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.
Add WWE star Tyler Breeze to the list of professional wrestlers getting in on the video game streaming community. The Breezango member has officially launched his very own Twitch channel, Breezeman88, Where he will play games and chat with fans.
Breeze has been prominently featured on Xavier Woods’ gaming channel, UpUpDownDown, several times in the past few years:
Well guys. New development! You can now subscribe! @Twitch Breezeman88 Check it out!
WWE Champion AJ Styles and SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Carmella recently paid a visit to Melbourne, Australia for a promotional tour. You can check out “The Phenomenal One” and Carmella’s highlights from their trip in the video below:
Some details have emerged regarding the deals that are currently in place for WWE’s NXT UK Superstars.
According to a report from Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the talents signed to the WWE NXT UK brand are on one-year deals with the majority of those being worth around 24,000 pounds ($31,600 USD). This is a nice raise from the $20,000 deals UK talents received when they initially signed for their first year.
As far as the pay raise, WWE may have done this because they wanted to get wrestlers that were with ITV for their World of Sport revival; such as Zack Gibson, El Ligero, Dave Mastiff, Kenny Williams, Ashton Smith and Joe Coffey. Some of the Superstars, including female competitors, were granted extended tryouts that will keep them from going to ITV. They will also be used for the Mae Young Classic.
It should be noted WWE has the option to cancel these deals at the four month and eight month marks. The deals also ban the talents from working with other promotions that have TV deals or strong online followings such as Revolution Pro, Defiant, Impact, Ring of Honor (ROH) or New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW).
WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan was recently a guest on the Gorilla Position podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. The former WWE World Champion talked about missing his daughter while being on the road, not being there for her first birthday, and having yet to hear her say “dada” in person yet:
“I miss my baby so much.” Bryan said “Yeah, she’s a year old. I missed her first birthday. She said, ‘dada’ for the first time, which I saw on FaceTime, but I still have not seen, like, in person yet.
“And so, now, when I FaceTime her and Brie, she’s like, ‘dada, dada’ and it’s so stinking cute. But I haven’t seen it in person! I just see, like, a screen!”
Bryan really doesn’t want to be on the road as much anymore, as missing out on so much with his young daughter has really been a huge stress on him lately:
“Actually, the biggest thing is that I don’t want to be on the road as much. Like, that’s one of the big things.” Bryan said. “You don’t realize how long you’re away until you’re away because we never had to think about it before.
“Like, when I was gone before or when Brie was gone before, I’d miss her, but we can FaceTime and we can talk, so it’s nice. But when you’re away from your baby, it’s a completely different thing and it hurts your heart. And she… so I will be home for a span of three days out of a month because it was like 10 days for the Saudi trip, 18 days here [on Europe], and only home three days, so that’s 31 days and I’m home for three-and-a-half days.
“A baby grows a lot in a month. Like, she’ll do things when I get back that she wasn’t doing when I left. And some things that she was doing, she’ll no longer be doing. And that kind of stuff makes me sad.”
He then admits that he has discussed working a lighter schedule with WWE. Initially when he was medically cleared he proposed WWE’s medical staff to clear him for a “limited schedule.” After getting cleared, however, Bryan has been on pretty much everything:
“I’ve been talking to WWE about maybe doing a lighter schedule because when we first starting talking about this, when I sent that, when Vince [McMahon] told me to send the letter to Dr. Maroon, he said for me to say, ‘for a limited schedule’, like ‘revised concussion protocol for a limited schedule’, so then, they clear me and I’m just on everything! I was just like, ‘I wasn’t expecting this!’” Bryan laughed.
“Anywhere between 50 and 100 matches a year, to me, [is ideal] because one of the doctors that cleared me at Barrow Neurological [Institute], Dr. Javier Cárdenas talked to me. He said, I think when he cleared me before in 2015, he said, ‘with all the stuff that [Bryan] had done on top of that, like, before I thought we dotted our Is and crossed our Ts, but the stuff you’ve done on your own, you’ve really scratched a big hole over the I and ripped, marked, through the T.’
“And so, he said, ‘just so you know going forward, the less exposure you have, and this is for anybody whether you have a history of it or not, the healthier you’re going to be. So I was thinking, ‘oh, I’ll do 75 to 100 matches a year or whatever it is.’ And now it looks to be way more than that, so if I were to change something, it’d be like I’d kind of like to do less, be away from home [less]. Like, for me, it’s not about wrestling less. It’s like I don’t want to be away from home this much.”
You can listen to Bryan’s interview on the Gorilla Position podcast by clicking this link here.
Ring Of Honor (ROH) has issued out an official statement, initially sent to PWTorch, in regards to the allegations towards ROH World Champion Jay Lethal from former promotion star Taeler Hendrix.
Hendrix alleged on Twitter that her push was “sabotaged” because she refused to sleep with Lethal. It all began when Hendrix started Tweeting negative comments about Lethal before a fan begun to defend him.
She responded by saying “the dude your standing up for is the same dude that told me because I didn’t sleep with him they sabotaged me and took me off TV. that being the all mighty Jay.”
She then revealed in a Tweet that her attorneys are in the midst of an ongoing investigation into the matter:
I know this is going to be on wrestling sites. My name is Taeler & this is my statement: attorneys on my behalf have an ongoing investigation. I know I'm not the only one & ppl that have known of this investigation have been supportive. I'll continue to fight for what's right.?
Let the hate roll in. Doesn't change what happened. I came forward privately long ago & now it's public. If I stay silent I'll be part of the problem. I can't live w/ that. I'll fight for what's right. Threatening me/supposed burned bridges changes nothing. Let the hate roll in.
“I know this is going to be on wrestling sites. My name is Taeler & this is my statement: attorneys on my behalf have an ongoing investigation. I know I’m not the only one & ppl that have known of this investigation have been supportive. I’ll continue to fight for what’s right.Let the hate roll in. Doesn’t change what happened. I came forward privately long ago & now it’s public. If I stay silent I’ll be part of the problem. I can’t live w/ that. I’ll fight for what’s right. Threatening me/supposed burned bridges changes nothing. Let the hate roll in.”
ROH responded with the following:
”We were troubled to hear the allegations that surfaced last night on Twitter. We take these matters very seriously and will be investigating this situation thoroughly, reviewing all evidence related to the matter.
“Ring of Honor strives to provide an environment and workplace where male and female wrestlers are free from any misconduct or abuse. We will take appropriate action upon the conclusion of our findings.”
We’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available…
Kenny Omega has his eyes on a pair of top WWE talents should he execute a potential move to the professional wrestling juggernaut.
“The Cleaner” recently joined WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross’ podcast, The Ross Report, and was asked about the possibility of signing with WWE. He also touched on potential matches that await him in the promotion. Omega named two potential opponents specifically that fans would love to see him share the ring with – Seth Rollins and AJ Styles:
“When I think about the possibilities and stuff like that it does get me excited,” Omega said. “Every promotion has so many good guys – there’s no way that I would have a bad time going almost anywhere because the depths to the talent is so deep. WWE right now has a very great collection of talent.
“I would feel like it was a missed opportunity if I couldn’t work with them at some point. If I could work with Seth Rollins at some point in time that would be a lot of fun. And of course, the huge name amongst all that, is AJ (Styles). I would love to work with AJ at some point. And I would like to be able to do it while I can still move, you know what I mean?”
Johnny Gargano Shares Throwback Photo With WWE Hall Of Famer
WWE NXT star Johnny Gargano recently took to Twitter and shared a throwback photo of himself meeting Hall Of Famer Edge. The photo was taken in 2004 and Gargano dug it up from a recent visit to his mom’s house. Check out the photo of Edge and Gargano from the 2004 meet-and-greet below:
Former WCW World Heavyweight Champion David Arquette seems to be a supporter of WWE SmackDown Live star James Ellsworth. Arquette has recently returned to the professional wrestling world and has been a lot more vocal lately.
Ellsworth posted the following photo of Arquette posing with an Ellsworth action figure he seems to have just purchased:
UFC Hall Of Famer and professional wrestling personality Stephan Bonnar recently did an interview with Wrestling Inc. to talk about several topics. Bonnar offered his thoughts on former UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, who is also the current Universal Champion in WWE, and his rumored return to mixed martial arts (MMA) competition:
“He doesn’t have a lot of MMA miles on him and he is a great wrestler. I had a lot of MMA miles with getting hit in the head a thousand times over my career. I am at the age where I am slowing down and am slowing down. I go in there and go to war,” Bonnar said.
“With the concussions that he has faced and everything, he still had a couple more in him. I am all for him. I support Brock going in there and fighting again. I don’t think he should hang it up now. I hate to say it, but guys like Diego [Sanchez], who has been put to sleep lately, he should consider hanging it up, but guys like Brock, no way, he has a couple more in him. My hats off to Brock Lesnar for saying he wants to go back into it and I fully support it.”
Bonnar also discussed his dream fight in MMA and revealed he would’ve loved to have the opportunity fight Lesnar. He believes the match-up would really give him the opportunity to showcase his Brazilian jiu-jitsu skills:
“Honestly, I know if me and Brock got a hold on one another I would be able to submit him,” Bonnar stated. “He has a lot of holds in his game. He is pretty strong. I am that confident in my submission game. I have been doing jiu-jitsu since the 90’s, being trained by Carlson Gracie so I got a bad-ass submission game. ”
You can check out Bonnar’s interview with Wrestling Inc. by clicking this link here.
WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan was recently interviewed by Gorilla Position to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Bryan mainly discussed his rivalry with former WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz. Bryan explained why he and Miz work so well against each other:
“I would describe The Miz as somebody who doesn’t know when to shut his mouth, who doesn’t know when things get taken too far,” Bryan said. “I can be accused of the same thing as well if you look at that Talking [Smack] — I said some pretty derogatory things toward him. I was in the midst of this and I had two options, I was either gonna punch him in the face and honestly the reason he said those things is he knew I wanted to quit.
“He knew I wanted to leave and do the independents if they weren’t gonna clear me. I had said these things in interviews. He said ‘hey if you really believe these things then why don’t you go do it?’ The thing is I had asked for my release and they didn’t give it to me. There was this rage there and it was like, I’m gonna punch this guy in the face or I’m gonna walk off.”
Bryan said he is definitely up for a WrestleMania 35 match against The Miz. The only thing is he questions WWE’s ability to tell the story from now up until next April:
“I am definitely up for it. You ask me that question, I will answer with a question: do you trust WWE telling that story from now until WrestleMania 35? What in the last several years has shown to you that something like that is possible [in WWE]?” Bryan continued, “If something accidentally happens and they’ve got no control over it, it’s possible that it can happen.
“I think that would be awesome. I think it would be something the fans would be excited to see. Whether or not we can prolong because people wanna see me punch Miz in the face. I wanna punch Miz in the face. Whether we can prolong that on television for that period of time, I don’t know.”
As far as dream matches go, Bryan names a bout with Brock Lesnar as his ultimate goal, saying it’d be the ultimate David vs. Goliath story:
“If you’re talking one dream match it would be Brock Lesnar, WrestleMania 35 in Seattle Washington. Because that I think would be the ultimate David and Goliath underdog story in front of a hometown crowd that would be rabid for that. So that would be my dream match and even if it wasn’t WrestleMania, if it was just in Seattle it would be super cool.”
You can listen to Bryan on Gorilla Position by clicking this link here.
Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore recently joined WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin’s podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to talk about his release from WWE.
Amore was released from the company back in January after some sexual assault allegations were made against him. The charges have since been dropped and Amore is focusing on his rap career going by the name “Real1.”
During the podcast Amore was asked by Austin if anyone from WWE has tried to contact him since his release. He revealed he didn’t know as he blocked WWE’s number and is currently nursing injuries from his in-ring career:
“I couldn’t tell you [if WWE has tried reaching out]. I blocked every number that had 203 in it. Straight up. I couldn’t go back anyway. I have sciatica. I can’t walk, bro. I can’t do things physically that I once can do. Getting to the end there heading to WrestleMania, I was saying to myself that I wasn’t sure that I could make it to WrestleMania, I wasn’t even sure that I could make it to the Royal Rumble,” he said.
“I was so beat up but I kayfabed the s–t out of it. I don’t want to go back anytime soon. I need my body to recover. I am not healthy right now physically. I can’t touch my toes. I used to be able to. I was putting off so many things and burning the candle until the end. When I was a heel and had that title I was going hard. I was showing up to work. I had a few nights that I didn’t have any nights of sleep, but you just couldn’t see it on camera.”
You can listen to Amore on The Steve Austin Show by clicking this link here.
WWE Superstar Sasha Banks was recently a guest on the In This Corner podcast with Brian Campbell to talk about several professional wrestling topics. “The Legit Boss” first talked about what a dream come true it was to wrestling in the Women’s Money In The Bank (MITB) Ladder match last month:
“It was such a dream come true to be part of the Money in the Bank Ladder match,” Banks said. “It’s so crazy, watching Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon and now I am here doing exactly what they were doing, so it’s a dream come true.
“I thought the women killed it better than the guys. I can’t wait for next year and hopefully, I get the briefcase next year.”
When addressing the idea of being underutilized in WWE, Banks said she always gives 110 percent in everything she does because she was once told if you do then you can’t be unhappy with yourself:
“I feel like I go out there every single week and give it 110%, and as I was told by a good friend, as long as you work hard you can’t be unhappy with yourself. That is what I do every single week that as long as I am going out there every single week and giving it 110%, I can’t be mad.
“Whether they want to push me or not, I am always going to give it 110% and will always be the Legit Boss and keep on putting on great matches and stealing the show. I am honestly living my dream every single day so there aren’t too many things to be mad at, I’m still going to be the best though.”
You can listen to Banks on the In This Corner podcast by clicking this link here.
As we’ve previously reported, San Antonio’s local ABC affiliate KSAT 12 has been advertising two big matches for the Hell In A Cell (HIAC) pay-per-view (PPV) on Sunday, September 16th from the AT&T Center.
Those matches being WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens. Of course, don’t forget the usual “card subject to change” warning, especially when the PPV is several months out.
Austin Kellerman of Pro Wrestling Sheet had previously reported on this, but backed it up with a recent image of an apparent local commercial that aired during Monday Night RAW. Again they advertised WWE Champion AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe and Roman Reigns vs. Kevin Owens.
Discussion: Do you think these matches will hold up when HIAC comes rolling around? Or will they change given that the PPV is several months out from happening?
Daniel Bryan has been a regular competitor in the WWE for the past several months since being cleared to medically return to the ring. But that doesn’t mean he still doesn’t have some hurdles to overcome with the company.
Bryan has yet to sign a new contract with WWE, and his current one is set to expire very soon. According to a report from Wrestling Standard (f.k.a. PWStream) WWE is preparing in case Bryan decides to leave the company.
These preparations include booking him in matches and storylines that were previously scheduled to take place later this year. Bryan’s contract with WWE expires in September and the company still doesn’t know if he’s going to re-sign.
WWE wants to get the most out of him while they still have him, which explains his recent work against the likes of AJ Styles, Samoa Joe, Jeff Hardy and his Team Hell No reunion with Kane.
As for WWE’s plans for Bryan at Extreme Rules, apparently the current plan is for The Miz to cost Team Hell No their shots at the SmackDown Live Tag Team Championships. This will lead to a feud between Bryan and Miz at SummerSlam, a match Miz would likely win. Should Bryan re-sign with WWE, however, that feud could turn into a multi-match rivalry.
Bryan is also said to have signed with the same agency that represents John Cena, as he wants the best deal possible.
There have been a ton of rumors flying around regarding the future of Brock Lesnar.
Lesnar is the current WWE Universal Champion and is not expected to work the upcoming SummerSlam pay-per-view (PPV) in August. “The Beast” was initially expected to drop the strap to Roman Reigns at the event before moving on to continue his mixed martial arts (MMA) career in the UFC.
There are plenty of fights out there that interest Lesnar. He has been linked to rumors of an appearance at this weekend’s UFC 226 PPV event. Lesnar could confront the winner of Stipe Miocic vs. Daniel Cormier for the heavyweight title. “The Beast” has also been mentioned in rumors of a possible superfight with Jon Jones.
Initially the UFC would’ve liked to have Lesnar return for their New Years Eve PPV. Last Friday was the deadline for Lesnar to re-enter the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) drug testing pool in order to make it back to the Octagon by that time.
Because Lesnar didn’t re-enter the drug testing pool by then he won’t be able to return this year. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio suggested that Lesnar could simply be using a possible MMA return as a bargaining chip in his WWE negotiations. He also confirmed the UFC has offered him the next shot at the heavyweight title, but Lesnar rather fight Jones.
The problem with Jones, however, is that he himself has issues with USADA that have yet to be resolved. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more…
WWE Hall Of Famer Hillbilly Jim was recently interviewed on The Toddcast Podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Jim revealed that he nearly skipped out on WrestleMania 34 this year after having a difficult time in Orlando the year before. That all changed, of course, when he got the Hall Of Fame call:
“I wasn’t really gonna go to WrestleMania this year because I had such an awful time last year,” said Jim. “I said to myself, if I get home, I’m not gonna go to this again this year, I’m gonna stay off a year because we were in Orlando, Florida last year and I had the worst time getting up there and getting back from it.
“I was three hours delayed out of the airport getting in to Orlando. Then, the whole weekend down there, I was just out of sorts. Whatever I did, I seemed like I couldn’t get caught up. It seemed like it was stressful and I didn’t enjoy it. Then, lo and behold when I came back, tried to get back home, I was four hours delayed. So, I said, if I get home, I’m not going next year.”
Jim tried to avoid WWE, who were relentlessly trying to get ahold of him, as much as he could just prior to WrestleMania. He told Mark Carrano in a voicemail that he thinks he’s going to skip out on “The Show Of Shows” this year:
“8:30 that morning, [WWE] started calling me, and I was curious,” said Jim. “Cause I know [WWE], when they want something, man, they’re like the government… finally, they start calling again, I’ve gotta make a decision. I picked up the phone, and I call one of these numbers back for this guy named Mark Carrano.
“He was the one calling me, and he had Howard Finkle trying to call me and everybody. I said, I might as well handle this now. So here’s what I did on that Sunday morning. I got his machine, I said Mark this is Billy, blah blah blah. Hope you had a good Christmas and a good New Year, I haven’t talked to you a while. But look. I know you’re trying to get me for WrestleMania in New Orleans, but I think I’m gonna pass this year.”
After hanging up the phone, Carrano called Jim right back and told him something that completely changed his mind – “Vince wants you in the Hall of Fame”:
“That was like getting hit in the ear by George Foreman,” said Jim. “I wasn’t ready for that. I totally was just trying to get out of going in the first place. I had no idea about this. I did not know this was in the workings.
“I didn’t know they would offer this, I didn’t know they had this going on. And my brain just knod of shut down, and I was talking like I had marbles in my mouth. And I said, ‘Mark, I gotta reboot my brain, here. And so that’s how I found out about it.”
You can listen to Hillbilly Jim on the Toddcast Podcast by clicking this link here.
Former WWE Divas Champion Nikki Bella took to her YouTube channel, The Bella Twins, and offered an update on her romantic relationship with 16-time World Champion John Cena. Bella first offered an update on whether or not she and Cena were still together.
Nikki admits that she and Cena are trying to work things out, but didn’t specifically note that they were back together – saying “Hopefully, one day we’ll get back together”:
“It has been a super emotional roller coaster ride and I think it’s hard for people to understand because we film and then things get shown a few months after and people are like, ‘Are they together? Are they not?’ Because I am a reality star, and I do have a reality show, I feel like I have to say what’s the update on John and I, but right now we’re just friends.
“We are both working on each other and trying to work on us. We talk everyday, he is not only my best friend, but he truly is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. He has patience with me and has really taught me a lot over over the past few months.
“I think one of those things is an inner-strength that I thought I had, but didn’t realize how strong I had it. I don’t know, I do have hope for us. … Hopefully, one day we’ll get back together, and if we don’t, we just both want each other to be very, very happy.”
She then discussed her aspirations to one day marry, and if she does she’d like to marry once and only once:
“Right now, John is in China filming a movie. I hate to say ‘perfect timing,’ but it’s giving us this time in life to see what we want for the future. I know some people – because of the media or what they read on social media – they look at this as a very negative thing, but for those of you who are going to get married, or are engaged, or who are married, understand that this is forever.
“I don’t want to be someone who is divorced or has kids and gets a divorce, I truly want to walk down that aisle, give my vows, and do this one time. So, there’s a lot of issues that I had to deal with and really want to know what I want for the rest of my life.”
Bella also hinted that the season finale of Total Bellas is going to be ‘raw and real,’ and also said fans will then understand why she and Cena are in the current situation they’re in:
“The season finale is very tough, I will just warn you all. It’s just very honest, raw, and real, and you will see why John and I are where we’re at today.”
Ring Of Honor (ROH) and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Cody Rhodes recently did an interview with ESPN to talk about several professional wrestling topics. “The American Nightmare” first discussed getting through the process of putting together he and The Young Bucks’ self-funded “All In” event on September 1st:
“I don’t want to complain about it because I’ve had my whole career to get to this position, and now I’m in it. The last thing I need to do is complain. A couple sleepless nights, a couple extra checks written — that’s why I surround myself with such a great team.
“I’m an independent pro wrestler, but I’ve got a manager, I’ve got an agent, I’ve got a publicist, I got the three best dogs in the world, and I have the best woman on earth. If I didn’t have Brandi, none of this would be happening. I’d still be putting that Stardust suit on, doing Jim Carrey Riddler.”
Rhodes then talked about earning the current spot he’s in after years of hard work. Despite the naysayers, the former WWE star has shared the ring with some of the best the sport has ever seen and knows he can compete at any level:
“I think fans of mine who are already on the bandwagon, God bless them, thank you for being there, but I think this is a great jumping-off point if you’re looking at what is Cody Rhodes. I think I’ve proven the naysayers wrong about, ‘Oh, he’s just ex-WWE,’ and the new set of naysayers, ‘Oh, he can’t compete at this level.’
“I can compete at any level. I’ve been doing this since I was 15 years old. Every time someone told me I couldn’t, I did. I’m still the same guy who’s responsible for one of the better Intercontinental runs of all time and changing that title. I’m still the guy who shared the ring with The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Triple H when they were still actually active.
“And I’m aware, as my wife loves to hear. It’s not different than any sport in the world where the best wrestlers are gonna get the best spots. That spot is for me, because I’ve earned it.”
You can read Rhodes’ full interview with ESPN by clicking this link here.
Former WWE Superstar and current Ring Of Honor (ROH) star Tenille Dashwood (a.k.a. Emma) recently did an interview with Daily Mirror to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Dashwood first shared her thoughts on the Women’s Revolution in ROH:
“What I’d like to do is bring some of what I’ve already done into Ring of Honor and Women of Honor. With the timing of the championship tournament back in April, Ring of Honor is putting a lot behind the women this year. So it’s really good timing and exciting for me to be a part of it.
“I want to continue to grow that and the awareness of the skill both ROH and the women have here and continue to kinda push those boundaries. Maybe we could do those things like intergender matches or women main-eventing pay-per-views and just pushing all those boundaries, especially now that we have the Women of Honor championship on the show as well.”
She then discussed having more control of her identity as a character, as well as having more freedom in the ring with ROH as opposed to WWE:
“It’s amazing. I guess you could say I’ve found this newfound energy in life and in wrestling. All of a sudden, all of these ideas started flowing through my head again. I wanted to try new things, I had ideas for things that I had done in the past and I watched people, I saw their styles, new things came to me and I’ve integrated that into my matches.
“All of a sudden, I just had this almost like new passion and energy. Excitement was there because I had the realization of having matches that weren’t always TV matches, that weren’t always strict on timelines or storylines and more so focused on the wrestling, different opponents I hadn’t worked before and a lot of one-on-one matches. I’m able to get out there and wrestle for longer periods of time. It was like a whole new thing I hadn’t done really in years.”
Finally, Dashwood named which WWE stars she’d like to see crossover into the ROH brand one day:
“It’s hard to name just one haha, but if I had to pick I’d say Bayley and I’ll explain why. She is one of the most passionate, dedicated and hardworking women I have come across in this business.
“Her and I are very close, we lived together at one point throughout NXT and still to this day, I admire her so much for the hard work she constantly puts in, the new ideas she has, the drive she has to never settle and always want more and those are all feelings I have within as well. If there’s anyone I could go out there and kill it with in a Ring of Honor ring that would be Bayley.”
You can read Dashwood’s full interview with Daily Mirror by clicking this link here.
