Roman Reigns is set to make his big screen debut this summer. Reigns has joined the cast of Hobbs and Shaw, the Fast and Furious spinoff movie starring his cousin Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
The Rock broke the news on Instagram on Friday. In a message that accompanied two photos of Reigns on set, Rock wrote, “Good times droppin’ sweat and spillin’ blood with my family, @RomanReigns who’ll be playing my brother in our FAST & FURIOUS UNIVERSE. I’m very proud of his focus, effort and authentic performance in our movie for his very first time on film.”
Reigns has been off WWE television since October, when he shocked the world by announcing he is battling a recurrence of leukemia, a blood cancer. Rock also addressed Reigns’ health, saying that he’s inspired by Reigns’ perseverance and humility.
“I’m also very grateful to spend this quality time with my cousin here in the islands as he takes life one day at a time to recover from leukemia,” said The Rock. “His perseverance and humility battling this challenge has inspired our entire family as well as millions around the world in our beloved WWE Universe.”
Hobbs and Shaw hits theaters August 2nd, 2019.
Below, check out The Rock’s full statement and two photos of Roman Reigns on the set of Hobbs and Shaw:
Ronda Rousey is keeping her private life private and that includes any plans she might have for starting a family with her husband Travis Browne.
The reigning WWE RAW women’s champion fired back at a report that surfaced earlier this week from the Wrestling Observer that suggested Rousey could be leaving WWE after a year with the company with plans to start a family in the very near future.
Additional reports stated that Rousey could stick around WWE after WrestleMania but work a drastically reduced schedule similar to other part-time superstars like The Undertaker or John Cena.
It’s no secret that Rousey has said numerous times in the past that she wanted to have children with her husband but she’s not going to talk to anybody about the timing of when that will happen.
Rousey fired back at that report with a statement released through ESPN reporter Ramona Shelburne, who is a regular collaborator with the former UFC women’s champion.
“I honestly don’t know why [anyone] feels like [they’re] an authority to speak on the plans for my uterus,” Rousey said. “If I responded every single time the world speculated what I was doing with my womb I would not have a free moment in the day.
“I really don’t feel like I should have to respond to that kind of thing. It’s my vagina, my life, keep the speculations to yourself. Leave me and my reproductive organs alone.”
Obviously Rousey didn’t flat out deny that she might be leaving WWE or possibly working a reduced scheduled after WrestleMania but she certainly isn’t going to justify rumors based around her private life.
It’s worth noting that Rousey has spoken (extensively) about her plans to start a family. Back in 2015, she told Fox Sports, “I’m an ovarian goldmine. I can’t waste these genes.” Last year, she told ESPN, “[Husband Travis Browne and I] had a set timeline set, and now we aren’t so sure about it because I love [WWE] so much,” she said. “I guess that’s the best thing that could’ve happened, that I would love it so much it would be so hard to stop.”
Rousey is scheduled to defend her RAW women’s title this Sunday at the Royal Rumble where she takes on Sasha Banks in one of the featured bouts on the card.
There are high expectations for Rousey to take part in one of the main matches at WrestleMania 35 including a potential and long awaited showdown with Smackdown women’s superstar Becky Lynch.
What Rousey’s plans are after WrestleMania remain a mystery but if she’s taking time off to start a family, she made it clear that she’ll be the one to make that announcement and no one else.
“I’ve not kept it a secret that I would definitely want to start a family,” Rousey said. “But how do you go about doing that? I love this way more than I thought that I would. So do you just keep going until you just happen to get pregnant? Or should you stop and go try and get pregnant? Or is going and trying to get pregnant putting yourself on the spot and then you’re less likely to get pregnant? I’ve never had a baby before, I don’t know these kinds of things.
“It would be kind of cool to just keep acting and then one day, ‘Hey, surprise twist, I’m pregnant.’ That would be fun. There’s a lot of things up in the air. A lot of decisions that we’ve gotta make as a family. I’m trying to figure it out as I go along.”
WWE presents the 32nd Royal Rumble event this Sunday from Phoenix, Arizona at Chase Field. It will be the first time since WrestleMania XIX (2003) that a WWE pay-per-view is held at a baseball stadium.
Since the Royal Rumble weekend is now upon us, photos from inside the venue are starting to surface online. Chase Field can accommodate over 43,000 people, but current ticket sales indicate around 30,000 are expected for the Rumble. It’s set to be a historic weekend that will jumpstart the road to WrestleMania 35.
SEScoops will have non-stop news coverage all weekend leading up to the Royal Rumble. Make sure to check out our official Royal Rumble predictions and join us here Sunday night for WWE Royal Rumble Live Coverage results.
On the latest episode of the “After 83 Weeks” podcast (companion to the 83 Weeks), Eric Bischoff told host Christy Olson that he’s sure Vince McMahon is taking steps to prevent WWE talent from jumping to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Bischoff also called the WWE Universal Championship “meaningless” and explained why he won’t publicly debate Vince Russo
WWE Universal Championship: “Who cares?”
Brock Lesnar will defend the Universal Championship against Finn Balor this Sunday at the Royal Rumble. Bischoff says Lesnar is a total badass and fans are interested in seeing how can defeat him once and for all. However, he doesn’t feel the Universal Championship being on the line adds anything to this match.
“I don’t think it matters if Brock Lesnar held the Universal title or not, and I don’t think anybody cares about the Universal title,” said Bischoff. “It’s meaningless. Who cares? I think people care about Brock. I think he is such a badass, and such a larger than life character, and so unbeatable that the world is waiting to see who and if anybody will come along and knock him from his throne. But I don’t think there would be any more or any less interest in any of those matchups if the belt was not a part of it.”
There are Superstars on the WWE roster who are interested in working elsewhere. After signing with All Elite Wrestling, Chris Jericho revealed AEW offered him the biggest contract of his long career. Eric Bischoff says Vince McMahon is well aware talent might be curious about their value on the open market – and revealed what he would do if he was currently in Vince’s position.
“It’s a talent driven business, and the Khan family is willing to write a big check for Chris Jericho and they’re willing to write big checks for other talent who may be in WWE but not happy. If I was Vince McMahon right now I would probably tie them up in as many strings as I possibly could. In fact I’m sure he already has. I don’t think there’s a lot of talent in WWE that can just wake up on Monday morning and go, ‘You know what? I’m gonna quit and I’m gonna go work for these guys.’”
Why He Won’t Debate Vince Russo:
Finally, Bischoff said once again that he has no interest in debating, or having anything to do with former WWE, WCW and Impact writer Vince Russo.
“I have zero respect for him. I think he’s a fraud. I think he’s just a creep. I just don’t like him. He’s lied to me and showed me his colors so many different times. I get people all the time saying, oh you should debate him. F*** I’ve debated him in front of Dixie Carter, TNA’s attorney. I made him cry like a little child. Because I revealed him for what he really is. And I’ve done it in front of a whole bunch of people by the way. So I have no desire to give him an audience and try to let him get himself over with his nonsense by debating him.”
Check out the latest episode of After 83 Weeks with Christy Olson, Eric Bischoff and more:
Jeff Cobb was a guest on the Wrestling Epicenter podcast earlier this week. Ring of Honor’s World Television Champion spoke about a broad range of topics, including his time in ROH, what it’s been like backstage following the departure of The Elite, who he wants to wrestle at the G1 Supercard at Madison Square Garden and more. Here are some highlights sent in by host James Walsh.
Winning the ROH TV Title In His Debut
“It was great, man! I wasn’t expecting that right off the bat. I’m grateful for the opportunity. I’m definitely going to do my best and try to elevate it, get my name out there, get the company’s name out there, and hopefully put some prestige back into that TV championship.”
His Time As Matanza in Lucha Underground
“I had a fun playing that character,” Cobb said. “It was something different from what I’m used to. I still get, to this day, that don’t know that’s me. It has taken a while, you know, because of the mask. But, if you follow my move set, it is pretty much the same. (laughs)”
As for why ROH has not acknowledged his past work as Matanza, Cobb understands the company’s position.
“I just think the focus should be on Ring of Honor. Unless we work with those other companies, I don’t see why we need to mention it.”
He continued, “I think throughout history, it shows that wrestlers do better when they are themselves. I just feel more comfortable being myself and being able to use my facial expressions to tell a story. It is harder under a mask. I don’t not like what I did. but, I feel like it is better as myself.”
The Loss Of The Elite Creating New Opportunities in ROH
“It is always a blow to any company when an athlete leaves. You can relate that to pretty much any sport. I’m a basketball fan. When Michael Jordan left to go play baseball, the Chicago Bulls were still good. They refilled the talent pool. I feel that is the same with Ring of Honor.”
Cobb said that ROH has dealt with countless former world champions moving on over the years, including Daniel Bryan, CM Punk, Samoa Joe and many more. ROH knows how to rebuild and that’s already being demonstrated with the new talent that’s joined the roster in recent weeks.
“Villain Enterprises, Juice Robinson, Bandito. There’s going to be voids to fill and I feel like our new signings are going to step up and take the company into the future.”
Cobb later reiterated that ROH is a great company with a great locker room. “We’re on par with all the other wrestling companies out there – Hint hint, New York!”
Who He Wants To Face At MSG For ROH/NJPW’s G1 Supercard
Cobb said The Garden is the mecca of pro wrestling and it would be tremendous honor to work there. He actually had an amateur wrestling match there back in 2003 and said he’ll probably cry on his way to the ring if he gets a chance to be part of G1 Supercard. As for who he wants to face, he said:
“It is a joint production so I don’t know if they are going to do cross-promotional matches. If they do, Okada would be a good one. If they would put their title on the line against mine and Naito is still Intercontinental Champion, I think that is the secondary belt in New Japan. Why wouldn’t the secondary belt go against the secondary belt?”
Listen to Jeff Cobb’s appearance on Wrestling Epicenter here:
This Sunday, the WWE Royal Rumble takes place from Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona. Over 40,000 fans will be on hand to witness which WWE Superstars will earn the right to challenge for championship gold at WrestleMania 35 .
To commemorate Sunday’s pay-per-view, Chase Field has announced it will be serving a one-of-a-kind Royal Rumble Burger. What exactly does a Royal Rumble Burger entail?
18 oz. pork bratwurst patty on a toasted onion roll
Cheddar cheese, smoked bacon and fried onions
BBQ aioli sauce and crispy coleslaw
Topped with fried mac and cheese wedges.
For only $13, this thing is obscene. If you are attending the Royal Rumble and are brave enough to tangle with the Royal Rumble burger, please let us know on Twitter how it was (and how you felt afterwards).
Update: WWE Champion Daniel Bryan does NOT approve of the Royal Rumble Burger.
Chase Field should be ashamed of themselves. Made from factory farmed pigs, an intelligent and extremely social mammal, and cheese from cows, who’s baby’s were ripped away from them. THEN add the heart disease delivered to the people who eat it. #SHAME#TheWorstGenerationhttps://t.co/6zlJ5zpyRN
– Next Saturday night, Major League Wrestling invades the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PA for MLW Superfight. New matches for Superfight have been announced – more on that below. Superfight will be an MLW Fusion television taping, with some of the top matches airing live on beIN SPORTS as the latest MLW Fusion LIVE special.
League officials have confirmed MLW Fusion LIVE will feature the following matches:
MLW World Champion Low Ki vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor
MLW World Tag Team Champions The Lucha Bros. (Pentagon Jr. & Rey Fenix) vs. The Hart Foundation (w/Brian Pillman Jr.)
In a press release sent into SEScoops.com, MLW CEO Court Bauer commented, “There’s a spontaneity to live television and with 2 championship fights set for our broadcast, I expect the champions and challengers to bring it and make history on beIN SPORTS next Saturday.”
MLW Superfight: New Matches Announced
– Alexander Hammerstone has signed with Major League Wrestling. The 6’3″ power wrestler from Arizona has wrestled for Impact Wrestling and is known for his explosive athleticism. Hammerstone will debut at MLW Superfight next Saturday night in Philadelphia, PA at the 2300 Arena.
In addition to the MLW debut ofAlexander Hammerstone, two more bouts have been confirmed for Superfight. Rich Swann returns to face Ace Austin and Koto Brazil battles Ricky Martinez in a grudge match.
Impact Wrestling Hall of Famer Abyss and Sonjay Dutt are both gone from Impact Wrestling. According to PWInsider, both men are expected to join WWE in the near future. That report states Abyss and Dutt had “great opportunities” awaiting them in WWE and Impact willingly allowed them to pursue them.
Abyss had been with Impact Wrestling since the company’s formation back in 2002. After a storied career, he was inducted into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame during Bound For Glory weekend last October. Abyss had been working behind the scenes as a producer. He is the last of the Impact “originals” still on board.
It will be very interesting to see what Abyss’ role will be in WWE and whether or not he gets an on-screen run before settling into a backstage role.
Dutt started with Impact back in 2003. He’s a former X-Division champion and was also working as a producer.
Konnan and Tommy Dreamer will replace Abyss and Sonjay Dutt on the Impact creative team. They’ll be working with Don Callis and Scott D’Amore in the months ahead as Impact looks to gain traction in 2019.
All Elite Wrestling has filed a trademark application for the phrase, “Change The Universe.” According to the US Patent & Trademark Office, the filing took place last week, January 17th.
The application covers a very broad range of uses, including Live streaming of video pay-per-view events on the internet, merchandise, organizing and staging entertainment events with wrestling fan club members, providing online newsletters in the fields of sports entertainment and dozens more.
The usage is so broad that it suggests “Change The Universe” might be the slogan for the promotion.
AEW Trademarks
AEW has pending trademark applications for several other phrases. Some of these pending trademarks are already in use, while others have yet to be rolled out.
The company is actively using the phrases AEW, All Elite Wrestling and Double Or Nothing. Double or Nothing is the first live wrestling event under the AEW banner. That show takes place Saturday, May 25th from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Ticket information for that show is coming soon.
Fight for the Fallen is another AEW trademark we recently uncovered. AEW Executive Vice President has been talking about an AEW live event scheduled for July. That event from Jacksonville, Florida will benefit the victims of gun violence.
AEW trademarks not currently in use are AEW All Out (presumably the name of a live event) and Tuesday Night Dynamite.
– WWE has announced a new licensing agreement with New Era Cap Co. Inc. As part of this new agreement, New Era will produce select hats for marquee WWE events, including WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble and Survivor Series, as well as select headwear featuring logos, names and catch phrases of WWE Superstars and Legends. The WWE-branded New Era caps go on sale this April.
Excited to announce our partnership with the @WWE! Be on the lookout for a full collection soon, and multiple drops throughout the year. pic.twitter.com/oVtt1jWnHY
– “WWE 24: WrestleMania Big Easy” premieres this Sunday night on the WWE Network immediately following the Royal Rumble. The latest installment of the WWE 24 documentary series profiles last year’s WrestleMania 34 pay-per-view from New Orleans.
– In just a matter of days, Sasha Banks challenges Ronda Rousey for the RAW Women’s Championship at the Royal Rumble. The two have been exchanging words on social media in recent weeks and The Boss has responded to Rousey calling her a “Faux” Horsewoman.
Channeling Demolition member Smash, Banks says, “I’ll kick your teeth in, tap you out, and send you back to your farm wishing you never even stepped in a ring.”
Finn Balor spoke to ESPN about his Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar this Sunday at the Royal Rumble. Lesnar will be the toughest fight of Balor’s WWE career. When Balor is up against his biggest challenges, he summons the demon inside. The Irish Superstar told ESPN he will not be tapping into his painted alter ego at the Rumble.
“I feel like maybe I leaned on the demon too much there in the past as a crutch, and I can assure you that the man who faces Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble will be Finn Balor, the man,” he told Tim Fiorvanti of ESPN.com.
“I think a lot of people were surprised when I came out at WrestleMania not in demon paint but I feel like I had a bigger message to spread that day — one of equality and acceptance. Honestly, this match just kind of came about so fast that I haven’t had much time to think about it.”
Balor added that he not have new ring gear or a surprise look in store for the title match, but we’re still several days away and he’ll probably come up with something.
Major League Wrestling CEO Court Bauer has commented on the state of MLW contracts.
It’s no secret that the market for independent wrestling talent is heating up. WWE, New Japan, Ring of Honor, All Elite Wrestling, Impact and MLW are all working aggressively to bolster their rosters. The shifting landscape has dealt MLW a few setbacks in recent months. Former MLW World Champion Shane Strickland is rumored to be WWE bound, while Ring of Honor has signed MLW regulars RUSH, PCO and Brody King.
In light of MLW losing a few talented guys to ROH, a fan on Twitter asked Bauer about the state of MLW contracts. User @RulezGoldberg says he finds it difficult to invest in MLW storylines without knowing if the wrestlers he’s following will be around long-term.
Bauer addressed RUSH, Brody King and PCO’s departures and provided some insight about MLW’s “open borders” philosophy towards wrestler contracts.
In the year-plus since the relaunch of Major League Wrestling, the promotion’s has demonstrated resiliency as they continue building a loyal audience. Similar to ROH refreshing its roster to offset the losses of The Young Bucks, Cody Rhodes and Hangman Page, MLW has also been bringing in fresh faces. New (and returning) performers to be featured at upcoming MLW shows include Ace Austin, Mance Warner, Gringo Loco, Rey Horus and Aero Star.
Catch MLW Fusion Friday nights on beIN SPORTS. Those new episodes are added to MLW’s YouTube channel the following night.
MLW’s next big event is SuperFight, which takes place next Saturday night, February 2nd from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PA. Matches from that show will be part of the MLW Fusion Live television special.
Earlier this week, we spoke with Cody Rhodes, Executive Vice President of All Elite Wrestling. Among the topics discussed, we wanted to know if Cody believes there are any conflicts regarding he, the Young Bucks and wife Brandi ‘booking themselves’ in AEW.
In the January 14th, 2019 edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was stated that AEW President Tony Khan will serve in the “Vince McMahon role” as head of creative, with Cody focusing on the men’s singles division, the Young Bucks in charge of tag teams and Brandi handling the women.
We asked Cody if that report was accurate and if so, are there any conflicts (whether legitimate or perceived) regarding the AEW executives booking their own wins and losses and determining how they are portrayed on screen.
Cody first addressed the Observer report and appears to dispute that Tony Khan will be head of creative. Cody clarifies that Tony is handling the booking side of things and the “brain trust” of the AEW product is he, Matt and Nick Jackson.
“Oh, for sure there’s the potential for conflict and there’s the potential to do it wrong. I think Dave’s report, and he’s got his information pretty well, Dave’s report is a little skewed, the brain-trust here is still me, Matt and Nick. Tony is teaching us – that guy teaches me something every day about the business end of things. In terms of the booking, and that’s a very fair question, I jokingly keep saying, ‘Well, I’m going to book myself as the champion.’ I think everyone will be very pleased.”
Interestingly, Cody acknowledges there may be some ‘hiccups’ involved in avoiding his own self-interest when booking AEW.
Again, I learn from the same success and the same mistakes that my dad made when he was booking and Executive Producing Jim Crocket Promotions. I mean that whole heartedly. I’m telling you, I think people will be surprised about the presentation we put on. This isn’t a vanity promotion by any means. I know there’s going to be some pitfalls and moments and hiccups with that.”
He continued, “I want to make sure we don’t lean into the criticism. There’s plenty of folks saying, ‘They’re the bookers for this? This is going to be a vanity promotion.’ I don’t lean into the criticism at all. I want to lean into the positivity. The people you saw at All In. The people you saw at the rally. The people who just want an alternative wrestling promotion who are supporting us.”
Cody added that you can’t please everybody in wrestling and trying to do so is the quickest route to failure. He’s looking to please the fans who are getting in on AEW on the ground level. He vowed to be mindful of this potential conflict.
You can’t please everybody in this industry and that’s the quickest route to failure. I want to please those who are on the ground floor with us and the people who are telling their friends and the old school word-of-mouth that is this wrestling industry. We will be mindful of it, but the best wrestlers in general are the ones you’re going to see on top.”
For more on All Elite Wrestling, visit our AEW News page.
Brock Lesnar may be preparing for a showdown against Finn Balor at WWE Royal Rumble in January but lately he’s been back at his old stomping grounds at the University of Minnesota wrestling room.
The 2000 NCAA champion wrestler went back to his roots this week with a session at the Gophers training facility where he faced one of the best young heavyweight wrestlers in recent history.
Gable Steveson — a freshman at the University of Minnesota — just recently took over the No. 1 ranking in the country as he moved to 20-0 on the season earlier this week.
As the NCAA wrestling season continues, Steveson got some mat time in with Lesnar, who was a ferocious monster during his college days while racking up an incredible 106-5 overall record including his championship season as well as being a two-time All-American at Minnesota.
Lesnar has made scarce appearances on Monday Night Raw since winning back the WWE Universal championship but obviously he’s staying in shape while he’s been away.
There are still plenty of questions about Lesnar’s future in WWE after WrestleMania because he was originally expected to return to the UFC for a heavyweight fight against current champion Daniel Cormier.
That plan has been put on hold for now as Cormier deals with some injuries and Lesnar remains focused on his professional wrestling career.
It’s unknown if that will continue after WrestleMania but Lesnar is obviously staying ready for the ring or the Octagon by working with the best heavyweight in college wrestling today.
According to AEW Executive Vice President Cody Rhodes, All Elite Wrestling will be a much less-scripted product than fans are used to. In fact, AEW won’t be hiring any writers for the foreseeable future. As Cody sees it, the wrestlers are the ‘writers’ and the last thing he wants to do is micro-manage the talent.
During our exclusive interview with Cody earlier this week, we asked how the AEW product will be different than WWE’s brand of over-scripted, corporate Sports Entertainment. In addition to a more more sports-like product that include Win/Loss Records and Rankings, Cody says the talent will be working off loose bullet points, not lengthy scripts.
‘Let Wrestlers Play Their Music’
“There’s plenty of young, fresh independent talent out there that probably can use guidance and things of that nature, but there’s also plenty of folks on board already that I wouldn’t dare try to tell them how to play ‘their own music.’ If I am licensing you and I am paying you, then I already know what you can do. These are your songs and I want you to go out there and play them. Obviously, there’s a side that this is a collaborative effort and we do need to have an end goal. That used to always be a thing in wrestling – what is the finish? I don’t mean the match, I mean, the finish to the angle, the finish to the quarter or the year. What is our goal?”
Cody continued, “When you have like-minded super-professionals like Matt and Nick, like Hangman Page, when you have likeminded super-professionals, it’s fun to see how everyone works for that common goal. Again, the wrestling I grew up on. We’re talking bullet points, we’re talking an overall knowledge of the business, and hey, let them go out and play. Take a look back at the wrestling you and I love. For the most part, they’re all grown men and women doing what they were hired to do. They’ve cut their teeth, they’ve paid their dues and now they’re going to go out there and play their music. I would very much like a presentation that mirrors that. We don’t need to micro-manage and we certainly don’t need to script a great deal of the product we’re planning.”
AEW Not Hiring Writers Any Time Soon
“We’re Keeping It Very In-House For Now”
With so many talented wrestling minds out there who have experience booking major league promotions, we wanted to know if AEW has considered reaching out to guys like Eric Bischoff, Bruce Prichard or Jim Cornette to join their team as members of their creative team or as consultants.
“Those resources are available potentially to us,” he said. “I have a good relationship with all three of those guys. But I do know that we want to lean to what we did with All In. And on All In, we did it. Me, Matt and Nick, we did it. The way we did it, it was us. There’s probably going to come a time .. we never want to be so full of pride or so stubborn that we will turn down a good idea. But for now, we’re going to keep it in-house and keep it within the spirit of All In.”
Cody said he’s been asked a lot about writers joining AEW. In a move that shows just how serious they are creative freedom, Cody revealed AEW won’t hiring any writers because “the wrestlers are the writers.”
“This is probably going to be an unpopular thing to say, but I will say it. There won’t be a writer hired for All Elite Wrestling any time soon. Because wrestlers are the writers. We’re the writers. Like I said with guys going out there and playing their own music, believe me – the day comes that I see ‘this is something we can really benefit from’ – absolutely, but I knew 40 writers in WWE and about 4 of them actually did anything. The reason I remember them and value them, they helped produce pre-tapes, they were team players, so right now that’s one thing we’ve gotten a lot of questions about. We’re keeping it very in-house for now.”
For much more on All Elite Wrestling, visit our dedicated AEW News page.
Former WWE superstar Jack Swagger (real name Jake Hager) is busy preparing for his mixed martial arts debut at Bellator 214 on Jan. 26 but he’s always keeping a watchful eye on his other job in professional wrestling.
After exiting the WWE in 2017, Swagger became a mainstay on the independent wrestling circuit, most recently performing for Lucha Underground as ‘Jack Strong’.
Right now, his focus is solely on his debut fight in Bellator but Swagger has definitely seen the developments of All-Elite Wrestling (AEW) over the past week with the launch of the promotion and signing several high profile professional wrestlers.
While AEW has yet to even put on their first show, Swagger believes they have already challenged the status quo with professional wrestling where WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) remains king in the industry.
As far has his own personal interest in potentially working with AEW, Swagger isn’t showing his hand just but definitely sems to admire what the upstart promotion is trying to do right now.
“First I have to say that Bellator has been absolutely amazing to work with. I think you see that with a lot of fighters gravitating towards this promotion because of how they treat their talent and how they put on their promotion. I’m already signed with a great promotion,” Swagger said on Tuesday during a Bellator 214 media conference call.
“As far as AEW and what those guys are doing, I think it’s awesome. I think they’re changing the landscape of professional wrestling, providing competition to the big dog where they haven’t had competition in over 20 years. It’s only going to make things better for professional wrestlers when promotions like AEW emerge and are successful.”
Swagger is obviously putting his attention on fighting right now but he’s still working the independent wrestling scene as much as time allows.
Whether or not AEW would pursue him remains unknown but he’s definitely finding the balance between his two careers — one inside the ring and the other inside the cage.
“It’s been kind of a work in progress,” Swagger said. “When I left WWE in April 2017, I knew I had a lot of meat on the table to capitalize on as far as in the independent wrestling world. At that point, it was the main focus and then slowly as we got closer to being ready to step into the cage, the focus shifts more into the MMA aspect side of it. I think it’s been a really cool journey.
“I definitely would have been ready sooner if I wasn’t wrestling on the weekends but unfortunately I have to make my income the way I can and that was a big part of it to capitalize on my TV exposure and continue on professional wrestling and entertaining. At the same time, I think it will help me with my MMA career so it’s almost like practice, too.”
Would you like to see Jack Swagger sign with AEW? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
Major League Wrestling has announced a new main event for the Thursday, April 4th MLW live event from the Melrose Ballroom in Long Island City.
As a result of RUSH signing an exclusive deal with Ring or Honor, the new main event for this show will be LA Park taking on Pentagon Jr. The April 4th event has also been named, MLW: Rise of the Renegades.
MLW CEO Court Bauer commented on the situation in a press release sent into SEScoops.com. “This is a match and organization Rush wanted to be a part of but sometimes politics get in the way and that’s what this comes down to: politics.”
Tickets start at just $20 at MLWTickets.com for this card.
In addition to the new main event of LA Park vs. Pentagon Jr, other talent signed to appear at MLW: Rise of the Renegades include MLW World Heavyweight Champion Low Ki, The Hart Foundation, Rey Fenix, “Filthy” Tom Lawlor and many more.
Mexican wrestling star RUSH has signed an exclusive deal with Ring of Honor. He announced the news on Tuesday afternoon.
“To all the fans worldwide. The main man of Los Ingobernables, the White Bull RUSH, has a major announcement. For all the fans of ROH, I’m returning one more time, but not just for one date. I’m returning to stay! I’m returning to be the biggest star in ROH. Today, for all those who are hard-headed, for everyone, remember one thing. I am going there to stay My new home is called Ring of Honor. Remember it well. Whatever happens, happens. In the end, nothing happens dog.”
This is a major signing for Ring of Honor, which has been beefing up its roster since the departures of Cody Rhodes, The Young Bucks, Hangman Page and SCU.
RUSH has been a top star in Mexico’s CMLL promotion. He made his debut for Major League Wrestling (MLW) back in November. Through CMLL’s partnership with Ring of Honor, Rush made his ROH on December 15th during the post-Final Battle TV tapings. RUSH is the latest wrestler that ROH has signed away from MLW, following PCO and Brody King.
RUSH had been scheduled to headline MLW’s April 4th WrestleMania weekend show against longtime rival LA Park. As a result of RUSH jumping to ROH, LA Park will instead face Pentagon Jr. Visit MLWTickets.com for details on how you can attend that show.
Watch: RUSH announces his new deal with Ring of Honor
On Monday, we had the chance to speak with Cody Rhodes, Executive Vice President of All Elite Wrestling. In Part 1 of our recap, Cody spoke about how AEW will be different from WWE and the possibility of win-loss records and rankings. In this installment, Cody says AEW isn’t just sitting back while WWE and Ring of Honor sign all the top free agents out there. We also learn about what the future holds for Being The Elite once AEW gets on television.
Signing New Talent
In recent months, WWE, NJPW, MLW and Impact have been signing talent at an unprecedented rate. Guys like WALTER, Bandito, Trevor Lee, PCO, The Hart Foundation (Teddy Hart, Brian Pillman Jr. and Davey Boy Smith Jr.), Juice Robinson and Rocky Romero are among the performers getting locked into new deals.
When questioned about other companies signing talent, Cody replied, “So are we. I signed four people today alone. So we’re doing everything in our power and I think we cover a lot of ends of the spectrum for what we look for. Matt and Nick look for a very next-generation style of talent and I look for a very traditional style of talent. We meet somewhere in the middle. I really like that the three of us are able to get out there and scout. This has been the last few weeks, it’s still very new to me. I’ve never been ‘this guy.’ Making the calls, ‘here’s what we’re offering, please let us know if you have any questions, let me get you the legal’ – some of this stuff to me, I get a kick out of it, this is my dream job.”
The Future of Being The Elite
Being The Elite has been an invaluable tool for The Young Bucks (and company) in terms of building an army of supporters. The weekly Youtube show has helped the Bucks, Cody Rhodes, Hangman Page, Kenny Omega, Marty Scurll and SoCal Uncensored develop their characters and most importantly, increase their brand equity. All In and ultimately All Elite Wrestling were built upon the foundation of Being The Elite.
What does the future hold for Being The Elite once AEW is on television every week? Will we see elements of BTE incorporated into the AEW universe?
“Matt and Nick have done such a wonderful thing with Being The Elite,” Cody said. “Critics of it can watch and say it’s silly, but it translates to the live shows. I’ll give you the best example: Flip Gordon. He would not be in the role he is today with Ring of Honor without Matt and Nick. They helped showcase a side of me that I never had. They helped spotlight Marty. They’ve helped numerous talents. Until we get another medium, on our way to Double or Nothing, a great deal of what’s happening behind the scenes will be shown on Being The Elite.”
Cody joked, “We’re three idiots!” in reference to himself and AEW Executive Vice Presidents Nick and Matt Jackson. “A great deal of what we’re going to be doing is going to be on Being The Elite. I am sure that Being The Elite will be part of AEW as long as both of them are around because it’s massively important to all of us. Sometimes it’s tricky to film because they’ve always got that phone in your face, but it’s worth it. I think everyone whose ever been on Being The Elite for a second has benefitted. This week alone, we have a debut in MJF. I love Being The Elite, I love what it’s done. Hangman Page is another great example. I am sure it will go hand in hand with AEW.”
Stay tuned to SEScoops.com this week as we publish the next parts of our exclusive interview with Cody Rhodes.
On Monday, we had the chance to speak with Cody Rhodes, Executive Vice President of All Elite Wrestling. We covered a wide range of topics and will publish highlights from the interview in a few parts. In Part 1 of our recap, Cody speaks about his vision for AEW and how they plan to differentiate themselves from WWE.
A More Sports-Based Product
We asked Cody how he feels All Elite Wrestling will differ from WWE’s brand of over-produced corporate Sports Entertainment .
“I grew up in the world of sports entertainment myself because my main career experience is with WWE,” he said. “But when I say sports entertainment, I have a love for the side of the business that skews more towards sports. You find that a lot in New Japan Pro Wrestling, you find that a lot in early 90’s WCW that I am always notoriously raving about, I find it a lot in my father’s product, the same with Bill Watts – it’s more of the sports side of it. Pro wrestling is absolutely sports entertainment but it’s also pro wrestling. I think that’s the direction that we’d like to lean.”
Cody continued, “Initially, this was just the idea of doing a sequel to All In. Now it’s a massive endeavor that I’ve committed the rest of my career to. We want to keep that same spirit that we had going into All In, which was a wrestling show for wrestling fans by wrestlers. That’s really key. I spoke real briefly about a couple of things that are going to be really different, but I can say something that Tony [Khan] brings to the table in his analytical experience and his experience in the pro sports world, we’re going to have a heavy emphasis on wins and losses and will be leaning into the sports side of it in terms of that mattering a lot more. We’re not planning to create characters and chance moments in a single night vs. hopefully a more long-form story.”
Wins & Losses
At the Double or Nothing Rally earlier this month, Cody stated that wins and losses will be a big part of All Elite Wrestling. Digging into that topic further, Cody revealed that AEW is considering the possibility of featuring win/loss records and rankings.
“This is preliminary, but I can tell you that we have talked about rankings and we have talked about records. As a kid, we probably all read Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the different mags where they’d have the rankings. Everything we’d like to do is an effort to engage the audience. Not in a way that insults their intelligence. It is something that’s been discussed. I can’t confirm that we’ll do records, or we’ll do an analytical take on it, but I’ve seen some mock ups for some pretty cool stuff.”
“If you really think about it, somebody like Chris Jericho who just signed with All Elite Wrestling, that’s a really cool record to take a look at. Analytically, it’s a really unique outlook on his career, it’s incredibly impressive. New Japan does it in their own unique way, with Tag League and with G1 and you notice the fans get really into that. They want something they can sink their teeth into. I can’t confirm but we’re definitely looking at records and standings, it’s a very strong possibility.”
“Wrestling to me is very real. There is a side of this world that is artificial that we’re all well aware of that. But it’s a much fairer business (it can be) than people realize. And when I say that, the people that the crowd likes the most. Those are the people that you should invest in. You should never sleep on a moment, you’ve seen it before, a moment that the crowd gets behind somebody. That’s a thing to take note of.”
Stay tuned to SEScoops.com this week as we publish the next parts of our exclusive interview with Cody Rhodes.
On Saturday, WWE’s NXT UK brand presented its first-ever Takeover special from Blackpool, England at the Empress Ballroom. The show aired live on the WWE Network.
– Jordan Devlin attacked Travis Banks prior to their match. As a result, Banks was unable to compete. His replacement was announced: Finn Balor. Balor picked up the victory.
– Dave Mastiff defeated Eddie Dennis in a NoDQ match.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson says an interview published by the UK’s Daily Star in which he was quoted criticizing “generation snowflake” is completely fabricated and “100% false.”
According to the Daily Star, The Rock said young people are “looking for a reason to be offended” and disrespect the men and women who have fought and given their lives for freedom and equality. They claim he said, “We thankfully now live in a world that has progressed over the last 30 or 40 years. People can be who they want, be with who they want, and live how they want. That can only be a good thing – but generation snowflake or, whatever you want to call them, are actually putting us backwards.”
On Friday evening, The Rock posted a video on Instagram completely denying he said anything of the sort. “The interview never took place,” he said. “It never happened. I never said any of those words. Completely untrue. 100% fabricated.”
The Rock said it’s not in his nature to criticize a group of people or an entire generation. He encourages empathy, growth and most importantly, everyone’s right to be themselves.
We covered the Daily Star interview, which turned out to be a mistake. We apologize to our readers and to Dwayne Johnson for perpetuating what has turned out to be a false story.
– Tonight’s episode of MLW Fusion on beIN SPORTS will feature Brian Pillman Jr. vs. Tommy Dreamer in a Singapore cane match. You can catch up on past (full) episodes of Fusion over at MLW’s Youtube channel. New shows are added Saturday nights at 6pm ET.
– Rey Horus has signed on to battle AAA star Aerostar at the February Superfight event from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, PA. Horus is the cousin of Rey Mysterio. According to PWInsider, ticket sales for Superfight are strong and MLW is already looking at returning to Philadelphia in the coming months.
The latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter features a ton of new information about All Elite Wrestling. We’ve been covering this developing story all week and you can catch up on everything at our AEW News section. Here are the latest details from the Observer regarding the management structure of AEW:
– AEW President Tony Khan will be head of the creative team in what Dave Meltzer called the “Vince McMahon role.” During an appearance on Sean Waltman’s podcast this week, Khan spoke extensively about his vision for AEW (Recap).
– As noted earlier, Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks will serve as Executive Vice Presidents. Cody will focus primarily on the men’s singles division, while Matt and Nick will handle the tag teams. With the Young Bucks holding such prominent positions in the promotion, expect to see AEW feature a strong tag team division. One more Executive Vice President is expected to be hired in the coming months.
– In addition to serving as Chief Brand Officer, Brandi Runnels will focus on the women’s division.
– Dana Massie (wife of Matt ‘Jackson’) will be the head of merchandise for AEW. She has been one of the driving forces behind the Young Bucks’ merchandise brand. Pro Wrestling Tees President Ryan Barkan is also working with Dana.
– Prominent wrestling business reporter Chris Harrington has been hired as the head of business development.
Visit f4wonline.com for details on how you can subscribe to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Backstage interviewer McKenzie Mitchell has announced her departure fro Impact Wrestling. She reportedly gave notice to the company at Monday’s Impact TV tapings from Nashville (Spoilers).
Mitchell had been with the company since 2016 during the Dixie Carter era. She posted a message on Instagram saying she was ‘grateful, changed and IMPACTed’ by her run with the company, which she called the most exhilarating experience of her life.
“Grateful. Changed. IMPACTed. Undoubtedly the most exhilarating and exciting experience of my life thus far. Words can’t describe my appreciation for Impact Wrestling and company and all that I’ve learned with this experience. To my friends, family, and fans- you guys rock and are the reason why I love doing what I do each and every day. 2019 is a year of change and I can’t wait to see what the future holds.”
In addition to her work with Impact Wrestling, Mitchell is also a huge fan of the NFL’s Baltimore Ravens and covers the team for the Fangirl Sports Network.
