship game. McMahon made it clear that there will be no crossover from WWE to the new XFL.

The original XFL only had one season, which took place in 2001 and was produced by WWE and NBC. It took place during the NFL off-season and promoted as having fewer rules and encouraging rougher play than other major leagues.

There were only eight teams in two divisions. Some of the teams took place in major markets such as Birmingham, Las Vegas, Memphis, and Orlando. The XFL operated as a single entity, with all teams centrally owned by the league.

Although NBC signed with WWE to air two seasons of the league, NBC pulled out of its broadcast contract for the XFL after the inaugural season, citing the poor viewership. The league ceased operations entirely in May 2001. The Los Angeles Xtreme was the XFL’s first and only champions. McMahon has gone on record in the past by stating that the league was a “colossal failure.”

Triple H and Stephanie McMahon did media with ESPN on Wednesday on First take to promote WrestleMania 34.

During the interview, Triple H was asked about McMahon bringing back the XFL football league in 2020. Here is what “The Game” had to say:

“I think if anything he has proven over time that you learn from failure, much more than you learn from success,” he said. “He’s gone at this once and it didn’t work out. I think he learned a ton from that and he’s been chomping at the bit from the time to be right to do it again. I feel like he believes the time is right, now. I think he’s learned more fro that success and certainly I wouldn’t bet against him.”

“I think the time is right in the world, I think the time is right on a global basis. Social media and the ability to get it out on a digital level. Instead of playing catch up to that, you’re starting it fresh with that. I think the time is right in a lot of ways.”

H/T to Wrestling Inc for the transcript

WWE is gearing up for the next Takeover event for the NXT brand.

As seen on this week’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network, the sports entertainment company announced several matches for this upcoming special. Johnny Gargano would take on Tommaso Ciampa in an unsanctioned match.

Also announced was a six-man Ladder Match featuring Ethan Carter III, Ricochet, Killian Dain, Adam Cole, Lars Sullivan and The Velveteen Dream to crown the inaugural North American Champion.

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 Almas © vs. Aleister Black

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

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

Unsanctioned Match: Johnny Gargano vs. Tommaso Ciampa

This event will have to go head-to-head with many shows on this night during WrestleMania 34 weekend including the ROH Supercard of Honor event just a few miles away.

The advocate for the reigning, defending, undisputed WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is one of the best talkers in the history of pro wrestling. Paul Heyman is better than ever on the microphone as he represents his client.

With WrestleMania 34 around the corner, Paul Heyman has started to conduct interviews to promote the biggest event of the year for the sports entertainment company. 

During an interview with Newsweek, he was asked what happens if Lesnar loses the WWE Universal Championship to Roman Reigns. 

There is a lot of speculation about Lesnar’s future with WWE as his contract is up after WrestleMania and he could head back to the UFC.

“I don’t think it’s any secret that Brock is looking to get back into the octagon. He is obviously eyeballing another fight in UFC. There’s no secret. He’s posing for pictures with Dana White wearing a UFC shirt in the UFC offices in Las Vegas. That’s not a negotiating tactic, Brock Lesnar wants to compete inside of the octagon. There’s no leveraging that; it’s a fact. I have an agency that has expanded so fast we’re now expanding into also being a full-fledged production studio. We have several projects and deals we will be announcing after April 8, for film, television, representing clients etc. We both have a number of projects we have been interested in pursuing that will start to kick off after WrestleMania.”

Since SmackDown General manager Daniel Bryan was cleared last week by WWE doctors, various WWE Superstars have commented on the news while fans have speculated on who Bryan could wrestle in the near future.

It’s already been confirmed that Bryan will team up with Shane McMahon to take on Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in a Tag Team Match at WrestleMania 34. 

During this interview, Heyman was asked about Bryan being cleared to return to the ring and Lesnar potentially wrestling Bryan.

“Ecstatic. This is all Daniel Bryan has wanted since the moment he was told he was being forced to retire. And the emotional rollercoaster that he has been on since that moment has always been with the light at the end of the tunnel, thinking ‘somehow, someway a miracle will be bestowed upon me that I can be cleared and step back into the ring and do what I love to do more than anything else in this world.’ That’s all he wants to do. It’s what he dreams about, what he envisions, it’s what he wakes up wanting to do and thinks about when he’s going to sleep. So ever since that moment the doctors told him ‘sorry we’re going to have to advise if you retire’ the only dream Daniel Bryan has had, the fantasy in his life, is to be cleared and to exploit the opportunity of stepping back into the ring. And now he has that chance. So I’m ecstatic for Daniel Bryan. Very few people I know deserve to live out their dreams more than Daniel Bryan.”

“I have wanted to see Brock Lesnar vs. Daniel Bryan even before Lesnar debuted on the main roster when Bryan was known as The American Dragon. I loved his matches even in the early part of his career and found him to be one of the most compelling, riveting performers in the history of this industry.”