WWE Hall of Famer and AEW Commentator Jim Ross recently discussed a number of intriguing topics on the Grilling JR podcast. A recent episode of the audio show saw JR and co-host Conrad Thompson look at the 7.6.98 episode of WCW Monday Nitro.
During the episode talk turned to AEW and co-host Conrad Thompson made a joke related to former NXT Champion Adam Cole. JR would then give his opinion on the longtime NXT Superstar and how he would sometimes appear at AEW events to support his real life partner Britt Baker.
“Adam Cole is a good kid” Jim Ross began. “I’ve got a lot of time for him. He’s a great, great worker.”
“We had a big Memorial Day party in Jacksonville” JR continued. “And sometimes when he’s off? He’ll come join his wife, which is cool. He’s always welcome in our group. And he’s just, just a pleasure to be around.”
Jim Ross would also praise Britt Baker for her recent character work on AEW television. “Britt? She’s playing her role very well, she’s getting better and better. You see her improving her game [all the time].”
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WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently discussed Heath Slater’s appearance on WWE RAW this week. This was Slater’s first appearance on the show since being released by WWE due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and having to ‘cut costs.’
Bully Ray would mention on Busted Open how performers like Heath Slater do not get enough credit; Ray believes that Slater still has a lot of potential and that Superstars like him get ‘typecast’ by the company.
Bully Ray on Heath Slater
“Sometimes in a company like WWE? Once they have you typecast or pigeonholed or have a certain idea of what you are or what they’re going to need you to be? You can never get out of that” Bully Ray began on the SiriusXM show.
“Heath Slater was there for a long time and was always used in a certain role. He gets let go and then all of a sudden somebody on the writing team says ‘hey let’s bring him back to do this’ and within five minutes? You see the guy has range” Bully would continue. “You see what he can do. And you’re like, ‘well if he was that good last night why didn’t they do that with him for the past 10 years!?'”
Bully Ray would elaborate further, saying “I know that they put you in a certain role, and they compartmentalise you. You have your five minutes to get over and in those five minutes they decide what they’re going to do with you, sometimes for an entire career. SOME key guys and gals are able to get out of it. You know, they always talk about grabbing the brass ring. I thought last night, he [Heath Slater] did.”
Do you think that Heath Slater deserves another chance in WWE? Let us know in the comments
WWE Hall of Famer and AEW Commentator Jim Ross recently discussed a number of intriguing topics on the Grilling JR podcast. A recent episode of the audio show saw JR and co-host Conrad Thompson look at the 7.6.98 episode of WCW Monday Nitro.
This episode of the WCW flagship show was hugely significant, as it featured Goldberg challenging for and winning the WCW World Championship against Hollywood Hulk Hogan.
Conrad would ask JR about Hogan on the show, asking if he ever thought that the massively popular Hogan character from the 80s would transition so well to being the biggest heel in the wrestling business in the late 90s.
Jim Ross on Hollywood Hogan
“Well I thought at the end of the day? It would be timely” Jim Ross began on the podcast. “I thought that probably it was going to be a no brainer at some point…if done correctly. He [Hogan] was a galvanising figure, very polarising to a lot of fans. So, I wasn’t shocked about it quite frankly. Hulk you know, he was all over the territories over the early part of his career, so he understood the psychology and the difference that it takes to make a great babyface, which he was; and then subsequently what is took to become a great villain, at which he did a hell of a job.”
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IMPACT Wrestling will be presenting their Slammiversary PPV event on Saturday July 18th. The company have had to make changes to the event due to the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Moose will be defending his ‘TNA’ Championship at the event; that was hinted at on a recent episode of the weekly AXS show. The self-proclaimed World Champion will be defending his belt against ECW legend Tommy Dreamer at the PPV.
Slammiversary Updates
The TNA Championship is now regarded as the top belt in the promotion. Former IMPACT Champion Tessa Blanchard was recently released by the company. IMPACT confirmed the news via a statement recently to media outlets; announcing that they are stripping Blanchard of the Impact title and ending their relationship with her.
“Impact Wrestling confirmed that it has terminated its relationship with Tessa Blanchard. We have stripped her of the Impact Wrestling World Championship.”
The situation between the two parties became increasingly icy after the female star did not record and send content for the June 1 episode of Impact; this forced the company to make major edits to the script and thus end their business with the second generation star.
Fightful also recently confirmed that Madison Rayne will be taking part in the Knockouts Top Contender Gauntlet match on the show. Additionally, Johnny Swinger will be banned from ringside for the Chris Bey vs Willie Mack match.
Former WWE and WCW head writer Vince Russo recently discussed the #SpeakingOut movement and in particular the ‘Bra and Panties’ matches that he frequently gets marked with creating. As well as this, Russo would discuss how he would approach female talent backstage for the companies he worked for, particularly TNA.
Vince Russo on TNA Locker Room
“Back in the day when I was happily married and I had three children?” Russo began on The Brand. “I kind of realized…once I understood what the wrestling business was? I always had my back up.”
Russo would elaborate further, saying “I didn’t know in 20 years that they were going to be calling people out. And sh*t I didn’t know that, but I always had my back because I had a freaking family. I had a wife and I had children. I was not going to get in anything that would have got me in any kind of trouble.”
“And I remember so many times when I would have to go in the woman’s locker room. At TNA the women had a trailer, and bro? I’d have to find them during the day to do pre-tapes and all that sh*t bro. I always was so cautious. And just so careful and so respectful of them. I say this all the time bro, when I worked with these beautiful, beautiful women bro? I felt like they were more like daughters than attractive women. That’s how I looked at them. You’ve got to be really, really careful in everything that you do. So that’s why.”
Former WWE and WCW head writer Vince Russo recently discussed the #SpeakingOut movement and in particular the ‘Bra and Panties’ matches that he frequently gets marked with creating.
“I noticed Alexa Bliss made a comment about Bra and Panty matches, something to the effect of, she ‘respects the women but she wouldn’t do those matches’ or something like that, Russo began on The Brand.
Vince Russo on Gail Kim
“Gail Kim had a comment about how that was traumatic for her and that she had to do a bra and panties match; and she never felt like she could say no. First of all, I love Gail Kim. And, you know, the I’ve talked about this a lot, the mentality of talent thinking that they can’t say no? I just want to say bro, when I was writing? Anybody could have said no, and people did say no.”
Vince Russo would then go on to describe situations where talent did come to him with concerns. “I can remember specific angles that some people were uncomfortable with, and when they expressed that to me? We would ixnay those angles. There’s this mentality in wrestling, and you know bro? Maybe this holds true with Vince McMahon and other people? But there’s this mentality in wrestling if you don’t do what they say, you know, then it’s gonna be held against you.”
Not on His Dime…
The former WWE writer would continue, saying “your career is over and maybe that’s so. But that never happened on my dime. So you know, something very interesting happened. I said to myself ‘okay bro. Now, is this how they’re going to speak out on Vince Russo?’ [using the Bra and Panties match as a weapon against him] But they have to look at the facts.”
Russo would go on to say that he never booked a Bra and Panties match himself, that the ‘Tuxedo Match’ concept was what he copied for certain WCW angles. Therefore the matches he put together were never ‘sexual’ in nature. Vince Russo would make it abundantly clear that he never asked anyone to take part in an angle they were uncomfortable with.
WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently discussed the NXT Great American Bash show on USA Network. One of the standout bouts on the card was between Timothy Thatcher and Oney Lorcan, which Bully Ray had huge praise for.
“I’m watching Timothy Thatcher and Oney Lorcan. I’m like, ‘man, this is really good'” Bully Ray began on the show. “This is what it was meant to be back in the day; a spirited contest, a fight, aggression, everything looks tight and snug and everything means something.”
Bully Ray on Lorcan vs Thatcher
Bully Ray continued, saying “they blew me away with something that they did last night that nobody else does. They made something so small and normally thrown away in wrestling matches, and they made it mean something. It was something so small that normally we take for granted in wrestling matches, and we don’t even care about anymore because they really don’t mean anything.”
Ray would then elaborate on the point, saying “it’s chops. When they were chopping each other? They weren’t chopping each other just to make a sound. Or even just for a crowd to go ‘woo,’ or for one guy to chop somebody, and then just wait five minutes to chop them again. It was like they would chop each other to open each other up to go for a move.”
Bully Ray would finish by praising the match even further, saying “they [Lorcan and Thatcher] used something so basic as a chop to make psychological sense of their offence. I love that.”
Did you enjoy the match? Let us know in the comments
WWE Superstar Sheamus recently appeared on After The Bell w/Corey Graves. The Irish Superstar would discuss a number of topics from his lengthy career; including training with Triple H and the AEW star that helped him get ahead in WWE.
“One guy I love to work with, more than anybody? And the one guy who actually was the reason that I was fast tracked from the ECW roster to RAW? It was Goldust” Sheamus began on the podcast.
Sheamus on ECW Feud
“We had this feud in ECW, we just had chemistry right away” Sheamus continued. “And he was so open to everything, it was just awesome. I think about the last match we had to end the feud was the main event of ECW. I think that was like after a couple of weeks? It just got fast-tracked, everybody was into it.”
Sheamus then discussed how the feud with Goldust would help him get onto Monday Night RAW early in his main roster run for a shot at then WWE Champion John Cena. “It was a hard hitting fight, but it was fun. And he really really fast tracked me inside the ring to getting on to RAW, then going into that programme with John [Cena]. I think even John talked with him at one stage? Because I think John and Randy [Orton] had their programme for months and months, they were feuding for a long time.”
Do you think that we’ll ever see Sheamus vs Goldust again? Let us know in the comments
AEW Star Brian Cage recently appeared on the official All Elite podcast, AEW Unrestricted. The former IMPACT and Lucha Underground star would discuss a number of topics on the podcast, including why he opted to leave IMPACT and head to Wednesday nights on TNT.
“Well, you know, there was multiple factors as to why I came here” Brian Cage began. “Personally, I was more excited to come here than anywhere else. That wasn’t the be all end all, but this is where I wanted to come.”
Brian Cage on Leaving IMPACT
Brian Cage would elaborate further, saying “secondly? I felt like for me to break through the barriers that like I’ve kind of been capped out with? Especially as far as the reach that I’ve had? That helped here.” Cage would of course be referring to the greater audience that AEW has in television viewership compared to IMPACT.
“Most importantly? This place [AEW] had the most amount of…not only unique or awesome matches that I wanted? But so many would be first time ever” Brian Cage would continue. “Almost everywhere elsewhere there was a lot of repeats; which isn’t a bad thing, but there’s just so many matches I wanted that I haven’t ever had that I like the idea of. That is of course artistically speaking. I’m like ‘well I feel like this would be the most fun place to go.'”
Brian Cage is set to face Jon Moxley for the AEW Championship on July 15th at the Fight For The Fallen event. The match was originally scheduled for Fyter Fest but was postponed due to concerns surrounding Moxley and potential COVID-19 exposure.
Who do you want to see Brian Cage face in AEW? Let us know in the comments
IMPACT Wrestling have reportedly looked to the free agency market to bolster their roster over the coming weeks.
Fightful recently reported that the AXS TV hosted brand are specifically looking at recently released WWE talents. With former NXT Superstar Deonna Purrazzo having already debuted there’s a chance that other released Superstars aren’t far behind.
Gallows and Anderson to IMPACT
Arguably the two biggest names, already somewhat confirmed, are Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. The former Bullet Club and OC stablemates have teased heading to AXS TV over the last few weeks, with a return to New Japan Pro Wrestling also on the horizon for the two. There have been teases for the two on IMPACT recently, with Scott D’more stating that he was on a call to some “Good Brothers.”
As we reported recently, EC3 has sent a stark warning to the AEW roster; seemingly showing his intent to debut for the TNT hosted company in the near future. IMPACT themselves have teased the arrival of EC3 over the past month, and there’s a good chance that Ethan Carter III makes his way back to the brand that elevated him to main event status.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MieE1M_b5o
Eric Young
Another name that is being considered is Eric Young. EY was once viewed as a stalwart an ‘lifer’ at TNA/IMPACT, having been a lower to mid card level comedy act with Team Canada before rising the ranks and winning the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in 2014; defeating now NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Nick Aldis.
There has not been any confirmation on whether Heath Slater will be heading to IMPACT in the near future. Slater’s former tag team partner Rhyno teased that he had a tag team partner who’s “got kids.” So there’s a more than good chance he’ll be coming into the fold.
There’s not much opportunity of these talents ‘moving the needle’ for IMPACT if they’re brought to AXS TV. However, all five are competent performers who have the benefit of being ‘underutilized’ by WWE over the past few years. This gives IMPACT the opportunity to really highlight the abilities of Gallows, Anderson, EC3, Young and Slater and it not feel like they’re purely taking scraps from WWE’s table.
Who would you like to see IMPACT bring into the company in the coming weeks? Let us know in the comments
It appears as though WWE Superstar Kairi Sane’s future with the company is still very much up in the air. Fightfulrecently described the situation for the Japanese Superstar as “complicated” in nature.
Kairi Sane hasn’t been featured on WWE television since sustaining an injury against Nia Jax on RAW. That match took place at the end of May; with Sane having to receive treatment for the head injury she sustained.
Prior to the injury, there were plans for Sane to have a change of role within WWE. The ‘Pirate Princess’ was expected to return to Japan and be an ‘ambassador’ for WWE. This reportedly was the case as of May before the injury.
As of this writing, it is unclear as to whether the move was to coincide with the rumored NXT Japan expansion. WWE did note that there are no plans for the Japanese version of the brand currently due to the ongoing COVID-19 Coronavirus situation.
There are many within WWE who want to see Kairi Sane continue to wrestle for the company; although at this time there is no confirmation either way on how she will proceed.
WWE Hall of Famer, co-host of Grilling Jr and AEW Commentator Jim Ross recently discussed fellow Hall of Famer and WWE legend Curt ‘Mr Perfect’ Hennig.
This week’s episode of Grilling Jr centered on the King of The Ring 2000 PPV; with JR answering questions surrounding the then WWF at the time. One of the questions posed to JR was on Hennig and his potential to be a top-tier color commentator in the company.
Jim Ross on Curt Hennig
“Curt was a very well respected guy. We were inducted into Hall of Fame the same time in 2007” Jim Ross began. “I thought he had the upside and potential to be one of the best color analysts ever in pro wrestling. He had a wonderful sense of humor, great comedic and timing in general” JR continued. “Wonderful product knowledge and a second generation guy under Larry ‘The Axe’ Hennig.”
Jim Ross then discussed how Curt’s inability to get past wanting to work in-ring hindered his progression in the commentary booth. “But he was like a lot of guys, he couldn’t get that last match out of his system.And so the issue was that he was more motivated to wrestle than he was to broadcast.”
“I’m sure there was a difference in money, I get that too” JR continued. “But the other major factor with Curt? He had been banged up. He had some back issues or something if I recall correctly.”
Do you think that Curt Hennig had the potential to be the greatest color commentator ever? Let us know in the comments
Former WWE Superstar Ted DiBiase recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. The Million Dollar Man discussed a number of topics from his career, including when he turned heel against Junkyard Dog in Mid-South Wrestling.
DiBiase revealed a hilarious story from that time that involved Grizzly Smith, former wrestler in his own right and father of the legendary Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts.
“Funny story is that as soon as I turned heel? Grizzly Smith, that’s Jake Roberts dad, he was kind of like the agent who showed up at all the shows and let everybody know what they were going to do that night.”
Ted DiBiase Talks Grizzly Smith
DiBiase elaborated further, saying “and so I told Grizzly I said ‘I am not driving my car’ and he said ‘why?’ I said ‘you know why, because when I come out it’ll be on blocks back there!'”
Ted DiBiase would then compare the old school fans to now, saying “they took the wrestling real serious, and especially in New Orleans. So he [Grizzly] said ‘okay well then ride with me.’ So I wrote down there with him. And he’s ‘neutral’ right? And so, we have the match. I told Junkyard Dog, I said ‘you can’t just roll out there like you normally do. All these people? They think that you have just been screwed by your best friend. So you come running, you slide in and I and I’ll slide out. I’ll run around the ring and I’ll roll back in; you roll back in and hit me with whatever you want, just keep coming at me until I say quit.'”
DiBiase then talked what happened backstage. “So I get back in the dressing room and I’ve showered. Grizzly comes walking in and he just puts both his hands on his hips. He just looked at me shaking his head. I said, ‘what’s wrong? He said ‘they [the fans] slit my tires! We’re gonna be here a while. I said ‘see I told you!’ I said ‘they slit your tires, I wouldn’t have had a car!'”
WWE Hall of Famer, co-host of Grilling Jr and AEW Commentator Jim Ross recently discussed a former WWE President and allegations of racism back in the year 2000.
This week’s episode of Grilling Jr centered on the King of The Ring 2000 PPV, with JR answering questions surrounding the then WWF at the time.
Stu Snyder was appointed by WWE in June 2000 as WWE President and Chief Operating Officer. At the time, WWE released a statement from Linda McMahon lauding the new acquisition. “Stuart adds additional depth to our executive management team,” said Linda McMahon. “He brings a unique combination of experience from both the entertainment and live events industries that we believe will be a tremendous asset to WWE Entertainment as we continue to expand both domestically and internationally.”
Jim Ross on Stu Snyder
Jim Ross however had a different story to tell about the former company President. “He also worked at Turner Broadcasting” JR began. “Let me tell a Stu Snyder story very quickly that kind of describes who he is. If I recall correctly? He was not happy that he had a black limo driver. He was not happy that he had to ride in a black car.”
“And that came up late in the game” Jim Ross continued. “Vince was not aware that this guy had some apparent ‘alleged’ issues. So I didn’t have a lot of time for Stu Snyder. He’s one of those guys that came in fast talking like ‘here’s my resume bing bing bing.’ He’s got all these former employers in his resume. Well? There’s a reason for that. There’s a reason people change jobs a lot, because they’re not welcome anymore.”
JR would finish by saying that “he [Snyder] wasn’t a great guy at all. And he came in there and again, it’s the old deal where he had very little product knowledge.”
WWE Hall of Famer, co-host of Grilling Jr and AEW Commentator Jim Ross recently discussed the signing of Brock Lesnar to WWE back in the year 2000.
This week’s episode of Grilling Jr centered on the King of The Ring 2000 PPV, with JR answering questions surrounding the then WWF at the time. One of WWE’s biggest ever acquisitions came that year, with NCAA Division 1 Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Brock Lesnar signing with the company and heading to WWE.
Jim Ross on Brock Lesnar
Conrad Thompson asked Jim Ross if there was a chance that Lesnar could’ve signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling or even WCW before joining the WWF. “Absolutely not, we had him” Ross confirmed. “And for that we could always thank J Robinson, the wrestling coach at Minnesota, for his support on that deal.”
Jim Ross elaborated further, saying “as I’ve told the story before, we could’ve signed Brock after his junior year.”
In previous podcasts JR has confirmed that Robinson wanted Lesnar to stay and finish out his senior year of college before signing with WWF. “With his [Robinson’s] old teammate Gerry Brisco and with my blessing? We made a deal that we would not sign him.”
Vince McMahon
JR then revealed a very interesting tidbit from the time. Jim Ross was the Head of Talent Relations in WWF/WWE, and he noted that he didn’t even tell Vince McMahon about why Brock wasn’t going to sign for the company until he finished his senior year of college. “I didn’t even tell Vince this story because he would’ve wanted me to go sign Brock right away.”
Jim Ross finished by mentioning how Brock Lesnar got the biggest rookie contract (at the time at least) in WWF/WWE history. “I remember he [Brock] got the biggest rookie contract, to that point. I can’t imagine anybody getting more than the 200-250k that we gave to Brock to start out with.”
Former WWE Superstar and NWA Commentator Stu Bennett recently appeared on Ryback’s Conversation With The Big Guy podcast. The former Bad News Barrett discussed a number of topics during the interview, including his recent discussions with WWE and when he plans on getting back into the ring to wrestle.
“I will make this clear right now as I don’t want to be misinterpreted. I’m not looking to get back in the ring anytime soon” Stu Bennett began on the podcast.
Stu Bennett on Returning To The Ring
“At some point in the future? I know 100% that I need to go back and rewrite the ending at least” Bennett continued. “I can’t leave it forever on how things ended with me because it was a very, very bad time. [with] a lot of disappointment of course. But I don’t want to people to think out there ‘yeah give me a call I’m gonna get back in the ring tomorrow.’ That’s not where I am at all.”
Stu Bennett would elaborate further, saying how happy he is with his current commitments outside of a wrestling ring. “I’m quite happy with the lifestyle I have right now. Of course with the virus and a lot of stuff going around it’s another reason I don’t want to be travelling at the moment. And, I love working with NWA and that’s something that whatever else I do outside of that? I hope to continue working with NWA and doing commentary with them. I love doing that, they have a great schedule and they have a great product that I enjoy.”
NJPW or ROH?
Bennett would finish by discussing which promotions he would consider speaking with to wrestle again. “I’d of course be open to something with Ring of Honor or New Japan. But, I can’t see anything for the rest of this year in 2020. I will be very surprised if I was in a wrestling ring this year.”
Where would you like to see Stu Bennett/Wade Barrett end up? Let us know in the comments
Former WWE Superstar and NWA Commentator Stu Bennett recently appeared on Ryback’s Conversation With The Big Guy podcast. The former Bad News Barrett discussed a number of topics during the interview; including his recent discussions with WWE and a potential Nexus reunion that was recently rumored.
Ryback confirmed on the show that he was not contacted by WWE. Either for the potential Nexus reunion or any other reason. The Big Guy was part of the group after appearing as Skip Sheffield in the first ‘season’ of NXT.
Ryback on Nexus Reunion
“I did not get a call and I don’t think I will be the with my trademark deal coming up in August” Ryback confirmed on the podcast.
The Big Guy tweeted his anger at WWE keeping the ‘Ryback’ trademark ‘unnecessarily’ back in February of this year. “Publicly asking @WWE @VinceMcMahon @TripleH to let the Ryback trademark go” Ryback tweeted. “It wasn’t created by them and trying to make someone spend nearly $200,000 to keep their legal name and brand is petty and unnecessary. Please move on and erase me from your history and programming.”
Ryback elaborated further on the podcast, saying “I had to send our little boy Mark Carrano a message, ‘I need you guys to respond to the attorney, if I have to go through with it? It’s going to cost upwards of $200,000.’ Which I might not even need to do. There’s ways around it.”
Do you think that we’ll see Ryback appear in another promotion at some point? Maybe AEW, IMPACT or NJPW? Let us know in the comments
Former WWE Superstar and NWA Commentator Stu Bennett recently appeared on Ryback’s Conversation With The Big Guy podcast. The former Bad News Barrett discussed a number of topics during the interview, including his recent discussions with WWE and when he plans on getting back into the ring to wrestle.
Ryback addressed the recent Nexus rumors on the show. Darren Young recently claimed that the group was slated to return for an appearance at WrestleMania this year; these plans were changed supposedly because of the COVID-19 pandemic changing the venue for the show.
Stu Bennett and Ryback
Ryback would joke with Bennett and say that he turned down appearing with the Nexus because Ryback himself wasn’t going to be involved. “That’s definitely not the case at all! I was completely down for doing it without Skip Sheffield! Let me be clear!” Stu Bennett joked to begin the interview.
“I think Darren [Young] put out his podcast that he got a call?” Stu Bennett continued. I did get a call [from WWE], I wasn’t really going to speak about it, but I’ve been asked enough times, and I’ve said this already. It wasn’t a good offer, it wasn’t a good idea.”
Stu Bennett would then confirm that whilst he would be open to returning that the idea has to be right for him. “For me to go back to do something like that? It was a non starter and I shut it down very quickly. I was asked a question on an interview yesterday about my interest in returning to WWE or any other wrestling company and I answered honestly. I’m an open book, if people want to contact me with ideas like they [WWE] did? I will listen to it and if it makes sense for me, if it’s a good idea? if it’s something I really enjoy? Then maybe I’ll do it.”
Would you like to see Stu Bennett/Wade Barrett return to WWE at some point? Let us know in the comments
Former WWE Superstar Ryback recently commented on the creative direction of WWE on his Conversation With The Big Guy podcast. During the show Ryback would discuss ‘scripted’ promos and how he feels WWE in particular need to dial back on them.
Road Dogg recently appeared on After The Bell w/Corey Graves and talked about Superstars being scripted until they can be ‘trusted.’ The NXT producer said “they [the fans] can’t fathom like ‘okay, this guy is a loose cannon, he might say a cuss word or something.’ So we script his promo and he has do it word for word now, because we don’t trust you yet.”
Ryback on Road Dogg
“When I saw Road Dogg again mentioning the promo thing? We’ve talked about this in the past where they say they give you promos until they can quote unquote trust you” Ryback began on the podcast. “Very corporate answer, and I love Road Dogg.”
“Here’s what they need to do” Ryback continued. “If they want to increase ratings? You have to have an idea of what you’re doing, you have to let guys go out there and start shooting at each other.”
Ryback elaborated further, discussing stars of the past. “That’s what made The Rock and Austin, even if they were scripted to a degree. You got allow guys to go out there and I experienced this with John Cena when he was the baby face. Okay, I’m the heel now, we’re gonna make the baby face. Well, you gotta go out there and let guys shoot on each other. that’s what people want to see. Who’s going to get the better of each other?”
Do you agree with Ryback? Do WWE need to give their Superstars more free reign on the microphone?
WWE Superstar and SmackDown Tag Team Champion Kofi Kingston recently discussed his favorite ever pro wrestling match on The New Day: Feel The Power podcast. The trio were discussing the recent match between Randy Orton and Edge, which was billed beforehand as ‘The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever.’
“This was really, so this is hard, because so many matches are great for so many reasons” Kofi Kingston began on the podcast. !Man, and then you talk about like having a match that’s like perfect from A to Z? In terms of nothing went wrong, but did the crowd like it, you know?”
Kofi Kingston on Eddie vs Rey
Kingston would then reveal that his favorite match was a WCW Cruiserweight classic from the mid 90’s. “I gotta go with the, this is probably not a popular one, but, Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero at Halloween Havoc 1997. This is the one where Rey wore the The Phantom [costume]? I love that match, and especially after reading Eddie Guerrero’s book.”
Kofi Kingston would then talk about his own experiences being put lower on the card. “So there’s a lot of times where we’re, put on a certain spot in the card, right? You feel like you should be somewhere else, you should feel like you should be higher up on the card. You feel like you should be in the main event, and you think you should be at the top because you’re at the top of your game.”
Kingston elaborated further, saying Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero were at the top of their games. I mean God, they’ve always been so so great, but they had such great chemistry in WCW.”
Is Rey Mysterio vs Eddie Guerrero from Halloween Havoc 1997 your favorite bout between the two? Let us know in the comments
AEW star Shawn Spears recently appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast. The former Tye Dillinger discussed a number of topics from his career; including his recent feud with Cody Rhodes and comparing his television time between AEW and his former home of WWE.
“It’s funny, you get nicknamed ‘The Chairman’ and then you hit a guy once with a chair and then you never touch anybody else with a chair since then!” Shawn Spears laughed. “The moniker is funny but, you know, to that point? That moment created a lot of traction, a lot of buzz both positively and negatively.”
Shawn Spears on ‘The Chair Shot’
The now infamous chair shot took place at Fyter Fest 2019. Shawn Spears appeared and lamped Cody Rhodes over the head; the chair shot was unprotected and it caused a lot of negative press for the upstart AEW promotion at the time.
“Here’s the thing with Cody, you know the history between us is pretty well documented. Qe go back a very very long way” Shawn Spears continued on the show.
“That guy is never going to half ass anything. No, if you put them on top of the cage? He’s going to Moonsault off. If you hit him in the head with a chair? I say ‘man look, get a hand up’ he’s going to go ‘No!’ He’s going to say ‘swing for the fences.'”
Cody Rhodes
Spears would elaborate further, saying “as performers? We have the same mentality, you’ll see him state a lot publicly, when he says that he’s going to outwork you. When he says he’s going to out dog you. When he says he’s going to outperform you? He means it. Whatever he may not understand is, I’m that guy too.”
Do you want to see the feud continue between Shawn Spears and Cody Rhodes? Let us know in the comments
AEW star Shawn Spears recently appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast. The former Tye Dillinger discussed a number of topics from his career, including his recent feud with Cody Rhodes and comparing his television time between AEW and his former home of WWE.
AEW had to hold a two day taping event at the start of the COVID-19 lockdown. Several talents were unable to appear due to travel issues, but Shawn Spears was one of the talent on hand to appear on Dynamite.
“I got a great deal of television time during the course of those two days” Shawn Spears began. “I think I made a joke on Twitter? Somebody said something about my career previously [in WWE], that I was barely on TV; and I actually went back and did some number crunching.”
Shawn Spears (formerly Tye Dillinger) then revealed a crazy statistic that sheds a light on his final few years in WWE. “In those two days over the course of two weeks of taping? I was on TV for more minutes than I had in my entire 2018 [for WWE]. Those opportunities are gonna pop up and when you have to go 20 minutes on television, because we’re short staffed or time gets added or for whatever reasons? You have to be ready to adapt and that’s the world of pro wrestling.”
Do you think that Shawn Spears is being better utilised in AEW than he was in WWE? Let us know in the comments
AEW star Shawn Spears recently appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast. The former Tye Dillinger discussed a number of topics from his career, including his recent feud with Cody Rhodes and ‘being a fan’ in attendance for the shows filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So the idea was Tony’s [Khan] actually the night before television” Shawn Spears revealed, discussing how he and MJF were asked to be ‘fans’ for the shows. “He called me and we talked for about 20 minutes. He [Tony Khan] said ‘I have this idea, I want to put you and MJF in the crowd. And I kind of just want to give you guys free rein to go out and do what you guys want to do.'”
Shawn Spears and MJF
“I thought that was a hilarious concept” Spears would then reveal. “And you pretty much can’t ask for a better charismatic dance partner than MJF. So when they kind of put us out there? They just said, ‘yeah, do whatever you want, have some fun.’ I’m like well, can I eat food while I’m out there? I’ll be hungry. They’re like ‘yeah go ahead and MJF’s like ‘can I have a glass of wine?’ That was a bad idea, well for him cause he’s a lightweight.”
Shawn Spears would then discuss the importance of being given that time to showcase his character on AEW television. “I tell this to some young talent, being out there as an audience member is an opportunity in itself. You might not get that television time in the ring, performing, or you might not get that promo time backstage in a segment, or live mic in the ring.”
Spears elaborated further, saying “that in itself? Being an audience member is an opportunity, the camera is going to catch you. I said it recently to a few other talents. I said, we’re out in the crowd I think was a couple weeks ago I said ‘I dare you to steal the camera from me, I dare you. If you can do it? Then I’m not doing a good job, and I think that’s when I tailgated on the back of a golf cart. So it’s just finding different ways to stand out, show some personality without taking away from the actual in-ring product.”
Have you enjoyed AEW’s presentation during the coronavirus pandemic? Let us know in the comments
WWE Superstar and 24/7 Champion R-Truth recently appeared on WWE’s The Bump. The former Ron ‘The Truth’ Killings appeared on the WWE Network show to discuss a number of topics from his recent career.
These would include his mini-feud with Rob Gronkowski over the 24/7 title and his brand new game show format that will be coming to WWE Network on July 14th.
The R-Truth Game Show
“This game show is like, no other game show” R-Truth revealed on the show. “I got a whole cast, a whole crew man has helped me put this thing together.”
R-Truth elaborated further, saying “a lot of my ingenuity goes with it. As a matter of fact?, I keep a count of the points. There’s a lot of prize and prizes that I’m giving away so a lot of laughs. What you’re gonna see, who knows?”
Truth would finish by describing some of the actual format and games on the show. “I got trivia games, I got scavenger hunts man. I got picture games, I got so many games on there. And so many good prizes, great prizes. And I got a slew of celebrity guests.”
Originally the show was reported on back in 2017, with R-Truth slated to be the host even back then. Reportedly there was a pilot filmed that was never released on WWE Network or in any other fashion publicly.
Are you looking forward to R-Truth’s new game show on WWE Network? Let us know in the comments
Legendary WWE Superstar The Undertaker recently appeared on the After The Bell podcast w/Corey Graves. ‘Taker tackled a number of topics during the episode, including the evolution of his character in WWE and the biggest regret that he has in terms of a tweak he made for the ‘Deadman’ character.
It’s arguable that The Undertaker is the greatest character in the history of WWE, and the man behind the Phenom, Mark Calloway; would change the style and presentation of the character when he felt it was getting too ‘stale.’
Undertaker on ‘Evolving’
“If I started to feel like it was becoming monotonous or stale? Then I would really kind of go into the think tank and figure out ‘okay what can I present?'” Undertaker began on the podcast. “What…what’s a different angle on this thing? Our business, as you will know, it’s a flavor of the week business.”
Undertaker would elaborate further, saying “especially now, because there’s so much exposure, guys get so much [screen time] you know? Even back then it was like that. I was really cognizant of that, I want to keep this…I want to keep this character fresh.”
‘Taker would then state that he would consider a change of pace for the Undertaker character whenever he felt it was necessary. “If I started feeling stale? Then in my head I would start thinking like, ‘okay, my audience must be feeling this too.'”
Whats your favourite iteration of The Undertaker? The original, Phenom, Booger Red or American Badass? Let us know in the comments
