Former WCW president Eric Bischoff has reacted to news of Vince McMahon’s WWE return.

As recently reported, Vince McMahon is back on WWE’s Board Of Directors, effective immediately. Last year, McMahon was forced to step down after allegations of sexual misconduct with female employees surfaced. Both Nick Khan and Stephanie McMahon stepped in as co-CEOs in his place.

McMahon also retired from WWE soon after, leaving Triple H to take over as head of creative for the company. However, months later, McMahon then released a statement announcing his intention to return to the company, believing it was in the company’s best interest.

Initial reports suggest that McMahon has returned to seek a sale of the company. Currently, his 37% share of WWE stock gives him an 80% majority voter share over the board’s actions.

Taking to his podcast, “83 Weeks,” Bischoff offered his take on the situation, and the potential sale of WWE.

“I understand your question, but I think — now I haven’t read everything that’s come out in the last couple of hours. I’ve seen some of the bigger headlines and a couple other emails and stories.

“But I think Vince is — his reasoning for coming back and making this move is to aggressively pursue a sale. So in that case, I don’t think that matters. Because if he sells the company, he’s not gonna be running it anymore. And whether things ran better with him or without him is an irrelevant, a moot point.

“Because whoever buys it isn’t going to have Vince McMahon running it anyway. They’re gonna run it. So no, I think this is Vince’s exit strategy. And whether it’ll run better with him or without him isn’t really a discussion in an exit strategy like that.”

Today, via an SEC filing, it was confirmed that McMahon was back with the WWE’s Board Of Directors, effective immediately. He’s also returning alongside WWE co-Presidents Michelle Wilson and George Barrios.

They will be replacing now-former board members JoEllen Lyons Dillon, Jeffrey R. Speed, and Alan M. Wexler. It remains to be seen if McMahon’s return will include a return to the creative side of the company as well.

Quotes via 411Mania

We have some more details to pass along regarding Charlotte Flair returning to win the SmackDown Women’s Title.

As we’ve noted, Flair made her surprise return on last week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, confronting Ronda Rousey. Rousey just successfully defended the SmackDown Women’s Title against Raquel Rodriguez.

Flair then challenged Rousey to a title bout right there on the spot, which Flair was able to win after a Spear. Now, Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com reports that Rousey vs. Rodriguez was planned for the Royal Rumble in 2023 since mid-November.

Meltzer added Flair winning the title was a late change of plans, as Rousey was scheduled to go in a different direction, being penciled in as the champion through WrestleMania in preliminary plans.

He also previously mentioned that Rousey vs. Becky Lynch is no longer the plan for WrestleMania 39, and that match is “very unlikely” to happen.

Previously, Charlotte Flair had not been seen since WrestleMania Backlash, where she dropped the SmackDown Women’s Title to Ronda Rousey in their I Quit match. She had suffered a fractured radius and the loss was used to write her off of television.

In her several months off, Flair actually got married to Andrade El Idolo, with names such as Apollo Crews, Finn Balor, Rey Mysterio, and Lina Fanene (Nia Jax) in attendance.

Two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair didn’t know his daughter, Charlotte, was returning on last week’s SmackDown.

Flair recently took to his podcast, “To Be The Man,” and discussed a variety of topics. The 16-time World Champion discussed being backstage for last week’s episode of SmackDown Live. The show featured some big spots, including a main event with Kevin Owens and John Cena teaming up against Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn.

However, it also featured Flair’s daughter, Charlotte, returning from a long layoff to capture the SmackDown Women’s Title yet again. As it turns out, Flair had no idea his daughter was going to be at the show, and he had already left the building when she did.

“I was in the building and left and didn’t know it. It was the first time in so many years that nobody knew. I was in the building, I went and saw Roman (Reigns) and John (Cena), it was the greatest time and I really felt like part of the family again.

“I had a ball, but I didn’t even know. I left and went to American Social [sports bar in Tampa, FL], and then I got word that she was there. I had a couple of drinks with the hockey players.

“Hockey players on the Lightning like to drink. I wasn’t going to go back to the building. I watched it and they put it on every TV for me. It was amazing. That was old-school kayfabe.” 

Charlotte Flair returned on SmackDown, challenging Ronda Rousey for her title just after Rousey had defended the title successfully against Raquel Rodriguez. After a big boot and a spear, Flair was crowned the new SmackDown Women’s Champion.

It was Flair’s first appearance since she dropped the title to Rousey last year at WrestleMania Backlash in their I Quit Match.

Quotes via NoDq.com

WWE expects Mercedes Mone (Sasha Banks) to return to the company eventually.

As noted, Mone made her New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) debut this week at Wrestle Kingdom 17. She confronted IWGP Women’s Champion KAIRI, teasing an eventual title match.

Also, it was teased that Mone could end up being revealed as Saraya’s surprise tag team partner against Britt Baker and Jamie Hayter for next week’s episode of All Elite Wrestling (AEW) Dynamite in Los Angeles.

However, on yesterday’s episode, it was revealed that Saraya would be teaming up with Toni Storm instead. Baker did tease the Mone rumors during her own promo, suggesting that she is “The Boss.” Dave Meltzer shed some light on the situation during a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.

Meltzer noted that Mone is not in Los Angeles and is not coming to AEW. He speculates that Mone doesn’t want to make the commitment to AEW, as any would be a long-term one. It was added that WWE feels “very strongly” that she won’t wrestle for AEW.

In fact, WWE expects Mone back at some point after she gets this out of her system. Mone will do a few NJPW matches which will only keep her contracted for a short period of time. However, if she were to work with AEW it would likely be under a three-year deal minimum.

It wouldn’t be a smart move on AEW’s part to put Mone on television, only to have her back with WWE in a few months.

Will Ospreay seems to be interested in a crossover match with WWE’s Seth Rollins.

Ospreay recently spoke with Sportkeeda’s WrestleBinge on a variety of topics, including a potentially crossover match with WWE’s “Architect.” He noted that Rollins is more than welcome to make the trip over to Japan to settle their differences.

“I think it would be good to — I mean, obviously all the smoke is cleared between myself and Seth. But like, there’s always that desire or want to see two guys just beat the crap out of one another, right? So if Seth’s still got a bit of an issue, then I’ve got a bit of an issue. So he’s more than welcome to come over to Japan.” 

Back in 2019, Rollins and Ospreay found themselves in a Twitter back-and-forth that apparently developed some bad blood between the pair. Ospreay has seemingly noted that the issues have now subsided, but a match between them would still be interesting.

Recently, Ospreay dropped the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship to Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 17. As for Rollins, he failed to capture the United States Championship from Austin Theory on Monday Night RAW this week.

He also apparently suffered an injury during the bout, meaning any potential matchup between Ospreay and Rollins won’t be happening anytime soon.

Quotes via 411Mania

WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley and Stephanie McMahon teamed up against Vince McMahon to get their way on television.

Foley recently took to his podcast, “Foley Is Pod,” to discuss his 2016 return to WWE as RAW General Manager. The former WWE Champion explained what it was like to work alongside Stephanie McMahon for that period of time.

“I got maybe ten percent of what I wanted out of Vince. Then Stephanie and I went and cut the promo our own way. It was a lot of tension. We are overriding Vince’s edict. We cut the promo. He sees us cutting the promo, he goes “what the hell is going on here?”

“Stephanie goes “dad, Mick and I did this just to see what happened. We’d like you to take a look at it.” And it was about a three minute segment. He looked at it after, seemed like an eternity, nodded his head and went, “we’ll do it your way.”

“As soon as he turned the corner, we hugged. We were just so happy that we had stood up for ourselves.”

He detailed how he and Stephanie teamed up with one another against Vince McMahon to get their way for a promo on television. Ultimately, their efforts proved to be successful after it was all said and done.

Mick Foley returned to WWE in 2016 to serve as General Manager for Monday Night RAW alongside commissioner Stephanie McMahon. The stint lasted just under a year as Foley was eventually written off television when he was fired by Stephanie McMahon.

Since, Foley has continued to make sporadic appearances on WWE television.

Quotes via 411Mania

When Cody Rhodes does return to WWE, it’s “absolutely not” going to be a surprise.

As seen on this week’s episode of Monday Night RAW, WWE has begin hyping up Rhodes return with a multi-part video series. Dave Meltzer addressed this on the latest episode of Wrestling Observer Radio. Meltzer noted that, many speculated that Rhodes would return as a surprise entrant in this year’s Royal Rumble match.

However, Meltzer says that’s “absolutely not” going to be. Instead, WWE is focusing on their multi-part series to hype up his return. He ended by saying, evidently, Rhodes will be slotted into a high spot on the WrestleMania 39 card.

Rhodes returned to WWE in April of last year as the surprise opponent for Seth Rollins at “The Show Of Shows.” After emerging victorious in, arguably, the match of the weekend, Rhodes went on to continue an excellent feud with Rollins over the next several weeks.

This culminated into a Hell In A Cell match at the similarly named Premium Event later in the year. However, it would prove to be Rhodes’ final match before an injury layoff, as he entered the bout with a torn pectoral muscle that would need surgical repair and rehabilitation.

Now, Rhodes is expected to be wrapping up his recovery soon, and is right around the corner from getting back into the ring – just in time for WrestleMania season. While it’s expected he’ll have a high profile match at WrestleMania 39 in Los Angeles, it remains to be seen who his opponent will be.

Although it’s said she made a staggering amount of money, WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T doesn’t believe Mandy Rose’s FanTime earnings will be sustainable in the long run.

The two-time WWE Hall Of Famer recently took to his podcast, “The Hall Of Fame,” to offer his thoughts on the situation. After it was claimed that Rose made about $1 million in earnings last month from her FanTime account, Booker said he doesn’t believe that will be enough to hold her over if she’s “living large.”

“Speaking on the staggering dollar figure, Booker T said. “”A million dollars ain’t gonna take care of you for a solid year if you’re living large.” He continued, “I think [Rose launching a FanTime account] was the wrong decision, and I stand by that because I feel that Mandy Rose’s talent was so much more than her beauty.”

FanTime actually congratulated Rose for earning $1 million in the month of December. She’s listed as one of the site’s top creators on its homepage. However, WWE didn’t appear to be too excited by Rose’s side business.

She was released from the company after it was discovered that she was posting mature content on her profile. Rose had reigned as WWE NXT Women’s Champion for 413 days before she was defeated by Roxanne Perez on the December 13 episode of NXT.

It proved to be Rose’s final match before news of her release came through. Just prior to her release, Rose’s FanTime content got leaked to the public, which is likely what put it on WWE’s radar.

Quotes via Wrestling Inc.

Beth Phoenix has addressed whether or not she plans on stepping into the professional wrestling ring again anytime soon.

Phoenix was recently a guest on Brandi Rhodes’ ‘2 Lies And 1 Truth’ podcast and was asked about whether or not she plans on wrestling again. Phoenix joked that retirement in professional wrestling doesn’t really exist, so she’s not closing the door on the possibility.

“Who knows these days? [Beth laughed when asked if she’ll be back in a wrestling ring] You know, I say this every single time, it’s the most cliché thing but never say never or like, retirement in wrestling isn’t a thing, right? It’s embarrassing to say I’m retired because it’s never true.”

Beth Phoenix signed with WWE back in 2004 and remained with the company until 2012. During her run she established herself as one of the powerhouses of the WWE’s women’s division. Her run resulted in three WWE Women’s Title wins, a Divas Championship, and a WWE Hall Of Fame induction in 2017.

Since, Phoenix has married fellow WWE Hall Of Famer Edge, as well as having done part-time commentary work for the company. She briefly returned to in-ring action as part of a Mixed Tag Team feud alongside Edge against The Miz and Maryse.

Phoenix was also briefly involved in Edge’s storyline against The Judgement Day on Monday Night RAW.

Quotes via POST Wrestling

Kevin Owens wasn’t even sure he wanted to keep wrestling before making the decision to re-sign with WWE.

“KO” recently spoke to WrestleRant and revealed that, prior to re-signing with WWE in December of 2021, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to be in the ring anymore. Ultimately, Owens re-signed with WWE before his contract expired in January of 2022.

“Uh yeah by Christmas time last year I knew I was sticking around. But before that, I really had no idea. I didn’t even know, honestly I didn’t even know at that time if I still wanted to be in the ring.

“You know, not because I didn’t enjoy being in the ring anymore but everything was kind of up in the air. Then I made the decision to stay in WWE and I’m certainly glad I made it because like I said, just the year I’ve experienced things that I couldn’t have imagined.”

Owens seems to have seriously benefited from re-signing with WWE. He went on to headline Night One of WrestleMania 38 in Dallas, Texas against WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin. It was Austin’s first official professional wrestling match in nearly 20 years.

Now, Owens is involved in, arguably, the biggest feud on WWE TV against The Bloodline. Having been with WWE since 2014, Kevin Owens has accomplished a significant amount. He’s a former NXT Champion, WWE Universal Champion, two-time Intercontinental Champion, and a three-time United States Champion.

With WrestleMania season right around the corner, and given his involvement in the current Bloodline feud, it will be interesting to see what’s planned for Owens at this year’s “Show Of Shows.”

Quotes via EWN

It sounds like WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin is the most likely of three big names that could be at WrestleMania 39 next year.

Austin wrestled his first match in 19 years back in April. He competed against Kevin Owens in an impromptu No Disqualification singles bout to close out Night One of WrestleMania 38. Austin ultimately won the bout in his home state of Texas.

It was his first match since his retirement match against The Rock at WrestleMania 19 in 2003. Austin lost that bout before walking off into a silent retirement. However, after his return match earlier this year, many have speculated if Austin could wrestle yet again as WrestleMania season approaches.

Austin is one of three big names speculated for WrestleMania 39 this April, including The Rock and John Cena. According to a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, Austin is actually the surest of the three to appear at the event, with Cena and Rock listed as “probable.”

Meltzer noted that it’s ultimately a question of how Austin is feeling, and that “The Texas Rattlesnake” is going to do what he feels like doing. Since his return match against Owens, it was said that Austin was actually pleased with his performance in the matchup, likely leaving the door open for another return bout.

Perhaps that could very well happen this April in Los Angeles. Of course, the question then becomes – who would his opponent be? Let us know who you’d like Steve Austin to face off against in the comments below!

WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle has nothing but great things to say about Triple H’s love for professional wrestling.

Angle recently took to his podcast, “The Kurt Angle Show,” and was asked who he believes has a good mind for the professional wrestling industry. He didn’t hesitate to name former in-ring foe and current head of WWE creative Triple H.

“For me personally, Triple H. He’s always had it,” Kurt Angle said. “He’s not just from a wrestling standpoint, but from a creative standpoint, from a psychology standpoint, from a promo standpoint. Triple H is one guy that is so well-educated.

“He loves pro-wrestling like it’s his wife. Okay? He cherishes it, and he’s really good at it. He has a great mind for it. In the past, I would say somebody like Hulk Hogan, who was able to bring the fans in at a time when wrestling was not so hot, but Hulkamania actually made wrestling so much bigger.

“And he has a great mind for the business as well. I worked with Hulk Hogan, and he definitely is well educated with the wrestling aspect.”

After Vince McMahon was forced to step down as WWE CEO, and later retire as head of creative for the company, Triple H stepped in to fill the void of creative head for the professional wrestling juggernaut.

Since, “The Game” has made a multitude of changes that have been positively received for the most part. His love for the industry has certainly shined through on multiple occasions since assuming his new role.

Quotes via WrestleZone

Cain Velasquez apparently wasn’t too comfortable with working with former UFC opponent Brock Lesnar for their WWE match.

Velasquez recently took part in an interview on Konnan’s podcast where he discussed what it was like working alongside “The Beast” back in 2019 during their feud. The pair faced off for the WWE Title at the 2019 Crown Jewel event in Saudi Arabia.

The match lasted just over a minute, with Lesnar winning via submission. Velasquez admitted he was “a little uncomfortable” working with Lesnar to plan the match.

“Yeah, professional and I would say it was a little uncomfortable [planning the match with Brock Lesnar]. I’m just so new to the wrestling world but everyone that I’ve worked with has been amazing as far as, you take care of everybody.

“We really do try to put in some good things in there where everyone gets what they want out of it and making it just for the fans. Working with Brock was interesting man, that’s all I’m gonna say. It was very different.

“You kind of just learn from your life and okay, this is what this was. I know for next time if something else ever happens for next time but… [Velasquez laughed] With Brock, that’s kind of what it was and again, the best thing about what I do now with wrestling is I can bring my family in and they’re true fans of it, you know? And that is the best.”

This isn’t the first time Lesnar and Velasquez met in competitive fashion. Their first interaction came back in 2010 when the duo headlined UFC 121 in a heavyweight title fight. Lesnar was defending his then-UFC heavyweight title against the young up-and-comer Velasquez.

The fight ended in the first round with Velasquez getting the TKO victory and earning his first UFC heavyweight title. Of course, years later in WWE, Lesnar would get his revenge inside the WWE ring.

Quotes via PostWrestling.com

Kevin Owens has nothing but praise for Sami Zayn amidst how much he’s gotten over with the current Bloodline storyline.

For the past several weeks, Sami Zayn has received quite a bit of praise for his involvement in his current storyline alongside The Bloodline on WWE TV. The angle has seen his longtime friend, Kevin Owens, now enter the fold as an opposing force.

Speaking on the Cheap Heat with Peter Rosenberg this week, Owens offered his thoughts on the angle. Owens had nothing but positive things to say about Zayn and how much he’s taken off with the current storyline. He also praised Zayn for how consistently entertaining he’s been even before the storyline began.

“He’s always been unbelievable, definitely one of the best in the world, to me, in the last decade at least if not longer, but for some reason, he was never really — again, talk about the people who don’t get the credit they deserve, he was one of those guys.

“And now, people are really like taking notice. But to me, even if you go back a few months before this stuff with Bloodline, you go back to his match with Johnny Knoxville, the match he had at Wrestlemania with those guys, that was all him, all him. And that was pretty incredible.

“I think several members of our roster could’ve done a pretty good job at it. I don’t think anybody, anybody, could’ve done it like he did. It is great to see him get the credit he deserves and the respect from our audience, and the respect from the people in charge. It’s been a great thing to see for sure.”

Zayn has been with WWE for nearly a decade now. Over the course of that time he has racked up an NXT Title run and three Intercontinental Title wins. Currently, as an “Honorary Uce” with The Bloodline, many are expecting Zayn to eventually be kicked out of the faction, leading to a reunion with Owens.

It remains to be seen if that’s the way WWE will decide to take things.

Quotes via 411Mania

Dakota Kai has opened up on how she found her way into the world of professional wrestling.

Recently, Kai spoke to WWE Deutschland to discuss a variety of professional wrestling topics. During the interview, Kai revealed that it was actually her younger brother who introduced her to the world of professional wrestling.

“He used to watch it way back in the day. I didn’t really give it the time of the day because I was ignorant, I guess. But one day he told me to sit down and watch it and we were right in the middle of a Rock and Austin feud, a promo was happening in the ring, and that was my first introduction into pro wrestling.”

Kai then revealed that her favorite wrestler is none other than WWE legend and former World Champion The Rock.

“He’s charismatic, athletic, but he’s also Samoan, which I’m Samoan too, so there’s a connection there.”

Kai has been with WWE since 2015 when she joined its NXT brand. There, she was a two-time NXT Women’s Tag Team Champion alongside Raquel Gonzalez. The pair also won the Women’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic tournament.

Since coming up to the main roster, Kai’s success in the tag team division has continued. Aligning herself with Bayley and IYO SKY as Damage CTRL, Kai and SKY are also two-time WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions themselves.

Quotes via Wrestling Inc.

Molly Holly has discussed potentially competing in the 2023 women’s Royal Rumble.

The 2023 Royal Rumble will go down from the Alamodome from San Antonio, Texas on January 28. Of course, one of the matches that will be taking place that night is the women’s Royal Rumble match, which will guarantee the winner a shot at a World Title of their choosing at WrestleMania.

One of the best parts of the rumble is the surprise returns that it offers. Molly Holly was one of the more notable special appearances in the rumble last year. Speaking to K&S Wrestlefest, Holly talked about potentially competing in this year’s Royal Rumble match as well.

Holly said that, if she does compete, she told WWE to give her a heads up well in advance so she could train for it. She hasn’t received that call so far, and the rumble is nearly right around the corner.

“I told the creative writing team that if I do have to be in it, I need some advance notice because it hurts to go from not doing it for a long time and then getting thrown in there. So they have not given me any notice as of yet, and it’s getting close to that time, so they better tell me soon if I am gonna have to be in it.”

Holly is certainly one of the more notable names the women’s division has seen in previous generations. She’s a two-time WWE Women’s Champion, a former Hardcore Champion, and was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2021. Seeing a potential return from Holly in January would definitely be a treat for many fans.

Quotes via Fightful

Saraya wants to see a women’s tag team division in All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

As Saraya prepares for a tag team match of her own, she was recently interviewed by Forbes to talk about a variety of topics. One such topic being the potential of seeing a pair of AEW Women’s Tag Team Titles in the promotion one day.

The former WWE star explained that, while she doesn’t like there to be too many titles in professional wrestling, she does believe there’s room for women’s tag titles. Especially as it would give some women who aren’t on the show already a chance to get some TV time.

“I’m always for an all-women’s show, for sure. I feel like there could be a tag division we could get going as well,” said Saraya. “Like [women’s] tag team championships.

“I don’t think we should load wrestling with a ton of championships, but there is space for a women’s tag division, too. There are a lot of women we have backstage that are not on the show, and that could give them an opportunity to be on the show.

“There is always so much we could do with the women, and people don’t realize how much talent we have backstage.”

Saraya recently signed with AEW back in September after her contract with WWE expired. Following a string of injury woes keeping her from the ring, she was finally able to return to action against Britt Baker at Full Gear in November, successfully defeating Baker.

One veteran NXT star is expected to be making their way up to the main roster soon.

According to a new report from Fightful Select, as of this fall, NXT star Cameron Grimes is expected to be called up to the WWE main roster soon. Grimes has already wrestled on the main roster after defeating Akira Tozawa on an October episode of WWE Main Event.

Initial reports believed that Grimes would be called up to the main roster after his feud with Joey Gacy was up. Now that the feud has come to a close, and Grimes hasn’t appeared on NXT television, many expect his main roster call up to happen sooner rather than later.

The 29-year-old has been competing in professional wrestling since 2014. Beginning his career on the independents, Grimes competed for notable promotions such as PWG before signing with IMPACT Wrestling.

However, in 2019, Grimes inked a deal with WWE, joining its NXT developmental brand. During his time on the program, Grimes has won the NXT North American Title once, and is also a former Million Dollar Champion.

With the newly-led main roster fronted by Triple H beginning to take shape, Grimes has the perfect opportunity to jump in and make a name for himself as a new regime continues into its infancy.

Current WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Ronda Rousey has offered up her thoughts about potentially chasing a Tag Team Title run.

Rousey recently took to her latest YouTube live stream and answered some questions about her professional wrestling career. One such question being if she’d be interested in going after the WWE Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Currently, Rousey is a singles star at the top of her game, in the midst of her second reign as SmackDown Women’s Champion. However, despite mostly being known as a singles star, Rousey has no problem going after more gold with a partner.

“Yes. I’m happy just to have a tag title. I don’t need a singles title. A tag run would be fun. I mean, both is cool. I’ve been doing singles for so long, I’m ready to change it up. That’s another thing, too, people forget I only have a year-and-a-half of in-ring experience.“

Rousey has been with WWE since signing with the company back in 2018. Since, she has had a legendary career with WWE in just a few year’s time. Rousey was one-third of the first-ever women’s match to headline a WrestleMania card.

She is also a two-time SmackDown Women’s Champion and one-time RAW Women’s Champion. Rousey is also a Royal Rumble winner, winning the 2022 Rumble earlier this year.

Quotes via Wrestling Inc.

Booker T has finally revealed whether or not he’d be willing to wrestle in the Royal Rumble match next year.

The two-time WWE Hall Of Famer took to his podcast, “The Hall Of Fame,” to discuss his return to the wrestling ring. Booker announced recently that he’ll be returning to the ring on December 18 for his Reality of Wrestling’s Christmas Chaos event.

Since making the announcement, the former World Champion admits that his phone has been ringing nonstop with offers to wrestle. He even revealed that WWE has made offers themselves, but the circumstances just weren’t right at the time.

He did, however, note that he could be interested in doing a match for one of WWE’s Saudi Arabia shows. In regards to potentially competing in January’s Royal Rumble match, Booker T seems very interested, and is simply waiting on the call.

“I will be checking the mail everyday all the way up until that day, because if I get an invitation I’m definitely going to execute it, I’m definitely going to be there and I’m going to be prepared to be in the middle of the ring if that happens.

“But no, nobody’s talked to me or anything like that about being in the Rumble. I don’t have any itches to scratch or anything like that, but hey man, I’m always down.”

This year’s Royal Rumble event will take place from San Antonio, Texas, Booker’s home state. His presence would certainly be an electric one, as the Texas native is a six-time World Champion.

Quotes via Wrestling Inc.

Matt Hardy believes Shelton Benjamin would’ve thrived as a singles star in today’s age.

Hardy recently discussed The Hardy Boyz feud with The World’s Greatest Tag Team on an episode of his podcast, “The Extreme Life Of Matt Hardy.”

During the show, Hardy praised the ability of Benjamin, and speculated as to why he never took off as a singles competitor.

He noted that, had Benjamin came up in today’s day and age, he believes the former Tag Team Champion would have seen things turn out a lot different for himself.

“I don’t know. I think if you had Shelton Benjamin, a young Shelton Benjamin, come along today, it would change a lot,” Matt Hardy said.

“I think because back then it was still they were looking for larger-than-life personalities, people that really like bonded with the crowd, and I feel like they didn’t see that as much in Shelton as they would have liked to. They knew from an athletic perspective; he was just unbelievable.

“He was unreal, but I feel like in this day and age, if you have someone who’s an amazing athlete and produces these great quality matches day in and day out and does it every single time he hit the ring, then they get over in a different way because the fan base has kind of changed for their respective in-ring content as well.

“So I think if Shelton came along today, I think it would be changed. I think he would definitely be programmed a lot higher than it was back then.”

Benjamin entered professional wrestling as a very accomplished amateur wrestler, displaying a tremendous amount of athleticism and poise. Throughout his years in the business, he’s been highly decorated as a tag team competitor, winning the ROH World Tag Team Titles twice with Charlie Haas, as well as three runs with the WWE Tag Team Titles.

As a singles competitor, Benjamin secured the WWE Intercontinental Title three times, as well as one run with the United States Title. At 47-years-old, Benjamin still competes for WWE on Monday Night RAW.

Quotes via WrestleZone

WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle has opened up about his DUI arrest from 2007.

Angle recently took to his podcast to reflect on his time from TNA, discussing a variety of topics from his time with the company. One such topic being a 2007 DUI arrest he suffered shortly after joining TNA.

It was the beginning of a long string of DUIs that Angle said ultimately forced him to check into rehab in 2013.

“I was having a tough time. I was making horrible decision. Irresponsible decisions. Getting four DUIs in five years was just ridiculous. When you’re doing that, you know you have a problem. I didn’t want to admit it until I ended up going to rehab in 2013. It took me awhile to come to my gripes, but eventually I did.”

The initial DUI occurred in September of 2007, when the Moon Township Police Department in Moon Township, Pennsylvania arrested Angle at his home after a report of erratic driving from a local bar.

Ultimately, Angle was found not guilty of the charges after the complaining witness was unable to corroborate the story. However, Angle would find himself in hot water with the law at least four more times for driving under the influence.

Since checking into rehab in 2013, Angle seems to have been doing much better for himself. In 2017, Angle was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame by John Cena. He has made sporadic appearances for the company since.

Kevin Nash has revealed how much WWE dished out to Marvel for use of the “Hulk” trademark for Hulk Hogan.

The WWE Hall Of Famer took to his “Kliq This” podcast and shed some light for fans on the trademark issue side of the professional wrestling business. Nash dove into the complexities of trademarks, including how some stars, such as 16-time World Champion John Cena, have their real names trademarked by WWE.

“It should only be able to be registered, but not trademarked. And then you would have to sign a merchandising agreement. I don’t see how they can trademark it.”

Having been a part of one of the most famous professional wrestling factions of all time, the NWO, Nash was asked by co-host Sean Oliver how valuable the faction’s trademark is. Nash said that if he had the option to own the NWO trademark or his own name, he’d choose the NWO.

“[WWE] owned the nWo. So we got a percentage of that from the WWE. The faction makes way more money than “Kevin Nash” does. The nWo was the homerun. If I could pick owning either the nWo trademark solely 100%, or owning “Kevin Nash” in the realm of wrestling? I’ll take the nWo.”

Finally, Nash noted that WWE actually had to pay Marvel for the use of the “Hulk” trademark for Hulk Hogan – who was one of the most famous people on the planet during his run atop the WWE mountain.

Apparently, the professional wrestling juggernaut had to dish out six figures for the use of the trademark.

“It was Marvel, and [WWF] paid, I wanna say one hundred grand, to use the Hulk trademark.”

Quotes via 411Mania

Matt Cardona appears to be open to a WWE return, but it will have to be on his terms.

Since Triple H has assumed responsibilities for heading WWE’s creative after the departure of Vince McMahon, many familiar faces have been brought back to the company. Many have speculated as to whether or not Cardona could be one of those names brought back.

Speaking in an interview with Kevin Kellam of Sportskeeda Wrestling, Cardona discussed a potential return to WWE. While he’s certainly open to the possibility, he has one term that he seems to be sticking to.

He does not want to return as Zack Ryder, but rather, Matt Cardona. Cardona seems to be ready to put the Ryder character behind him.

“It’s certainly exciting. Every week, it seems like, maybe not every week, but it seems like someone’s coming back or debuting or re-debuting it’s fresh, it’s exciting,” Cardona said. “It’s must-see TV, and I think that’s what wrestling should be.

“Yeah, I said Zack Ryder is dead because, and listen, never say never, right, but if I were to ever go back, it has to be as Matt Cardona. Zack Ryder, it was what it was. I’m so grateful for that run. It has set me up for this run. Without being Zack Ryder in WWE, I wouldn’t be Matt Cardona talking to you right now. So it set me up for everything.

“But the ‘Woo, woo, woo’, the headband, the sunglasses, it’s dead. I was trying to get away from stuff while I was still Zack Ryder in WWE, but you can’t write the show. So if I’m trying to be more serious, but you’re booked to be not so serious, it is what it is.

“That’s why, when I was let go, it was like, oh my god. Not that I had any handcuffs on, but the handcuffs were off, and I was able to just become the new version of me, whatever that was going to be.”

During his run with WWE, Cardona went by the ring name Zack Ryder from 2005 to 2020. Throughout that run, Cardona earned himself both a United States and Intercontinental Title run. He also won the RAW Tag Team Titles with Curt Hawkins twice.

Unfortunately, in 2020, Cardona was victim to WWE’s COVID-19 budget cuts, and was released from his contract. After leaving WWE, Cardona has worked for a variety of promotions; such as All Elite Wrestling (AEW), IMPACT Wrestling, Game Changer Wrestling, and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA).

We have an update to pass along regarding the AEW status of Colt Cabana after his Dynamite return this week.

On this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite, Colt Cabana made his return to take on Chris Jericho for the Ring Of Honor (ROH) World Championship. He came up just short, losing to Jericho after a Code Breaker.

Mike Johnson of PWInsider offered an update on the situation. Johnson reports that Cabana’s Dynamite appearance was planned as a one-off event, and he’s still a part of the Ring Of Honor roster.

Cabana’s return was not about him returning to the AEW roster, but rather about Jericho simply knocking off another Ring Of Honor name.

Some speculated that Cabana’s return was framed to be a shot at CM Punk amidst Punk’s current issues with AEW, and expected departure from the promotion. If it was, Johnson doesn’t expect anyone to admit it.

However, WrestleVotes did offer up a report on the situation, noting that Cabana’s appearance on Dynamite did not go unnoticed by WWE. The report could be indicating that WWE could swoop in and scoop up Punk for a return should things between him and AEW ultimately come to a close.

Of course, given how bad things ended between Punk and WWE in 2014, repairing such a relationship could prove difficult.