In a recent edition of WWE Network’s “Table For 3” WWE Hall Of Famers Lita and Trish Stratus spoke to current RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss. During their conversation, the three discussed the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble that took place earlier this year in January.
Lita and Trish participated in the match while Bliss watched from the sidelines with Charlotte Flair as they were the Women’s Champions of their respective brands. Lita said that at one point in the match she was hit by NXT star Kairi Sane with a hard shot that she described as “the most devastating blow”:
“I had a private moment with Charles Robinson, after I had ninety pounds of ‘Japanese Pirate,’ who just came at me and gave me the most devastating blow I’ve had,” Lita said.
“Charles was like, ‘Hey, you alright?’ I just looked at him and was like, ‘What the hell man?’ I go, ‘I guess.'”
WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan recently joined the Gorilla Position podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Bryan first voiced a bit of frustration with WWE seemingly ignoring his creative suggestion.
Bryan said that should he have an idea on how to better a segment or angle he’s involved in, he’ll throw in his two cents, but to no avail:
“If I see stuff on the show that I don’t like, right, I’ll be like, ‘okay,’ for me, for my stuff, I’ll go in and I’ll say, like, ‘hey, I don’t like this because of this, this, and this. Here’s my idea of how to fix it, how I think it’s better,’” Bryan said.
“And 95% of the time, nothing changes, but I’m not like, ‘you need to do this’ or ‘you need to do that’ or whatever it is. It’s like, ‘hey, this is my opinion from my experience within this business and this is how I think it would work better both for me and who I’m working with.’ But I don’t fight for it because I’m happy to be back.”
Interestingly enough, WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels recently pulled Bryan aside and explained to him that even stars the calibre of John Cena still have issues with creative:
“So Shawn Michaels once showed me.” Bryan said. “He told me, but he showed me. He said, ‘look at John over there.’ He’s talking about John Cena. ‘He is constantly fighting every week to make sure that his segments are the best possible segments that they can be.’ Right?
“And so, like, that’s a gift that you have to fight every week. And I have to re-get, get back into that mindset of fighting for that and I don’t know that I’m mentally at that place yet. Now I’m just mentally grateful for being back.”
Check out the Daniel Bryan’s full interview with the Gorilla Position podcast:
The legal issues between Titus O’Neil and WWE cameraman David Anderson continue.
Anderson filed a lawsuit against O’Neil and WWE back in April claiming that O’Neil got very angry after getting shocked by Paige on WWE Network’s “Swerved,” before kicking the camera out of Anderson’s hand. Anderson claims the kick injured his hand and he sued for $15,000 in damages.
PWInsider reports that O’Neil has filed a counter-suit on June 19th for $15,000 as well. It also alleges conspiracy to commit battery, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and more.
In an interesting twist, O’Neil’s counter-suit also details that he “acted out of necessity to prevent being assaulted.” He also noted that the shock prank wasn’t on the list of approved pranks by WWE’s then-Vice President of Development, Brian Terwillinger. The prank was apparently “unbeknownst to WWE.”
We’ll keep you updated on the legal situation between O’Neil and Anderson as more information becomes available.
Former NXT Champion Shinsuke Nakamura returned to in-ring action during yesterday’s (Mon. July 9, 2018) WWE live event in Augusta, Maine. Nakamura suffered a defeat to AJ Styles for the WWE Championship in a No Disqualification main event match.
This was the Japanese star’s first match since being bitten by a dog a few weeks ago. The belief is that Nakamura was re-evaluated yesterday and then cleared. Nakamura will take on Styles in a non-title match tonight on SmackDown Live.
Undertaker Receives Custom Sneakers
The Undertaker recently took part in WWE’s live event from Madison Square Garden this past weekend (Sat. July 7, 2018). “The Deadman” teamed up with Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman to defeat the team of Kevin Owens, Elias & Baron Corbin.
While visiting MSG, Taker apparently received some custom sneakers from Mache Custom Kicks. The design is actually pretty cool, and you can see a picture of them being presented to Taker via Mache Custom Kicks’ Twitter account:
It looks like former WWE Champion The Rock’s oldest daughter, Simone, has aspirations of one day being a WWE Superstar.
The Rock appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America to promote the release of his latest film, Skyscraper. Simone is currently 16-years-old. Here’s what “The People’s Champ” had to say about his oldest child:
“You know what the crazy thing about my oldest daughter, Simone, is she’s so smart, we’re all so proud of her. She’s going into her senior year. She signed with IMG as a model. She was Golden Globes Ambassador. Simone, is working so hard, and her work has already started, she wants to be a WWE wrestler.
“Yes! I love that idea and I think – we had this big conversation. She came with me to Hong Kong and Beijing and I said ‘Honey, whatever your passion is, I support that.’ It (wrestling) was good to me, I started my career in Madison Square Garden so, yeah. Bring it on. She’s gonna be a champ!”
Grandma Rock, who was also in attendance, gave her nod of approval as well, saying “Yes, she will lay the SmackDown!”
NOOOOOO! Don’t ever hand my mom a LIVE microphone again. Yes, my nickname as a boy was “Dewey” but it was also cool ass nicknames like “Ax” and “Spike”.. https://t.co/A0rVxKew8W
Randy Orton’s longtime tattoo artist, Catherine Alexander, filed a lawsuit against WWE and 2K Sports back in April in the United States District Court of Southern District of Illinois over “The Viper’s” tattoos being used in WWE 2K18.
Alexander is suing for copyright infringement in regards to the tattoo designs. She has been Orton’s tattoo artist since 2003. Alexander wants a trial by jury and is seeking damages over her accusation that the defendants infringed upon her copyrighted work.
According to a report from PWInsider, WWE and 2K Sports have filed motions to dismiss this lawsuit for several reasons. For one, Alexander has apparently not obtained copyright registration for any of the tattoos she alleges to own.
They also argue that the lawsuit should be dismissed due to lack of personal jurisdiction, providing a 22-page memorandum which stated Alexander failed to prove the court had jurisdiction over WWE in Illinois when they are incorporated out of Delaware and headquartered in Connecticut.
Former WWE United States Champion MVP recently did an interview with Chris Van Vliet to talk about several professional wrestling topics. MVP first discussed intergender wrestling and explained why he’s not a fan of it:
“Intergender wrestling has become real popular and I’m not a fan of it because I come from a different school of thought in pro wrestling. There are two schools of thought it seems. If you are a fan of intergender wrestling then you look at pro wrestling as scripted entertainment, comic book stuff.
“And if you played Mortal Kombat or one of those video games, Chun Li could whoop your ass. But if we’re doing suspension of disbelief, there’s not very many women on the planet that can beat me in combat if we’re grappling. There are some female grapplers that can catch that joint or they’ll catch that choke and you’ll tap.
“But not if I can punch them and not if I can kick them and that kind of changes things. If you approach pro wrestling the way I do which is this is simulated combat and we’re trying to make the fans forget that it’s predetermined, you can’t do that when you’re watching a grown ass man and a woman do really cool stuff.”
Speaking of female grapplers, WWE Superstar and UFC Hall Of Famer Ronda Rousey was brought up. When asked if he thinks Rousey could beat him up in a real fight, MVP’s response was a simple one –
“No. God no. Of course not.”
In regards to his time with WWE, MVP revealed that he hated his entrance theme when he was with the company. This may come as a surprise to some fans, as many actually enjoyed the theme during MVP’s heyday:
“I always hated that theme. I never liked that theme. As a matter of fact, I remember the first time they gave it to me I took it home and I listened to it and I was like it’s alright. They then called me and told me Vince wanted to talk to me in the arena.
“So I went out by the ring and he was like ‘Yeah, come over here MVP let’s listen to your music.’ They played it in the arena and Vince was very ‘unrhythmically’ bopping to it and he goes ‘What do you think?’ so I said ‘If you like it, I love it boss.'”
MVP then shared a funny story about a fan who actually had sex to his WWE theme. The fan’s wife shared the story with him at a past signing:
“It’s weird when fans come up and they share things with you. At a signing I had a couple come up and this is one of the weirdest but funniest things I’ve ever had. The guy had a United States Championship belt and he wanted me to sign it. His wife was like ‘You are his absolute favorite.’
“He would do my whole entrance in the house and whatnot. And she, the wife told me, because he was kind of standing there sheepishly, the wife told me for his birthday she allowed him to have sex with her with the US Championship belt on and to say ‘I’m coming’ and do the whole thing during it.”
When asked if he’d be open to a WWE return, MVP said that he’d be willing to return to the company when CM Punk does the same:
“Put it this way, I’ll return when CM Punk returns. No. I’m as busy as I want to be. I don’t want a full time schedule in WWE. I always said I’d be out when I’m 45. I’ll be 45 in October, but I still feel good so I think I think I got a couple of years left in me. So I think I’ll just take it year to year.
“If you’re a fan of professional wrestling especially on the indie scene you see guys that were heroes once upon a time and they stay in the game too long and then they become caricatures of themselves. When it gets to a point where I can’t perform at a level that I feel is adequate then I’m done at that point. I’ve always said that I want to walk away I don’t want to limp away. I’m starting to limp now so the time is near.”
This past weekend (Sat. July 7, 2018) New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) hosted their G1 Special event in San Francisco, California. The show was main evented by an IWGP Heavyweight Title match between defending champion Kenny Omega and Cody Rhodes.
One spot during the match saw Omega do a running release powerbomb to Cody from inside the ring, dumping him outside the ring and onto the floor after failing to break a table. After the match Rhodes took to Twitter and noted he’d be taking time off to heal his body before September 1st’s “All In.”
Former WCW ring announcer, Gary Michael Cappetta, (the spot can be seen by clicking the following link)took to his official Facebook page and offered a bit of criticism towards Omega and Rhodes’ match. Cappetta’s comments seemed to come from a place of concern and wished wrestlers wouldn’t do spots like this in order to preserve their longevity:
“WRESTLER ALERT: Human bodies aren’t made to do this,” said Cappetta. “Please stop shortening your valuable careers. Stop limiting the health and happiness of your post wrestling lives.”
WWE producer Adam Pearce recently did an interview with The George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. He will sever as the Master Of Ceremonies for the 20th Annual PWHOF Induction Banquet on July 26th, 27th and 28th from Waterloo, Iowa. Below are some of the highlights:
How did you get interested in professional wrestling?
“I watched wrestling as a kid, mostly AWA television before my family got cable and I was able to see the WWF and NWA products that were available nationwide. I always enjoyed it.”
What’s it like to have a display of your gear at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame Dan Gable Museum during the 70-year anniversary of the National Wrestling Alliance, which was formed in Waterloo, Iowa?
“It’s an honor. I was lucky to spend two decades performing, and a big chunk of that time was as NWA champion. To have some of my ‘relics’ on display in Waterloo – stuff I wore as NWA champion – is somewhat surreal.”
What’s the difference between a good professional wrestler and a superstar?
“Worldwide exposure. Of course I could say the ‘it factor,’ but that only gets one so far. Someone with means has to see that and want to exploit it, and only then can you go to the next level.
“There are a lot of good professionals that may be missing one thing here or there, but if you’re missing the means to get your wares in front of a global audience, it’s next to impossible to claim true superstardom.”
Professional wrestling is a fluid business. What do fans really want?
“I suppose you’d have to ask fans! Pop Culture changes with time, and with it, tastes in the arts change. I think wrestling follows suit. There have been many different ‘stylistic tides’ in our business, and they are ever changing—just as in television, music, and the like due to the fluidity you mentioned.
“One thing I think is constant, that I’ve never seen change, is that fans want someone to cheer and someone to boo. And there is the simple answer to how our business really works. Give the fans someone to love and give them the opposite and put them together. It’s magic.”
What makes you an effective producer for WWE?
“First of all, I’m able to successfully follow AND give directions. That may sound weird, but my primary job as a producer is to bring the vision on paper to life. In order to do that, I have to understand that vision and make sure I know what exactly it is that I’m charged with bringing to life. Once I have my marching orders, it’s all about communication.
“I have to make others see and understand that same vision, helping them find a way to physically make it a reality. That takes ingenuity and creativity and a working knowledge of the techniques used to make it all go ’round. From there, it’s also my job to effectively communicate to our camera operators and directors what we’re doing (and more importantly where and when).
“Only when every facet of what I described is executed successfully can I be considered an effective producer. Thankfully, that happens more often than not.”
You can read Pearce’s interview for The George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame by clicking this link here.
“The Beast” made his return to the mixed martial arts (MMA) world this past weekend (Sat. July 7, 2018) at UFC 226 and confronted newly crowned UFC heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier inside the Octagon. The pair had a shoving match before UFC President Dana White announced Lesnar will be Cormier’s next challenger for the UFC heavyweight title.
Full Coverage of Brock Lesnar’s Return to UFC
Lesnar is currently the WWE Universal Champion and will likely have to drop that strap before departing to the UFC for a potential title run. Jeremy Botter of Bleacher Report has reported that Lesnar will fight Cormier in November, likely at Madison Square Garden.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio subsequently reported that Lesnar is under contract with WWE through the end of August and only has one more match left on his deal.
It’s likely Lesnar drops the Universal Title at SummerSlam – with Roman Reigns being the front-runner for those honors- before shifting his focus to his training camp for Cormier.
Discussion: Do you think Lesnar will finally drop the Universal Title at SummerSlam?
This past weekend (Sat. July 7, 2018) WWE held a massive live event from Madison Square Garden that featured several top names in the company.
In a Six-Man Tag Team match the team of The Undertaker, Braun Strowman & Roman Reigns defeated Kevin Owens, Elias and Baron Corbin. Ronda Rousey also returned to competition as she defeated Nia Jax while both Alexa Bliss and Mickie James served as Special Guest Referees.
A photo has leaked out online (via Reddit) showing several WWE Superstars inside the ring rehearsing for their matches before the show. Ronda Rousey, Alexa Bliss, Nia Jax and others can be seen in the photo; along with other WWE officials and camera men.
Check out the photo here below:
The full results from WWE’s live event at MSG can be found here below:
Bobby Lashley def. Jinder Mahal (w/Sunil Singh)
Cruiserweight Championship: (C) Cedric Alexander def. Buddy Murphy
RAW Tag Team Titles: (C) Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt def. Titus O’Neil & Apollo Crews (w/Dana Brooke) and Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas
Bayley, Ember Moon and Natalya def. Liv Morgan, Sarah Logan and Alicia Fox
Mojo Rawley def. Bobby Roode
Intercontinental Title: (C) Dolph Ziggler (w/Drew McIntyre) def. Seth Rollins and Finn Balor
Kalisto, Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado def. Drew Gulak, Jack Gallagher and Brian Kendrick
Ronda Rousey def. Nia Jax (Alexa Bliss was the Special Guest Referee)
Undertaker, Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns def. Kevin Owens, Elias and Baron Corbin
Former WCW President Eric Bischoff recently did an interview with the Sky Sports Lock Up podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. During the interview, Bischoff was asked about a potential return to WWE.
Bischoff served as the General Manager of Monday Night RAW from 2002 to 2005. Today he is loosely affiliated with WWE; making sporadic appearances on the WWE Network, having WWE DVD’s released about him and even appearing on RAW 25 earlier this year.
When asked on Lock Up if he would be open to a return to WWE, Bischoff said he’d be open to the idea if the situation worked out for everyone. He also voiced his interest in managing talent in a potential return:
“I would love to do it if it was a situation which would work for everybody, a character like mine, there is only so much you can do from a storyline perspective. You can be that heel authority figure which I was for a few years in WWE and WCW, and it’s interesting and it’s fun but after a while you’ve kind of done everything you can do creatively.
“I’m pretty realistic about the value my character has now. I’d like to manage someone, a young talent that maybe doesn’t have the mic skills. I think that would be fun because I can still get heat.”
You can listen to Bischoff on Sky Sports’ Lock Up podcast by clicking this link here.
Former WWE Superstar Al Snow recently did an interview with Hannibal TV to talk about several professional wrestling topics. During the interview, Snow commented on WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin and what he has done for the business.
Snow told Hannibal TV that he believes “The Texas Rattlesnake” really revitalized professional wrestling when he was hot in the late ’90s:
“I’ve wrestled Steve. I wrestled him in a school I had out in Lima Ohio. Steve, he’s an awesome individual. I can’t say enough awesome things about Steve. As far as his place in history I think it’s pretty obvious he’s right up there. There’s not many that can be much bigger than Steve Austin.
“He really completely single-handily revitalized wrestling in the late-90’s and early 2000’s. If it hasn’t been for Steve and Vince McMahon we wouldn’t have enjoyed the boom we had at that time. Again, he was the catalyst there. He created that crossover and made it such a mainstream phenomenon.”
WWE Hall Of Famer and Monday Night RAW General Manager Kurt Angle recently held a Q&A on his Facebook page. You can find some of the highlights here below:
Who he’d like to see Kenny Omega face in WWE:
“Seth Rollins or AJ Styles. I’d love a shot at Kenny as well. I have a list of dream opponents that I would like to compete against. These three are in the list.”
If he has any regrets about leaving TNA for WWE:
“I can’t. I had a great career in TNA, maybe better than my WWE career. I had a reduced schedule there. And I wrestled so many greats AJ, Joe, Sting, Roode…To name a few. My body couldn’t hold up to the rigorous schedule in WWE at the time. I always imagine the career I could have had if I stayed in WWE. It would have been incredible, but I couldn’t stay so I can’t keep asking myself ‘What if?'”
Which tag team he’d like to face if he partnered up with Shawn Michaels:
“Tag teams? Cesaro and Shaemus or The Usos. But the most cohesive tag team right now is…The Revival. They are amazing together as a unit. Great things coming from them.”
Should aspiring wrestlers get an education first or start training as young as possible:
“Education first! You’re still young after you graduate college. If you skip college and promise yourself you’ll go back and graduate later on in life, there’s a 99 percent chance you won’t. Get your degree. Then focus on wrestling.”
Is he writing a biography:
“Yes. Someday. I have a documentary I’m making right now. I’m excited to show all of you my entire life story. Stay tuned.”
Yesterday (Fri. July 6, 2018) IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega spoke at the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) G1 Special press conference. “The Cleaner” was asked where in the United States he’d like to see NJPW go next.
Omega offered a rather unorthodox answer, saying he’d like to see the promotion go somewhere such as Alaska. Omega explained it’s tough for fans in locations such as those to go see professional wrestling shows and he wants NJPW to make their product available to as many fans as possible:
“I mean, this might sound strange, but maybe a place like Alaska? The reason why I say that is because geographically it might be the most difficult place for citizens of Alaska to travel outside of to get to [shows],” Omega said.
“Like I said, I feel like if we’re already making the strides to visit these new and exciting places, I want to make it as fair as possible for everyone to get to places we’re going to. Of course, we can’t travel to every state, we can’t travel to every country, but for ease of travel and to spread our wealth – so to speak – it would be cool to do that.
“I’m not sure how much wrestling is in Alaska. I know they have independent promotions, but for me that sounds exciting and I think we’d reach a lot of new people and the people there would probably also appreciate it, as well.”
Yesterday (Fri. July 6, 2018) IWGP Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks, Matt and Nick Jackson, took part in the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) G1 Special press conference and answered several questions.
One such question was about a possible move to WWE when their current deal with New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and Ring Of Honor (ROH) expires. The pair had signed a two-year deal back in 2016 which is coming up in November.
Matt Jackson answered the question and stated that he and Nick are going to do what’s best for their families at this point in their careers. They were then asked about WWE following them on Twitter last week.
Matt Jackson joked that he didn’t know what that was about but said “I have a really good Twitter account” before laughing. Nick then responded by saying that they followed the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) in response.
Discussion: Do you think The Young Bucks are WWE bound later this year?
Ring Of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Cody Rhodes took part in yesterday’s (Fri. July 6, 2018) G1 Special press conference to answer various questions. Rhodes appeared at the event in black hair, reverting away from the blonde haired look he adopted not too long ago.
It turns out Rhodes got called to do a TV show, some news he hopes to officially be able to announce soon, and they said it was a no-go on the blonde hair:
“I got called to do a TV show, hopefully we can break that news soon,” Rhodes said. “It doesn’t affect my wrestling dates at all, which means I’ll be burning things at both ends, but production is going to fly me to every show I had on the books. I’m not missing a damn thing.
“It’s exactly the type of career I was looking into. I was looking at my two-year plan yesterday for what I want, maybe move into a feature length film, but also keep everything I have with wrestling, because if I lose the wrestling part of my identity then I don’t have a clue who I am anymore. I’m very happy about it, but they said no on the blonde.”
Former WWE Champion Bray Wyatt missed Monday Night RAW earlier this week after being involved in a three-car accident that he was reportedly cited for causing.
“The Eater Of Worlds” missed RAW because he needed to nurse several injuries sustained during the incident. Wyatt is one-half of the RAW Tag Team Champions alongside “Woken” Matt Hardy, and the pair are scheduled to defend their titles against The B Team (Bo Dallas and Curtis Axel) at Extreme Rules on pay-per-view (PPV).
Wyatt appears to be good-to-go for the title match, as he got back into the ring last night (Fri. July 6, 2018) for WWE’s house show in Philadelphia. He and Hardy successfully defended their RAW Tag Team Titles against Titus Worldwide and The B-Team in a Triple Threat Tag Team match.
Given that Wyatt was able to work his match in Philadelphia last night, it’s safe to say he should be all set to defend the RAW Tag Team Titles come Extreme Rules. Check out some videos and photos from Wyatt’s return to action in Philadelphia here:
Samael Say "And every time I die, I always come back" .?
They always encourage others by their actions. #WWEphilly <Hennefer>
Former WWE head of security Jimmy Noonan recently interviewed two-time WWE Women’s Champion Jazz on his podcast, Noonan Speaks. Jazz first talked about getting her start in 1998 in ECW and praised both Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer:
“I was in ECW in ’98 and I had my first pay-per-view match.” Jazz recalled, “I was doing house shows and all that and I was part of Justin Credible’s entourage at pay-per-views before the single’s match. I debuted my single’s pay-per-view match against Jason Knight at Heat Wave in ’99.
“And that was the birth of ‘The Female Fighting Phenom’. That did it.” Jazz added, “I always give props to Paul E. and Dreamer for seeing something different in me and something that I had to offer to the [pro wrestling] business, so I owe a lot of credit to Dreamer and Paul E.”
Jazz credits Heyman for being the most influential person in her professional wrestling career. She revealed that Heyman actually advised her against getting breast implants because she didn’t need them to stand out:
“I always put Paul E. over in every interview.” Jazz explained, “I always put him over because, first, at the time, there [were not] many African American women in the business, especially on that level. He saw something in little old me and he gave me an opportunity. And he knew I was different.
“He told me, ‘please, no matter what you do, you don’t need [a] boob job. You don’t need this and that. Like, you’re totally different and that’s going to make you different. That’s going to set you out and make you look different from any other girls. Never, ever consider getting boobs or any of it.’ And that’s why he came up with the motto of, ‘my T and A [does not] stand for t–s and ass.
“My T and A stands for talent and ability.’ So Paul E., he knew what he was doing with me and he set the tone of who Jazz is and he turned me into ‘The Female Fighting Phenom’. Like, Paul E. Heyman, and Dreamer, he had a great mind for the game as well. They still do. Do you know what I’m saying? And this is what they saw in me and they gave me my first opportunity to showcase what I can offer to the business.”
You can listen to Jazz on Noonan Speaks by clicking this link here.
IMPACT Wrestling star Madison Rayne recently did an interview with RealSport to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Rayne first talked about IMPACT bringing back the Women’s Tag Team Titles and possibly seeing the same happen in WWE soon:
“I don’t think that those titles were able to run their course before they were no longer used. And I think that’s sad, however I also think that tag team wrestling is something really special. It’s an art form. You have to find that person that you trust, that you trust to be on the same brainwave as you, and so I understand why they are no longer active at Impact Wrestling. I also don’t think that there’s the manpower, or the womanpower, within the Knockouts Division right now to have them.
“But I do think that there’s something special about tag team wrestling and about women’s tag team wrestling, and I think I would like to see them come back to Impact at some point. I said a couple weeks ago on the Impact weekly teleconference that I don’t think this is the right time, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see something like a women’s tag team championship in WWE before I saw it back at Impact because [of] the depth of their rosters on all three of their platforms.
“I think it might be better suited there, but I think again that tag team wrestling is an art form and you shouldn’t just create titles because ‘Hey, they used to be here and we should bring ’em back because we like them.’ I think that there needs to be a lot of thought given to them, specifically with Impact and the Knockouts, because they didn’t get to really run their course the first time, and I would hate to see that be something that is just a rushed decision a second time.
“If that ever were to be the case, I would definitely have to maybe call up one of my former tag team partners and see if we can’t get something started.”
Rayne then discussed her win over Tessa Blanchard being called an “upset” by her husband Josh Mathews, and whether or not she thinks it was one:
“Yeah, there was a tense moment in my household when I heard Josh Mathews say that. I mean, if I’m being completely honest, it probably was an upset. Because here is Tessa Blanchard who is literally one of the most talented females in professional wrestling, across any platform. She’s incredible. She’s talented far beyond her years. Wrestling is her life. She travels the world on a regular basis wrestling, and then there’s Madison Rayne who comes and goes in and out of Impact Wrestling. She’s a mom, a business woman, a wife.
“So I wear all these different hats, and Tessa is a wrestler. So after I was upset with Josh for calling it an upset, I completely agreed. To most people, it was. But to me, it wasn’t because there is not one woman actively in the Knockouts Division with the experience that I have. And whether I take a couple weeks away, a couple months away, or nearly a year away to have a child, I come back and I’m still Madison Rayne and I’m still confident in my in-ring abilities. So, upset or not, it goes down in the record books as a win for me.”
You can ready Rayne’s full interview with RealSport by clicking this link here.
WWE has really started to get the ball rolling with Ronda Rousey’s singles career inside the squared circle.
“The Rowdy One” challenged for the RAW Women’s Championship at the Money In The Bank (MITB) pay-per-view (PPV) against Nia Jax. Unfortunately for Rousey, just when it seemed she had the match won, Ms. MITB Alexa Bliss attacked both Rousey and Jax before cashing in her briefcase and leaving Chicago RAW Women’s Champion.
The following night on RAW, Rousey attacked Bliss and RAW General Manager Kurt Angle out of frustration. She was subsequently handed a thirty day suspension from RAW. But, as Rousey pointed out, she is only suspended from RAW and will be at the Extreme Rules PPV as she bought a ticket to witness Bliss defend her title against Jax.
Rousey has also been competing in house shows, as she was in Philadelphia last night (Fri. July 6, 2018) and went one-on-one with Nia Jax with Alexa Bliss as a Special Guest Referee. This was one day after Rousey was inducted into the UFC Hall Of Fame for International Fight Week.
The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion won her match in Philadelphia and the same bout is being advertised for tonight’s show at Madison Square Garden:
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross took to his podcast, The Ross Report, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. With the announcement of the Mae Young Classic making a return this year, Ross commented on whether or not he’ll be returning to do commentary for the tournament:
“I don’t have any idea. I would think not. I would assume that if I were going to be involved again that I would have already been contacted and I don’t say that out of – I’ve got plenty to do. I’m very busy; but, I don’t think I did my best work on that project. There were a lot of things that made it challenging to do one’s best work; but, the best effort was there.
“The results weren’t as good as I hoped they would have been on my end. People say, ‘Well he didn’t have a real good outing.’ They’re probably right. The other thing is the WWE has a lot of good young guys that need work and they’re never gonna get better if you don’t put them in a position to sink or swim. You’ve got proven commodities there; but, you’ve got also some depth issues.
“I think Tom Phillips would be a great choice to do the Mae Young Classic. He certainly could use more reps. Mauro [Ranallo] doesn’t; but, he’d do great, my gosh. The guys that are there, they’re staffed. They don’t need me to help and I understand that. I’ve got no problem with it. I really don’t. I’m staying busy enough.”
“Good Ole’ JR” also commented on his upcoming sequel to his book, Slobberknocker: My Life in Wrestling”
“I met with my writing partner, the brilliant Paul O’Brien. We hooked up in Limerick and there we had a meeting and I had a brewski. We had a great talk and we’re going to do a sequel to Slobberknocker. I don’t know the name of it yet. We haven’t got that far; but, we’ve worked out in theory that we’re going to do the second book and now there’s a whole lot of groundwork to get together.
“Paul and I will join up in Los Angeles, probably some time this summer to hatch out our strategy. We’re picking it up chronologically after I came back from the second bout of bell’s palsy and call the Austin/Rock WrestleMania match at 15. Boy, we cover a lot of ground after that. So we had a huge meeting and it’s gonna be good.
“The book’s gonna be dynamic. I think it’s going to be the most familiar territory for fans today, more than our first book, which is still doing great….[Stu Hart] made me tap one time in his basement, the Dungeon. That will be in our next book Paul and I are gonna write, I’m sure.”
You can listen to The Ross Report by clicking this link here.
It’s looking more likely that WWE fans see The Undertaker at SummerSlam later this year than John Cena.
According to a report from Cageside Seats, it’s being considered that “The Deadman” is more likely to compete in Brooklyn than “The Leader Of The Cenation.” Both Cena and Taker’s last appearances in WWE came at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia this past April.
Undertaker defeated Rusev (who had some assistance from Aiden English) in a Casket match, while Cena defeated Triple H in singles action. Undertaker is currently on the books for a match with Triple H at the WWE Super Show-Down event in Australia on Saturday, October 6, 2018 from the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
SummerSlam will go down live on pay-per-view (PPV) from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on August 19, 2018.
Discussion: Do you think either Undertaker or John Cena will be present at SummerSlam this year?
WWE Hall Of Famer Bret “The Hitman” Hart was recently a guest on the In This Corner podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. During his appearance the subject of CM Punk’s recent legal issues with WWE Doctor Chris Amann came up.
Amann sued Punk and Colt Cabana for their comments about him on their podcast together shortly after Punk’s departure from WWE. Hart said he sees a lot of himself in Punk, citing his issues with WWE shortly after the Montreal Screwjob where shortly thereafter he punched Vince McMahon backstage.
“The Hitman” feels that by Punk walking out on WWE the way he did in 2014, he stood up for not only himself but the entire WWE locker room:
“I think the same could have been said about CM Punk as an example. You know his standing up and saying, ‘hey I’m doing all the work around here, you’re gonna give Batista and Brock Lesnar and Triple H all these guys who are part-timers who are home every day, they’re getting all the main event matches at WrestleMania and I’m the one pulling the wagon around here and I wanna be in the main event.’ They tried to smooth it over and sugarcoat it and offer him everything but a main event spot so he quit like he held them up on that.
“I heard some guys talking bad about CM Punk in the car about he wasn’t one of the boys or something like that. I’m thinking, ‘he gave up so much to prove a point for the wrestlers.’ You know that the wrestlers are doing the work, put the wrestlers in the main event spot. He stood on those principals and he lost his job, gave up a lot to make that point but he was right and he took a bullet for the industry. I’m glad he won that case a few weeks ago because I’m sure that there was a lot of pressure on him to wear him down and break him in that case.”
You can listen to Hart’s interview on the In This Corner podcast by clicking this link here.
WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin was recently a guest on former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia’s podcast, Chasing Glory, to talk about his professional wrestling career. Austin first discussed not wanting to have the ECW World Title immediately thrusted on him upon his run with the promotion back in 1995:
“I was a very good mechanic in the ring, but I wasn’t a superstar yet, although we would call myself ‘Superstar’ Steve Austin there in ECW. I said, ‘Man everyone is going to be expecting me to take the title. Let me chase it, let me earn it.’ I wanted to get over to that ECW crowd or where ever it is from a television standpoint.
“Those people in that sh**hole arena, that ECW arena, it was a dump. When I say that, I mean that as a compliment. It was just this raw crazy atmosphere with a lot of guys working their asses off to build that place up and doing a hell of a job and all those great promos. So I just didn’t want to waltz in there and get handed a belt. I wanted to earn it through the boys in the company and earn the fans respect.”
“The Texas Rattlesnake” then talked about working with Vince McMahon and “The Chairman Of The Board’s” stance on creative:
“At a very early stage I wasn’t afraid to ask. Don’t get me wrong, me and Vince got to be very very good friends, but as you know, talking to Vince or developing a relationship with Vince is a very intimidating thing when you first walk in there. I knew after seven and a half years that I needed to take care of my ass so I had the wherewithal to talk with Vince McMahon and establish a relationship with him and offer my thoughts and ask questions to the man himself.
“Like I told him, my response to him was, ‘Vince, you got guys here 6’10, 7 feet tall, 300 to 330 pounds,’ I said, ‘I’m 6’2, 250, black trunks, black boots. If you take my personality, from me, I can’t compete. If you give me my personality, I can compete with anyone you got.’ And he says, ‘Okay Steve.’ And then he stopped editing me and that’s when we starting flying. You got to control your destiny. You can’t just hang it up and say, ‘Hey, creative ain’t got nothing for me.'”
Finally, Austin told the story of coming up with the “3:16” gimmick and his “that’s the bottom line” catchphrase:
“I wrestled Marc Mero, it was one of the first matches of the pay-per-view and I know I was going to work twice. I was going to work with Marc Mero and I was going to beat him and in the process he did this little whirligig behind
me where he’s basically going to hook his feet underneath my arms and do a rollup, but his toe caught me right in the mouth and busted the hell out of my lip. So I finished the match, but I needed to go to the hospital to get some stitches. We went to the hospital, they stitched me up in record time.
“They bring me back to the pay-per-view, I got all these stitches in my top lip. Vader really pummeled Jake and softened him up for me and worked his ribs and so they didn’t want me to bust all my stitches up, so it was going to be kind of a short match and then I was going to cut the promo. I show up backstage in an ambulance, I get out and there’s Dok Hendrix and Michael Hayes and he goes, ‘Steve, I just want to let you know, while you were gone, Jake cut a religious-based promo on you.’
“Back in the old days, when people were kicking a field goal for an extra point, they’d always hold up the John 3:16 signs in the endzone. Austin 3:16 popped in my head and I said, ‘Holy cow, I think I got one here.’ And that’s all I had was Austin 3:16 says, ‘I just whopped your ass.’ I’ll never forget, I got through with Jake, I beat him and there was PSAs waiting for me and I dropped that promo.
“I was a heel at the time, so if you go back and watch it, it didn’t elicit a huge reaction, although it did elicit a reaction. While I was still up there doing the promo with him, Vince was trying to wrap up the promo, he was on RF mic doing commentary feeding television and the house. I said, ‘I need a button on this promo.’ So that’s when I crapped out, ‘And that’s the bottom line cause Stone Cold said so.'”
You can listen to Austin on Chasing Glory by clicking this link here.
