As opposed to the expectations of some, the Women’s Money In The Bank (MITB) Ladder match did not main event last night’s WWE pay-per-view (PPV) event. The men’s MITB Ladder match, eventually won by Braun Strowman, took those honors.

The Women’s Ladder match took place earlier in the card and was won by Alexa Bliss. Little Miss Bliss cashed in her briefcase later on that night in the middle of the RAW Women’s Championship match between Nia Jax and Ronda Rousey.

Bliss attacked Rousey before focusing her attention on Jax. She cashed in her contract and hit Twisted Bliss for the three count and the RAW Women’s Title win. Mike Johnson of PWInsider reports that there were some women backstage who were ‘disgruntled or bummed’ about their placement on the card.

It seems that some women thought they were going to close out the PPV event with their Ladder match. Of course, that wouldn’t have made sense since Bliss needed cash in her contract later in the night to win the RAW Women’s Title.

Discussion: Do you think the women should’ve been featured in a way that would’ve closed out the PPV?

The Bella Twins’ brother, JJ, and his wife, Loren, recently joined the Total Bellas Aftershow to offer their thoughts on Nikki Bella and John Cena’s relationship, as well as whether or not they think Daniel Bryan would ever fight in the UFC. JJ first commented on the rumors going around that Cena and Nikki’s breakup was staged:

“Honestly, my sister asked us not to say anything. Even though we do put our lives out there in the public, my sister is a very private person. And she loves John and what they are going through they want it between them.

“Even with how public John is, John is super private. The one thing I can tell you for a fact is that it wasn’t for the ratings or for the show at all. It actually threw the show for a loop.”

JJ then offered his thoughts on if he thinks Cena is ready to be a father:

“I definitely think he is ready for kids. When I met Loren .. things changed. I’m not the same person I was before Loren. We change as a person, especially for the person you love. There was one thing for him. John loves Vivienne and he loves Birdie.

“He has a blast with them and even my cousin’s kids he has blast with. I think it (being around kids) definitely changed for him. Once you have a kid, it’s a totally different love you will ever experience. And I think his eyes got open to that and he wants that.”

Recently JJ’s brother-in-law, WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan, noted that he thinks he could beat CM Punk’s latest UFC opponent, Mike Jackson, on the ground if WWE granted him the opportunity to do so:

“I could beat him on the ground for sure. If WWE would let me fight in UFC, maybe.”

JJ said he doesn’t believe Bryan would ever fight in the UFC, as it just isn’t “in his blood”:

“Daniel wouldn’t fight in UFC, it’s not in his blood. He is a technical guy. Bryan is not the ground and pound, want to beat someone up guy… that mentality that you probably need to have for UFC.

“He is a technical guy and probably one of the best wrestlers of all time technically, and that’s what he really enjoys. He never will get into it. I know that for a fact. He loves UFC by the way. He loves watching it.”

After being released by WWE earlier this month, former NXT star Zeda did an interview on The Roman Show to talk about her time with the company. Zeda first commented on whether or not she’ll be back for this year’s Mae Young Classic tournament:

“I have no idea if I’ll be in the Mae Young Classic. I hope I am in it. It would be awesome. In the indies I am wiling to wrestle anyone because I want to get out there because I’ve really been exposed only to NXT for the most part at least here in Florida. Of course, I want to wrestle [another WWE MYC competitor], Renee Michelle.”

Zeda then commented on what a great experience it was working the Mae Young Classic last year:

“It was a great experience, very different. Before I went to NXT it was like I had some indie wrestling friends and I saw some shows here and there, but not a lot. Going in there it’s like learning how everything is done and then coming [to the WWE MYC] I’m like, wow, they’re more for TV and more detailed because they have to be.”

As for whether or not she’d return to mixed martial arts (MMA) or continue her professional wrestling career, Zeda seems dead set on continuing professional wrestling after already having spent a decade doing MMA:

“No, I want to focus my time in wrestling. I’ve spent ten years in MMA. After doing all that, doing MMA, and the entertainment industry, like singing and dance. I was always torn between the two. I was like ‘Should I chase the MMA career or acting/modeling career?’ Afterwards, when I realized there was [wrestling], this was more fitting for me and I really want to explore this route.”

You can check out Zeda’s full interview on The Roman Show by clicking this link here.

WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently took to his podcast, The Ross Report, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. One such topic were his thoughts on SmackDown Live star Big Cass. Ross noted that he’s a fan of Cass and explained why his size, standing at seven-feet-tall, is such a big deal:

“I like Cass.” Ross added, “look, he’s seven feet tall, folks! You can’t teach that! I actually said that in a meeting one time at the [WWE] Performance Center in Orlando [Florida], in a meeting. I’ll tell that story one of these days, but it’s a good deal. And you can’t teach that. And the WWE has always coveted size because every great promoter knows that people get their heads turned by size.

“Why in the hell else would a fat lady in a circus sell a ticket? Because of her size and freakishness. So he’s seven feet and he’s being provided valuable TV time, folks. No doubt. You know what I say, you’d better damn sure maximize your minutes, so what this kid [has] got to do in my opinion is to continue to be aggressive.

“I don’t need a seven-footer on the roster who’s a finesse guy, a style guy. Like I said, I don’t need… I can use the basketball analogy because basketball’s ongoing. I need a [power forward] of a [center] from Big Cass, not a [shooting guard].”

Good Ole’ JR noted that if Cass wants to be a major player in WWE that he needs to work on his promo skills and address some holes he has in his game:

“I need physicality, but he also needs work on his delivery,” Ross admitted. “That’s out of the ring practice. In your car, at home, in front of a mirror, wherever you are, make sure that you are seeing what you’re saying. Look at your face when you say these things. And I think he needs to work on his promos sounding a little more organic, not memorized.

“And sometimes, because you have to memorize them by and large, it’s hard to not sound memorized. So you don’t want it to sound like a script, by the way. But I’ll tell you, being seven feet tall is an asset for him. He [has] got a great look. I have confidence that he’ll be a star, but he [has] got to fill some holes in his game and that’s a daily effort, daily plan.

“And I don’t know the kid well enough to say what his daily plan is or what they’re doing with him behind-the-scenes to work on some of these issues, but, again, you can’t teach that. He’s seven feet tall. He’s young and a good looking kid.”

You can listen to The Ross Report by clicking this link here.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

The week before the libel & slander case against former WWE Champion CM Punk and Colt Cabana by WWE Doctor Chris Amaan, Amaan filed for several motions to make sure that some issues weren’t brought up during the trial in front of the jury.

According to a report from Deadspin, one of those issues was a relationship Amaan had with former WWE Divas Champion Jillian Hall. There were some motions that were sealed away and the only people who saw them were those involved with the case, however, others were available at the Cook County Courts at Daley Center in Chicago on computer terminals in the clerk’s office.

One of those motions argued that during the trial the defense couldn’t mention Amann’s romantic and sexual relations with Hall and another indy wrestler (who remains unnamed) he met while she unsuccessfully tried out for WWE twice.

None of this was brought up during the trial, meaning that the motion was successful. There were also some excerpts from depositions before the trial began, which included Amann answering “yes” to questions such as if he had “any relationship with [Hall] while she was a performer,” if they were “more than friends,” if they had “a sexual relationship,” and if they had “a romantic relationship.”

Two more depositions also mentioned Amann’s relationship with Hall. A friend of Punk and Cabana’s, also a former WWE Superstar, Cliff Compton, testified about a conversation he and with Hall (when he wasn’t working for WWE) who told him about the relationship. CM Punk’s sister, Chaleen Rumpf, also noted that both Punk and Compton had told her about “unethical things that the doctors were doing” in the WWE such as “the doctor is sleeping with, you know, some of the wrestlers.”

Deadspin contacted Hall about the matter and she confirmed that she had a romantic relationship with Amaan when he was working as the traveling doctor for the RAW brand. Amaan and his legal team did not respond for comment on the matter. A spokesperson for WWE did, however, issue out this statement on the situation:

“We were not aware of this. We are investigating the matter and will determine if any action is warranted.”

A source who worked on the RAW brand while Amaan and Hall were together noted to Deadspin that neither attempted to hide their relationship.

WWE Superstar Natalya recently spoke to Sun Sport to promote the new Then, Now, Forever: The Evolution of WWE’s Women’s Division WWE DVD. The Queen Of Harts talked about several professional wrestling topics, the first of those being how impressed she has been with former RAW Women’s Champion Sasha Banks.

Natalya has been impressed with The Boss’ in-ring work and says she brings out the best of her opponents inside the ring:

“I like it when people say that about me – we all want to be in great matches. It’s a great aspiration to have. You want to be that girl or guy who can have that great match with anyone. I’ve been working with Sasha Banks a lot on Raw and I see that in her too. I was so impressed with her in that Fatal 4-Way. Whether it’s Sasha against Charlotte, Sasha against Bayley… it’s just every girl I see in there with Sasha. She brings out the best in her opponents.”

She then revealed that she believes the moment she realized Triple H believed in her was when he entrusted her in working with rising star Charlotte Flair:

“I never knew how much Triple H believed in me until that moment. He knew I was the right person to elevate Charlotte and give her this moment. I think Triple H saw similarities in me and Charlotte. We both come from wrestling backgrounds. Charlotte had those same shoes to fill and family expectations. We didn’t even have a time limit. Triple said, ‘Just go in there and tear the house down.’

“It was my first time in my WWE career that I was just allowed to be me – to go in there and just do my thing and have complete control. It was such a special moment for me. That match sparked this surge of more incredible women’s matches in NXT. Then the girls on the main roster wanted those matches too. It was this crazy collaboration of the universe coming together – the fans, WWE management, and the girls all being on board and saying, ‘We need this.'”

You can read Natalya’s full interview with Sun Sport by clicking this link here.

WWE Adds One Of Kenny Omega’s Matches To The WWE Network

We’ve recently noted that WWE has been mentioning IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega quite a bit recently to promote The New Day vs. The Elite (Omega and The Young Bucks) at E3 in a Street Fighter V video game tournament.

It seems like WWE is taking things a step further, adding an old WWE match of Omega’s to their Network. Omega was signed to a developmental deal with WWE several years back in the early stages of his career.

WWE has added Kenny Omega vs. Cru Jones from Deep South Wrestling in 2006 to the WWE Network. It’s under the “Hidden Gems” collection on the application. WWE’s YouTube channel posted the following preview:

Kurt Angle Reveals One Of His Favorite Undertaker Matches

A fan recently took to Twitter to pay homage to the matches The Undertaker and Kurt Angle have put on together during their professional wrestling careers.

The Monday Night RAW General Manager responded and said that one match of theirs he recommends viewing is their meeting at No Way Out 2006. Angle said it’s a good viewing experience for fans and aspiring professional wrestlers:

https://twitter.com/WWEWasim/status/1007358384994226179?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mandatory.com%2Fwrestlezone%2Fnews%2F965051-kurt-angle-reveals-one-of-his-favorite-undertaker-matches-photos-of-stephanie-on-undercover-boss

We had some great ones. I recommend No Way Out 2006. If you’re a fan, or aspiring to be a pro wrestler, watch it. #itstrue https://t.co/PTJVt6tX4a

— Kurt Angle (@RealKurtAngle) June 14, 2018

WWE Posts Briefcases For All Possible Men’s MITB Match Winners

WWE’s Instagram recently published a photo showcasing all the possible designs for a briefcase for all the men involved in the Men’s Money In The Bank (MITB) Ladder match this weekend. There’s actually some pretty cool designs. You can check them out here:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BkDHRuuAKV9/?utm_source=ig_embed

Triple H recently did an interview with SunSport in the UK to talk about several professional wrestling topics. One such topic was the possibility of WWE working with other promotions such as IMPACT Wrestling, Ring Of Honor (ROH) or New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) for crossover events in the future. This is an idea that many wrestling fans would love to see happen in the future.

According to Triple H, WWE is willing to work with other promotions and listed out the deals the company already has in place with PROGRESS and ICW. If the right situation presents itself, it looks like WWE is willing to do business with just about anybody:

“We are open to doing things with anybody or anything. We have an alliance with PROGRESS in the UK, a situation with ICW in Scotland, two very well run and respected promotions that do good business – but more importantly they are cultivating talent.

“They are not just exploiting talent and grabbing guys to do a show with them, they are teaching talent and trying to make them better, which is what it is all about for me. Is there opportunity for cross-promotional events? Absolutely, with the right things. It’s a blank slate and I’m open to just about anything if the right situation shows itself”

You can read Triple H’s full interview with SunSport by clicking this link here.

Last weekend (Sat. June 9, 2018) former WWE Champion CM Punk participated in the second mixed martial arts (MMA) fight of his career at UFC 225 on pay-per-view (PPV). Punk fought former Houston Golden Gloves winner Mike Jackson.

Punk was able to last all three rounds, as opposed to his first fight where he lost via submission in just over two minutes, but that was largely due to his opponent dragging the fight out. Punk has received a lot of criticism for his MMA career, with many suggesting he should simply return to professional wrestling.

UFC President Dana White recently jumped to Punk’s aid, saying he was following his dreams and put a ton of dedication into his new venture. He also blasted fans by saying it’s easy for them to criticize Punk, who is fighting three five minute rounds inside a cage, while they’re sitting in their living rooms watching:

“This guy was actually a huge star at WWE, came over here and put it all on the line twice in front of the whole world. Now if people can’t respect that, then you’re a f–king idiot anyways,” White said about Punk when speaking to the MMA Roasted podcast.

“You can’t tell somebody don’t do the thing that you want to do the most. CM Punk wanted to be a UFC fighter. He wanted to come and he wanted to fight here. He wanted it so bad that he f–king dropped everything and focused on nothing but mixed martial arts. Next time you talk to Duke Roufus or [Anthony] Pettis or any of those guys, talk about how this guy was driving back and forth from Chicago to their place and would drive for hours to come out and train and would train forever and they all ended up respecting him.

“The guy went in there and put it all on the line. Tell me one guy that can walk into the UFC at 38 years old and compete after he’s been training for f–king months,” White said. “He was just a regular guy. The only reason Brock Lesnar did as well as he did is because he was a real wrestler. The guy actually came from collegiate wrestling and he was one of the best.”

With all that being said, White doesn’t see a third UFC opportunity in Punk’s future, but credited him for having the guts to do it in the first place:

“I don’t think he really wants a third chance,” White said. “Hopefully after this last fight, the guy he’s got balls and he’s got guts and he went on the world stage and he gave it two shots. A lot of people want to talk s–t on CM Punk, get in there, come on over. Fight one of these guys. It’s easy to f–king sit in your living room and talk s–t. Come in here.”

Thanks to our sister site, MMA News, for the quotes. Go there for the latest in everything MMA now!

NXT Women’s Champion Shayna Baszler recently did an interview with Rock Sins during NXT’s run at the Download Festival over the weekend to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Baszler first discussed her transition from mixed martial arts (MMA) over to professional wrestling:

“It’s been smoother I think because I’m a catch wrestler, I’ve been a catch wrestler in MMA, Josh Barnett my main head coach for like 12 years he is a professional wrestler as well as a fighter. Bill Robinson would teach us for mixed martial arts as well as sports entertainment, this is what I’ve been in for a while so I think I have a leg up on people that are like ‘I fight MMA, I think I like this so I’m gonna try it’ I’ve been involved in this a lot longer than people realize as far as the training and the working for it too.”

She then talked about working in front of a British crowd and a Download Festival crowd that might not be all fans of professional wrestling:

“Yeah, I think you have to work a little bit to show who you are because they don’t just know, but that’s the stuff I did in MMA, so it’s not unfamiliar to me to let people know who I am. It’s also interesting because a British crowd is different to an American crowd, so that aspect has been more mind-blowing to me than the fact that it’s at a music festival and not a traditional wrestling show.”

Finally, Baszler was asked about the possibility of working with the other MMA Four Horsewomen in WWE:

“It’s a little of both. I’m not going to sidetrack off of my path and the things I’m doing and what I want to accomplish, but who doesn’t want their friends with them at work every day, so it’s awesome, and it’s what we’ve done, once we were living together and training together and we clicked the four of us after the Ultimate Fighter.

“It’s like when Ronda was UFC Champion and Jess was in Invicta and we were all kind of doing our own thing in MMA as well as supporting so it’s kind of the same thing just on the other side of the coin.”

You can read Baszler’s full interview with Rock Sins by clicking this link here.

WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin recently took to his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. One such topic was working against the late former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit in his hometown of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada on an episode of SmackDown on May 31, 2001.

Austin said he loved performing in front of Canadian crowds, but didn’t enjoy the trip crossing the border up north:

“I always dug Canada. Like I said, it’s a great wrestling place. The biggest problem was crossing over the border and Canada is very strict at the border and they should be. And they go through everything. They makes sure that the Is are dotted and the Ts are crossed. And when the boys start coming through, due to the fact that a lot of times back in the 80s, early 80s, probably 70s, guys were carrying a lot of stuff over there. There were always stories of The Iron Sheik and how he’d have weed on him or something like that with him and he’d put it in someone else’s bag.

“The precedent had already been set. A lot of times, guys came through and they’d be carrying some stuff. There was this, that, and the other. You can probably guess what it might have been. But that was one of the biggest pains in the ass about going to Canada because you knew you’d get pulled over and you’re going to sit in a room for an hour, two, or three. They were going to go through all of your stuff and shake everything out. And 99 times out of 100, they didn’t have s–t, but every here and there, someone would have something.

“That’s why they always kept checking the boys when they came into the country, so great on Customs part – they did a very thorough job. But when you’re one of the guys and you’re just passing through there, and you’ve got nothing in your bag, and you get pulled over, that’s a pain in the ass because you’re always on a schedule, trying to hit the gym, you’re trying to hit a tanning bed, you’re trying for something to eat. You might check into your hotel room.

“It might be one of those deals where you go straight to the building and you’ve got a long road trip after that. But that was always a pain in the ass when you had to go pass through Customs on the way there.” Austin added, “coming and going across the border was a pain in the ass. Getting the directions in French was not fun. The crowds were always great.”

Austin talked about the great match he and Benoit had on SmackDown. He revealed that Benoit told him to disregard the go-home cue and he would take the heat for it backstage. Austin was underwhelmed with the match he and Benoit had the night before on RAW:

“I had a great match with Chris Benoit in Edmonton one night and I believe it was on the SmackDown show.” Austin continued, “and we had worked the previous night on RAW and they only gave us a certain amount of minutes and I wasn’t very happy with that match because we didn’t have enough time to build a proper story.

“I’ll never forget when we rolled into Edmonton that night. It was SmackDown and we were going to work together again. And I told Chris before we went out there, I said, ‘dude,’ I said, ‘I don’t care how much time they give us – we’re going to go home when it’s time to go home. And it’s all on me. I’ll take the heat, so if they give us the go home cue, disregard it.’ And we really ripped it up that night.”

During the match Austin came up with a spot where Benoit would hit him with 10 German Suplexes. Austin noted he wasn’t in any pain from his injured neck taking the moves, but said storyline-wise it made sense for Benoit to attack the injured area:

“I said, ‘hey man, we’re going to go as long as we need to go’ and it was Chris’s hometown, I believe. I think it was Edmonton. We had worked the night before. [We] didn’t have the match I wanted to have because I knew how much Chris could go and I respected him. And so, I said, ‘hey man, I don’t see you making a traditional comeback on me.

“I see this being something where you just grab me from behind and let’s go 10 German suplexes, 10 in a row, because I just don’t see a regular comeback. I see 10 German suplexes and here comes Vince [McMahon] coming down and I barely escape with the belt.’ And Chris thought about that for a minute and he goes, ‘I like that.’ And so, that’s what we went out and did. So it wasn’t in the moment.

“It was something that I called, I planned, I ran across Chris, and he dug it. And we did it.” Austin added, “I called the suplexes and I wasn’t in any pain. And the pain in referring to is because I was returning from my neck fusion and I’d figured all the bumps that I had taken leading up to that match that I would be fine taking those bumps.

“And it would be a great ploy, a great strategy, for Chris to use to focus on my weakness, or perceived weakness, which could be construed as my neck because of the fusion, because of the surgery. And I was working heel at the time, so he’s giving it back to me and then some. So it made sense for that in his comeback.”

After the match Austin claims Benoit paid him one of the biggest compliments of his career by telling him he had gotten him over:

“I’ll never forget after that match, I’ve said it on the podcast before, it was one of the highest complements I’d ever been paid by an opponent.” Austin remembered, “we always shake hands after the matches. And, man, that was Chris’s hometown, man. And we got off the headbutt off the top turnbuckle, me throwing the belt up, him getting a little bit of color from that accidentally.

“It was a real solid match. And he goes, ‘man, thanks.’ He goes, ‘you really got me over’ and he got it. He knew what I was trying to do and it was my job to do was to get him over. He was already over to a degree, but I got him more over than he was after the match than he was before the match, and he recognized that. And he told me that and I’ll never forget that complement.

“And I wish things hadn’t gone the way they had for Chris as far as down the road, but, man, the Chris Benoit that I knew was a badass worker, great dude, cool as hell, and so I remember that match vividly. Out of all the things I’ve forgotten, I remember that match.”

You can listen to The Steve Austin Show by clicking this link here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb9aA6advHo

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

In a recent episode of his podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, mixed martial arts (MMA) expert and UFC commentator Joe Rogan discussed former WWE Champion CM Punk’s UFC 225 performance this past weekend.

Punk took on former Houston, TX Golden Gloves winner Mike Jackson in a three round welterweight contest. He lost the fight via unanimous decision, getting virtually dominated throughout the entirety of the fight. Rogan wasn’t too big a fan of Punk fighting in the UFC, and said that Punk doesn’t have any physical talent like other athletes who make the transition into MMA:

“The whole thing was very weird,” said Rogan. Like, right away, when you see CM Punk holding his hands up and moving stiff and throwing kicks, [I’m like], ‘oh Jesus.’ Like, I don’t like that being on pay-per-view. I understand that they are selling pay-per-view cards, but pay-per-view in the UFC should be the elite fighters. It’s like you took a dude [with] no wrestling background, no nothing, and you go, ‘alright, this is what I want you to do. This is a jab.

“This is a right hand. When you throw a kick, I want you to pivot your hips. Go in there and spar. I mean, he just doesn’t have the ability to move his body right. There’s a lot of guys that you could take out there—track and field guys, or football players, and you could get them to fight better than him in a couple of weeks. Easily. Because they’re athletes. They’re athletes. They would understand how to shift their weight, [and] throw a punch… he doesn’t have any talent.

“That’s all it is. He just doesn’t have any physical talent. For whatever reason. Whether it’s his approach, his intensity. It’s not his coaching. He’s with Duke f–kin Roufus. If Duke just grabbed some dude from a gas station that has been drinking beer and smoking cigarettes his whole life, and had him in a fight in six months, how much can you possibly expect?”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Its been reported for the past several weeks that WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is expected to defend his title against Roman Reigns in the main event of SummerSlam on August 19th. The Beast is expected to drop the title at the event and it’s rumored it would be his last match under his current WWE deal.

Per an update from Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Reigns vs. Lesnar is not yet a done deal for SummerSlam as of this past weekend. In addition, Vince McMahon has yet to confirm Lesnar for the SummerSlam event at all. Lesnar isn’t even scheduled for any upcoming WWE dates either at the moment, which is odd given he’s the top champion on RAW.

Lesnar is reportedly aware of this and, and as of a few days ago WWE officials have yet to confirm a return for The Beast. He is currently the longest reigning WWE World Champion of the Modern Era, breaking CM Punk’s previous record of 434 days earlier this week.

After winning the IWGP Intercontinental Championship from Tetsuya Naito at Dominion, Chris Jericho spoke to the Winnipeg Free Press to talk about New Japan Pro Wrestling’s (NJPW) growing popularity lately.

Jericho admitted that the promotion is growing “slowly but surely” and also said that NJPW is “basically breathing down the neck of the WWE.” His full comments can be found below:

You can read Jericho’s full interview with the Winnipeg Free Press by clicking this link here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsECywPlw-s

Former professional wrestling manager and WWE executive JJ Dillon was recently a guest on the Sitting Ringside podcast with David Penzer to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Dillon first discussed Sgt. Slaughter turning heel and why the WrestleMania 7 venue was changed:

“We try at times in this business to mirror the political environment. But for some reason when they tried to turn him [Sgt. Slaughter], I firmly believe people were not accepting it because of who he was. He was too identifiable with this county. It just didn’t work.

“No matter what he did, people never accepted it. The worst thing you want to have happen is having something you were so invested in not work out. To go to a big open arena / stadium it would have been promotional suicide.”

Dillon also talked about why the dream match between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair didn’t take place at WrestleMania 8:

“These words will never come out of Vince McMahon’s mouth, but I heard it repeated a lot from others, that this match was made 5 years too late. We waited 5 years too long to make this happen.”

Finally, Dillon told the story of an early interaction he had with former WWE Champion-turned-Hollywood mega-star The Rock that could’ve changed the history of professional wrestling forever:

“I was a part of the decision process that ended up hiring [The Rock] and Mark Henry. I remember one night I think we were at The Garden, The Rock pulled me aside and said, ‘I know I can speak openly and honest with you, can you make some phone calls to get me out of here [WWE]. From all my time in college and in Florida and my time in the business, I always had money in my pocket. [Right now] I don’t have two dollars in my pocket, I feel vulnerable.’

“In this particular moment you can’t begin to imagine what is laying in front of you regarding your success and financial rewards, because you don’t have two dollars in your pocket. Because it hasn’t yet happened yet, you can’t let this moment change you. I told him, ‘this is the lowest of lows you’ll experience.’ I said, ‘give me five minutes. put this [thought process] on hold.’

“Five minutes later I come back, and I tell him to open up his hand. I put $200, $300, $500, whatever it was in his hand and told him to wrap his hand around it. ‘Now put that hand in your pocket, how does that feel to have money again?’ This moment right there changed his whole mental outlook and helped him.”

Since making their main roster debuts this past April, The Authors Of Pain have only wrestled two matches on Monday Night RAW. They defeated Heath Slater and Rhyno on an April 9th RAW, and defeating Apollo Crews and Titus O’Neil on a May 14th episode of Main Event.

According to a report from John Pollack of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the team hasn’t been around because one of its members was having a visa issue. It turns out that issue has since been resolved and they’re being held off the show because currently the plan is to push The B Team and Dolph Ziggler & Drew McIntyre.

WWE doesn’t want The Authors Of Pain to be just another tag team, so they plan on brining them back to TV when they can focus on pushing them and getting them over. It should be interesting to see what creative has planned for the former NXT Tag Team Champs upon their return.

Discussion: What would you like to see WWE do with The Authors Of Pain when they come back to RAW?

Former WWE and TNA official Bruce Prichard recently took to his WWE Network special, Something Else To Wrestle, and discussed current WWE Champion AJ Styles’ run in TNA several years ago. Co-host Conrad Thompson asked Prichard what TNA officials thought of Styles as a top guy in the company.

Here’s what Prichard had to say on the matter:

“I had never worked with AJ beyond his tryout matches for WWE so immediately I’m hearing the negative,” Prichard said when co-host Conrad Thompson asked what TNA officials thought about AJ as a top guy. “I hear that, ‘AJ, he just wants to wrestle his matches and do all these high spots, he doesn’t listen, doesn’t want to change, doesn’t want to grow. He’s a pain in the ass.

“We’re trying to build him into a bigger star and he’s bucking us at every single opportunity.’ The feeling was that AJ just wasn’t willing to do what it took to become a star. For example… they wanted AJ to bleach his hair blonde like Ric Flair. AJ didn’t want to do that. They wanted AJ to wear robes like Ric Flair but it looked like something that his daughter put together. It just wasn’t a good look and AJ wasn’t comfortable being Ric Flair.

“He didn’t want to talk about being up all night with the women. AJ’s happily married and a very religious guy. He didn’t want that perception. Every time you suggest something new to AJ, he doesn’t want to do it. Unless it’s just wrestling a match with one of his buddies, he doesn’t want to do it. I learned early on in my career that you try to judge people on how they treat you.

“And I tried talking to AJ and found that he was pretty receptive to things. He had good reasons why he didn’t want to do some of the things suggested to him. So, now all of a sudden I’m trying to find a way to get into AJ, in a way to pitch him ideas and try to do some different things with him which he was open to, at least with me.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Former SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair was previously scheduled to appear on WWE’s upcoming tour of Japan. Events were set for Sumo Hall on June 29th and 30th, however, The Queen has been pulled from those appearances.

According to a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Flair is scheduled for surgery after this weekend’s Money In The Bank (MITB) pay-per-view (PPV). The surgery it due to a ruptured breast implant that she has been working with for months now.

Flair has reportedly been putting the surgery off as she didn’t want to miss WrestleMania 34 in April or the MITB PPV. She will likely miss a few weeks to recover from the procedure and will likely return around late July to begin her build-up for SummerSlam.

Discussion: Who would you like to see Flair work with when she returns from recovering from her upcoming surgery? And who’s your pick to win the Women’s MITB Ladder match?

Earlier this year WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels did an interview with Sky Sports and admitted he’d entertain offers for an in-ring return, but warned fans that they wouldn’t be seeing the same Heartbreak Kid they did in his prime:

“I’ve been retired for eight years now and when it got to the five-year mark I thought people would start asking me but they just kind of stopped,” Michaels said. “I think it’s one of those that you would never say never about and if it was just for a one-off then it’s something that I would take a look at.

“It would have to be done the right way and just for one match rather than something that ran for longer. It could be possible but people would have to accept they wouldn’t be getting the Showstopper, Mr WrestleMania, and that I’m 52 years old now.”

NXT Champion Aleister Black recently did an interview with Iain Chambers at the Download Festival in the UK this past weekend, and was asked if he saw Michaels’ comments about an in-ring return:

“I read that, I was very intrigued,” Black said. “I think as a wrestler, a performer, that ‘bug’ never dies. I truly hope that he will come back for one more. In the back of my head I have a few things that I would like to see, obviously, I’ve connected myself to those things as well. We’re gonna find out, if he does, it’s going to be fantastic.”

Michaels is currently working as a trainer at the WWE Performance Center, meaning Black crosses paths with the Hall Of Famer quite often. When asked if the former WWE Champion ever gets in the ring at the PC, here’s what he had to say:

“I know he can still go,” Black quickly responded. “He can go. Don’t worry about that.”

Finally, Black was asked if he had to choose between two men for Michaels’ return opponent – AJ Styles or Daniel Bryan – who would he choose:

“You’re asking me to pick the two guys – arguably – who are the best in the game,” Black responded. “Each opponent has a specific thing that makes them ranked at the top of the world.

“I think I would like to see AJ more only because Shawn had a big hand in training Daniel and would have an advantage. However, then you could work with a ‘student versus teacher’ aspect of it, but I’d like it to be AJ. Sorry, Daniel.”

It should be noted that in Michaels’ most recent interview at the WWE’s “For Your Consideration” Emmy event with Red Carper Report he back-stepped a bit on his comments with Sky Sports:

“I’m always humbled and very flattered the fact that after all these years people still believe enough in my ability to still do it,” Michaels said. “Look, there’s a part of me that knows I could, but at the same time this is a young man’s game.

“I love the fact that the future of the WWE is in such good, capable hands. It’s a pleasure for me to watch it and go forward. As much as it would be enjoyable to [wrestle], I’m more excited in seeing these young men take WWE into the future.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Former WCW President and RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff was recently interviewed by The New York Post to talk about several professional wrestling topics. One such topic was the mega broadcasting deal that the WWE just landed for SmackDown Live on FOX – worth $1 billion.

Bischoff explained how the WWE-FOX deal makes it difficult for other promotions to land big broadcasting deals of their own:

“Anybody who comes along and wants to sell a wrestling show, guess who you are not gonna sell it to? You are not going to sell it to FOX and any of its affiliates and, oh by the way, you are not going to sell it to NBC Universal or any of its affiliates,” said Bischoff.

“So the world in terms of one’s ability to sell a traditional [wrestling] television show to a traditional television or broadcast partner has just collapsed.”

In today’s age of social media and technology, Bischoff doesn’t believe that promotions need big broadcasting deals to make themselves famous. With free streaming outlets like Twitch and YouTube you can essentially make a name for yourself by other means:

“You no longer have to have a big record label behind you and have to kowtow to the politics that enabled you to get there,” said Bischoff. “You can be a phenomenal artist and put your stuff out there on YouTube and find yourself becoming a star.”

You can ready Bischoff’s full interview with The New York Post by clicking this link here.

Former WWE Superstar Rosa Mendes recently did an interview on Women’s Pro Wrestling Weekly to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Mendes first discussed her passion for professional wrestling and her current mindset:

“I feel like, for me, even when I was in training, I was the first one in the ring and the last one to leave. I still have that work ethic. I am so passionate about pro wrestling. A lot of fans don’t know that because I was a Manager.

“I bring that passion in the ring and I feel like, because I have been in the business for 11 years, I know what it takes to be a top girl. I am not going to stop until I am a top girl and wrestle like a top girl. I know what to do and how to get there, so that is how my motivation is now. That is where my mindset is at right now.”

Now having a child, Mendes discussed how she’ll balance a career as a professional wrestler while still being a mother:

“I know that you can be a great mom and a great wrestler. I just didn’t know that at the time when I had her. I was at the Performance Center, I had a character and was ready to go, but I kept leaving her and I kept thinking that I couldn’t do this anymore. I know that you have to give 100% in WWE and I didn’t know if I could so I made that mature decision to retire. It was the hardest decision, and I still get teary-eyed thinking about it.

“It was the toughest decision of my life, but I knew it was what I had to do at the time. Me being a mom, I hate to put myself over but I will; I am the best mom. I feel like I am such a great mother it’s like, I never even knew I had this in me. I know that I can do both. I know that I can be a great mom and even be a better mom fulfilling my dream. I want to show her that you can be a great mom and inspire other women, it’s all about women empowerment.

“I want to set that example for her because to be honest, my character and who Rosa Mendes, but at the same time I was dancing. I was doing what I love, but I wasn’t fulfilling my ultimate passion, which was to be in the ring. I was shaking my butt and being hot but I never got to be that athletic-powerful woman that I know I can be. I know that I can do both.”

As far as a WWE return goes, Mendes wants to dominate the indy scene and get herself over before returning to the professional wrestling juggernaut:

“I feel like this is my business plan; I want to conquer the independents. I want to dominate in the independents and be super over and have incredible 30-40 minute matches in the independents and show people that I am a great worker and a great performer.

“As soon as I can say that about myself then I am going to talk to them. They may talk to me before then, but I really want to establish myself in the independents before I even step foot in a WWE door again.”

Mendes was then asked if she believes that she could be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame one day:

“Thus is the thing, right now, Rosa Mendes would never be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. I feel because of who I was and because of my character and being a manager. I know some managers have, but if you look back, my best time as a manager was with Primo & Epico, and I did a lot in those matches.

“They got the tag team titles but I just feel like I don’t think it would happen, and I don’t think I would deserve it. I feel like once I go back I want to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. I want to make history and I want people to respect my work in the ring.”

Finally, Mendes explained her current situation with the father of her child, Bobby Schubenski:

“This is not going to make sense, but it’s going to make sense for us. We are exclusive, but we don’t have a title. Me and Bobby Schubenski broke up in December, but basically he was so immersed in his business, and I was so immersed in my business and we were both immersed with Jordan that we forgot to take care of each other. We weren’t happy so we decided to separate and work on our businesses and take care of Jordan and figure stuff out, but I miss him, and he misses me, so we decided to work things out.

“The separation was really hard on the both of us. Him and I are very strong-minded people, and strong people, but it hurts, and we don’t ever want to get back to that hurt phase. It was hard for me to work on Totally Fit Mama, like, it was hard for me. We are going to take our time, take things super slow and just figure stuff out and want to see what we both have. We don’t want to go all in right away because we don’t want to break up again. He is so inspiring. I never met anyone that is more motivated than I am.

“I am a big dreamer and a visionary, and he is beyond that so that is one of the things that I fell in love with him for. I never imagined falling in love and meeting someone and feeling like that again. He is hard to beat. Now, I am back in wrestling, and he started his own pro wrestling promotion. To start your own pro wrestling promotion and only have 40 tickets left. The hard part is to draw people and he has gotten all the people. He busts his butt and works so hard. That work ethic that we have in WWE, he has it, which is also what I love more about him as well.”

As we’ve previously noted, WWE Hall Of Famers Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan were interviewed by WSVN-TV Entertainment Reporter Chris Van Vliet at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.

During the interview Flair seemed to indicate that Rousey’s deal with WWE was only for one year, as she planned on starting a family soon:

“In my humble opinion, if Rousey wants to elevate her status in the company she needs to go through The Queen and The Queen ain’t afraid of her, I got news for ya. I just saw her deadlift 315 lbs and she can bench 205 lbs for 6 reps. She is gifted beyond belief.

“I’m not involved obviously in any of the thinking but if they’re ever going to put the women where they belong, this is the year because I think Ronda has only signed a one-year deal and then she wants to get out of there. She wants to have kids and all that. She just needs to be be prepared to lose. Not if sure if Ronda likes that.”

A new report from Wrestling Inc. suggests that Rousey’s deal with WWE is actually a multi-year deal. It should be noted, however, that Rousey did tell Yahoo! Sports in March that she plans on having children with her husband, UFC heavyweight fighter Travis Browne, soon:

“We’re ready to start having kids soon and I was thinking about what I’ve left unfinished in my life because I want to entirely focus on having kids when that time comes,” Rousey said.

“I took a long look at my life and thought that if I don’t try and take a shot with the WWE, I would regret it for the rest of my life. I want to be an example to my kids about pursuing your dreams and being able to do anything. I guess this is my way of nesting and getting ready for children. I’m trying to prove to my unborn babies that they can accomplish any dream that they want to go after.”

Discussion: How long do you think Rousey’s WWE career will last? Do you expect her to take a significant amount of time off soon to begin a family?

WWE Superstar Drew McIntyre was recently a guest on Jim Ross’ podcast, The Ross Report, in which they discussed several professional wrestling topics. McIntyre revealed that current NXT General Manager William Regal still mentored him while he was on the indies, and was a big part in getting him a second shot in WWE:

“The whole time I was gone [from WWE], I was gone for three years, he was always there for advice.” McIntyre continued, “we’d kind of speak back and forth and he always kept an eye on everything I was up to. And then, when the time came, my TNA contract was up, my wife and I decided not to re-sign.

“We tried to decide the next step, thinking, ‘is it Japan?’ He was the one that said, ‘alright, you need to have this conversation with Triple H. Now is the time to come back home.’ I got on the phone with Hunter and we spoke for about 30 minutes. And at the end of that conversation, I knew it was time to come home. He is the reason that I’m back right now.”

McIntyre then discussed his pairing with Dolph Ziggler on RAW. The former Intercontinental Champion noted he was happy with the pairing but only found out about it on the day he made his main roster return:

“I love it.” McIntyre remembered, “I got told about it when I got to TV that day. I didn’t quite know what was going on. I was a single’s babyface when I was NXT Champion there. And when I came back, I was leaning more towards the heel side with Dolph and Dolph’s somebody I go way back with and I was really looking forward to work with him.”

A lot of fans have been impressed with McIntyre since making his main roster return, and already want to see him on the main event scene as a singles competitor. McIntyre has heard these remarks, but urges fans to be patient and enjoy the storyline that is being presented right now:

“The way things have gone so far, people are asking a lot of questions.” McIntyre professed, “I know a lot of people are jumping way ahead and I appreciate all the positive things people are saying, but just remember there are 52 weeks of TV a year. Let’s just take our time and introduce the casual audience to who Drew McIntyre is now. We’re going to get there and it’s going to be a fun journey.”

As far as who he’d like to work with when he does go solo; McIntyre lists names such as Braun Strowman, Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns:

“When Braun Strowman and I stepped into the ring together, I could literally feel the crowd rumble.” McIntyre explained, “and I’m just back and I still have some equity to build with those casual fans, but just from a visual perspective, I could feel them rumbling, and I was like, ‘wow, this could be something really good down the line.’

“And Roman, he works his butt off. That’s another guy I’m looking forward to getting in the ring with. Rollins is killing it every single week. When we get the opportunity, we’re going to tear the roof off. And that’s just a few obvious names of guys that are working their butt off and I’m looking forward to working with.”

You can listen to McIntyre’s interview on The Ross Report by clicking this link here.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

As we’ve noted, current WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar has broken CM Punk’s 434 day World Title reign and is now the longest reigning World Champion in the history of the modern era of WWE.

Punk set that record with the WWE Championship, while Lesnar broke it with the Universal Championship. Since winning the Universal Title from Goldberg at WrestleMania 33 last year, Lesnar has only defended the Universal Championship 10 times (including live events).

According to reddit user cheikhyourselfm8, at this rate Lesnar is going to take 16 years and 9 months to match Punk’s amount of title defenses during his record-setting reign as WWE Champion. This really puts into perspective just how little Lesnar has been defending the Universal Title since winning it.

While Lesnar may now be the longest reigning World Champion of the modern era in WWE, there’s no way he can match the true all-time record. That record is held by late WWE Hall Of Famer Bruno Sammartino – who held the WWE Title for eight years from 1963 until 1971. That’s a reign of 2,803 days and a record that will likely never be broken.

WWE Superstar Samoa Joe was interviewed by Memphis NBC affiliate, WMC Action News 5, to promote tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live in Memphis. Joe first discussed how huge the culture of professional wrestling is in the Memphis area:

“I think Memphis is kind of, one of – wrestling is ingrained in the local culture here and you were just telling me here that we’re kind of sitting on hallowed ground this being the original studio where a lot of Memphis wrestling went down.

“And I think we like to come to towns like this, especially leading into bigger shows cause the crowds have a lot more energy. They’re very, very opinionated and usually makes for some wild TV.”

The Destroyer was then asked what fans can expect from tonight’s episode of SmackDown Live, the final show before Money In The Bank (MITB) this Sunday:

“I’m definitely beating somebody up tonight, so that’s probably the highlight of the evening, but aside from that, tonight, like I said, it’s going to be a night of statements. You’re going to see a lot of people making some big moves tonight and I know I definitely will, so it’ll be pretty fun.”

Joe was then asked about being a professional wrestler in the WWE, as opposed to everywhere else he has worked in his career:

“I’ve been fortunate enough to work for every major company in our industry, in the world. WWE just kind of being my latest. Obviously when you come to WWE the level of spectacle and production in what we do is far and above anywhere else I worked so it’s kind of cool to be apart of the big show now. Obviously I’ve had a fantastic career leading up to this point so I’m kind of in the bonus.”

Finally, the former NXT Champion again put over Memphis’ rich history in professional wrestling:

“I think in general when you talk about great wrestling towns in the history of the world I think Memphis kind of shoots up there into the top three if not the top two. And obviously there’s been so much that has gone on here, so many kinds of epic encounters when it comes to our industry and tonight we look to extend that tradition and keep it going.”

Joe also ended the interview by putting one of the news production team members in the Coquina Clutch. Check that out here:

WWE's @SamoaJoe stopped by the #WMC5 studio to show off his signature Coquina Clutch on our poor digital producer. Check out his full interview (including where he says his favorite Memphis BBQ spot is) here>>https://t.co/oolwzw8wji pic.twitter.com/frXBLmhUJ4

— Action News 5 (@WMCActionNews5) June 12, 2018

H/T WrestleZone for the transcriptions