The main event of Ring of Honor’s Death Before Dishonor XV PPV has been revealed.

ROH officials announced at Saturday’s TV tapings that Cody Rhodes would defend the ROH World Title against Minoru Suzuki in the main event of the upcoming pay-per-view event, which takes place next month. This marks Suzuki’s first match in the United States in over 25 years.

If you recall, Cody had previously tweeted that facing Suzuki was one of his dream matchups. Now, that dream will come true. KUSHIDA will also be working the event.

The Death Before Dishonor PPV is set to take place at Sam’s Town Live in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 22nd. Several wrestlers from New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) are expected to work the event. We have full spoilers from the tapings posted on the homepage, and you can check them out here.

WWE Champion Jinder Mahal took part in an interview with Al Arabiya English before his WWE Championship match against Shinsuke Nakamura at last Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view event at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Here are the highlights:

Coming back even better to WWE:

“I had mixed feelings about my release. Obviously I was very sad and disappointed because it was my goal to be a WWE Superstar my whole life and not only that, a WWE champion. I felt like I had let myself down. I was a disappointment to myself, I felt like I didn’t give it 100 percent. But also at the same time, I was kind of unhappy at the moment in 3MB. I wasn’t progressing the way I felt I should be, which was ultimately my fault because I wasn’t putting in the work. In order to succeed in WWE, you’re responsible. If you put in 100 percent, you get back 100 percent, a lot of it is mental, just my mental attitude has changed, I have a very positive outlook, I set goals for myself and I write down my goals. I read a lot of self-help books, I listen to a lot of podcasts and just thinking positive, positive things are starting to happen in my life. I’m a firm believer that you get back what you put in.”

Insight into his relationship with Vince McMahon:

“My relationship with Vince is great. He’s actually the first person I talk to after any match or any promo, whereas before, my relationship with Vince wasn’t that great because I would just avoid him. Obviously Vince is very intimidating, but once you get to know him, he’s very friendly and very helpful, he wants to help you. He wants to see you succeed, because when you succeed, WWE succeeds. It’s his baby, it’s his business, it’s his brainchild and he wishes nothing but the best for it. I see a lot of change, characters in WWE are constantly evolving. I want to add more depth and layers to my character, maybe show a little more of my real personality. I’m kind of a funny guy, I’m fun to be around, but sometimes my character is very serious. I still have that side to show; you saw a little of that with 3MB, but I think we can find more balance between the two. I just turned 31 so I feel I haven’t even hit my prime yet.”

Triple H recently spoke with NBC Sports about the process of putting together the Mae Young Classic, some of the talents that stood out to him and more. The first four episodes of the tournament are set to be released on-demand on the WWE Network on Monday, August 28th. Here are the highlights:

Putting together the Mae Young Classic:

“I think the Cruiserweight Classic was easier from a sense of being able to find video and opinions on talent. There are cruiserweights working all over. The opportunities for guys at that level in our business is numerous While not lucrative necessarily, there’s guys doing it all over the place and all you need is a phone right now to post your stuff up, so you can find footage of people everywhere. It made it easy. The women is a lot different. The women don’t get booked on the independents nearly as much. That opportunity is very small and that was kind of the key about creating the Mae Young Classic. The thought about it in the very beginning was to create that opportunity. There’s a respect level that I have for these women and it speaks to the difference you’re talking about.

The cruiserweights were the guys that while they might have said ‘Oh I’m smaller, I don’t know if I would make it in WWE,’ you had some examples of smaller guys having success like Rey Mysterio, but there were still other opportunities. You could travel around and get booked all of the time. There was a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow no matter how you were doing it. The ability to stay active was there. For the women, they got into the business for the same reason all of us did. They love it. They watched it one day and thought it was the greatest thing they ever saw and thought I have to do this. Except there was no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. There was the opportunity for maybe a woman here or there and those were even limited. Even the bookings, if you go to any show in any little armory around the world there’s probably one women’s match on there, if you’re lucky. If one woman is on the show she’s usually someone’s valet. The opportunities are few and far between and when you’re trying to find these talents and see footage of them to make sure you think they’re going to be what you think they’re going to be and then be able to determine if they’re good enough to be in the product. It takes a lot of time and a lot of effort to be able to go do that. But, when we started to do it, I think that’s when we became pleasantly surprised.

When we first started this process, and I was the one who drove it for years until it finally got the green light, we thought this would be a 16 woman tournament because I thought it would be tough to keep the quality high enough to give the opportunity to women from all around the globe this opportunity. But when we started to dig, we started to find all of these diamonds in the rough. It quickly became where we could do a 32-woman tournament and quite honestly I could have done it a little bit bigger than that. I’m excited about that. It made the quality [of the tournament]really good and it speaks well to the future because the opportunity is there now and it will just continue to grow.”

Which wrestlers stood out to him:

“Jazzy Gabert from Germany was a real standout performer. I’d seen tape of her and was obviously aware of her, but when I saw her go in person, it’s one of those things where sometimes when people see talent in other places they’d say ‘Oh yeah we knew she was great too,’ but when you bring them up for a big opportunity it’s like the prizefighter that’s really good, but when he gets in the pressure of a world title match, he’s just not what he should be. That level of pressure is different. Some of these girls did better, some didn’t do as well, but certain ones thrived and Jazzy Gabert was one that really thrived. Bianca Belair, who hasn’t been doing this for very long, has a level of poise that just blew me away. Shayna Baszler is somebody that I’ve seen begin to make the transition from MMA into what we do and sometimes that can be a rough transition.

Xia Li is someone that a year ago didn’t even know what WWE was, but when I saw her perform I was blown away. When she came back [through the curtain]she was balling because I think she amazed herself.

So there were a lot of those stories. People who came in that you knew had the ability, but when you saw them in person, they just came into their own. Some have been doing it for a long time. Mercedes Martinez is another one who I knew was good, but when I watched her go I was thoroughly impressed.”

You can read the entire interview here.

Sami Callihan, who worked in WWE NXT from 2012-2015 as Solomon Crowe, recently spoke with WSVN-TV Entertainment Reporter Chris Van Vliet about various topics including the reason he asked for his release from the company, Triple H and more. Here are the highlights:

If leaving WWE was the best decision of his professional career:

“Absolutely. Because I’ll be the first to say that I wasn’t Sami Callihan when I went there. I changed who I was, walked on eggshells and for lack of better terms, I became a b—h. I wasn’t myself and if I could go back and do it again I feel like it would be a whole different story. But I tried to change. I tried to become everything they wanted me to be instead of sticking to my guns and ride or die. But I think everything happens for a reason because now I’ve left and become one of the biggest stars in the world again despite not being backed by that WWE machine.”

“I was lucky that everything I did at WWE was on good terms. I was a model citizen. Like everything I do in my life, I don’t half ass things. I was a model citizen at the Performance Center and did everything they wanted me to do. I did extra training. I would help with promo class. Anything that was every asked of me. When I was injured, I would do commentary just to show my face. I made really good relationships and when I left they said the door is open, just go out and do what you gotta do.”

Working with Triple H:

“Triple H is one of the boys. People can say about him what they want, but being in the power position that he’s in he would stay after NXT tapings for hours. NXT wrestlers would be lined up out the door waiting to talk to him and maybe not every time, but the majority of the time he would stay there until he talked to every single person that wanted to talk to him. We knew that that was the boss and his input was what we actually needed.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

HoHo Lun was released by WWE earlier this month. He signed with WWE back in 2016 and competed in the inaugural WWE Cruiserweight Classic tournament where he lost in the second round. The last time that he appeared on NXT TV was when he lost to The Velveteen Dream back in June.

The former NXT Superstar recently spoke with the South China Morning Post about his time with WWE. Here are the highlights:

Competing in the first round of the Cruiserweight Classic:

“The morning of the match, I still felt normal. And then when I got to the backstage I thought, ‘Oh my god, is it me next?’ I was a little bit upset afterwards, I felt it’s not the best match I’ve done. American style is totally different, so that first match is very nervous for me. I see it on my Twitter – ‘Ho Ho sucks.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I know.’ It breaks your heart, but I know it’s true. If I’m reviewing that match, I’d type the same thing on my Twitter. But if they criticize me, that means they watched me. It’s better than people not watching me. It motivated me to get better.”

Wanting to be on WWE 205 Live:

“Other than the Cruiserweight Classic, every NXT match I do, the guy is one foot taller than me, I can’t do much. Most of my matches in NXT are like five minutes. If there’s a chance, I wanted to do more matches with smaller guys. I never got a chance to wrestle there [205 Live]. I don’t know what happened. Maybe they want me to stay in NXT for a while first.”

You can read the entire interview here.

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has posted a new blog entry over at his official website where he gives his thoughts on various topics. Here are the highlights:

NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III:

“There is a discernable, unique vibe at NXT events that I have personally experienced from working at two, NXT Takeover events, in Chicago and in Brooklyn. The audience seemingly has made a strong emotional investment in the NXT talents and it shows.”

SummerSlam:

“Watched SummerSlam sunday night from my Norman, Oklahoma home and enjoyed it. Happy I invested the time to watch the pre game show and the main card even though the length of the overall presentation was a bit challenging in which to remain engaged for approximately 5+ hours. Again, I will discuss the entire Summer Slam week with Mike Johnson on the new Ross Report podcast that we will record Monday night after RAW.”

Brock Lesnar retaining the WWE Universal Title over Samoa Joe, Roman Reigns, and Braun Strowman:

“I enjoyed the submission finishers utilized at various times on the show and the overall effort of the talents. The physicality of the Fatal Fourway was off the charts and, as I predicted, Lesnar retaining was the right thing to do and it is obvious that many fans want a Lesnar vs Strowman bout somewhere in the foreseeable future….Wrestlemania? Much more on this matter on the Ross Report.”

Ross also talked about Jim Cornette, Joey Ryan and more. You can read the blog here.

New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced several big matches for the two Destruction shows that will take place in September. Also, a big match has been revealed for the King of Pro Wrestling event in October. Here is a list of matches along with dates and times that they will air live on NJPW’s official streaming service, New Japan World:

Destruction in Fukushima – September 10th

—- Tomohiro Ishii and Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi

—- Tomoyuki Oka and Katsuya Kitamura vs. Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI

—- Juice Robinson and David Finlay vs. Kenny Omega and Bad Luck Fale

—- Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi and Ricochet vs. Takashi Iizuka, Taka Michinoku, El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taichi

—- Baretta and Jado vs. Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens

—- Yuji Nagata and Hirai Kawato vs. Manabu Nakanishi and Shota Umino

—- Minoru Suzuki vs. Michael Elgin for the NEVER Openweight title

—- War Machine vs. Guerillas of Destiny vs. Killer Elite Squad in a triple threat match for the IWGP tag team titles

—- EVIL, SANADA and BUSHI vs. Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano and Rocky Romero for the NEVER Six Man titles

—- Destruction in Hiroshima (September 16th, 5:00 a.m. EDT)

—- Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, Will Ospreay and Gedo vs. Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, SANADA, BUSHI and Hiromu Takahashi

—- Juice Robinson and David Finlay vs. Kenny Omega and Bad Luck Fale

—- Kota Ibushi, Michael Elgin and Togi Makabe vs. Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka and Taka Michinoku

—- Roppongi Vice vs. Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens

—- Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask vs. Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI and Jado

—- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. for the IWGP Intercontinental title

—- KUSHIDA vs. El Desperado for the IWGP Jr. title

—- War Machine vs. Guerillas of Destiny and Killer Elite Squad in a triple threat match for the IWGP tag team titles

—- Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taichi for the IWGP Jr. tag team titles

Destruction in Kobe – September 24th

—- Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi and Ricochet vs. Takashi Iizuka, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Taichi

—- Hirooki Goto, Baretta and YOSHI-HASHI vs. Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens

—- Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask vs. Taka Michinoku and El Desperado

—- Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Hirai Kawato vs. Tomoyuki Oka and Shota Umino

—- Togi Makabe and David Finlay vs. Michael Elgin and Katsuya Kitamura

—- Kenny Omega vs. Juice Robinson for the IWGP United States title

—- Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay vs. EVIL and Hiromu Takahashi

—- Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and Rocky Romero vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA and BUSHI

—- War Machine vs. Guerillas of Destiny and Killer Elite Squad in a triple threat match for the IWGP tag team titles

King of Pro Wrestling – October 9th

—- Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii

—- Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL for the IWGP Heavyweight title

Drew McIntyre recently spoke with Brian Fritz of Sporting News to promote this Saturday’s NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III special on the WWE Network. McIntyre is scheduled to challenge Bobby Roode for the NXT Championship at the upcoming event. Here are the highlights:

Headlining NXT Takeover: Brooklyn III:

“This is what, pretty much, my entire career has led to,” McIntyre recently told  Sporting News. “So, no pressure. The 17 years, the 10 years of being in America, the past three years of building my brand and my return back home. It’s the biggest match of my life and I can say 100 percent I am ready for this. I’m excited to steal the show and have people talking about this match for a long time. I’m ready to bring something special and, as I’ve said before, we have a silent competition with ‘SummerSlam’ the next night and competition is very healthy for everybody. We’re looking to put on a show that will have people talking.”

WWE calling him the “Chosen One” during his first stint with the company:

“He [Vince McMahon] saw something in me when I was younger that I didn’t necessarily see myself and maybe others didn’t see which is a pretty cool feeling,” said McIntyre. “And finally, years later, after all the things I’ve been through and growing up, I think, finally, now it’s starting to materialize and everyone is starting to see what he saw back in the day. He had that kind of faith in me and saw something in me that he was willing to endorse me in that way and perhaps it just took a minute and took a few life experiences to actually bring out what he saw.”

You can read the entire interview here.

Bobby Lashley recently took part in a media conference to promote Thursday’s GFW Destination X special on Pop TV. Lashley talked about various topics including wrestling WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle in his final TNA match and Alberto El Patron being stripped of the GFW World Championship. Here are the highlights:

Wrestling Kurt Angle in his final match in TNA:

“I’ve done a lot of things in wrestling – big pay-per-views all across the world, from WrestleMania to everything else – but I put that match all the way at the top. Not at the top of everything, but I think it’s my top two or three. Reason being, I’ve always looked up to Kurt. I was watching him when I was in high school wrestling and Kurt was winning nationals in college.

When I went to college and was winning national championships, Kurt was winning the World and Olympic championships. I just kind of followed him all the way up. Afterwards, when I was at the Olympic training center, Kurt came to there to do a vignette and Kurt is the one that found me. He said, ‘You ever think about professional wrestling?’ We talked for a little bit and I passed my number on. The rest is history. He’s the one that got me into professional wrestling.

For 12 years I was in pro wrestling, Kurt and I never crossed paths. When I went to WWE, he went to TNA, when I went to TNA, he stepped out and was fighting, he came back and I was out and then I finally came back. This whole time he mentored me along the way, we would always talk to me on the phone and we’d talk about different matches and what to do and he’d just help me out with the politics of wrestling. Actually having an opportunity to wrestle him, towards the end, that was the one thing that I was pulling for so hard. I was telling them ‘if Kurt is getting ready to retire, you gotta get me in the ring with him.’ It was incredible. We had two big matches in each time it was like you were in the ring with your teacher. I like Kurt’s style, I mimic Kurt’s style to a certain extent so to me it was amazing.”

GFW suspending Alberto El Patron and stripping him of the World Championship:

“If we go out there and do something we have to hold ourselves accountable for the things that we do. The company has to do what they have to do. It’s an unfortunate situation. I don’t know all of the details because I try to stay out of that. My business and my contract says for me to be a performer and do that part, not to do any of the backstage or office stuff. The one thing I do know is, who needs the title? That’s me. Give me my title back. I could care less what’s going on with him. I’m just here to compete and now there’s an open title. That’s what I’m focussed on.”

H/T to Pro Wrestling Torch for the transcript of this interview.

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has posted a new blog entry over at his official website where he gives his thoughts on various topics. Here are the highlights:

Ric Flair being hospitalized:

“The word that my long time friend and the greatest pro wrestler to ever live, Ric Flair, is in the hospital in intensive care has many of us concerned. As I write this, no official info has been released on the nature of Ric’s condition but heart issues are reportedly in the mix. Our thoughts are with Natich and his entire family on a speedy and full recovery.  Ric and I were sitting next to each other on a USAirways flight in the late 80’s when we both met my late, wife Jan. Ric likes to tell the story of how he “introduced Jan and me” of which I encourage because it makes him smile.”

This Sunday’s WWE SummerSlam PPV:

“Regarding Summer Slam, of which I have high expectations, I am anxious to see how Jinder Mahal and Shinsuke Nakamura mesh bell to bell as this one could be a sleeper. Both men have much to prove, IMO, on this stage and in this specific match.  Also, I am not of the mindset that it is automatic that Brock Lesnar will lose the Universal Title Sunday. I could see, however, this huge main event setting up Lesnar vs Strowman down the road on another big stage. I will be dropping by the Barclay Center Saturday night to watch the NXT Takeover which has quite the lineup itself. The Takeover events seemingly never disappoint. Great weekend of TV on the @WWENetwork.”

Ross also talked about NJPW and more. You can read the entire blog here.

Carmella recently spoke with Gorilla Position to talk about various topics including the first-ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match and working with James Ellsworth. Here are the highlights:

Winning the Women’s Money in the Bank Match:

“When I first found out that we were having a ladder match I was a little scared. I’m kind of a small girl so I was a little nervous about jumping off ladders and taking big falls, but I persevered and not only did I get to be part of the match but I got to be the winner – not once but twice. It was exciting, fun and scary all rolled into one. It was the best feeling ever, and I’ve loved shoving in everyone’s face that didn’t believe in me, everyone who told me I would never do anything in WWE other than a cheerleader. It really cemented myself in the history books, and whatever happens from now on I’ll always be Ms. Money In The Bank. It was a really satisfying moment.”

Enjoying the past year on SmackDown Live:

“What a year for the SmackDown women’s division and for me personally, I can’t believe what we’ve done. The girls main evented SmackDown with a cage match, we had the first ever women’s Money In The Bank match and the No DQ match I had with Nikki Bella. If you would have asked me this time last year all of the things that would happen I wouldn’t have believed you, but it’s happening and we’re making history. I’m the first ever two-time Ms. Money In The Bank, I’ve been able to have matches with some incredible talent, it’s like a dream come true.”

Being paired with James Ellsworth:

“He’s the man, he’s a really good friend of mine and because of him, I’m at where I’m at, because of our friendship. I don’t think anyone saw me being with James Ellsworth coming, but it got people talking and it’s different, you really see a woman with a male manager. I really enjoyed the controversy around the Money In The Bank Ladder Match because everyone was so upset about, and I loved it. It’s been a lot of fun and I think we make a great team.”

Looking forward to SummerSlam:

“I can’t wait for SummerSlam and especially as it’s in New York, which is always very special. Summertime in New York is always a lot of fun and I can’t wait for my second SummerSlam. At the moment my plan is to hold onto the contract as long as I can. I’m messing with Naomi right now because she has the title, but who knows how long she’ll have that and maybe I’ll cash it in soon or maybe I won’t. I like to catch whoever it will be off-guard, so I’m not going to reveal my plans just yet.”

You can read the full interview here.

Braun Strowman recently spoke with TV Insider to talk about various topics including his relationship with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon and wrestling Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and Samoa Joe in the Fatal 4-Way match at this Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view event. Here are the highlights:

Competing in the Fatal 4-Way match at SummerSlam:

“Just to share the ring with guys like Brock [Lesnar], [Samoa] Joe and [Roman] Reigns. They have all been doing this a lot longer than I have. They have been around the world and done it all. To be able to be in the main event of SummerSlam, about two years to the day when I debuted on Monday Night Raw. If that doesn’t speak for itself. I don’t know what does. …Everyone can look forward to me holding the Universal Championship over my head at the end of it.”

His relationship with Vince McMahon:

“Vince has been adamant that everything I do be spot-on, and when it’s not, I know. That’s part of the reason I take pride in what I do and give 100 percent of what I am capable of giving. That’s because I know that not only are there millions of fans watching to make sure I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, but the boss himself is watching, too. He is so hands-on and wants me to be a peak performance at all times.”

Strowman also talked about working with The Big Show and more. You can read the entire interview here.

Former WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor recently spoke with ESPN while promoting this Sunday’s SummerSlam pay-per-view event. The Raw Superstar talked about various topics including if the Demon King will return at SummerSlam and facing Bray Wyatt at the upcoming event. Here are the highlights:

Wrestling Bray Wyatt:

“[Wyatt] talks in riddles. He talks in tongues. Half the time I don’t even understand it. I know he can talk a lot, that’s for sure. You give him the mic, you’re gonna have a hard time getting the mic back. He certainly likes to talk. Whether it makes any sense or not is up to the people listening. Regardless of what he says or for how long he says it, when the bell rings he is one of the absolute best out there for the last four years he’s been at the top. He’s been doing tremendous things. You can’t ever discredit his ability in the ring. I think people forget how big Bray is. Bray is like 300, 320 pounds. He moves like he’s 220. He’s definitely a force to be reckoned with in the ring, and it’s something I’m going to have to adjust my style every day to help cope with it.”

If the Demon King is coming back for SummerSlam:

“Maybe we will, maybe we won’t [see the Demon King at SummerSlam]. A lot of people are under the impression that Finn Balor relies on the Demon King, but that is certainly not the case. If it’s required and emotions are running high going into SummerSlam then maybe the Demon King will show up. If not, we’ll see the Demon King in the near future I’m sure.”

Balor also talked about feuding with Samoa Joe while in NXT and more. You can read the entire interview here.

Former Ring of Honor World Tag Team Champion Frankie Kazarian recently spoke with The Wrestling News Hub about various topics including his friendship with AJ Styles and Samoa Joe as well as Christopher Daniels winning the ROH World Title from Adam Cole at the ROH 15 Anniversary pay-per-view event in March. Here are some of the highlights:

Christopher Daniels winning the ROH World Title earlier this year:

“First and foremost, I was very, very proud of the entire angle, and how we were able to hook everybody and pull the wool over everyone’s eyes, which is hard to do these days in the professional wrestling landscape. That was great and everyone played their part so well. The Young Bucks and Adam Cole. Everyone played their part so well. The night Chris won the title I was right there with him and it was as though I had won the title myself. How much he has given this business, if people only knew they would be astonished, and I know it was something he wanted for so long and worked so very hard for. It was like imaging two guys who were actors that came up together, and one gets nominated for an Academy Award, you are going to be happy for them, it’s the pinnacle. For him to be the Ring of Honor World Champion meant so much to him because of his pedigree there. It was just a great night, one of the better nights of my career. I am very happy for him and so very happy the angle came off the way that it did. Everyone enjoyed the match, and everyone enjoyed the way the angle came off. It was just a really, really good night for me and my career.”

His friendship with AJ Styles and Samoa Joe:

“We just make it work. You would be hard pressed to find four guys that were closer than AJ, Joe, Daniels, and I; we have been through a lot together. From our time in TNA and being there from day one, and just all the ebbs and flows and ups and downs that each guy has gone through, great times and hard times, and being there for each other and having each other’s backs, and then wars in the ring whether it be on the same side or against each other. It creates a unique bond. I can’t really put it into words. We have such a strong bond, and no matter how much time passes, when you see each other and when you talk on the phone you are right back to where you started. I could go months without seeing Joe and AJ, but when we do get together it’s like it was five minutes. I am blessed and fortunate to have a bond with three guys that I have known many years. They are the best friends I could ask for. For me, it was real easy, and I have a lot of really good friends, but those are the guys that I will communicate with until they throw dirt on me. It is pretty simple because that bond is so strong.”

You can read the entire interview here.

WWE Performance Center coach and former Ring of Honor color commentator Steve Corino recently spoke with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated to talk about various topics. Here are the highlights:

On his decision to leave Ring of Honor to work for WWE:

“I can show my enthusiasm and passion for the business here at the Performance Center. I was lucky enough to learn from Kevin Sullivan and Dusty Rhodes and Terry Funk, and their passion still lives in me, so I’m passing that on.”

On working with WWE’s first China-born wrestler Tian Bing:

“I’ve been to Japan over 80 times, and I wished he spoke Japanese so I could work with him. I found out he can speak perfect Japanese, and we just built this perfect rapport. He wants to learn. We have a different connection. Some of the guys who come here after a career in football don’t know Satoshi Kojima, but when I mention Satoshi Kojima to him, he always wants to learn more. He is an incredible talent and improving every day.”

Corino also talked about ECW and more. You can read the entire interview here.

Former WWE ring announcer and GFW wrestler Brandi Rhodes recently spoke with Chuck Carroll of CBS Sports to talk about her exit from Global Force Wrestling, some of the disappointments she had while in WWE and more. Here are the highlights:

Departing from Global Force Wrestling:

“Unfortunately, that story is kind of a mess. There are some valid statements that I’ve seen, but it’s really not as dramatic as people want it to be. Basically, Cody and I were very candid with what we were doing after WWE as far as contracts go. People are confused. I never signed the contract that people think I signed with Global Force stating that they got percentages. What I did sign was a tentative contract with Impact Wrestling when they were still Impact. That contract had a clause for me, because I was already working on some stuff in other areas of television. That clause basically said that if something else in television were to happen for me, they can’t be uncooperative. And if they were uncooperative, we would be able to part ways. And that is honestly what happened. So, I am filming something awesome in Atlanta, but I can’t say what it is.”

WWE turning her into a ring announcer:

“Yes, and no. I really enjoyed ring announcing and had a lot of fun with that. I had many different ways to challenge myself with that and make it fun and interesting. But when you’ve been an athlete and used to being a physical person, sometimes that takes over. And you’re kind of like, ‘Okay, when am I going to get my chance to do my thing?’

While I was announcing I was the same person I am now, who was in the gym, eating right and doing all of these things. Being physical [is] something I’ve always done. I figure skated for 17 years on a highly competitive level. So, sitting down and watching other people compete is a difficult thing for me. … I felt like there was potential for more, and I did try. People have seen some of the backstage shoots with myself and Cody doing these different characters. It would have been so much fun. Just not being able to get there got a little frustrating. Being able to do all of the stuff now, it’s so much fun and confirms for me I was able to do more, and I was ready to do more.”

Rhodes also talked about her tribute to Dusty Rhodes in Ring of Honor and more. You can read the entire interview here.

Bobby Lashley recently spoke with Jay Reddick of The Orlando Sentinel to promote next week’s GFW Destination X special on Pop TV. Lashley talked about various topics including working with Donald Trump at WrestleMania 23 in 2007, the recent changes with GFW and more. Here are the highlights:

The recent changes with GFW:

“We’re at that place where every company is when there’s a change in regime. There’s always a little bump and a backstep, then you move forward. I don’t want to say things are bad because I’m not a pessimist. We needed the change. There are a lot of insecurities, but at this point, I trust the decisions that are being made.”

Working with Donald Trump at WrestleMania 23:

“I think a lot of people want me to say he was arrogant and pushed his weight around, but I can’t. The first time we met, he just came over, introduced himself, shook my hand and said ‘It looks like we’ll be working together.’ Then we just joked around and he introduced me to his family and his kids. We only worked together a handful of times, but he was cool. He never tried to take over. He was all about ‘How can we make this great? How can I help make this better?’ He joked with me that when this was over, I’d be recognized by all the girls in Times Square – and he did what he said.”

Lashley also talked about wrestling Matt Sydal at Destination X and more. You can read the full interview here.

A new report has surfaced online that suggest that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon was upset with Shinsuke Nakamura for his botched spot in the #1 contender match with John Cena on last week’s episode of SmackDown Live in Cleveland, OH.

As seen in the match, Nakamura hit a Back Suplex on Cena in which the former WWE Champion seemed to land pretty harshly on his neck. Fortunately for Cena, he was able to continue the match, which saw Nakamura pick up the victory.

Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated is reporting that McMahon was furious with the former NXT Champion for the botched spot. With WWE being dependent on the drawing power of the former WWE Champion, it was noted that McMahon’s anger was more in defense of Cena than it was an indictment of Nakamura. According to the report, McMahon has not lost faith in Nakamura, but if Nakamura makes another mistake on a grand stage, then McMahon will have an entirely different opinion of him.

Nakamura is scheduled to challenge Jinder Mahal for the WWE Championship at the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view event on August 20th at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Rich Bocchini, better known as Rich Brennan in WWE NXT, recently spoke with Jay Reddick of the Orlando Sentinel. During the interview, the former NXT ring announcer talked about various topics including how the late great WWE Hall of Famer Dusty Rhodes helped him as an announcer and why some fans prefer independent wrestling over WWE. Here are the highlights:

Independent wrestling:

“I think it has to do with how nerd culture has melded with popular culture. A lot of indie wrestling is the hipster crowd that’s maybe into ‘Star Wars,’ comics and craft beer. I’m a little older, but I consider myself one of them. Every decent-sized city now has one craft brewery, if not four and people want to support the local brand, it feels like they can make it their own. That’s what indie wrestling is, it’s craft wrestling. It caters to the fan that doesn’t want the bigness of WWE and the indies are small enough that they can really listen to what people want on a more personal level.”

Dusty Rhodes helping him in NXT:

“I loved to pick Dusty’s brain on big-picture stuff. He gave me confidence. There were a lot of kids learning promos who were scared to death, but if he saw you worked hard and had passion, he would get behind you. He trusted both me and Corey Graves to do more and more and that was huge.”

You can read the entire interview here.

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross has posted a new blog entry over at his official website where he gives his thoughts on various topics. Here are the highlights.

WWE Championship match between Jinder Mahal and Shinsuke Nakamura at SummerSlam:

“Curious to see how the Jinder Mahal vs Shinsuke Nakamura title bout at SummerSlam evolves. The Two main events for the WWE and the Universal Titles at SummerSlam are compelling regrding the strategy component IMO. It’s certainly an opportunity to enhance the TV personas of multiple talents i.e. “Maximize One’s Minutes.”

Bayley and Scott Dawson’s injuries:

“Never a good time for injures in any endeavor but it looks as if both Bayley and Scott Dawson of Revival will miss SummerSlam with injuries. There’s no good time to be injured but the key ingredient is how does one strategize and execute coming back better than when they were before they were injured? Mental preparation for one’s craft doesn’t have to stop because of a ruptured bicep or separated shoulder. Bayley is as good as there is in the women’s division in WWE while The Revival boys are one of my favorite tag teams to come along in years and remind me so much of Jim Cornette’s famed, Midnight Express teams.”

Weekly WWE UK TV show:

“I get asked often about the WWE U.K. TV Show that has been discussed sporadically over the past several months and I don’t have an update except to say that the idea is still alive and well. I hope to be included with Nigel McGuiness on the broadcast team if and when it happens.”

Ross also talked about NJPW’s G1 Climax and more. You can read the entire blog here.

Ring of Honor World Heavyweight Champion Cody Rhodes recently spoke with FanBuzz.com to talk about various topics including his departure from WWE, success in NJPW and more. You can check out the highlights right here:

The reason he didn’t tell Goldust about leaving WWE:

“He didn’t hear about it. I didn’t really share it with him, I don’t know why. He found out like everyone else did that day,” Rhodes said. “That was a decision where I can’t stay with WWE because you guys are honoring my dad so much. I’m an individual myself. I love my dad, but if I stay here because you guys are honoring his legacy, yet you don’t honor me and honor my hard work, then I can tell you the number one person who would be pissed off would be my dad.”

His short time in GFW:

“Brandi was watching Maria and Mike (Bennett) on Pop and she wanted to go. I didn’t have any plans to go, but I thought I could absolutely try to help make that happen. I didn’t have a bad outing at all or a single complaint. I do think it was a bit misleading to fans whereas I had only signed on to do 3-4 dates and I didn’t re-sign — I would have made everyone aware if I had re-signed. So it was a little misleading because I think they made it seem like I was part of the roster and I really wasn’t, I was just dropping in and saying hello on occasion,” Rhodes said.

“They let me do that, so I respect Impact for letting me do that. I really liked Dixie (Carter), really liked Billy (Corgan), really liked Jeff and Karen (Jarrett). No complaints.”

Rhodes also talked about his goals for next year and more. You can read the entire interview here.