Tonight (Tues. May 15, 2018) former NXT Champion Andrade “Cien” Almas will make his main roster debut on SmackDown Live. Almas’ manager, Zelina Vega, took to Twitter and noted she has Almas “focused and ready” for his debut tonight:
Former RAW Tag Team Champion, and son of WWE referee John Cone, Nicholas has been uploading WWE-related videos on YouTube.
He first created the channel a few years ago for video gaming, but now he has been posting WWE-related content including showing off his WWE t-shirt and looking at some wrestling figures he has. Check it out here:
Nicholas was selected as Braun Strowman’s WrestleMania 34 tag team partner out of the audience. They took on The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro) for the RAW Tag Team Championships and wound up winning the titles.
The following night on RAW, Nicholas and Strowman relinquished the titles due to a scheduling conflict with Nicholas (he’s still in school).
Last night’s RAW dark match featured a Six-Man Tag Team match between the teams of Bobby Lashley, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins against Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Elias.
After the match was over, Elias came out to the ring and got the opportunity to sing to the crowd. You can check out the video here below:
Michael Cole has been teasing Matt Hardy and his “Woken” persona for quite some time on WWE TV. Hardy has been also been teasing taking action against the RAW commentator for his comments recently. It seems that there are already “plans in motion” for that to happen very soon.
Reby Hardy recently took to Twitter to respond to a fan’s question on Twitter, asking when the “OBSOLETE MULE” Cole would finally be silenced. Here’s what she had to say:
As we’ve noted, Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks’ self-funded “All In” event sold out in less than 30 minutes. The event goes down on September 1st from the Sears Centre Arena in Chicago, Illinois.
According to a report from Bodyslam.net, WWE’s reaction to the “All In” event selling out is – nothing. Apparently the WWE is not at all concerned or conversing about “All In.” The biggest topics of conversation backstage in WWE right now includes the Greatest Royal Rumble event, WWE’s stock price, and the current European tour.
The report also suggest that some people actually laugh at The Bullet Club because they sell a lot of t-shirts, but they wrestle in front of small crowds. Of course, “All In” will seat 10,000 fans – and the event sold out.
Discussion: What do you make of WWE not reacting to “All In” backstage? Do you think they’re simply no-selling the news? And how do you feel about those backstage mocking The Bullet Club?
Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn have the kind of on-screen relationship that will have them involved in each other’s careers for the foreseeable future.
The pair were good friends on WWE NXT, until Zayn won the Championship and was betrayed by Owens. Once both men found themselves on the main roster they had some classic battles inside the ring and continued their rivalry.
Now, Zayn and Owens are friends again and are currently on Monday Night RAW together. There have been hints recently that the duo could turn on each other again very soon. Per a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, that will indeed happen.
WWE seems to be taking a slow-burn approach with these two, but they will inevitably feud with one another down the road again. If it’s dragged out long enough, perhaps this could lead to a singles match between Owens and Zayn at WrestleMania 35 next year in New Jersey.
Discussion: How do you feel about WWE having Owens and Zayn feud over a long period of time? Would you like to see them have a singles match at WrestleMania?
WWE Superstar Becky Lynch was recently a guest on former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia’s podcast, Chasing Glory, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. During the interview, Lynch discussed her close friendship with former SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair:
“It’s awesome. You know when you are traveling, you are traveling with somebody who has the same schedule and likes doing the same things. Goes to the same gym, eats at the same food places and things like that,” Lynch said.
“That is one thing that makes the traveling more convenient, but also someone you can vent to all the time, or stay up with. It just makes the road life that much easier.”
Lynch then discussed her year in WWE in 2017. Although she enjoyed some of the opportunities she had outside the ring, as well as being a part of the first-ever Women’s Money In The Bank (MITB) Ladder match, 2017 wasn’t her best year:
“I mean, this year has been a mixed bag because I did a lot of great things,” she said. “I achieved a lot of the goals I had set out for myself. I moved to Los Angeles, California, which I love. I got to be the lead female in Marine 6.
“I did some stuff with Nickelodeon, and of course we got to do the first and second ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. We’ve had the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble and Women’s WrestleMania Battle Royal, so there’s some great points there.
“Being somebody who is ambitious and complacent,” she continued, “I know I won’t look at 2017 as my most successful year.
“I wasn’t on television and featured in storylines as much as I would like to be, but of course that sets you up for the following year where we say to ourselves, ‘Okay, that may not be what I wanted, but how can we kick down the door and makes sure that 2018 is going to be better and bigger?'”
You can listen to Lynch’s full interview on Chasing Glory by clicking this link here.
It seems that one member of the WWE’s NXT roster has suffered a significant injury, and will need to take a lengthy period of time off.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio reports that NXT star Riddick Moss has suffered a torn achilles tendon and could be out of action for up to eight months. It’s currently not known when or where he suffered the injury, however, he was at last week’s NXT tapings on crutches.
Moss just did a segment in which he and his tag team partner, Tino Sabatelli, split up. Interestingly enough, Sabatelli recently underwent surgery for a torn pec and will also be out-of-action for eight months.
Riddick signed with WWE back in 2014 and debuted in December later that year on a NXT live event. He started to team up with Sabatelli in October of 2016 and split after their loss to Heavy Machinery. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more….
WWE UK Champion Pete Dunne recently did an interview with SPORTbible to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Dunne first discussed what WWE Superstars he’d like to work with inside the ring, to which he named current Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan:
“There’s so many people I’d love to work with like Seth Rollins and Daniel Bryan coming back now – there’s a huge list of people but honestly right now my priority is making this UK show a success.
“If we can be the first sort of territory being established, almost being the guinea pig and making it work, it will do absolute wonders for the wrestling scene in general. That’s my responsibility and focus for now and then down the line I’d love the chance to work with people Rollins, Bryan, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn.”
Dunne also says that he hopes some new faces get a shot in the WWE UK Tournament:
“I urge people to go and watch PROGRESS, ICW and places like that and they’ll see the depth of talent themselves. There’s a few people like Zack Gibson, Flash Morgan Webster, Chris Brookes (CCK) and Travis Banks – all these guys are based in the UK that are killing it all over the country three, four or five times a week.
“It would be great seeing some of them get a shot on this one. And if not, it’s good to see how it’s developing – how you can start off on the smaller shows, get yourself on places like PROGRESS and this stuff [WWE] seems achievable now. There’s a clear pathway that wasn’t there seven years ago.”
As the WWE’s UK Champion, Dunne has the heavy responsibility of representing UK wrestlers. He discussed the pressure behind representing competitors from his homeland:
“I obviously feel proud of what I’ve done and the fact I’ve brought it this far. Being in a position to get the most exposure and being on NXT and stuff, it is a responsibility – I don’t feel pressure as such but there is that responsibility there to make sure I’m not just representing myself right, but the UK brand in general.
“But there’s still that collective effort. It was the same when Tyler was holding the title – the same mentality that we want to kill it and put on the best shows possible. We want to make it hard for NXT shows to match it, that was the outlook in Blackpool and hopefully that’ll be the same again at the Royal Albert Hall.”
You can read Dunne’s full interview with SPORTbible by clicking this link here.
Former ECW and WWE Superstar Taz recently took to his radio show, The Taz Show, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. One such topic was who he believes is the most underrated talent on WWE’s roster. Taz didn’t hesitate to name Apollo Crews as the man he thinks has potential to be a big star:
“[Apollo] is for sure just a stud in the ring,” said Taz. “Just a straight stud in the ring, and I really feel like he is underutilized for sure. So he, for me, would be my main guy currently.
“Now I know his promo work is not amazing, also all of that needs to be a part of the package. Your promo work, your look, your in-ring work and all that jazz. So, all of that stuff obviously is vital. He probably doesn’t have the promo stuff down too good.”
In addition to Crews; Taz also names Zack Ryder, Becky Lynch, and Pete Dunne. He also noted that fans should keep their eyes on NXT’s Velveteen Dream.
Discussion: Do you agree with Taz’s assessment of Crews? And who else do you think is being underutilized by the company right now?
You can listen to The Taz Show by clicking this link here.
Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Drew McIntyre is back with the WWE, and after a brief stint as NXT Champion, he was called up to the main roster as part of a tag team with Dolph Ziggler.
He recently did an interview with WWE’s website to talk about his return to the Monday Night RAW locker room. McIntyre opened up about how different the locker room is since his last stint with WWE from 2007 to 2014:
“I remember thinking, ‘Man, people are so relaxed now,’ acting like it’s not live Raw. There’s no tension in the air. Everyone is just getting along like we’re at band camp.
“There are Superstars that deserve to be at the top and do give everything. But unfortunately, a vast majority wouldn’t have survived 11 years ago when I got signed. Those who ask themselves, ‘Is he talking about me?’ Positive or negative, the answer is probably yes.”
You can read McIntyre’s full Q&A with WWE by clicking this link here.
Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville’s wife, Natalie Satterley, recently took to Instagram to indicate that the couple has moved from Florida and returned to their native U.K.
Dave Meltzer did in fact note in the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Newsletter that Neville has moved back to the U.K., meaning a return to WWE his highly unlikely at this point. Here’s what Satterley posted on her account:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf-wFtKh9UA/
Neville hasn’t been with WWE since last October when he grew frustrated with his place in the company. He was originally scheduled to be defeated by then-Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore on RAW, but decided to leave the company after learning of the finish.
Instead, Amore wound up losing the title to Kalisto. Neville has been lobbying for his release from WWE since walking out but has been unsuccessful thus far. He is currently still under WWE contract and his deal is frozen at the moment.
It’s unknown if he’s still being paid since his contract is frozen, but Dave Meltzer speculates that he likely isn’t. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more…
Tonight (Mon. May 12, 2018) WWE Monday Night RAW is going down from the O2 Arena in London, England. There are some Money In The Bank (MITB) Ladder match qualifying matches set to go down, in addition to Roman Reigns confronting Jinder Mahal.
It looks like, however, RAW could be missing one of its title-holders tonight. RAW Women’s Champion Nia Jax was sent home early from the WWE’s European Tour, sparking some speculation that she could be hurt.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio reports that Jax is fine and instead has some media obligations she needed to attend to in New York. Of course, that turned out to be true, as Jax is in New York for the NBCUniversal Upfronts.
Former WCW President Eric Bischoff recently made an appearance on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Bischoff first discussed how he believes his creation of the nWo changed the perception of wrestling in the 90s:
“Context is always king with me. When I was running hard my life was really my office, the inside of a plane, a hotel room, an arena, very little time at home and start that all over again week in and week out.
“I don’t want to say I was living in a bubble so I wasn’t really on the street a lot so lets put it that way and had any contact with unless I was on an airplane or checking into a hotel where people that I was working with or who were people in the arena.
“But when it really hit me was one year when I was over in Japan (must have been 96/97) for one of the big Japanese New Year’s Eve shows and I looked around the arena and there was like hundreds and seemed like a thousand nWo shirts inside the arena and we didn’t even sell them there. So it was like WOW! That is pretty bad-ass.”
In regards to New Japan Pro Wrestling’s (NJPW) Bullet Club, Bischoff explains whether or not he believes they’re ripping off the nWo:
“I don’t look at it as a rip-off honestly. I think it has roots in the nWo and I don’t think that can be denied and I don’t think they are trying to deny it but I think it is more than an homage and I think it is more an extension but certainly its roots creatively speaking are in the nWo. But rip-off to me is something negative and disparaging and I think the Bullet Club is cool.”
While they may not be a ripoff of nWo, Bullet Club has adopted the nWo’s Too Sweet gesture. Bischoff offered his thoughts on the matter and the history of the gesture:
“I’d like to know the first time you saw that too sweet sign on a regular basis? I know they (Hall and Nash) probably did it once or twice as code and like sign language to each other back in The Kliq days as they were breaking but that sign and throwing that sign of too sweet was all apart of the nWo.
“It became something that DX did and now its become something that the Bullet Club is doing but again, I think that the reason the nWo worked and to a degree that DX worked and the reason that the Bullet Club is working is because of the chemistry. If you took a bunch of guys that didn’t have the right vibe and didn’t have it or couldn’t deliver in the ring and just didn’t have that really unique attitude and they were doing the same things that the Bullet Club is now doing would not work.”
As we’ve previously reported, New Day member Xavier Woods suffered an injury when he got a hole in his tongue from his match with Cesaro on SmackDown Live earlier this week. Woods took to Instagram to update fans on his status, revealing he had one hole in his tongue and two partial holes:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BikCQC7B-09/
NXT Star Gets New Finisher (Video)
NXT recently held tapings for their next several weeks of programming at Full Sail University on May 9th and 10th. In one of those matches, Bianca Belair defeated Aliyah using a brand new finisher.
A fan posted a video from the tapings featuring the new finisher on Twitter, which you can check out here:
SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Carmella recently did a Q&A for WWE’s website to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Here are just some of the highlights:
The SmackDown LIVE after WrestleMania, you cashed in on Charlotte Flair. What made that the right moment?
At WrestleMania, there’s so many big moments, and I didn’t want it to get lost. I wanted everyone to be talking about it. The SmackDown after was the perfect opportunity. Charlotte did the impossible and broke Asuka’s streak. The WrestleMania Week crowd is such a special vibe. Plus, my parents and family were there. I wanted them to see it. It was perfect.
Once the referee counts three and you have the SmackDown Women’s Championship in your hands, what’s going through your mind?
“All of the hard work that I’ve put in over the last few years. Everything came full circle. I thought about being the last draft pick, not debuting with Cass & Enzo on the Raw after WrestleMania. I thought about everyone doubting me, telling me I’ll never be champion, that I’m just a hype girl. I thought about all of that and … the feeling I had was indescribable.
“I love proving people wrong. I love doing things that people say I can’t do. I started my journey in NXT four years ago, and now I’m champion. People can complain and say whatever they want, but I’m still the champion. I did it. I’ll never forget that feeling.”
You’ve still been dealing with your fair share of detractors on social media lately, including those who think your title win is tainted because of The IIconics’ attack on Charlotte. Ultimately, what do you have to say to those who think you don’t deserve to be where you are today?
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks I deserve. I don’t deserve anything; I earn it. I worked hard and put in the effort. People say that I went off what The IIconics did, but that’s what every single Money in the Bank holder did — wait for the perfect opportunity.
“You don’t just wait for the champion to be up and then have a normal title opportunity. You have to be sneaky. You have to do it in the way that guarantees a title win. I didn’t want to cash in and lose it. At the end of the day, I don’t care what anyone says because I did everything the way I wanted to do it, and I won.”
You can read Carmella’s full Q&A for WWE by clicking this link here.
Current Lucha Underground star and former WWE star Ivelisse recently did an interview with Chris Van Vliet of WSVN-TV to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Ivelisse previously worked from WWE between the years of 2011 to 2012 as a developmental talent.
Ivelisse first discussed what it was like to get released just before the Women’s Revolution had began to pick up steam:
“It’s kind of bittersweet that that’s what I was trying to fight for when I was in WWE. I did it at the wrong time I suppose, just a little bit before it was time to do that. At that time Bill DeMott was the person that was there and he was kind of a big obstacle for what my goal was there, so right before this women’s evolution.
“Right after I was released when was Sara Del Rey was signed which pretty much signified an actual change coming. That was very bitter. I probably could have held on a little bit longer and maybe it would have been different, but that’s life and we’ll see what the future holds.”
In regards to her firing, Ivelisse divulged that her standing up to Bill DeMott eventually led to her firing:
“It’s kind of bittersweet that that’s what I was trying to fight for when I was in WWE. I did it at the wrong time I suppose, just a little bit before it was time to do that. At that time Bill DeMott was the person that was there and he was kind of a big obstacle for what my goal was there, so right before this women’s evolution.
“Right after I was released when was Sara Del Rey was signed which pretty much signified an actual change coming. That was very bitter. I probably could have held on a little bit longer and maybe it would have been different, but that’s life and we’ll see what the future holds.”
Yesterday morning former WWE Champion JBL Tweeted out a gif of himself clotheslining Billy Gunn, joking that he hurt his arm because Gunn ran so hard into him. SmackDown Live writer Road Dogg responded and said he himself ran into JBL’s clothesline hard twice in one match once.
JBL responded by telling Road Dogg that he and Gunn should’ve learned to work better. Road Dogg jokingly responded by saying he still hears that same complaint today, only people now spell “work” as “w.r.i.t.e.” A podcast’s Twitter account attempted to troll Road Dogg with a response, but JBL was quick to jump to his old friend’s aid:
I noticed a lot of people ran really hard into your arm on this move. 1 time I did it twice in one match so hard that It knocked me out each time. Do you remember that? I don’t!!
Ironically enough that tweet is the most well written piece you’ve produced in years… pic.twitter.com/uIJ06GsgUY
— The Alleged Wrestling Podcast (@TheAWPod) May 11, 2018
Actually @WWERoadDogg is one of most creative minds I have ever come across and I do have just a little experience in the business, I believe he does an awesome job. Writing a global tv show 52 weeks per year is incredibly tough, bashing it on a podcast is not. https://t.co/iUQeWmmPqY
Coming up with fresh ways to bash it 52 weeks per year can be tough too! All joking aside, we prefer not to bash; we hype what we enjoy, and also criticize what we didn't enjoy, but in a constructive way (most of the time). It's essentially a discussion about the sport we love
— The Alleged Wrestling Podcast (@TheAWPod) May 11, 2018
Carmella Responds To Meltzer’s One Star Rating
Many of you may know that F4WOnline’s Dave Meltzer has a famous five star rating system in which he grades professional wrestling matches. Recently, Meltzer rated Carmella’s SmackDown Live Women’s Title match against Charlotte Flair at Backlash with one star.
A fan asked Carmella how she felt about Meltzer’s rating, and she responded by acting like she didn’t know who he is:
New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Kenny Omega recently did an interview with Tokyo Sports to talk about several professional wrestling topics. The Cleaner first discussed his upcoming match-up against Kazuchika Okada at NJPW Dominion. It will be the fourth match between the pair.
Omega talked about the history he has with Okada and the amazing matches they’ve put on with one another:
“In a normal match [Wrestle Kingdom 11], Okada won. In a match, where we both prepared to perfection (last year’s Dominion), it was a draw. In a match where we were both broken down and beaten up, I won.”
In regards to how he thinks he and Okada’s rivalry should be put to bed, he’d like to see a Three Fall match to cap things off:
“A three fall match is the best possible way, the fairest way for us to match stamina, technique and strength.”
You can read Omega’s full interview with Tokyo Sports by clicking this link here.
WWE again aired a “coming soon” promo for SAnitY’s upcoming debut on SmackDown Live. Alexander Wolfe and Killian Dain took to Twitter and noted they want to “purge” Tuesday nights:
Former WWE Superstar Darren Young has uploaded a new vlog on his YouTube channel, including footage from a recent convention appearance. Young, real name Fred Rosser, is now going by the name “Mr. No Days Off” on the independent circuit:
Current Impact X Division Champion Matt Sydal recently did an interview with Wrestling Epicenter to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Sydal discussed the most recent IMPACT tapings that took place in Orlando, Florida, and the positive response they received:
“Well, all I can tell you about those tapings are these were the tapings where I was most heavily involved. I was integral to these tapings and I really felt like I was able to get what I’ve been trying to say across. As the weeks go on, I think people will be able to enjoy our product, they’ll be able to log on, they can watch on POP! I always stand behind the things that I do.
“I don’t listen to those who downplay things nor do I pay attention to those who grovel at our feet and tell us that we’re the greatest. For me, that is just noise. I’m out there to produce the best content – The most creative content I can do and express myself through wrestling. If you watch what happened at these tapings, if you’re a fan of wrestling, you’ve got something to watch!
“I don’t know how much time you have got in your week to watch wrestling – Quite frankly, you’d be better off walking around a park with your phone not in your hand. But, when you’re done with that, come inside and watch Impact.”
Sydal also noted that the atmosphere backstage changed for these most recent set of tapings:
“One different thing that I can tell you about backstage was, there were a lot of monitor sell outs this taping. People really wanted to see what was happening in the ring. The production is coming together, the production looks great. Impact is just always improving at all angles.
“There is a lot of creativity and thought that goes into everything. I’m happy to be a part of it as we move forward. And, I’m happy to move things in the wild direction! I am able to move things and steer things into a direction I’ve wanted to for my whole career.”
He also compared his runs with WWE, Ring Of Honor (ROH), and his current run with IMPACT Wrestling:
“That’s the thing. I always love the locker rooms that I end up in. There is so much great talent. [In WWE] I had so many awesome matches with the Usos, Primo and Epico, me and Kofi tore it up for years. I’ve wrestled Chavo. I’ve wrestled Jericho! I had so many awesome matches there. In Ring of Honor, I had such awesome matches with Christopher Daniels and AJ Styles both before and after my turn with WWE.
“I mean, working with Will Ospreay before he broke out of England, working with him in Japan. Marty [Scurl], The [Young] Bucks! I’ve just been forever super lucky. So, in this Impact locker room, we’ve got some insane talent. Guys you need to keep your eye on are Desmond Xavier and Zach Wentz, the oVe guys are killing it.
“LAX and oVe had this insane feud! Brian Cage, Austin Aries, John Morrison [Impact] is returning from a secret location that may not be disclosed. … All you can do is keep swinging for the fences. Whether it is good or bad, it all comes from a good place. I’m glad Josh [Mathews] thought these tapings were good. Clearly his spiritual path is right and he’s got his third eye open. I expect everybody else to do the same.”
Former WWE Divas Champion and current SmackDown Live General Manager Paige recently did an interview on Edge and Christian’s podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness, to talk about her in-ring career coming to an end and her new role in WWE. Paige was forced to retire after suffering an injury at a live event in January.
She injured her neck just months after returning from a long layoff following multiple neck surgeries. Paige believes she pushed her body too much too soon, and it finally caught up with her:
“I honestly felt really confident about it, but that’s the inner-wrestler stubbornness. You know how we are; we can be fine, and all believe we are unbreakable. Just coming back and it kind of humbled me a little bit,” Paige said.
“I thought I was fine, and perhaps earn a championship match, but I did come back with the confidence that this was going to be fine, but I kind of felt that in a single’s match where something didn’t feel right as it was before.
“I had to go down to the Performance Center and take bumps by moving my neck somewhere and kicking out of a finish and moving my head to the side because it couldn’t be the same. I had to adjust in a lot of ways.”
Paige then recalled the moment she suffered the injury and called it the scariest moment of her life. She also said she feared she would end up in a wheelchair:
“I felt it in a single’s match where I realized that something didn’t feel too good, but I thought that it was fine, I’m just rusty. I’m doing a 25 minute match, and I thought, ‘Okay, this is going to be fine,’ but then when the accident happened and I lost all feeling in my legs and arms, it was the most terrifying experience in my life, and I never wish that upon anyone. It was so scary,” Paige said.
“I literally was done, and I thought I was going to be in a wheelchair. I had pushed myself too much. I really did. Every time I was in a match I was like, okay, I will take the bumps, I pushed myself too hard where my body was literally done. I have been doing this since I was 17, it’s like, I need to let my body grow a little bit.”
Her injury came at a time where women’s wrestling in WWE was on the rise, however, that doesn’t erase the amazing accomplishments Paige has already achieved in her legendary career:
“I am really, really proud. I definitely filled in a lot of stuff after my small career in WWE. I have been with WWE for over 6 years now, and I had that year and a half out which wasn’t the best year of my life, but missions were accomplished after I came back,” she said.
“I even had a couple months to accomplish a little bit more, and getting to commentate the all-female Royal Rumble, it was great. It’s not ending like I haven’t done anything with my career. I actually have a couple of trophies that I have to display under my belt as well.”
You can listen to Paige’s interview on E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness by clicking this link here.
H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions
Posted May 10th, 2018 in WWE, News. Tagged: Paige.
Batista Improvised A Hilarious Line In Avengers: Infinity War
Yahoo recently did an interview with two screenwriters from Avengers: Infinity War, and they shared a very interesting story about how former WWE Champion Batista improvised one of the more hilarious lines of the film:
“Then there’s Dave Bautista, the giant of a man behind Drax, who is quickly emerging as one of the funniest Avengers/Guardians, thanks to laugh-landing lines like, “Why is Gamora?,” which perfectly breaks the tension during a heated standoff between Iron Man and Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) on Titan.
““The script only said, ‘Where is Gamora?’ ‘I’ll do you even better: Who is Gamora?’ And then one day Bautista just goes, ‘I’ll do you one better: Why is Gamora?’” Markus recalled. “It’s like, ‘OK, you’re very good at your job.’””
The Miz Taunts Daniel Bryan
The Miz continues to tease Daniel Bryan now that they’re both on the same brand on SmackDown Live. He Tweeted out the following after Bryan lost his Money In The Bank Ladder Match qualifying bout to Rusev:
We now know who produced a few of the matches from this week’s episode of SmackDown Live. Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful is reporting that Charlotte Flair and Carmella’s match was produced by Sarah Stock – better known as Sarita during her time in TNA.
Tyson Kidd reportedly produced the match between Mandy Rose and Becky Lynch. Cesaro and Xavier Woods’ match was produced by Arn Anderson. The Miz vs Jeff Hardy was produced by Dean Malenko.
Michael “P.S” Hayes produced the main event between Rusev and Daniel Bryan, which was a Money In The Bank Ladder Match qualifying match.
Discussion: Which match did you enjoy the most from this week’s episode of SmackDown Live? And which producer’s matches have you been enjoying the most in the past few months?
WWE continues to swoop up the best talent in the world and bring them to their Performance Center in Orlando before grooming them on NXT. Some fans have said that WWE is killing independent wrestling by signing some of the best talent on the indies and locking them up.
In a recent interview with Pop Culture, SmackDown Live Superstar Samoa Joe addressed this notion. Joe had a rather interesting take on the issue. Here’s what he had to say:
“Hey, you know whose fault it is, that your favorite wrestler got bought out? The company he was working for, cause they were too cheap to pay him what he was worth. So he should get paid what he’s worth, and if WWE comes and pays him what he’s worth, that’s on your sorry ass. Get the money right. And start paying these dudes.
“There are too many crazy talented dudes out there that aren’t getting paid, and if you have a problem with WWE making those dudes rich, you can kiss my ass, cause those dudes deserve to be rich, cause they’re talented as hell. It’s funny because people are like, ‘oh, well that’s kind of messed up,’ No. No. That’s how you win.
“That’s why they’re the number one company in the world. You go out there and you get the best dudes. You don’t get mad at a tiger for being a tiger.”
You can read Joe’s full interview with Pop Culture by clicking this link here.
As we’ve noted, it seemed that Alexa Bliss suffered an injury during her Backlash pay-per-view (PPV) match against Nia Jax for the RAW Women’s Title.
It seems like the injury was either minor or a storyline because Little Miss Bliss is booked for WWE’s European Tour and competed at WWE’s live event in Bournemouth, GB last night.
Heath Slater Gets A New Tattoo For His Kids
Former Tag Team Champion Heath Slater recently got a huge tattoo on his left arm for his kids in North Carolina. Slater noted that the tattoo was dedicated to his daughters Remmy and Roz. Check it out here:
The new WrestleMania Fusion card for Peyton Royce on WWE Super Card is out, and it notes that the name of her finisher is “The Ugh.” Royce took to Twitter to react to the name, and you can check it out here:
Former Glamour Girl Judy Martin recently did an interview with Nigel Sherrod to discuss the allegations against former WWE Women’s Champion Fabulous Moolah. There was a ton of controversy surrounding WWE naming the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal after Moolah.
The name was changed and all ties to her were removed after an uproar from fans and WrestleMania’s key sponsor, Snickers. Martin first discussed how she believes Vince McMahon and the WWE should’ve handled the situation:
“Vince should have come out with a press conference and said, “Mars and Snickers, let’s get the fact straight, because here’s a woman that worked for us for so many years and I stand behind her…Let’s see where this came from and who started this mess.”
In regards to the pimping allegations on Moolah, Martin says that she has had members of her own family ask her if it’s true and she explains how much that hurts her:
“I’ve had cousins ask, “Judy did you really do that…about Moolah pimping you out?” Nobody knows how that hurts you that you worked for somebody that pimped you out so you could get where you did…
“I never talked about how much I loved wrestling. That was something that I really loved. I don’t mean to cry but when you get older, you get a little sentimental. I tried my best to be as good as I could and that really hurt.”
As for the fans who signed the petition to have the Rumble match disassociated with Moolah’s name, Martin said she’s not sure if the people who signed are real wrestling fans:
“You really said that she pimped us girls out. That never happened. The drugs, I’ve never done drugs. I was tested way back then and I guarantee the only thing they found on me was a cigarette. It hurts. It really hurts.
“I don’t know if you guys are really wrestling fans…but you damaged a lot of girls that worked in this business at that time. You need to get to know who you’re talking about before you go out and screw up people’s lives…I hope Vince will take it upon himself to correct this matter.”