Former WWE manager/announcer Jim Cornette recently weighed in on the Firefly Fun House match from WrestleMania 36 this past weekend. In an absolute shock to nobody, Cornette was not a fan of the match. Here’s exactly what the leader of the ‘Cult of Cornette’ had to say on the Drive Thru podcast.

Jim Cornette on Cena vs Wyatt

“What the fuck?” Jim Cornette began. “Just what in the tee total, french fried, t*tty f*ck was that? I like John Cena and I’ve never said anything bad about John Cena. I assume John Cena is gone from the WWE and will never come back? And the only reason he participated in this I would think, is because he’d never be seen again by this audience.”

The overall reaction to the match from fans appears to be mixed. Some have praised WWE for creating a storyline driven experience, helping to get Wyatt’s character back into the mix. However, Cornette would disagree:

“F*cking Lewis Carroll has Alice down the rabbit hole.”

Jim Cornette

“All right, how do I make notes on this? He [Cena] came to the ring, then Bray’s in the funhouse. Then there he goes through the door because the puppet tells him to. F*cking Lewis Carroll has Alice down the rabbit hole. They came up with new material that sucked donkey a**. I wrote the following: ‘this is the end of wrestling, why am I wasting my time watching this?'”

Boneyard vs Firefly Funhouse

Cornette would then finish by comparing the Firefly Funhouse match to the Boneyard Match from the night before. “This isn’t even a cool movie fight scene” Cornette stated. “This is just stupid, nonsensical. Even in the movie fight scene they weren’t obviously acting silly and doing schtick with each other. I’ve never met Bray Wyatt, but I’m disappointed in John Cena.”

It is not currently known where or if this storyline will be ongoing. John Cena has recently been on Twitter and Instagram, so the idea of an ‘alternate dimension’ may be off the cards. Not sure that Corny would enjoy that much either…

What did you think of the Firefly Funhouse match? Let us know in the comments

Also Check Out:

• Bully Ray Explains The Big Show Appearing on Monday Night RAW
• Drew McIntyre Admits He Broke A WWE Rule Following WrestleMania Victory
• Mick Foley: WrestleMania 36 Was An “Unqualified Success”

This week’s episode of Monday Night RAW saw the aftermath of the WrestleMania 36 event. Although the ‘RAW After Mania’ has been known to be the ‘best’ show of the year, due to the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic this week was a more sombre affair.

WWE have been utilising what talent they have available for taping over the past couple of weeks. Notably, stars such as Roman Reigns and The Miz have been pulled or voluntarily left the Performance Center due to concerns over the pandemic. WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray recently commented on the situation, discussing how WWE have been put in an awkward position with the ongoing pandemic and travel restrictions.

Bully Ray on the ‘tip of the iceberg’

“Let’s take what people see” Bully Ray began on the latest episode of Busted Open Radio. “People see what’s on their television. And that’s all that they see. What you see on your television is the tip, of the tip, of the iceberg. There’s so much going on beneath the surface when it comes to actually getting what you see on TV, to make it to that TV. One of the biggest things is travel, a lot of the people that you’re seeing on the show? Especially Monday Night RAW? That’s local people.”

The Big Show

Bully Ray elaborated further, specifically talking about the appearance of The Big Show to face Drew McIntyre for the WWE Championship. “There might have been a fly in or two, but most of them are local that they can count on. The Big Show, everybody’s like, ‘why the Big Show? Why would the Big Show get a Championship shot?’ Why did they use the Big Show? Because he lives about an hour and a half away in Tampa. Drive to the Performance Center, drive home from the Performance Center. Duh? There you go, people. That’s why it was the Big Show.”

Vince McMahon call?

“That’s probably a Vince call saying, ‘I need a strong win for Drew coming out of WrestleMania.'”

Bully Ray

Bully would then go on to say that he believes it was a last minute Vince McMahon call. Taking one of the biggest (literally) Superstars in the company to give McIntyre a big first title defence. “That’s probably a Vince call saying, ‘I need a strong win for Drew coming out of WrestleMania.’ Big Show is seven foot two, 450 pounds. He is the biggest guy they’ve got in the company. Let Drew beat the Big Show with his finish, it’ll be something credible the night after WrestleMania for Drew.”

It is currently unknown what the situation is regarding WWE and how they are going to be taping going forward. The COVID-19 situation is changing on a daily basis, and as of now the company does appear to be taping at the Performance Center, although it is not confirmed how many shows they will be able to get in the can.

Also Check Out:

• Mick Foley: WrestleMania 36 Was An “Unqualified Success”
• Drew McIntyre Reveals What Brock Lesnar Asked Him When He Was In 3MB
• Conflicting Reports On Rhea Ripley’s Current WWE Status

WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently commented on the WrestleMania 36 bout between Drew McIntyre and Brock Lesnar. The match headlined Night 2 of the WrestleMania event over the weekend, and only went around 4 minutes. Although this short amount of time has been utilised for Brock Lesnar matches in the past, Bully Ray believes that the match needed to be longer.

Bully Ray on Drew McIntyre vs Brock Lesnar

“What you got from Brock was a typical match when Brock faces a big guy” Bully Ray began. “It’s, ‘we’re going to hit each other with our biggest artillery, because that’s the only thing that’s going to matter. And we’re cutting out all of the stuff that would get absolutely no reaction and fans probably saw in every other match throughout the night. So it’s going to be F5, Claymore, German Suplexes, we’re just gonna, you know, just bombard the match with those moves, and we’re going to get a quick finish.'”

“I don’t think that’s what fans wanted to see”

Bully Ray

Ray would then discuss how this isn’t what he believes fans wanted to see from the match. “I don’t think that’s what fans wanted to see” Bully Ray stated. Nobody is a bigger Brock Lesnar supporter than me. I have been flying the flag for Brock on this show [Busted Open], since day one. Why? Because I was the very first person to get with to get to work with Brock Lesnar. I know who how smart Brock Lesnar is, I know what kind of performer Brock Lesnar is.”

Changing The Formula

Bully would finish by clarifying that he did enjoy the match. “Listen, was the four and a half minutes good? Sure, yeah, it was. But I had seen that before I had seen the formula work with Goldberg. I had seen the Brock before [where he] just destroys everything you know type of psychology before last night. With Drew I was hoping for a little bit more.”

Lesnar vs Goldberg

Brock’s match against Goldberg from WrestleMania 33 went only a few short minutes also and you can check out that match below. The ‘formula’ that Bully Ray refers to does clearly work for that bout from ‘Mania 33, however we have seen in the past just how creative and hard working matches between Brock and ‘smaller men’ can be. Although WWE did have a difficult situation due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, it is arguable that a younger talent such as McIntyre could’ve had a lengthier match against Lesnar, due to the environment and lack of live crowd reaction.

It is also worth pointing out that Ray said that if the exact match as it occurred happened in a full arena with 80,000 people that it would have worked perfectly.

Also Check Out:

• Drew McIntyre Wants To Bring Another Major WWE Pay-Per-View To The UK
• CM Punk Says It’s Impossible To Watch Wrestling Without An Audience
• Drew McIntyre & Tyson Fury Hyping Potential WWE Title Match

Former WWE Superstar Enzo Amore/nZo recently appeared on the Chris Van Vliet podcast. The former Cruiserweight Champion would appear to answer a litany of questions from fans about his time in WWE, the independent scene and his religious beliefs.

During the interview Enzo was asked about his tag team partner Big Cass/Caz XL. Cass has had battles with depression over the past couple of years and Enzo has been with the former WWE Superstar throughout.

“We live in a world where you’re manipulated by a feeling”

Enzo Amore

Enzo Amore on Big Cass

“Oh, he’s been doing better. He’s doing so good” Enzo Amore began. “He’s killing it, he’s killing it. He just, he’s smart. Listen, Moses needed to walk away from the pharaohs of Egypt for 40 days before he came back. All right? To get the pharaoh out of his brain. And what do I mean by the ‘pharaoh out of his brain?’ We live in a world where you’re manipulated by a feeling. You know? Where people are literally subscribing to the notion that they need to feel some type of way, based on their environment, and their environment is constantly thrown in their face.”

New Podcast

Enzo Amore then revealed that he will be launching a new podcast soon via the Triller platform. “If you want to hear real? You can tune into my podcasts, which we’ll be launching very soon. I’ll take the free opportunity to advertise on your platform Chris!”

Amore confirmed that the new Triller based podcast will be called ‘How You Doin?’ A play off of his and Big Cass’ biggest catchphrase whilst in WWE. Amore has not confirmed any of the logistics of the podcast, although it is likely that he will be commenting on current events in professional wrestling. Enzo did also speak about the NWA brand during the Chris Van Vliet podcast; however, it is not confirmed if he has any official affiliation with the promotion.

Also Check Out:

• Recap Of Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena In Firefly Funhouse Match At WrestleMania 36
• Braun Strowman Reveals When He Found Out He Was Replacing Roman Reigns At WrestleMania
• WWE Planning To Move Forward With Friday’s SmackDown TV Taping From Secret Location

WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of Busted Open Radio Mark Henry recently discussed the WrestleMania 36 Boneyard Match between AJ Styles and The Undertaker. The bout took place on Night 1 of the event, and was arguably one of the most memorable main event matches in ‘Mania history. With a ‘cinematic’ feel to it, ‘Taker and AJ would fight to ‘bury’ each other alive to win the match.

The Worlds’ Strongest Man on WrestleMania 22

Mark Henry himself faced The Undertaker back at WrestleMania 22. There was talk at the time that Vince McMahon liked the idea of giving Henry the win in that match, and breaking the (then) undefeated Streak. Henry would of course not win, however he described on the Busted Open show just how important a match against the ‘Deadman’ was for his career. The ‘World’s Strongest Man’ would also go on to say just how important this match was for AJ Styles’ WWE career.

Importance of facing The Undertaker

“Yeah, it was really big for me, career wise and development wise” Henry began. “I had been in wrestling for a long time already. And I was getting it, and when that time came? I was prepared and I was ready. And I was able to give something back. But nonetheless, [it was] the high point of my career man. It did so much for me.”

“Just being spoke of in the same breath as the legend? The Phenom? The one that is the Deadman? It adds to your career, so amazing.”

Mark Henry

Mark Henry would finish by stating just how important he feels this is for AJ Styles’ career. “AJ Styles will come away from this match not just the ‘Phenomenal’ AJ Styles. He’ll be in inserted into the annals of The Undertaker and you’ll be linked to his career. And just being linked? Just being spoke of in the same breath as the legend? The Phenom? The one that is the Deadman? It adds to your career, it’s so amazing.”

Although Henry made these comments before the match was aired live, it will be interesting to see just how this match affects AJ Styles going forward. There’s likely chance that Styles will get a rematch against ‘Taker in a more ‘traditional’ setting at the likes of a SummerSlam if the COVID-19 situation is under control at that point.

Also Check Out:

• Donald Trump Gives Vince McMahon & Others Timeline For Return Of Fans To Events
• Drew McIntyre On Where He Would Be If He Wasn’t Fired From WWE in 2014
• Becky Lynch On What’s Next For Her After WrestleMania 36

WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of the Hall of Fame podcast Booker T recently commented on the upcoming WrestleMania 36 bout between Edge and Randy Orton. With the unique nature of this year’s ‘Mania, Booker T believes that a ‘theatrical’ element to the match will be able to push it beyond the confines of standard wrestling fare.

Booker T on Edge vs Randy Orton

“This is a moment man, this is a moment that these guys can actually be able to go out here and really tap into their creativeness” Booker T began. “Looking at guys like Edge, he’s perfect for this moment, because he’s a guy who not only loves the wrestling business; but as soon as he got out to the wrestling business he went right into acting.”

“I like the analogy, it [WWE] is Rocky, it is Shakespeare, it is Romeo and Juliet.”

Booker T

Booker T would elaborate further, discussing Triple H’s recent comments that WWE is more “like the Rocky movie and not boxing.” “I like the analogy, it [WWE] is Rocky, it is Shakespeare, it is Romeo and Juliet. It seemed like these guys have said ‘hey man, we’re gonna be in this [coronavirus] state for a while, why don’t you let us be creative? You don’t write anything for us. and just let us go out here and talk about it. Let us feel it?’ It actually looks that way to be. When I watched The Undertaker go out and cut a promo? That was as real as I’ve ever seen The Undertaker.”

Final Hype for Edge vs Orton

Booker T would finish by discussing the history between Edge and Orton. “And now [for Randy] to go out and dance with Edge? A guy who he’s got history with? These guys know each other very very well and respect each other, a whole lot. And now they’re gonna get a chance to go out and you know create magic for the world, in front of an empty arena. Mano a mano and now it’s going to be, you know, a fight that we got to create like we never have before, just because of the circumstances that we’re in. We’re really gonna get a chance to see Shakespeare.”

Edge vs Randy Orton will be taking place this weekend at WrestleMania 36. The show will be available to purchase on PPV, FITE TV as well as the WWE Network.

Are you looking forward to the match between Edge and Orton? Do you think it will have a ‘theatrical’ element? Let us know in the comments

Also Check Out:

• Edge Wants To Make Sure His WrestleMania Match Is “Tough To Follow”
• Edge Discusses WrestleMania Relocating To The WWE Performance Center
• Stephanie McMahon On Delivering WrestleMania 36, Coronavirus Safety Measures

WWE legend John Cena recently appeared on Corey Graves’ After The Bell podcast. The 15-time World/WWE Champion appeared on the show to discuss the current ‘state’ of sports entertainment and what Cena believes the company needs to move forward.

Starting the interview, Graves would ask Cena what WWE needs to do to usher in a new ‘era,’ akin to how the Ruthless Aggression or PG Eras were created.

John Cena on ‘Eras’

“It needs what I’m not sure it [WWE] can produce,” John Cena began. “And that’s just the state of where everything is now. Which is weird because it kind of always corrects itself. So we’re in a day and age where WWE needs a frontman.”

Over the past couple of years WWE has been pushing for the ‘brand’ to be the attraction, and not the individual. This counteracts decades past, where the likes of Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and Brock Lesnar were positioned as the ‘top dog’ of the company. This is something that Cena addresses, he says that an ‘era’ is defined by the main star in the company.

“Even if they liked the guy last week. They say ‘f*ck you, you’re not going to tell me who I like!”

– John Cena

“That’s how we’ll be able to define what the era is,” Cena revealed. “Because it takes on those personality traits of its top star, like I’ve said before…I don’t know, if all things considered? The crowd is so mixed, that if the company puts its faith behind an individual, the knee jerk reaction of the audience? Even if they liked the guy last week? Is to say ‘f*ck you, you’re not going to tell me who I like!’ So the audience is also tipping the scales of this not being able to happen.”

Universal Popularity

John Cena finished by discussing the idea of ‘universal popularity,’ saying how he believes it will never happen again due to the state of the industry. “Universal popularity will never happen. Because someone [in WWE] will see it and get onto it and be like, ‘he seems to be getting popular, let’s stop this right now.’ Or ‘she seems to be getting popular, let’s change this right now.’ And I’ve seen it happen with guys who are really like darlings of that underground crew. They make it, and then as soon as they make it the rug is pulled out from them.”

John Cena is definitely the right person to talk about this issue. As it’s arguable that the ‘polarising’ top babyface was perfected by Cena during his run over the past 10-15 years.

Do you think that WWE needs to create another top person to build the company around? Let us know in the comments

Also Check Out:

• Seth Rollins Says WWE Will Recollect After WrestleMania Amid Coronavirus Concerns
• Stay-At-Home Order Issued In Florida, WWE Production Could Be Impacted
• Hulk Hogan Reveals Bicep Injury, Shows Off New Look (Photo)

WWE Superstar The Big Show recently appeared on the Gorilla Position podcast. During the interview the 7 foot 2 giant would discuss a litany of topics from his career; including the brand new ‘The Big Show Show’ that is coming to Netflix.

This is arguably the biggest out of the ring opportunity that Paul Wright/The Big Show has had in his career. Big Show has previously appeared in motion pictures, such as Adam Sandler’s The Waterboy, but this is the first ‘vehicle’ for the WWE Superstar that has seen him be the main focus.

Big Show on Joining WCW

Show would start the interview with Gorilla Position by describing how different opportunities are now as opposed to when he first joined WCW in 1995. “No, I’m not even close to being were I was when I first started” Big Show began. “I was a kid from South Carolina, and I’m still [then] blown away that I’m working in the same ring with Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ric Flair and Arn Anderson. It’s like I should get an autograph before they figure out that I shouldn’t be here and kick me out!”

The Chance To Appear on Netflix

Big Show elaborated further, saying “to understand where our business has grown since then and the opportunities are available now for for all the talent across the board. So many different avenues of being able to build their brand, to build a worldwide brand. And a lot of talents are doing that now, [even] for me to end up with my own TV show in partnership with Netflix. Big Show would also reveal that he has been pushing for this sort of opportunity for years. Although he had no idea that it would lead to such a slot on a massive streaming service.

“I think he probably knew that if he didn’t let me have this opportunity I was gonna like come into his office and throw things out of the window”

Big Show

“I drove Vince [McMahon] nuts for years, about trying to get me a vehicle like this” Big Show revealed. “From trying to have my own segment on RAW or Smackdown. Even something like when we got the WWE Network like ‘hey, I should have my own show I could do this, I could do that.’ And when this partnership came up with Netflix and WWE; I’m so thankful and grateful that Vince let me lead the charge on this opportunity. I think he probably knew that if he didn’t let me have this opportunity I was gonna like come into his office and throw things out of the window.”

‘The Big Show Show’ premieres only on Netflix on April 6th, check out the trailer for the new series below:

Also Check Out:

• Stay-At-Home Order Issued In Florida, WWE Production Could Be Impacted
• Bully Ray: “Undertaker’s Promo Was Good, Edge’s Promo Was Great”
• Aleister Black Shares His Motivation Heading Into WrestleMania 36

WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently discussed the events of the Monday Night RAW. This week’s episode was once again filmed with no live audience, and a lot of the promo work was shot ‘backstage.’

Bully would compare the work between the ‘big 4’ promos on the show; notably Kevin Owens, Edge, Undertaker and Paul Heyman.

Bully Ray on Edge and Undertaker

“‘Takers promo was good, Edge’s promo was great,” Bully Ray began. “They were all [the big four], you know, all of them did a phenomenal job. But there was a reason why Edge’s was better. But man, all of these people talking to us. Edge made me want to put my hands in my pocket and pull out money to plop down on a pay per view.”

This will of course be Edge’s first singles match back in a WWE ring since 2011, following his return from a neck injury that kept him out of action. It was originally believed that Edge would never be able to return, but seemingly he has the fire and passion to cut some of the best promo work of his career over the past few months.

Selling Fans on a PPV

“And whenever I’m teaching students at the Team 3d Academy, and I’m teaching them about the art of the promo? I say I tell them you have one job at the end of this promo” Bully Ray elaborated.

“That one job is that when you’re done talking, no matter what you say, and no matter how long you say it for. Whether that’s one second, one minute, or five minutes. The idea is to make the fan want to put their hands in their pocket and plunk down 20 bucks for a T shirt. Plunk down 50 bucks for a pay per view, plunk down whatever for a ticket. And those four promos last night from ‘Taker, Edge. Owens and Paul? They all made me want to do it.”

“The only part I don’t think I liked? Is when ‘Taker said: ‘you mentioned her.'”

– Bully Ray

Bully Ray would then go into why he felt Edge’s promo was better, citing the fact that Undertaker’s may have felt a little bit more ‘scripted’ in execution. “Taker had me hook line and sinker” Bully began. “The only part I don’t think I liked? Is when ‘Taker said: ‘you mentioned her.’ [He] was telling AJ ‘you mentioned her,’ I knew that he was talking about his wife Michelle. But then when he had to go ahead and say her whole name Michelle McCool? I went, ‘Ah, don’t tell me her whole name I know her whole name already!’ that felt a little forced to me.”

Styles Clash vs Faithbreaker

Ray would then move on to the fact that Undertaker was trying to bring the Styles Clash vs Faithbreaker conversation into the story. With Michelle McCool seemingly ‘borrowing’ AJ’s move in the early 2010’s.

“Bringing up the name of the finish that Michelle McCool used, which is basically the styles clash, I guess she had given another name? That felt a little bit forced.”

“I personally never saw Michelle McCool use the finish. I know they showed me maybe footage once of it. I’m really not associating Michelle McCool with the Styles Clash, so it almost came across to me like Undertaker was really pushing his wife. To get over her. That part right there felt like a little bit of a round peg in a square hole. So that’s why I said his stuff was good because I loved everything that he did. And I especially loved his holy trinity line.”

The overwhelming feeling from both Bully Ray and co-host Dave LaGreca was that the promos from Monday Night RAW were more than enough to convince people to purchase WrestleMania 36 this weekend. For the first time ever the event is being held over two nights, and will now be available to purchase on FITE TV.

Do you feel that Edge’s and Undertaker’s promos were enough to get you to watch WrestleMania this weekend? Let us know in the comments

Also Check Out:

• WWE Special On Edge Will Reportedly Air Following WrestleMania 36
• Drew McIntyre Defends WrestleMania 36, Making It A Two-Day Event
• Triple H Shares Relief At Not Being Scheduled For WrestleMania 36
• WWE RAW Results & 5 Takeaways (3/30)

WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of Busted Open Radio Bully Ray recently commented on the two day WrestleMania 36 event this weekend. This is of course the most unique WrestleMania in recent history, possibly ever. WWE are having to pre-tape the event due to the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. And the atmosphere, according to Bully Ray, is somewhat akin to the post 9/11 SmackDown show back in 2001.

Bully Ray on Keeping Fans Happy

“The number one thing I would want to do is not disappoint the fans” Bully Ray began, discussing how he would’ve approached the situation. “Now, one of the things they could have done; and I’m not saying that this is a good idea, as a former owner of businesses. When you leave it up to the decision of the customer. You never know what you’re going to…what kind of feedback you’re gonna get. And it could affect your business. It might not have been a horrible idea to put out one of those polls that the WWE sends out and says: ‘due to the current situation, would you like the show to go on this year?'”

“It probably wouldn’t have been a bad idea to get feedback from the WWE Universe as to what they wanted”

Bully Ray

9/11

Bully Ray would elaborate further, talking about how he feels the company is genuinely doing the shows ‘for the fans.’ “It probably wouldn’t have been a bad idea to get feedback from the WWE Universe as to what they wanted. See when the WWE says that they’re doing it for their fans? These are the cases where I truly believe it. Because I go back to what happened on 911, and how the WWE wanted to make sure that; despite the nation going through a really, really tough time? Vince was adamant about the WWE standing tall and helping people to heal through the form of entertainment.”

“‘Here, watch Smackdown for two hours tonight. And you’ll forget about all of the horrible things that we’re dealing with out there.’ And wrestling fans were extremely happy that we went out there and we did that, as you know, as a company, because the number one thing they said was, thank you for helping me forget for two hours.”

Not Putting a Positive Spin on It

Bully Ray would finish by describing how WrestleMania this year won’t ‘feel the same.’ Of course with the absence of fans in attendance. “Now with WrestleMania I believe they’re doing the same thing, I think Vince wants to help the nation to heal through his brand of entertainment. The hard part is, it’s not going to feel the same. Yeah, we might be kind of getting used to this thing with no audience I think thats just a bunch of happy horsesh*t that you say on the show. To me, we’re just getting through it, I’m not used to it. I’m not used to watching RAW or Smackdown like that. I’m not putting that happy spin on it. I think it absolutely f*cking sucks that there’s nobody.”

“The Show Must Go On” – Bully Ray

Then Bully Ray would finish by saying that he believes WrestleMania should go on; that WWE made the right decision. “And this is why I think having WrestleMania is a good idea, and why I think I would have made the same recommendation and decision. Yes. Let the show go on. Because at the end of the day, even when there’s 20,000 people in this arena, we’re not playing to those 20,000, we’re playing to the millions and millions at home.”

Do you think that WWE were right to go on with WrestleMania 36 this week? Let us know in the comments

Also Check Out:

• Becky Lynch Wasn’t Happy With Her Last Match With Shayna Baszler
• Drew McIntyre Defends WrestleMania 36, Making It A Two-Day Event
• Triple H Shares Relief At Not Being Scheduled For WrestleMania 36
• Jim Ross Would Have Postponed WrestleMania 36

AEW commentator Jim ‘JR’ Ross recently discussed new All Elite signing Matt Hardy on the most recent episode of the Grilling Jr podcast.

This week’s episode of the show focused on WrestleMania 9, Jim Ross’ first ever live broadcast for the company. One of the topics brought up during the show was that of ‘burying’ talent as they are leaving the company. This is something that has been a topic of contention in the past with fans, with JR believing that people who are featured on television aren’t being ‘buried’ as they are getting air time.

WWE Writing Matt Hardy off TV

The aforementioned Matt Hardy was a prominent part of the Randy Orton/Edge programme before he left WWE. Before this, Hardy was sparsely used on WWE television, and this high profile feud was the first we had really heard or seen from Hardy on Monday Night RAW.

“Why would you have someone on your payroll…and you’re paying them,” JR began. “And you’re traveling them, you’re putting them on television. If you want their character to die?”

“That’s like when WWE was going to do the last few things with Matt Hardy. That was their intent [WWE], to bury Matt Hardy, right? But for their own mismanagement and lack of attention to detail and lack of common sense, they got Matt Hardy over more on his way out than they did while he was there.”

JR would finish by lambasting WWE for the way that they dealt with Hardy on the way out. “He was doing promos, he was in hot angles. He’s with Randy Orton blah blah blah. So you’re not burying him, you’re getting him over, dumbass. And so now Matt Hardy’s in AEW which is going to be great for us, I think.”

Did WWE ‘Bury’ Hardy?

Traditionally, talents would ‘do the job’ on their way out of a ‘territory.’ Matt Hardy was attacked by Randy Orton brutally with a chair to build up the Edge feud, thus taking him off of television.

In 2020, a lot of fans are well aware of Hardy’s social media/YouTube work and he has been using this to build to his eventual move to AEW. So with WWE putting Hardy on television, it’s arguable that they really didn’t do any damage to his character at all.

Do you feel that WWE ‘buried’ Matt Hardy on his way out of the company? Let us know in the comments

Also Check Out:

• Chris Jericho & Matt Hardy Recall Pitching Ideas To Vince McMahon
• Matt Hardy May Have Stayed With WWE If Triple H Was “Solely In Power”
• Matt Hardy Wants To Work Wrestle Kingdom, Cody Match Set For Dynamite

WrestleMania 36 is just a week away. With the current COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, WWE has been forced to pre-tape the biggest show of the year.

One of the bigger matches on the card; will see WWE RAW Women’s Champion Becky Lynch take on Shayna Baszler for the Championship. In a potentially massive slip up, Mark Henry may have revealed the stipulation for the match.

During the most recent episode of Busted Open Radio, Mark Henry was discussing the Roman Reigns and Goldberg situation. Roman Reigns has taken himself off of the WrestleMania card due to health worries, and Henry suggested that Matt Riddle be the replacement opponent for Goldberg at the event. In doing so, he discussed a match stipulation he’d like to see added to the RAW Women’s title match

Henry stated “You know, you got one match in an octagon hopefully. And hopefully you know what they can do with Shana Baszler and Becky Lynch. And then you can turn around and have one more right behind it, or have it before [Goldberg vs Riddle]. Just a tune up.”

“then you can turn around and have one more right behind it”

Mark Henry

The ‘World’s Strongest Man’ would obviously be referring to Riddle and Baszler being former MMA fighters, thus giving the stipulation some merit. However, with Riddle being pure speculation, it’s interesting for Mark Henry to say “you got one match in an octagon, hopefully.”

So, with WrestleMania 36 being behind closed doors and information being sparse; has Mark Henry just slipped that we’re getting an MMA match for Lynch vs Baszler? We have one more episode of RAW before WrestleMania 36 next week, could WWE announce the match stipulation then?

Also Check Out:

• Championship Match Set For WWE WrestleMania 36
• Title Match At WrestleMania Changed, Another Star Pulls Out
• More Names Reportedly Off WrestleMania 36 Card

Former WCW President and co-host of the 83 Weeks podcast Eric Bischoff recently commented on the AEW and WWE ’empty arena’ shows that have been taking place over the past couple of weeks. With the COVID-19 coronavirus causing major sports and entertainment to either be cancelled or re-scheduled, the two biggest pro wrestling promotions in the United States have opted to continue with their live broadcasts.

Eric Bischoff on AEW and WWE

WWE were first to broadcast from the Performance Center for Friday Night SmackDown. With the situation being fluid and no one truly knowing what will happen week to week, the company would attempt to try and still entertain fans with a skeleton crew and no actual audience in attendance. When AEW aired on TNT, they had a different, more ‘Ring of Honor hard camera’ approach to their production, which garnered praise seemingly across the board. Eric Bischoff was also someone who appreciated the quality of AEW’s production and style over the past couple of weeks.

“WWE missed the mark on the first couple of shows”

Eric Bischoff

“I think AEW is doing a great job” Bischoff began on this week’s episode of After 83 Weeks w/ Christy Olson. “WWE missed the mark on the first couple of shows. I almost, almost picked up the phone to call someone and say ‘hey maybe you just want to think about this?'”

WWE Is Too Glitzy?

Bischoff would then give his insight and ideas. “Here’s my take, right. When you look at the WWE product its very glitzy. You know, the high production values are second to none. When it comes to live event production? There is no one on the face of the earth that does live event production the way WWE does. It’s an art. That’s the good news…bad news is, when there’s no audience and you still dress everything up? It’s still bright. There’s colours, there’s lights, you can see that there’s nobody there. But the venue has no personality, the venue has no character. It’s a bright, multicoloured, very sterile environment. And for me it was kind of like, I just can’t watch it.”

AEW Giving The Arena ‘Character’

Eric Bischoff finished by comparing how the AEW product seemingly made the venue a ‘character.’ Something that added to the show instead of being a deterrent. “AEW kind of made the venue a little bit more of a character. And one of the ways they did it is the way they shot a lot of their angles. They were tighter, there was a lot more close ups, a lot less wide shots. To me they shot it better.”

WWE have reported already pre-taped a large number of segments/matches for WrestleMania 36 next weekend. It will be interesting to see if the company will be making any changes to the production style for the shows, considering how the ’empty arena’ presentation will play a huge part at the biggest show of the year.

Also Check Out:

• Many In WWE Reportedly Upset With Decision Not To Postpone WrestleMania
• More Names Reportedly Off WrestleMania 36 Card
• AEW Dynamite & NXT TV Viewership (3/25)

Mandy Rose joined Corey Graves for this week’s episode of After The Bell. The 28-year-old Superstar discussed a number of topics from her career, including the atmosphere backstage at NXT when first started in the company.

“I’m trying to remember as when I first came in, there was for sure, you know that type of divide a little bit.”

Mandy Rose

Mandy Rose broke onto the national wrestling scene as a contestant on the 2015 season of WWE Tough Enough. “Coming in through Tough Enough, it was a little different” she revealed. “Because I feel like a lot of the cast members on Tough Enough had different backgrounds. Like there was football player, there was, you know, I think Patrick was actually the only wrestler on Tough Enough as I remember (Velveteen Dream)?”

She continued, Yeah, I don’t know, I’m trying to remember as when I first came in, there was for sure, you know that type of divide a little bit. And you know we always kind of got issues especially from fans.”

Mandy Rose on Fan Negativity

Tough Enough was a fast track to WWE for Mandy Rose. However, it was not an entirely smooth ride. She found that some fans did not appreciate that she was not a lifelong wrestling fan. In fact, the negativity from some fans continues to this day.

Mandy would elaborate further, saying “it was like, ‘Oh, you didn’t grow up watching this’ or ‘you didn’t want to always do this for your whole life’ and ‘you don’t belong here’ type of thing. I kind of just was always like whatever, just don’t give them reaction. Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of us may still get that in all the hate and all, you know. Just because I didn’t grow up doing this, or I didn’t always want to be a wrestler? Doesn’t mean that you know I didn’t fall in love with it. It kind of drives me and makes me more competitive than I even am to prove those haters wrong and kind of show them that I can do this.”

Mandy Rose is currently involved in a romantic storyline with Otis of the Heavy Machinery tag team. It is widely regarded as one of the best angles on WWE television.

VICE recently released episode 1 of the new Dark Side of The Ring series. The episode centered around the tragic murder/suicide of Nancy, Daniel and Chris Benoit. Another of Benoit’s sons, David, recently appeared on Busted Open Radio to discuss the two parter documentary and how he has to deal with the negative elements surrounding the situation on a near daily basis.

“I still get trolled all the time on Instagram” Benoit began. “I get rude comments and, you know, I just block them and you know I just forget about it but you know it hurts a little bit.”

Busted Open co-host Bully Ray would elaborate further on the question, asking “does it hurt a little bit? I’m not, I’m not trying to be too harsh on you. But I would think that it has to hurt a lot, because it’s something that you can’t really escape from. Despite the fact that you’re your own man. And you got, you know. One of the things that you know struck me was that that smile on your face in part one of the documentary. You seem like a guy that just wants to enjoy his life. And it’s just so difficult to get out of the shadow of what happened in the past.”

David Benoit would reply and finish by saying “You know when we were filming it, we were talking about the good times. I was just smiling, having a great time and then towards the end there. You know I just, I broke real hard. And then, Chavo came up and gave me a big hug during it.”

Also Check Out:

• Teddy Long On WWE Nixing Vince McMahon’s Funeral Angle After Chris Benoit Tragedy
• Dark Side Of The Ring Season 2 Premiere To Focus On Benoit Family Tragedy
• David Benoit To Pay Homage To His Father In Wrestling

WWE Superstar Natalya recently appeared on the Gorilla Position podcast. The Hart Family member discussed a number of topics on the show, with one being her relationship with WWE CEO Vince McMahon. Natalya would describe how McMahon has “been there” for her at numerous times in her career.

“You know what’s really funny? And maybe, I’m gonna say this because…it’s coming from a place that, it’s a compliment!” Natalya began. “Vince is the type of boss, that if you need to talk to him as a talent, you can talk to him. And in the most serious moments of my career and the most serious moments of my life? [Like] When my dad passed away, when I was announced that I was going to Saudi Arabia.”

Natalya elaborated further, saying how she had spoken to McMahon even this week. “In the last week I’ve spoken to him and communicated with him. He’s been wonderful. He’s always as crazy as it gets. And as crazy as his schedule gets because he’s running so many things? He is so accessible, he is so accessible for us if we really need him. He’s been there for me through the best and worst times in my life.”

Natalya would finish by saying “if it was something I needed to ask him a question about my match or, you know, say I I’m concerned about this or I wanted to add this idea or I think we can contribute this way? He’s all open, like we can always…I’ve never not been able to talk about anything with him.”

Also Check Out:

• Chris Jericho & Matt Hardy Recall Pitching Ideas To Vince McMahon
• Bret Hart On Recommending Steve Austin to Vince McMahon, Being Warned About WCW
• Tyson Kidd On What Vince McMahon Told Him About His Producer Role

AEW Executive Vice Presidents The Young Bucks recently appeared on the AEW Unrestricted podcast. The tag team discussed a number of topics on the show surrounding their own careers as well as the initial growth of the upstart All Elite promotion.

One of the more intriguing elements of the conversation revolved around Tony Khan’s lofty ambitions for the company in the United Kingdom.

Tony Khan Taking AEW To the UK?

Khan’s family own and operate the Premier League football (soccer) team Fulham FC. Fulham are a club based in London, England and have a stadium with a 50,000 capacity. Craven Cottage traditionally seats around 25,000 during football matches, however The Bucks would refer to a 50,000 number. This likely could be attained if the pitch was utilized for ringside seating.

“He took us to one of their arenas when we went over there [the UK].”

Nick Jackson

“That night I think we had dinner [in the UK]” Matt Jackson began. Nick Jackson would also confirm that before AEW was made official the pair were flown to England and locations were already being discussed. “He took us to one of their arenas when we went over there [the UK].”

Matt Jackson would then confirm that was one of the reasons they got behind the AEW project, due to Khan’s ambition. “And it was like, I think that night we looked at each other. We’re like, I think this is it right?”

Nick Jackson would then talk about Fulham’s ground Craven Cottage specifically, saying “we’re at Fulham arena whatever you call it, it sits like 50,000 people and he’s like, ‘we’re gonna fill this one day with people, for a wrestling show.’ I thought ‘I like this guy, he thinks big.'”

Matt Jackson would finish by praising the overarching nature of Khan’s style in pro wrestling thus far. “He doesn’t want us to just be wrestlers” Jackson admitted. “He wants us to be more than wrestlers, like nobody else can offer us that.”

Do you think that AEW will run big stadium events in the UK at some point soon? Let us know in the comments.

Also Check Out:

• AEW Dynamite Results & 5 Takeaways (3/25)
• AEW Rankings for March 25th

AEW on-air talent and former WWE agent Arn Anderson recently talked about the relationship between Triple H and WWE CEO Vince McMahon. This week’s episode of the ARN podcast focused on WrestleMania 31, which featured the controversial encounter between Sting and the aforementioned HHH.

Arn Anderson on Triple H/Vince McMahon

Anderson was discussing how a number of WWE fans believe that the company will be different once/if Triple H takes over the creative reins overall. The match between HHH and Sting was arguably a creative train wreck, and co-host of ARN Conrad Thompson asked if it was Triple H who likely booked the match or if Vince McMahon had final creative say.

“I know that Hunter will never be able to override Vince’s idea” Arn Anderson began. “No matter how good [the idea] is that he has. Or how it applies, or what you know is more appropriate. It would always be Vince’s idea.”

“the harder you push against him [Vince], the harder he pushes back. “

Arn Anderson

Anderson would elaborate further, saying that “the harder you push against him [Vince], the harder he pushes back. And he just happens to have a lot more weight behind his push.” Arn would also discuss how the flow of the match was almost nonsensical; especially with the talents who were hitting finishers that were easily kicked out of. “There was a whole bunch of sh*t. I mean why would you kick out of Shawn Michaels Superkick on top of Hunter’s Pedigree? And all the other finishes you compile and pile on top of each other?”

Arn would finish by saying that “you’re not building anybody, you’re killing everything off. I don’t understand why guys of this era don’t understand your finish is the one thing that should be sacred. Once you hit your finish on the guy, he’s beat. That’s why it’s your finish. If you didn’t have confidence in it because it had a proven record; then why is it the move that you choose to win a match?”

Check out more here:

• Chris Jericho & Matt Hardy Recall Pitching Ideas To Vince McMahon
• Billy Gunn On His Response To First WWE Contract Offer From Vince McMahon

Former WWE Superstar Stu Bennett/Wade Barrett recently appeared on Colt Cabana‘s Art of Wrestling podcast. The former ‘Bad News’ giver would discuss a plethora of topics from his career. Including when he ‘knew’ he had to leave WWE.

“2016 is when I left. I think it was April or May 2016, and I told them ‘okay my contract coming up. I’m not re-signing” Stu Bennett began. “They [WWE] made me a couple of offers, ‘doesn’t matter what you offer me I need to leave, I f*cking hate it here.’ I needed that change.”

Stu Bennett on Leaving WWE

Stu Bennett would elaborate further, discussing how he fell out of love with WWE. “I loved my job probably until the end of 2014 beginning of 2015” Bennett revealed.

“Because I had done some exciting things and then some not so exciting things. But I felt I at least I had this carrot in front of me and I was excited about, you know, if I keep improving. Improve my physique? I’ll try and get ripped that’ll convince [them]. Oh no, maybe I need a catchphrase? And I got a catchphrase. Or maybe I need a T shirt that’s a big seller? Maybe I need to work on my in-ring skills? There was all these things; there was always something in my head on how I can improve them and improve this, improve that.”

“I became King of the Ring, which sounds like it should be impressive, but what it was followed up With? Zero writing”

– Stu Bennett

King of The Ring

Barrett would also discuss how the ‘accolades’ he was gifted ended up having diminishing returns. “I was sliding down the card and getting opportunities that I thought were kind of wasted. Like I became King of the Ring, which sounds like it should be impressive, but what it was followed up with? Zero writing.”

He continued in frustration, “You know, 30 seconds of writing. ‘Just have them wrestle for three minutes’ and ‘Have this guy go over Stu whatever.’ Yeah, there was that level of writing, week after week after week. And suddenly after putting in the effort I had to climb up the card and get to where I want it to be? I’m rewarded with what I thought was pretty disappointing to say the least.”

“It doesn’t matter what I’m doing here. I’m completely out of control with this”

– Stu Bennett

He finished by saying, “For me it was a realization that it doesn’t matter what I’m doing here. I’m completely out of control with this, I’m waiting for one man to give us a thumbs up or a thumbs down and I’m spending my whole career waiting and hoping that I get a thumbs up next week, next week, next week.”

Stu Bennett currently serves as a broadcaster for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).

Scott Dawson of the popular WWE tag team The Revival is teasing that he might finally be free from the company.

Dawson, along with partner Dash Wilder, has turned down multiple offers to re-sign with WWE. Quoting the country music song “Amarillo by Morning by George Strait, he cryptically wrote on Monday, “I AIN’T GOT A DIME, but what I got is mine. I ain’t rich, but Lord I’M FREE!”

The Revival Leaving WWE?

We have reported over the last few months that The Revival have been looking to leave WWE. Although, this is not something new. The tag team have reportedly been unhappy with their stature in the company for quite some time; apparently turning down huge deals in the region of $750,000 per year each to leave WWE.

The duo have also been attempting to copyright several of their trademarked names. This is likely so that they can be used outside of the WWE bubble, presumably somewhere such as AEW.

Recent Booking For The Revival

Dave Meltzer recently reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the tag team were being ‘phased’ off television. Scott Dawson and Dash Wilder were originally slated to be featured in SmackDown Tag Team Title Elimination Chamber Match. This at the namesake pay-per-view event. Plans are subject to change in WWE, however the plan is believed to be to keep them in the same ‘spot’ as performers. Such Jon Moxley and Matt Hardy before they left the WWE.

We do not currently know exactly how much longer Dash Wilder has on his WWE deal; however it is believed that it is around 10 weeks beyond when Dawson was slated to leave. It is also not confirmed if Dawson took a ‘buy out’ on his WWE contract or if he simply chose to not renew. “I AIN’T GOT A DIME” seems to indicate that he may have ‘bought’ himself out of his last few months. However this is just conjecture and we cannot currently confirm.

WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of Busted Open Radio Mark Henry recently discussed Triple H and his potential move into the CEO position once Vince McMahon retires.

Henry stated that he believes Triple H would change the scope of the company, by putting more emphasis on a number of featured talents instead of one or two ‘top guys.’

Mark Henry on Triple H

“I think Triple H would broaden the title picture” Henry began on the latest episode of Busted Open. “Like it is at NXT. There are six or eight guys right now that can be champion on NXT. They have a lot more versatility in NXT, they don’t put all the stock in one person to be the lead.”

Henry elaborated further, describing how he believes HHH would make the ‘main roster’ more of a ‘wild west.’

“And that’s that’s the biggest change I think that he would make. Triple H would make it a more of a wild wild west. Wide open. You know, one week a guy’s challenging, the next week, another guy challenging. To find out who’s the cream of the crop.”

There were recent reports that ‘The Game’ had actually taken a ‘demotion’ in WWE. Hunter’s new title in WWE is Executive Vice President, Global Talent Strategy and Development; whereas he previously worked as the EVP of Talent, Live Events, and Creative. Triple H himself took a shot at the reports on the first SmackDown live at the Performance Center, saying he has apparently been “demoted but is even busier.”

It will be interesting to see if HHH is still likely to take over the helm of WWE once Vince McMahon leaves or retires.

How do you think Triple H will change the format/presentation of WWE if/when he ever takes over from Vince McMahon?

WWE Hall of Famer and co-host of Busted Open Radio Mark Henry recently discussed the Three-Time NFL Superbowl Champion Rob Gronkowski and his switch to the squared circle. Henry would have huge praise for the former NFL tight end and he believes that Gronk has a massive amount of potential in WWE.

“Rob Gronkowski has a lot of personality” Mark Henry began. “He [Gronk] is a walking, living party happening 24 hours a day. I love the guy, I think that he’s gonna make a really good wrestler. Once you’ve got some seasoning and some in-ring experience.”

Mark Henry would elaborate further; saying that he believes the right time for Gronkowski to debut would be WrestleMania next year. Henry would also compare Gronk’s potential to that of two huge cross over stars from WWE’s past. “I’d say by WrestleMania next year; I don’t know if he’ll be at Ronda Rousey level for a first timer, or Kurt Angle for a first timer, but he has that potential.”

The ‘World’s Strongest Man’ would finish by saying that we do not know what sort of combat ability Gronkowski has, and that he could shock the audience. “It’s just cool to see somebody with the potential to be great. You know he’s gonna have to learn some of the fighting arts. I don’t know if Gronk can box. We don’t know if he can shoot wrestle. We don’t know if he could kickbox, there’s a lot about Gronkowski that we don’t know.”

It was announced on Friday’s SmackDown Live that Rob Gronkowski will be the host of this year’s WrestleMania. For the first time ever Mania will be held over two nights on April 5th/6th.

Do you think that Rob Gronkowski will be a success in WWE? Let us know in the comments

WWE Superstar Baron Corbin appeared on this week’s episode of After The Bell with host Corey Graves. The outspoken SmackDown star tackled numerous topics on the show, with one of the most prominent being how he deals with fans online. Particularly, as Corbin puts it, “morons” on social media.

Baron Corbin Owns Neckbeards

Corbin argues that vocal ‘Internet fans’ only represent a 5% sliver of the WWE audience and don’t know what they’re talking about when they’re critical of him.

“It is crazy, it’s never ending, it’s crazy to me,” Corbin began. “We say social media, like that’s like 5% of our audience. Because the little kids and the parents out there? They don’t understand the terms that these morons use. You have these idiot neckbeards that want to critique everything that you do and then be like ‘you’ve got four moves.’ Actually I can do about 600 but when I do four it irritates you more.”

“‘That irritates you? Now I’m going to wear two. Thank you.’ Like, it’s so simple.”

Baron Corbin

Baron Corbin would elaborate further, discussing how he uses the comments he gets online to further his character building.

“I actually can use social media as a cheat code” Corbin stated. “Because they’re literally going, you know @John4576213 on his 12th profile is like ‘hey man, your vest looks dumb.’ and I go, ‘okay that irritates you? Now I’m going to wear two. Thank you.’ Like, it’s so simple.”

Do The Fans Understand ‘Heat?’

Corbin finished by discussing his reaction from the live crowds as well as those fans online. “They want to say, like, ‘oh he’s got go away heat.’ When I walk out that curtain? Everybody is booing me. That’s, like, they just don’t understand about heat. ‘This bad guy is getting boo’ed or he must not be good because I would like him if he was good.’ THAT’S NOT THE POINT. You know what I’m saying? They just don’t understand it and I, and it blows my mind I’m like, you people can’t be this stupid. Like my job is to make you literally hate me and I’ve had been in the ring with guys on all levels, and standing there and hearing the boos, and they’ll go ‘hey man, and they’ll turn the microphone so people can’t hear him and they’ll whisper ‘this is Vickie Guerrero heat I haven’t heard this in five years.’

What do you think of Baron Corbin’s presentation in WWE? Let us know in the comments

Former WCW President and co-host of the 83 Weeks podcast Eric Bischoff recently discussed the announcement that WrestleMania 36 will be taking place over two nights. For the first time ever, WWE’s biggest show of the year will take place without any fans in attendance. This is of course due to the current COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak that has completely changed the state of live entertainment and sports over the past few weeks.

Eric Bischoff on WrestleMania

Bischoff talked about the lack of audience for the show on After 83 Weeks with Christy Olson. “Oftentimes I’m asked how important the audience is to the show itself” Bischoff would begin. “One of the things that I’ve said over the last three decades, and when I got that question was; someone told me once that, and I don’t know if this is true, someone told me once that Elvis Presley said that the most important part of any of his shows was the audience.”

“the audience is like the third or the fourth person in the ring”

Eric Bischoff

Eric Bischoff elaborated further, saying “that always stuck with me. Whenever I could keep the audience alive, with the Nitro girls etc. All those decisions were probably born out of the fact that it made a lot of sense to me. That the audience is like the third or the fourth person in the ring. You’ve got the two combatants, if it’s a singles match, you’ve got the referee, and then you’ve got the audience. So there’s really five characters, you know, or four characters on the show to draw an analogy, or to draw a kind of example.”

Unprecedented WrestleMania

Bischoff finished by saying “I would say just imagine, just close your eyes, use your imagination. Take the best WrestleMania match you can you can imagine, whatever you think your favourite WrestleMania matches are. Now have that match in a high school gym in front of no people. I’ve used that analogy over and over and over again over the last 10-20 years. I never would have imagined that we’d be sitting here, you know, discussing the fact that this WrestleMania is going to take place.”

• Ryback Claims Vince McMahon “Doesn’t Give A F*** About Anyone”

WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan recently gave an update on his in-ring WWE career. The leader of the ‘Yes’ Movement recently appeared on The Bellas podcast and discussed how the upcoming birth of his second child with Brie Bella has changed his priorities in life, particularly pertaining to being a full time WWE contracted performer.

“It’s a little stressful because of the date that you’re due and all that kind of stuff” Daniel Bryan began. “But the WWE has been great. They’re gonna give me six weeks paternity leave, which so few places in the United States do that. So I’ll get to be home that first six weeks.”

“It’s not long until my contract is up”

– Daniel Bryan

Daniel Bryan would then reveal that his WWE contract is soon to expire. “Then after that it’s not long until my contract is up. We’ve been talking about, like, what we do from there? But to me, in my mind, it’s almost like I think I’m just done being a full time wrestler.”

Daniel Bryan’s Return To WWE

Bryan finished by saying “You know what I mean like, I love being a dad. I will always love wrestling, right, I will always love wrestling. And I always want to do wrestling, but when I say always do wrestling that means like maybe once a month or once every couple of months.”

Daniel Bryan made his return to in-ring WWE action back at WrestleMania 34. Bryan would team with Shane McMahon to take on Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens, shocking many who believed that the former WWE Champion would no longer be able to compete due to concussion complications.

More recently, Daniel Bryan has been utilized as a mid to upper card talent, now working alongside Drew Gulak in a program against Cesaro and Shinsuke Nakamura.