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.
WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin was recently a guest on IWGP Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho’s podcast, Talk Is Jericho, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. During their conversation, Austin shared the inspiration behind his famous “Shattered Glass” WWE theme.
Austin’s theme is one of the most iconic entrance songs in the history of professional wrestling. When fans hear the shattered glass at the top of the cue, it sends a buzz throughout the arena that will likely never be matched.
“The Texas Rattlesnake” revealed which song inspired his WWE theme, and also gave Jim Johnston a ton of credit:
“I went down to the studio and back in the day you know Chris I was pretty hands-on you gotta be. So I walked in there and I had a CD and I hand it to Jim Johnston and go, ‘it’s called Bulls On Parade by Rage Against The Machine’ and I played it.
“He got it, and so I don’t think my entrance music sounds anything like it but it was inspired by that and man I tell ya what the way he came up with that glass breaking I don’t know how he came up with that idea when he looped in that siren, I don’t know how or why he put that in a stroke of genius or luck or whatever it was that happened, magic?
“Sometimes things just happen the way they do. When I pitched him that song and we listened to it together and he came up with that and I give him all the credit in the world. I inspired him with their song… my idea, but his total creation [it’s] a fluke dude because you’ve been around and you’ve seen reactions when that glass breaks.
“Yeah I had to get over to get those reactions. It’s just the perfect music for the perfect setup for the perfect pop for any kind of dire situation or circumstance — goddamn that’s when we need Stone Cold. So, music is important.”
You can listen to Austin on Talk Is Jericho 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. Amore, now going by the name “Real1” opened up to Austin about his various issues with Triple H. He also detailed a heated exchange he had with “The Game” in his office:
“I got my voice taken away from me and it’s the only thing I ever cared about: the most important thing. In wrestling, I’ll lay on my back for anybody 1-2-3. A writer tries to write a line I don’t like in a promo, I ain’t saying it and I’m going to go talk to Vince because I’m not saying it and Hunter’s gonna threaten my job.
“Triple H is gonna tell me I’m gonna get fired because I ain’t saying this sh*t….I’m still going to get handed a microphone every fu*king night, every single time, so I started living like that. You guys have threatened me ever since I got in the door here. You have been hanging it over my head that you will fire me…in the endI was fuc*ing looking at him in the face saying, ‘You’re fuc*ing lucky to have me here.’ I didn’t walk on any eggshells at the end at all. I dressed in my own locker room. When people got mad at me I didn’t care and I just went to Vince….
“I had a conversation with Hunter that I don’t think any other talent in the business has had. He ripped me a new one. He went so off – pulled me into his office and went off….the way I looked at it is I’m not trying to be you, I’m not trying to be Triple H….I’m not trying to marry within the company and be here forever. He was going off and he said to me, ‘Enzo you’re not going to change the fuc*ing world.’
“When he said that I stood up and shot my chairto the point that it fell and I said, ‘Don’t you get it? I am trying to change the fuc*ing world.’ Triple H stood up and said, ‘There’s no getting through to you.’ Boiling hot mad and he walked me out of that room”
You can listen to Amore on The Steve Austin Show by clicking this link here.
Chris Jericho was recently on a three hour flight from Los Angeles to Dallas. “Y2J” apparently flew American Airlines who didn’t feature a movie for the long flight and didn’t accommodate passengers with USB outlets to charge their phones.
This seemed to really frustrate the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, who took to Twitter to put the airline on blast – asking “How old is this plane and what year are we living in?”:
No phone charger outlets or movies on a 3 1/2 flight from LAX to Dallas? How old is this plane and what year are we living in @AmericanAir?
One fan responded to Jericho and called him out for being a “primadona” and complaining for the pettiest of things when there are much more pressing issues going on around the world. The fan then suggested Jericho charter his own plane if those things are so important to him.
Jericho hilariously responded to the fan before blocking him on Twitter:
CM Punk’s latest UFC challenger, Mike Jackson, was recently a guest on WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T’s podcast, Heated Conversations, to talk about fighting the former WWE Champion. Jackson said that he knew he was on a different level from Punk mixed martial arts (MMA) wise, and admits Punk was extremely confident heading into the fight.
He also truly believes that Punk thought he could win the fight by submission if he got it to the ground:
“I do believe that he did. I legit felt that in his mind that he was going to take me down and submit me. I believe that 100%. No man is going to get into a fight with nothing but winning on their mind. I don’t believe that. Outside of the bums who are just joining for a check, I don’t think he was doing it for a check,” Jackson said.
“He could have made the money elsewhere off of his brand. I felt that in his heart he thought that he was going to take me down and submit me, but like I said I was at a different level than where he was at. I had to shut all that down.”
Jackson then addressed SmackDown Live star Daniel Bryan’s recent comments in which he said he thinks he could beat Jackson on the ground. Jackson pretty much laughed that challenge off and said that if Bryan really wants to fight he’d happily accept the challenge:
“I saw that and I just laughed. I remembered seeing it scroll through my headline but I didn’t know what it was so I kept scrolling and didn’t pay any attention to it because I just thought it was a CM Punk reference. I just kept scrolling—I was in Chipotle and was trying to get me a bowl and next thing you know my phone is blowing up,” Jackson said.
“People were like, yo, Daniel Bryan said—I was like, dude, this is getting ridiculous now. I was like, what? Like I said, I kind of drifted away from pro wrestling once he grew in popularity, but I am very familiar with pro wrestling and the whole ‘Yes!’ chant and things like that.
“I know that he has a little background in catch wrestling and things like that, but my thing is that I know you have neck problems. I know where you are restricted in your abilities so why would my name even come out of your mouth? If Daniel Bryan wants this smoke, they call me ‘Chimney Man’ because I have all this smoke.”
You can listen to Jackson’s interview with Booker T on Heated Conversations by clicking here.
If you’re one of many professional wrestling fans frustrated by Brock Lesnar’s WWE status while he holds the Universal Title, things just got worse.
Initially it was expected that “The Beast” would return at SummerSlam later this year to defend his title. The expectation was that Lesnar would finally drop the strap to Roman Reigns before returning to the UFC and continuing his mixed martial arts (MMA) career.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider reports that Brock Lesnar is no longer working the SummerSlam pay-per-view (PPV). He also added we might not see Lesnar until later this year, which is ridiculous considering he’s the company’s top champion.
As for Lesnar’s MMA career, he has until today to re-enter the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s (USADA) testing pool. If he doesn’t re-enter by the end of tonight Lesnar will be ineligible to fight for the UFC for the remainder of the year. The promotion’s hope was to have him fight on their New Year’s Eve card.
Ring Of Honor (ROH) star Flip Gordon recently did an interview with the New York Post to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Gordon first talked about trying to get booked for “All In”:
“[Brandi Rhodes and I], we’re gonna figure out what she can do to help me get booked. In the meantime, Cody still hates my guts and has no plans on booking me, and I don’t know why. Maybe that’s my next step, figuring out why he doesn’t want to book me. If I figure out why, maybe I can change that why.
“That or break in. Don’t tell the cops. I can’t believe I just said that. Now they are going to be waiting for me at the door. Now, I’m going to have to buy a ticket. It’s sold out, so I’m screwed. I’ve had lots of fans who told me they got me an extra ticket.”
He then talked about today’s professional wrestling product compared to the past. Gordon feels today’s style is more fast and presents a more athletic style than ever before:
“I think it is a faster, more unique, athletic style. I think wrestling now is more like an action-movie fight, not necessarily amateur wrestling like it was back in high school. It’s evolved. It’s different. It’s not just headlocks and hips tosses.”
Gordon then discussed his role on “Being The Elite” and how weird it feels to be the “little brother”:
“It’s kind of funny because I’ve never been the little brother. I’ve always been the oldest brother out of my family. I’ve never had an older brother. I always looked to my cousins or other people that I looked up to as big brothers. So it’s kind of funny. I guess that is kind of my character because the Young Bucks, Marty, all them are like big brothers to me.”
You can read Gordon’s full interview with the New York Post by clicking this link here.
16-time WWE World Champ John Cena is known for having his ‘5 Moves Of Doom’ which have irked professional wrestling fans for the past several years. “The Leader Of The Cenation” is currently filming “Project X” with Jackie Chan.
He is replacing Sylvester Stallone in the film. Cena took to Twitter to comment on training at Chan’s facility in California and teased adding to ‘The 5 Moves Of Doom’:
Nikki Bella Promises To Streak If Total Bellas Wins Award
Former WWE Superstars Nikki and Brie Bella, The Bella Twins, took to their YouTube channel and made a big promise to fans if Total Bellas is able to win a Teen Choice Award.
Brie Bella promised to rap, while Nikki Bella promised to streak if fans can help them en-route to a Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer TV Show. You can check out the video here:
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently took to his podcast, The Ross Report, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. “Good Ole’ JR” first commented on the criticism that former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey has been under for her promos in WWE.
While Ross notes that the former UFC champ isn’t the best on the microphone, she’s improving time after time:
“I hear experts talk about, ‘well, Ronda’s verbal skills are not as refined as…’ and they’ll give you another example of a talker. Well, hell, of course it’s not.” Ross explained, “this is new to her. Don’t be pissed off at Ronda Rousey because she’s in a new world that she was invited to join and make worth their while. I don’t get why that’s a bad thing. I think she’s doing fine, I really do. Look, she won me over a long time ago as a badass athlete.
“Great skillset all the way around. She’s a different breed of cat. She’s like Kurt Angle was when he first… full of P and V, when he came to WWE. He was on a different athletic level than most of the other guys. As a matter of fact, I would say all of the other guys. He was that good he was able to separate. And that’s what happens when you win gold medals when you’re in international competition.
“You excel there. Ronda did that, 17 year old Olympian, bronze medalist. So I think her verbal skills have improved. I’d give her some bullet points. I’d keep her off TV in that role. It’s just soundbites because people won’t remember it anyway. That’s the kind of society we live in. So her athletic skills are still amazing.”
Ross also touched on the older professional wrestlers that seem to have an issue with Rousey’s WWE run. The Oklahoman declared that they’re likely just jealous:
“When I hear ex [pro] wrestlers or older wrestlers b—h about Ronda Rousey, I believe it’s based on jealousy.” Ross continued, “and the fact that a lot of men are still having a hard time with the females taking up so much of their time on television. Their time?
“It’s our time. So it was the same thing in the territories. When [Fabulous] Moolah’s girls came to a territory, four girls came in and four guys were sent home with no pay. If [the women] were there for two weeks, [the men] wouldn’t be booked for two weeks. No paycheck, no guarantees. You don’t get paid unless you work.”
On the topic of CM Punk, Ross said that he hopes the former WWE Champion’s last outing inside the UFC’s Octagon was his last:
“Hey the guy lost a unanimous decision.” Ross said, “he went three rounds against Mike Jackson. I don’t know how much Jackson celebrated himself there. He didn’t impress Dana White and it looks like, according to what White has said, this was likely CM Punk’s last UFC fight. I hope Dana’s right.
“I hope that’s an accurate prediction. Hey look, I love CM Punk’s willingness to try something new, boldly try something new, compete on an entirely different canvas. But let’s be honest – at his age and skillset, I hope that Phil Brooks will look elsewhere for a new challenge.”
Finally, Ross revealed that he doesn’t see Punk ever working for another professional wrestling organization full-time again:
“I don’t see Punk ever, ever, being full time for any [pro] wrestling company again. See what I did there, a little Chris Jericho thing?” Ross joked. “At this stage in [Punk’s] life and his recent experiences in the pro wrestling biz, plus, he’s not in a cash-strapped situation. He [has] got nothing left to prove. He doesn’t owe the wrestling fans anything. He [has] given it all to you.
“What more do you want? How many more years? So he [has] got a lot of marketable skills, Phil Brooks. I think he’d be a great broadcaster in many areas. He [has] got a lot of interests. But CM Punk is, as Gordon Solie used to describe ‘Cowboy’ Bill Watts in Florida Championship Wrestling, when Gordon would say, ‘that ‘Cowboy’ is a strange enigma that many simply do not understand. Uh-uh.'”
You can listen to The Ross Report by clicking this link here.