WWE officially confirmed on “the Bump” that the Miz will not participate in WrestleMania 36 this year. The announced reason for him being pulled from the card is that he was injured on last night’s Smackdown. It had previously been reported, however, that Miz did not perform on the show due to being sick. The Miz was scheduled to defend the Smackdown tag team titles in a tag-team triple threat ladder match against The Usos and New Day.
The tag-team titles will still be defended in a triple threat ladder match, however. The match has been changed from a tag-team triple threat to a single’s triple threat. The tag titles will still be on the line, however.
WWE has also announced 2 new matches to take place on the WrestleMania 36 Kickoff shows. Drew Gulak will face Cesaro in single’s competition. The other added match features Natalya taking on Liv Morgan.
Vince McMahon is scheduled to take part in a phone conference with major sports league commissioners and US President Donald Trump today. ESPN’s Adam Schefter revealed the participants of today’s call today on Twitter:
Scheduled participants on call with Trump:
NBA – Adam Silver WNBA – Cathy Engelbert MLB – Rob Manfred NFL – Roger Goodell NHL – Gary Bettman PGA Tour – Jay Monahan UFC – Dana White WWE – Vince McMahon NASCAR – John Middlebrook or Jim France. MLS – Don Garber.
Vince McMahon To Participate In White House Call With Sports Commissioners
While the exact nature of the call is not known, it is expected it will cover the growing spread of the COVID-19 in the United States and its impact on sports. Most sporting leagues have shut down for the time being except for the UFC. The UFC is still hoping to go-ahead with UFC 249 despite the main event falling apart. WWE has been hosting closed-set shows from the WWE Performance Center.
Donald Trump was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2013. Mick Foley, Bob Backlund, Trish Stratus, Bruno Sammartino and Booker T were also inducted that year. Additionally, Vince McMahon’s wife, Linda McMahon, announced last year she was stepping down as the head of Small Business Administration for the Trump Administration in order to chair the Super PAC America First Action.
WrestleMania IV and V were hosted at Trump Plaza. Trump also managed Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania 23. Vince McMahon managed Umaga. McMahon then had his head shaved after Lashley defeated Umaga at the event.
Seth Rollins is scheduled to wrestle Kevin Owens this weekend at WrestleMania 36. Today, he released a statement about the unique nature of this year’s WrestleMania.
Rollins released his statement through his social media channels:
“Every year since I was a little boy I’ve woken up on the morning of WrestleMania feeling excited the day had finally arrived. WrestleMania was bigger than Christmas for me.
Since 2013 that excitement has been coupled with surreality as I’ve been so so so fortunate to have played a small role in the lore of the event; hopefully inspiring young children to follow their dreams the way my idols did for me, and giving anyone watching moments to look forward to… and memories to look back on.
Today is WrestleMania and that feels so strange to say. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic nothing feels normal. We’re all trying to figure out what’s happening, what’s right, what’s wrong, and where we go from here. My hope is that this year WrestleMania will not only provide us with all the moments and memories we’re used to, but maybe also some distraction and calmness, some normalcy, and some unity.
I still woke up excited. It still feels surreal. Maybe more than ever…today is Wrestlemania.”
Rollins at WrestleMania Statistics
Rollins is 6-1 at WrestleMania. He’s won the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Universal Championship, and Intercontinental Championship previously at the event.
2013: WrestleMania 29: The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins) defeated Randy Orton, Sheamus & The Big Show
2014: WrestleMania 30: The Shield (Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins) defeated Kane & The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn & Road Dogg)
Ronda Rousey recently uploaded a rather interesting video to her official YouTube channel. The video features her answering questions from fans. One of the questions Ronda answered was in regard to when she’ll be coming back to WWE. Ronda initially said she was taking an “impregnation vacation” from the company and according to recent comments, she is still on said vacation.
“Well, Trav and I are still working on that mommy/daddy time if you know what I mean?” Ronda said when asked when she’ll be returning to WWE.
“I won’t be at WrestleMania this year…or will I?” Ronda responded to another question. “I’m just kidding, I’m not going to be at WrestleMania.”
Ronda then went on to answer several questions about her feet…
Ronda Rousey Answers Feet Related Questions
Midway through the video, Ronda becomes concerned about the growing amount of questions in her inbox from fans regarding her feet. She called Travis Browne over to investigate.
“There’s like 8000 emails here and they all talk about feet,” Ronda lamented. “These people need help.”
A montage is then shown of Travis and Ronda answering emails and taking pictures of Travis’ feet, goats feet, and more. Ronda also plays the saxophone for a bit. You can view this rather unique video in the player below:
As more restrictions are taking place across the United States due to the ongoing global pandemic, many wrestling fans are wondering how much longer AEW will be able to air new content on Wednesday nights. According to a report from PWTorch, AEW has weeks, if not months, of content already filmed.
The promotion is reported to have been filming content at QT Marshall’s gym in Norcross, GA up until the midnight deadline last night when all non-essential businesses in the state were ordered to close. They are said to have filmed enough “storyline-advancing” matches for several episodes of Dynamite.
The next few episodes will intersperse matches filmed from Daily’s Place in Jacksonville and those filmed from the Georgia location.
Some of the matches filmed recently might end up airing on episodes of Dark if restrictions are lessened in the coming weeks. If, however, restrictions are not lessons those matches could be used on Dynamite.
It is also being reported that a Georgia state official attended the tapings to ensure AEW was adhering to regulations. AEW did have the proper paperwork filed and had notified local officials before filming commenced.
The majority of wrestlers used for the tapings either live nearby and were able to drive to the shows or they have been staying nearby even if they don’t live there. One or two wrestlers not from areas hard hit by the virus did fly in for the shows.
All wrestlers are being asked to go into isolation for 2 weeks. They are then hoping to be able to tape again later this month or in May if it is possible to do so.
AEW TNT Championship Tournament Has Been Filmed
The TNT Championship tournament is said to have been filmed up to the finals, which will take place at the Double or Nothing PPV.
The TNT Championship tournament will begin airing next week and an AEW World Championship match between champion Jon Moxley and challenger Jake Hager will air in 2 weeks time.
Chris Jericho debuted for WWE in 1999. He wouldn’t work for another company for nearly two decades before working an angle with Kenny Omega in NJPW. Now, Jericho is one of the top-stars of AEW. Jericho recently took part in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times and commented on the possibility of one day going into the WWE Hall of Fame. According to Jericho, he’s not sure if that door will be open to him in the future.
“If I continue to work for the Khan family for the rest of my life, I’ll never go into the WWE Hall of Fame,” Jericho said. “Does that bother me? No. I mean, the Sex Pistols didn’t show up for theirs. I always kind of liked that.”
Jericho continued to say he’s a Hall of Famer in the minds of fans and in his own opinion.
“I’m a hall of famer in the minds of the people who want me to be in the hall of fame,” he adds. “I’m a hall of famer in my mind. That’s all that matters.”
Jericho also added that he has more creative freedom now in AEW than he did in WWE.
“After 30 years, I actually know what I’m doing,” he said. “In WWE I had that freedom, but there’s a process you have to go through there. There’s a lot of approvals and different heads of state that you have to go through before the idea is approved.”
The full interview with the Tampa Bay Times can be read here.
Rhea Ripley is scheduled to face Charlotte Flair for the NXT Women’s Championship at WrestleMania 36 this weekend. The match was supposed to take place inside Raymond James Stadium in front of a packed crowd. Instead, the match has already been filmed in front of no live crowd at the WWE Performance Center.
During an interview with Fox Sports Australia, Ripley admitted to being disappointed about the change.
“The main reason I was bummed was that I knew my family wasn’t going to be there. It made me really sad to think I wasn’t going to be able to share that special moment with them and not see them at all, because I haven’t seen them for a long time,” she said.
“So to not have them there with me on the day, it made me really sad, and I had to remind myself that they’d be watching from home and cheering me on.”
Ripley would continue to say, however, that she knows fans will be watching from home as well and that provides motivation for her to do well.
“Even with the zero people in attendance, there’s still a crowd that’ll be cheering us on, and even if we can put a smile on someone’s face in this critical time, that’s me doing my job.”
She also commented on how even though WrestleMania this year is taking place at the WWE Performance Center, it’s still WrestleMania.
“So I need to think of the bigger picture sometimes. It’s still WrestleMania, and it’s still an amazing accomplishment. Even if it is at the Performance Center, it doesn’t take away the fact that it’s WrestleMania.”
The full interview with Ripley from Fox Sports Australia can be found here.
Hulk Hogan recently appeared in a YouTube video talking about his WrestleMania 18 match. The Rock also recently commented on the match during a Q&A session on social media.
According to Hogan, the match provided some unique challenges for him.
“When I went back, they wanted me to go down to Miami and practice the match,” Hogan said. “Andre was the one who raised me and his thing was this is who is going to win or lose and whatever happens in the match, don’t worry.”
Hogan wasn’t used to practicing his matches and he didn’t want to go through a full run through with bumps beforehand.
“Pat Patterson wanted me to go through the match and I said I can’t do that,” he continued. “If we go through this whole match here and I’m falling down and getting up and taking dropkicks and hooking on the top rope and going over, I’m going to get hurt.”
“They were cool enough that I didn’t have to go through the match, didn’t have to take any bumps,” he continued. “But I said ‘alright, let’s walk through this.'”
Hogan also talked about how they did everything they could to make him the heel leading up tpo the match but the WrestleMania crowd cheered him anyway.
“On the way out to the ring, I heard this mixture of turbulence and energy,” Hogan said. “It was like, it reminded me of WrestleMania III when I went out with Andre.”
Hogan’s comments and full-bearded look can be viewed in the player below:
“About six months before the match happened, Vince McMahon came to me and said, ‘How do you feel about bringing Hulk Hogan back?’” recalled the Rock. “I think Hogan had left WWE on not so great terms. He asked, ‘How do you feel about bringing Hogan back?’
I said, ‘How does the locker room feel?’ He said, ‘I talked to a few locker room leaders and it’s mixed.’ I said, ‘I love it. I think having him back is intriguing and very selfishly, I would like to wrestle him.’ He said, ‘Funny you say that. I have a match in mind. You vs. Hogan at WrestleMania.’”
Kylie Rae recently announced that she has signed a long-term deal with Impact Wrestling. The 27-year-old took part in an interview with Alicia Atout recently and spoke about a variety of subjects including returning to wrestling after a brief hiatus last year.
“The day I made the return – like I had my first match in a couple of months, it didn’t feel real,” Kylie said about the response she got from the live crowd that night. “Like still to this day, somebody paid everybody to go to that show and cheer for me.”
Kylie continued to say that she didn’t get the kind of reaction that she did.
“Some fans that I do have, I’ve built up that friendship with them,” she continued.
“I’ve just been living every day like day-to-day at this point and just trying to enjoy the ride because it’s about the journey.”
The full conversation between Alicia Atout and Kylie Rae can be viewed in the player below:
Kylie Rae On Signing With Impact Wrestling
Rae spoke about signing with Impact Wrestling in a backstage segment on Impact Wrestling this week:
“I’m going to tell you how it feels, it feels amazing,” Kylie Rae said backstage. “You know what? It’s been one emotional year. We’ve had highs, we’ve had lows, we’ve had ups, we’ve had downs. But I knew from the moment that I stepped in this Impact wrestling ring, the arena, this is my home. I felt that, I felt that. That’s why I’m very proud to announce Kylie Rae just signed a long-term wrestling contract with Impact Wrestling baby!”
AEW has released its weekly rankings for April 1st, 2020. The promotion releases new top-5 rankings every Wednesday for its men’s, women’s and tag team divisions.
AEW Men’s Division
World Champion: Jon Moxley (8-0)
Chris Jericho (0-1)
Jake Hager (4-0) (+2)
Cody Rhodes (5-1)
Kenny Omega (2-0) (+1)
Darby Allin (4-2) (previously unranked)
There was quite a bit of movement in the men’s single’s division this week. Jake Hager moves up to the #2 spot after picking up a victory over Chico Adams on Dynamite.
Maxwell Jacob Friedman drops all the way out of the rankings this week likely due to inactivity. He had been ranked #2 last week. MJF wrestled just once in March after his victory over Cody at Revolution. He teamed with the Butcher and the Blade in a win over Jurassic Express on March 11th.
Kenny Omega moved up one spot this week after defeating Sammy Guevara in a AAA Mega Championship defense on Dynamite last week.
Darby Allin scored victories over Kip Sabian on Dynamite and over Preston Vance on Dark. The two wins move him into the top-5 rankings in the #5 spot.
Cody defeated Jimmy Havoc on Dynamite this week to move to 5-1 and retain his #3 ranking.
AEW Women’s Division
Champion: Nyla Rose (4-1)
Hikaru Shida (5-1)
Kris Statlander (2-3)
Yuka Sakazaki (1-1)
Britt Baker (2-2)
Riho (3-3)
There was no movement in the AEW Women’s division this week. There actually weren’t any matches in the division this week on either Dark or Dynamite likely due to travel restrictions.
AEW Tag Team Division
Champions: Kenny Omega & Hangman Page (6-0)
The Dark Order (5-0)
The Young Bucks (2-2)
SCU (2-3)
Lucha Bros (1-2)
Best Friends (3-3)
There was no movement in the tag-team division this week. There weren’t any tag-team matches on either Dynamite or Dark this week.
Impact Wrestling presented two shows on AXS TV last night. After the company’s regular weekly 2-hour show a special 1-hour TNA One-Night-Only special aired.
Impact Wrestling 3/31/20 Quick Results:
Josh Alexander defeated Eddie Edwards
Kylie Rae defeated Cassandra Golden
Moose defeated Kid Kash
Old School Rules Sami Callihan defeated Tommy Dreamer
Cody Deaner defeated Joey Ryan
Tessa Blanchard defeated Ethan Page
TNA Cross The Line 3/31/20 Quick Results:
Hernandez defeated Chase Stevens
Suicide & Manik defeated Kid Kash & Johnny Swinger
Rhino defeated Madman Fulton via DQ
Building To Tessa Blanchard vs Michael Elgin vs Eddie Edwards
In the main event this week, Tessa Blanchard defeated Ethan Page. Eddie Edwards came out to ringside and prevented Josh Alexander from getting involved in the match. This allowed Blanchard to hit Magnum on Page for the win. Earlier in the evening, Page had helped Alexander score the upset victory over Edwards but then Blanchard came out to prevent the 2-on-1 attack from the North. Edwards then repaid the favor to her in this match here.
After the match, however, Michael Elgin hit the ring and took out both Blanchard and Edwards with a clothesline. Elgin attempted to powerbomb Blanchard but Edwards hit him with a kick and the two babyfaces stood tall in the ring while Elgin stared at them from the outside to end the show.
It’s not clear when we will get this match but when we do, Michael Elgin will likely stop at nothing to come away with the belt.
Raven Attacks Tommy Dreamer As Rivalry Will Never Die
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hC_mIbmJSE
Rhino was just about to finish off Madman Fulton with a Gore in the main event of TNA Cross the Line this week. OVE came out and caused the disqualification, however. This brought out Tommy Dreamer who attempted to make the save but OVE still held the numbers advantage until the lights in the arena went out. When the lights came back on Raven was in the ring with a kendo stick and he promptly took out OVE leaving him alone in the ring with his rival Tommy Dreamer.
While it looked as though Raven was going to help his old rival, he then hit him in the head with a kendo stick and left the arena. This allowed OVE to go back on the attack against the babyfaces. The locker room then spilled out with TNA stars as they cleared OVE from the ring.
The TNA No Place Like Home event has been postponed. There is currently no word on when or where the event will take place but Impact is said to be looking into alternative ways to produce both it and the Rebellion PPV as well as other postponed shows. A disclaimer on the show this week directed fans to ImpactWrestling.com for more details.
Big Proper Pump? Scott Steiner Has No Time For Cancel Culture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv864iNsfBc
On the TNA special following Impact this week, Scott Steiner cut a promo about how he is not very politically incorrect. This brought out Joseph Ryan who said that Steiner should have been canceled along time ago and offered him a spot in Cancel Culture. Ryan suggested he go by the name “Big Proper Pump.”
Steiner promptly tossed Ryan out of the ring and rejected his offer, however.
Sami Callihan and Tommy Dreamer Get Hardcore
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb2MFRlZSmM
Sami Callihan cut a promo this week on Impact saying that Ken Shamrock doesn’t get to cut the line here in this company. This brought out Tommy Dreamer who took umbrage with Callihan hitting Shamrock with a fireball recently. They then went at it in an old-school rules match which in Impact is a hardcore match or a street fight.
Callihan would pick up the victory but things continued after the match was over. Rhino came out to save Dreamer but that brought out the members of OVE who then had the numbers advantage over the extreme legends. It appears that Callihan might not be as aligned with his former cronies as much these days as instead of celebrating in the ring with the faction, the lights went out and when they went back on Callihan was gone and the rest of OVE was left alone standing in the ring.
Cody Deaner Avoids Cancellation via Cancel Culture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dj_qbAzjCe0
Rob Van Dam and Katie Forbes didn’t join their Cancel Culture stablemate “Joseph Ryan” at ringside this week. Josh Mathews explained that the pair did not want to be around the Deaners’ “toxic masculinity.”
Deaner was able to pick up the victory after Cousin Jake got involved on the outside. Jake poured beer into the mouth of Ryan which set up a DDT from Deaner for the win. On commentary, they mentioned that Ryan may not be doing himself any favors by choosing not to use his “powers.”
Suzie’s Back, Realizes She’s Su Yung and Has Stabbed People…Which Is Wrong
"I realize I'm @realsuyung – Su Yung stabbed people and put them in coffins. That's bad."
Suzie is back. Su Yung’s less murderous persona appeared in a backstage segment this week after Su Yung and Havok went on an epic journey through the undead realm last week. Havok ultimately stabbed, killed, and sent James Mitchell to heaven in the segment. This week, Suzie was seen making the Deaners uncomfortable in the back. She mentioned that she now realizes that she is Su Yung as well but likes being just Suzie.
Kylie Rae Signs With Impact Wrestling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHzp80tjWLM
Popular Chicago-based wrestler Kylie Rae has signed a long-term contract with Impact Wrestling. She announced her signing in a backstage segment this week after having disposed of Cassandra Golden in single’s competition.
“I’m going to tell you how it feels, it feels amazing,” Kylie Rae said backstage. “You know what? It’s been one emotional year. We’ve had highs, we’ve had lows, we’ve had ups, we’ve had downs. But I knew from the moment that I stepped in this Impact wrestling ring, the arena, this is my home. I felt that, I felt that. That’s why I’m very proud to announce Kylie Rae just signed a long-term wrestling contract with Impact Wrestling baby!”
Reno Scum Attack Rich Swann On Behalf Of Ace Austin
Rich Swann is still on the injured list but was interviewed from his home this week. Swann said that he feels Mack will defeat Austin for the X-division title but the current champ interrupted the interview. Austin tried to sow the seeds of dissension between Mack and Swann, telling Swann that Mack seemed quite happy to move on without him. There was then a knock at Swann’s door and Austin informed him that he sent Reno Scum after him. Mack then tried to get at Austin later in a backstage segment.
Moose Takes Out TNA Alumni Kid Kash
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGTxwmscsVQ
Moose has been vocally critical of the former TNA Wrestling. This week, he faced former X-Division champion Kid Kash. Before the match, Kash cut a promo telling Moose he wouldn’t have cut it in the original TNA. Moose’s trash-talking of TNA probably won’t decrease after this match, however, as he was able to put away Kash with the No-Jackhammer-Needed spear.
Next Week On Impact Wrestling
The following matches were announced for next week’s episode of Impact Wrestling:
AEW announced half of the brackets for the upcoming TNT Championship tournament last night on Dark. The other half of the bracket will be announced tonight on Dynamite. The 8-wrestler single-elimination tournament is set to begin on April 8th and is scheduled to conclude at Double or Nothing.
The left-side of the bracket is as follows:
Cody vs Shawn Spears
Darby Allin vs Sammy Guevara
Both matches are rematches from previous AEW PPV events. Darby Allin defeated Sammy Guevara at AEW Revolution. Cody defeated Shawn Spears at AEW All Out.
Tony Khan was quoted in a press release announcing the tournament.
“It’s been a privilege working with Kevin Reilly and TNT to bring fans the best live wrestling show week after week on AEW: DYNAMITE, especially during these tumultuous times,” said Tony Khan, president and CEO of AEW.
“I’m glad we’re now able to announce the TNT CHAMPIONSHIP. The first ever titleholder will be determined by an unforgettable tournament that fans will not want to miss, and that our wrestlers will be desperate to win. I’m excited for the announcement of the full bracket live on Dynamite this week. And, it’s only fitting that the champion and the title belt will carry the logo of the globally-respected TNT brand, and that they’ll represent not only AEW but also the great quality programming, massive reach, and storied history in the wrestling business that are all associated with TNT.”
Kylie Rae was announced as having signed a long-term contract with Impact Wrestling on AXS TV last night. The often-smiling wrestling has appeared on Impact shows in the past but after a single’s victory last night Rae announced in a backstage segment that she had signed with the promotion long-term.
“I’m going to tell you how it feels, it feels amazing,” Kylie Rae said backstage. “You know what? It’s been one emotional year. We’ve had highs, we’ve had lows, we’ve had ups, we’ve had downs. But I knew from the moment that I stepped in this Impact wrestling ring, the arena, this is my home. I felt that, I felt that. That’s why I’m very proud to announce Kylie Rae just signed a long-term wrestling contract with Impact Wrestling baby!”
Kylie defeated Cassandra Golden in single’s action last night on Impact Wrestling.
Rae was briefly a member of the AEW roster, having competed at the first AEW Double or Nothing. AEW President Tony Khan stated in a media scrum at All Out that she had requested her release from the company and was departing under “amicable” terms.
27-year-old Kylie Rae is from the Chicago area where she has been a fixture on the independent scene. She is a 3x Diamonds Division Champion for Booker T’s Reality of Wrestling promotion, a former Phoenix of RISE Champion, and AAW Women’s Champion.
AEW will be moving the tapings for Dynamite and Dark out of Daily’s Place in Jacksonville, Florida. According to a report from the Wrestling Observer, filming for the shows will be moved to an undisclosed location. The location is believed to be somewhere in the southeast.
The location of the tapings will be kept private as the company does not want fans to show up and wait outside. It is also believed that they will be doing a lot of taping today and tomorrow. It is believed content will be filmed for this week’s Dynamite as well as for future shows.
The parking lot near Daily’s place is being set up as a coronavirus testing center.
AEW Announces TNT Championship
It is possible that AEW will be filming matches today and/or tomorrow for the upcoming TNT championship tournament. Tony Khan was recently quoted in a press release announcing the title.
“It’s been a privilege working with Kevin Reilly and TNT to bring fans the best live wrestling show week after week on AEW: DYNAMITE, especially during these tumultuous times,” said Tony Khan, president and CEO of AEW.
“I’m glad we’re now able to announce the TNT CHAMPIONSHIP. The first ever titleholder will be determined by an unforgettable tournament that fans will not want to miss, and that our wrestlers will be desperate to win. I’m excited for the announcement of the full bracket live on Dynamite this week.”
The tournament is scheduled to begin on April 8th. The finals will take place at Double or Nothing.
A lawsuit against Vince McMahon and WWE on behalf of the Oklahoma Firefighters Pension Fund has been voluntarily dismissed. There is nothing to say about what led to the plaintiff’s dismissal which was filed on March 10th, 2020, however.
“Plaintiff Oklahoma Firefighters Pension and Retirement System hereby files this Notice of Voluntary Dismissal, dismissing the above-captioned case with prejudice, each side to bear its own costs and expenses,” the dismissal notice reads.
The OKLAHOMA FIREFIGHTERS PENSION AND RETIREMENT SYSTEM, v. WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT, INC. lawsuit filed in COURT OF CHANCERY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE regarding XFL was voluntarily dismissed on 3/10/20. pic.twitter.com/cR4unfAbJ7
It's difficult to know because there wasn't really anything filed leading up to this which indicated why they were dropping the case. Likely there was some behind-the-scenes negotiations. Also, the claimed XFL valuation they were using in the case didn't appear to be sound.
The lawsuit originally sought to obtain documents relating to WWE’s ties to the XFL. The suit also alleged that members of WWE’s board failed to conduct a reasonable investigation to ensure Vince McMahon had not engaged in financial transactions that conflicted with WWE’s interests.
WWE is still dealing with a lawsuit from shareholders regarding the company’s deal with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, however.
“This is a securities fraud class action on behalf of all purchasers of WWE Class A common stock between February 7, 2019 and February 5, 2020,” read documents relating to the case. “These claims are asserted against WWE and certain of its senior executives who made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company during the Class Period.”
Long title reigns in wrestling’s modern era are hard to come by. Becky Lynch’s current reign with the RAW Women’s Championship is almost at 1-year, however. Lynch won both the RAW and Smackdown Women’s Championship in the main event of last year’s WrestleMania on April 7th, 2019. While she has since lost the Smackdown title, Lynch will pass the 1-year mark with the RAW title provided she can defeat Shayna Baszler this weekend at WrestleMania 36.
Lynch spoke to the Sporting News about going from WrestleMania to WrestleMania as RAW Women’s Champion.
“Yeah. I’ve had a little time to think about it. It’s pretty crazy and it brings its own challenges. And because of that, because I’ve had it for a year, I’ve been nonstop going for a year, over a year,” Lynch said during the interview. “So, it really was a case of constantly going and constantly being on the go and now and I’ve finally gotten the chance to reflect on the past year and reflect on what I want for the future, the next year, which is pretty cool.”
Lynch was then asked what she has done over the last year to get her character fresh.
“Always adapting. Always adapt and always trying to change and take chances. Take risks and sometimes they don’t work, sometimes you might fall flat on your face but you got to keep trying and I think that’s the most important thing. Be willing to go out there and be willing to change and be willing to try things even if they don’t work.”
Becky Lynch On WrestleMania 36 With No Fans
Becky was also asked about the unique challenges present for this year’s WrestleMania. WrestleMania 36 was filmed at the WWE Performance Center without fans in attendance. As Paul Heyman described it on RAW this week, WrestleMania 36 will be the most unique of its kind. Lynch was asked about her mentality heading into the event.
“The people that are watching at home, the millions of people that are watching at home, you have to tell them a story. You have to give them a reason to care. You have to give them a reason to think about something else for a little bit whether it’s an hour or three hours or whatever it is. Then you just figure out how can I do this the best and that’s all this ever is for me: how can I do this the best.”
The interview with Lynch covers a range of topics including her thoughts on Shayna Baszler and her in-home workouts. The full interview with Newsweek can be read here.
Rhea Ripley is a big metal fan and a fan of the band Motionless in White (MIW). The lead singer of the band is Chris “Motionless” Cerulli and some fans may have noticed similarities between the singer and the current NXT Women’s Champion. Ripley herself commented on how her look has “morphed” into his during a recent interview with Loudwire.
“It’s quite funny because I’ve realized over the last two years, I’ve been morphing myself into Chris Motionless and I never realized it. We’ve got the same haircut, we wear practically the same makeup. I’m like, ‘This is terrifying.’”
The singer noted on Twitter, however, that it is he who is morphing into Rhea Ripley:
Ripley also noted that she is a big fan of the band and listens to them while working out regularly. She also noted she is a fan of the band Falling in Reverse which features Paige’s current partner, Ronnie Radke.
“Guilty pleasure — I loveFalling in Reverse. Ronnie Radke is just amazing. They’re the two bands I keep going back and forth on.”
Ripley also mentioned during the interview that she is not overly fond of the music selection backstage in NXT. She also noted that if Ruby Riott was still on the brand then she’d at least have someone to talk music with.
“Not really, actually. I don’t think I talk to anyone about music,” Ripley said when asked if she has conversations with anyone backstage about music. “If Ruby Riott was still in NXT, I feel like I’d talk to her a lot about it. I’m stuck in the locker room listening to country music, normally. That’s what everyone else plays. [Laughs] Either that or R&B. I’m like, ugh, I’m just gonna sit in the corner and be quiet.”
The full interview from Loudwire can be found here.
Seth Rollins and Becky Lynch have had a lot more time to spend together at home these days. The “Monday Night Messiah” recently spoke with Hollywood Life about their “super chill” lifestyle during the global pandemic.
“We’re taking advantage of the downtime and cook some dinners, watch movies, and hang out,” Rollins said.
“We don’t really get a lot of time to do that,” he continued. “So you know, we are going to get full nights of sleep. We are going to hang out with my animals. Just enjoy quality time as opposed to work time, which is where we spend most of our time doing. Luckily she is not one of those fussy types that need a whole lot to be entertained, so I am okay and I will be alright. I think she is down with drinking beers and hanging out.”
Both Rollins and Lynch have big matches coming up at WrestleMania 36, though they have already been filmed at the WWE Performance Center. Lynch will defend her RAW Women’s Championship against Shayna Baszler while Rollins will take on Kevin Owens in single’s competition. Lynch has a rare opportunity in the modern era to walk into a WrestleMania with a world title belt she won at the previous year’s WrestleMania. Walking out still the champion would be in even more rarified air.
Seth Rollins On Being Grateful To Still Be Working
Rollins also spoke about being able to still perform during the pandemic.
“There is a lot of gratitude that goes into the last few weeks,” says Seth. “A lot of times our job runs us ragged, and we complain, as all of us do, about our workplaces. ‘[We] are frustrated or are overworked and underappreciated’ and stuff like that. I think with this situation, it certainly makes you take a look at the brighter side of things.”
Rollins continued to talk about how 3 million Americans filed for unemployment but he’s lucky enough to still be working at a job he loves.
“Not only that, but it’s a job that I love, and I still get to take part in that job during this time, even if it is in an abbreviated fashion. There is something very humbling and a lot of gratitude that goes along with all of that so, hopefully, when we come out of this crisis, it will be something we can take with us moving forward in our day-to-day lives.”
Rollins continued to talk about what he’s looking forward to doing most with his downtime. The full interview with Hollywood Life can be read here.
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley’s next title defense has been revealed and in fact, has already been filmed.
According to comments made by Jim Ross recently on Wrestling Observer Radio, an AEW World Championship match between Jon Moxley and Jake Hager has already been filmed. There is no word on who won the match or what happened during it, however.
AEW is reported to have filmed a lot of content from Daily’s Place last week in Jacksonville. The decision to do so likely was made out of uncertainty regarding the possibility of continuing to air shows live on Wednesday nights.
On last week’s edition of Dynamite, Moxley confronted Hager after the Inner Circle member made quick work of his opponent in a single’s match.
The segment can be viewed in the player below:
AEW World Championship Title Matches
There have been a total of 5 AEW World Championship matches since the title was introduced.
8/31/19: Chris Jericho defeated Adam Page (wins inaugural title)
10/16/19: Chris Jericho (c) defeated Darby Allin
11/9/19: Chris Jericho (c) defeated Cody
11/27/19: Chris Jericho (c) defeated Scorpio Sky
2/29/20: Jon Moxley defeated Chris Jericho (c) – New Champion
D’Lo Brown recently took part in an interview with Talk Sport in the UK. During the interview, the former 4x WWE European Champion talked about Tessa Blanchard’s world title win and his role backstage in Impact Wrestling.
D’Lo was asked about the criticisms lobbied against Blanchard by some former co-workers about her backstage behavior leading up to the Hard to Kill PPV.
“I still think it was a big moment for her and for IMPACT,” Brown said about Blanchard winning Impact World Championship on the show. “Seeing it live and being there and hearing the reaction of the crowd, seeing responses days and weeks later – it was still a big moment. As far as the rumour and innuendo that was out there before? There’s nothing to speak on. I don’t know because I wasn’t there.”
Brown would continue to say he considers Blanchard a friend and a fine person.
“All I know is how Tessa is with me as an individual and I know she is one fine person, one fine individual and someone I’m proud to call a friend and confidant. To me, it was a big moment and she has many, many more to come.”
D’Lo Brown On The Impact Wrestling Roster
Brown was also asked about his backstage role in Impact Wrestling. He talked about some of his favorite people to work with on the roster.
“Anytime I’m involved with Sami Callihan, Tessa Blanchard, Eddie Edwards, Michael Elgin, The North, people like Rich Swann and Willie Mack – it’s fun to have that collaborative process, put together ideas and see them go out there and they become really great matches,” Brown said.
“That’s really fun for me. We have such an incredible roster, a really talented roster here at IMPACT. Anytime I get to work with any of them, I enjoy it immensely,” he continued.
Impact Wrestling recently announced they would not be hosting the Rebellion PPV in New York at Terminal 5. The promotion is said to be looking at alternative ways to produce the show, however. This week’s episode on AXS TV will be followed by a special “TNA One-Night-Only” special.
The interview covers many other topics as well. Brown spoke about the influence Ron Simmons had on his career and his time in the Nation of Domination. The full interview with D’Lo Brown can be read here.
On last week’s episode of Fusion, King Mo, Dan Lambert, and American Top Team merged with Tom Lawlor’s Team Filthy. The merger was announced shortly after King Mo attacked Killer Kross with a bat. MLW issued a suspension to Mo for the attack by the American Top Team’s lawyers have appealed and Mo will be allowed to compete while the appeal is taking place.
This week, King Mo was scheduled to face former MLW World Champion Low-Ki in single’s competition. Mo has been taunting Low-Ki in recent weeks about Low-Ki’s training with the Gracie family and Mo’s victory over Roger Gracie in MMA. Each wrestler has been claiming to be the knockout king of MLW as well.
Mo would pick up the victory over Low-Ki but not via knockout. Team Filthy found an altogether cheap way to gain the win. Low-Ki had Mo locked in a choke when Team Filthy members Erick Stevens and Dominic Garrini ran in. Ross Von Erich was already ringside as he was cornering Low-Ki and his brother Marshall also came out to fend off the Team Filthy members. This allowed Tom Lawlor to slip into the ring unnoticed. Lawlor broke up the submission by hitting Low-Ki with an umbrella. Dan Lambert then threw in the towel that Ross Von Erich had been holding and convinced the referee that Low-Ki’s corner had tossed it in as a submission. The referee then awarded the victory to King Mo as the crowd erupted in boos. Team Filthy then blasted the Philadelphia crowd while proclaiming King Mo the new knockout king in MLW to end the segment.
Injustice Attacks Brian Pillman Jr. With Cinderblock
Brian Pillman Jr. was scheduled to face Jordan Oliver this week on Fusion. Pillman is focussed on going after Myron Reed’s Middleweight Championship and has even reportedly begun eating a keto diet to drop enough weight to compete in the division.
As this episode of Fusion continued, however, it became clear that nobody had heard from or seen Pillman. The match against Oliver appeared to be in doubt.
In a backstage segment, Injustice then said they had some footage to show everyone. The video was then shown in the final segment of the night. In the video, Injustice attacked Pillman in the parking lot and gave him a curb stomp on top of a cinderblock causing it to crumble. There was no medical update on Pillman’s condition immediately available.
A pivotal match takes place inside an empty arena next week between Mance Warner and Maxwell Jacob Friedman. Warner was recently attacked at “the pay window” by MJF and his Dynasty cronies as the rivalry between the Southern Psychopath and the entitled faction has reached a boiling point.
Next week it is all one the line between the two as the loser will be forced to leave the territory.
Alexander Hammerstone Successfully Defends Title Against T-Hawk
You have to hand it to Alexander Hammerstone. He managed to pick up a clean victory over some tough competition this week. “Clean” victory might not be the correct word for it, however, as there has been rumors the powerful wrestler has been helped by some “supplements” he picked up during a recent trip to Mexico.
The Philly crowd was heavily behind OWE’s T-Hawk during this match and Hammerstone didn’t hesitate to rub it in their faces when he had the match going the way he wanted.
T-Hawk made an ill-advised trip to the turnbuckle and was suplexed off the top by the champion. This set-up Hammerstone then hitting the Nightmare Pendulum for the win and successful title defense.
All the mysterious Dr. Drax had to do to earn $1000 in this match was last 5-minutes with the Team Filthy jiu-jitsu master. As it turns out, Garrini was able to dispatch his opponent this week in a little over 20% of the time he had available to him. Drax tapped out to a submission just over a minute into the match.
It was certainly a big week for Team Filthy as they scored 2 big victories.
“The Nature Boy” Ric Flair appeared on ESPN’s SportsCenter recently. During the interview, he talked about what he is most proud of in his epic career. According to the Nature Boy, being able to stay at the top of the game throughout many periods in wrestling history is something he is particularly proud of.
“You know what I’m most proud of is the fact that I’ve been able to adjust to the differences from the 70s,” Flair said. “It’s changed drastically. I think that so many people weren’t able to adjust with the fact that we were sports entertainment. My god, to call ourselves entertainers, which is all we are. At the end of the day, very athletic, hopefully, entertainers.”
Flair then continued to say he was very happy to be where he is today and watching his daughter become the big star that she is.
The topic of the ESPN 30 for 30 on Flair was also brought up on the show. Flair was asked about his initial reaction to the documentary.
“First of all, I was mad at a lot of people,” Flair said. “When you sign up for this you realize that you are opening your life to scrutiny.”
Flair would then say that while he was initially upset with the documentary, he eventually realized that the people interviewed about him were telling the truth.
“I was upset with family members, I was upset with Jim Ross and Shawn Michaels. I’ve since apologized to all of them because they were telling the truth.”
Flair was also asked about what it’s like watching his daughter, Charlotte Flair, perform.
“Well, it makes me want to cry because nobody knows how hard she’s had to work. Carrying my last name, there’s a lot of good that goes with that and there’s a lot of hardship. You think you walk in the door and your Charlotte Flair and yes the door is open but then it’s twice as hard to live up to that mantle.”
Flair’s appearance on ESPN SportsCenter can be viewed in the player below:
It has been widely reported that Roman Reigns will not appear on the pretaped WrestleMania 36. WWE has yet to acknowledge that Roman will not be on the show, however. Reigns had been scheduled to take on Bill Goldberg for the WWE Universal title on the card.
Triple H recently appeared on ESPN Sportscenter and addressed WWE talent missing the event.
“You know, there are various talents, and I don’t wanna get into the specifics of WrestleMania because that’s a must-see event, but we don’t like to take precautions with our talent, any more so than we need to, and all of our talents are in this in a voluntary capacity,” Triple H said on the program.
He would continue to mention Roman Reigns specifically on the show. Triple H noted that Roman Reigns’ pre-existing condition (Roman has twice beaten Leukemia) could potentially make him more susceptible.
“If they don’t want to be a part of this, they feel there’s a risk, for whatever reasons, be it themselves or somebody around them, they don’t have to be here. Nothing is held against them for that. Same with our crew and everybody else. We don’t want to take chances on that, and with Roman having a pre-existing condition, that would make him more susceptible to something, it’s understandable.”
Chris Jericho and Darby Allin recently took part in an interview with the New York Post. During the discussion, Jericho said that he has been pushing backstage in AEW to make Darby Allin a star.
“If you ask Darby who has been behind the scenes pulling the strings to make him a star, it’s Uncle Jericho,” Jericho said during the interview.
Allin was recently forced to take on both Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara in a 2-on-1 match on Dynamite after the Inner Circle attacked Jon Moxley before the match could begin.
It was also mentioned that Darby was a little apprehensive about using his skateboarding as part of his wrestling persona in AEW but Jericho eventually convinced him to go with it.
“I didn’t want to make it look like I was taking skateboarding and using that as like a marketing thing for wrestling,” Allin said.
Jericho pushed for Allin to ride a skateboard to the ring, however.
“He didn’t want to ride the skateboard down,” Jericho said. “I go, ‘No, you’re riding the f–king skateboard down every night.’ ”
“Then I said, ‘S–t, I really actually skate, so I might as well actually use it,’ ” Allin concluded.
Allin would continue to say during the interview that he is not taking any of his recent success for granted and hopes it continues for as long as possible. He also spoke about his match with Cody at Fyter Fest.
“I felt like walking in there, nobody knew who I was,” Allin said about his match against Cody. “Walking out, everybody is like, ‘This kid is willing to do anything to win and tell a story.’ It’s kind of like what people say about Jeff Hardy.”
The full interview with Chris Jericho and Darby Allin can be read here.
The Netflix docuseries “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness” is currently one of the most popular shows on the streaming service. It tells the story of roadside zoo operator Joe Exotic and his rivalry with others in his industry. Perhaps not surprisingly, Joe Exotic has a history in the wrestling business.
Former NWA World Heavyweight Champion detailed meeting Joe Exotic recently in a video published on the NWA’s YouTube channel.
“One night I’m just kind of scrolling through and one of the features on Netflix is the top-10 current things and #1 on the list was ‘Tiger King’ which probably would not have registered with me except underneath the caption was ‘Joe Exotic’ with a picture and it immediately registered ‘oh my gosh, I know this guy.'”
Storm continued to say Joe was different but he was shocked by the charges he was convicted of.
“I knew Joe and knew that Joe was different. He was very open about his differences,” Storm continued. “When I heard about that, obviously shocked. The documentary goes into great depth about care of the animals and all of those things and then what he’s been not just charged with but convicted of, all of those things I never saw coming.”
Storm then talked about a show he was involved in that served as a fundraiser for Joe Exotic’s zoo.
“So the original contact was ‘would you be willing to come out, defend the North American Championship as a fundraiser to try and raise money to feed these saved animals?” Storm said regarding being contacted by the promoter for NWA Texoma. Storm continued to say that he agreed because he loves animals.
Tim Storm Wrestles On Show To Raise Money For Joe Exotic’s Animals
“Through Robert Langdon and through Joe, Joe started bringing his equipment out to Texoma and airing those episodes streaming, live streaming,” Storm continued.
Storm and Lagana then reiterated and made it clear that Joe Exotic was never a promoter with the National Wrestling Alliance but these NWA Texoma shows did live stream from his YouTube channel. Storm said the two shows he worked for that Joe was involved in were poorly attended.
“There were more ligers watching than there were true fans, I think,” Storm continued.
Storm then continued to talk about the experience of wrestling two of these shows. He also spoke about touring the tiger areas after hours.
The full conversation can be viewed in the player below:
