Former professional wrestling tag team legend Bobby Fulton, of the Fantastics, was recently a guest on the Pancakes and Powerslams Show where he talked about several professional wrestling topics.

Fulton was promoting his upcoming World Classic Professional Big Time Wrestling show which is set to go down on May 26 in Circleville, Ohio, where he will be wrestling the final match of his 40-year career.

During his appearance, Fulton offered his thoughts on WWE’s current booking of Roman Reigns. Reigns is one of the more controversial characters in the business as he is received with a plethora of boos around the country, despite being pushed to the moon by WWE creative as one of the company’s top stars.

Fulton divulged that if Reigns were working in the old territory days of professional wrestling, he would’ve already been fired:

“I’ma tell you right now. If Roman Reigns was wrestling back in the day, they would have fired him already,” Fulton said. “Because he can’t get the job done if they hired him as a babyface. Jerry Lawler told me one time when I was breaking in the business, I was going out to the ring and was wrestling underneath – and underneath means that you’re at the bottom of the rung – and it got to the point where the people knew I was gonna lose when I walked to the ring and I was working in Memphis.

“I said, ‘man, the people are booing me when I walk to the ring!’ [Lawler] said, ‘well, maybe it’s time for you to go. You’re here as a babyface.’ And, like I said, if Roman Reigns was wrestling back in the day, and I mean I give all props to his family and where he comes from and who he is. But as far as getting the job done as a professional wrestler, even as a sports entertainer, he’s not getting it done because he is not able to make that connection with the people.

“The people just aren’t buying him. He needs to become a heel and just forget about it if Vince is gonna keep him hired. But if they’re gonna keep doing what they’re doing, then they need to turn him heel or get rid of him because he’s not gonna be an asset to the company and whoever he beats he’s gonna make them more popular just like Brock Lesnar. The more Brock Lesnar beat on him and bloodied him was the more the people got behind Brock.

“So, with that being said, if this would have been back in my day, Roman Reigns would either be a heel or be fired right now because he’s not getting the job done… Vince is trying to prove a point but he can’t prove it because it just ain’t gonna happen.”

You can listen to Fulton’s full interview on the Pancakes and Powerslams Show by clicking this link here.

Former WWE official Bruce Prichard recently dedicated an episode of his podcast, Something To Wrestle, to overlooking the WWE career of former WWE Champion Rob Van Dam. Prichard first discussed that RVD made his WWE TV debut back in 1987 as a fan:

“Rob told me, when I first met him. He said, “You know I was one of those people that came out of the audience and did one of Ted Dibiase’s ‘Will you do this for money’ deal,” Prichard explained.

“He actually did the ‘Kiss My Feet’ thing with Ted Dibiase where he got paid to kiss his feet. We actually went back and found the footage and it was Rob Szatkowski, so I thought that was really cool. He was a mega fan.”

Prichard also revealed that after seeing Van Dam get his start in WCW he seriously considered bringing him in to WWE:

“The first time I saw Rob Van Dam was actually with Dory Funk Jr, long before he was in ECW. Right about the time he was going to WCW. Rob Van Dam does the ‘Van Dam Deadlift’ where he takes two chairs and does the splits and then he lifts a barbell in between,” Prichard said.

“Extremely difficult to do and extremely impressive when someone does it. He had a unique look and had a different style, so watching Rob from day one thought that he was special and thought someone that can come to WWE and have a big niche following.”

RVD got his start with WWE in 2001 as a member of the Invasion storyline. Prichard said that he became a fan of RVD’s during this storyline when he saw his interactions with WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin – as he believes the ECW legend has great chemistry with the Texan:

“The Alliance stuff with Steve Austin and Rob Van Dam, to me, that was where I fell in love with RVD because I really didn’t know him that well, except superficially, but when we were doing stuff with Steve Austin and Steve was doing stuff with his watch and doing the ‘What?’ chant and looking at his watch, we’re shooting and I am telling Rob to act natural, react and just go with it because I wasn’t a big fan of scripts, so I would let the guys freestyle at times, and if it would work we would go with it,” Prichard said.

“So, Steve is putting his watch in his ear and RVD takes the watch and puts the watch up to his ear asking what it is he was listening to. It was real, and it was something that everybody wanted to do but they’re looking for a script, but I told Rob to just freestyle with it and it was good.

“Steve and Rob had a chemistry in the backstage vignettes where we thought that there may be something there. It was just good chemistry.”

You can listen to Bruce Prichard’s comments on Something To Wrestle by clicking this link here.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Seth Rollins On His Historic Intercontinental Title Feat

WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins recently took to Twitter to comment on himself completing a historic feat as Intercontinental Champ. Rollins noted that he was getting set to defend his title on a fourth continent in three weeks.

That doesn’t seem to be enough for The Architect, however, as he followed up by saying he wants even more:

Tonight I defend the IC Title on its 4th continent in 3 weeks. This is what we live for. #wwebournemouth #fightingchampion

— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) May 9, 2018

But I want the whole damn thing.

— Seth Rollins (@WWERollins) May 9, 2018

Big Cass Takes Credit For Rusev’s SDL Win Over Daniel Bryan

On last night’s episode of SmackDown Live, Rusev defeated Daniel Bryan to qualify for the Money In The Bank Ladder Match in several weeks. Cass was not used on the show last night, but did do a post-show interview for WWE’s YouTube Channel to discuss his rival Bryan’s loss.

Cass took credit for Rusev defeating Bryan because of his assault on the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion after their match at Backlash. Check out what he had to say here:

Sonya Deville Threatens Paige

On SmackDown Live last night, General Manager Paige barred Sonya Deville from ringside for Mandy Rose’s match against Becky Lynch. Deville revolted on Instagram by posting a picture of herself and Rose, asking who the hell Paige thinks she is for barring her from ringside.

Deville also warned “this isn’t over”:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiifmuDguf5/?utm_source=ig_embed

Paige got to respond perfectly by saying “I’m your boss that’s who I am.”:

https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/994038238024224774?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mandatory.com%2Fwrestlezone%2Fnews%2F952781-sonya-deville-calls-out-paige-smackdown-gm-responds

Tommaso Ciampa Blocks WWE Network On Twitter

Yesterday was NXT star Tomasso Ciampa’s 33rd birthday, and WWE Network’s Twitter account wished him a Happy Birthday while also saying he has a “black heart” – a play on his nickname. Ciampa then responded by posting screenshots of himself blocking the WWE Network Twitter account. Check it out here:

Happy birthday to a Superstar with a black heart, @ProjectCiampa… #WWENetwork #NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/lmD4AJvX81

— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) May 8, 2018

https://twitter.com/ProjectCiampa/status/993955811750764545?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mandatory.com%2Fwrestlezone%2Fnews%2F952803-tommaso-ciampa-turns-heel-on-the-wwe-networks-twitter-account-nia-jax-visits-stone-henge

MVP On Possibly Turning Bobby Lashley Heel

Former ECW Champion Bobby Lashley is back in the WWE fold but it doesn’t seem like his return has garnered as much attention as the company would’ve liked. Lashley seems to have formed an alliance of sorts with Braun Strowman as they recently took out Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn together at Backlash.

One fan on Twitter suggested that WWE turn Lashley heel as it would benefit his better in regards to a crowd reaction. The fan also noted that he’d like to see former United States Champion MVP return to be Lashley’s mouthpiece. MVP took to Twitter to respond to this possibility – simply replying with “intriguing”

Intriguing.
RT @FredRichani: I'm a big Bobby Lashley fan, but he was never a strong babyface. The TNA Lashley shined as an arrogant monster who knew he could beat you up and there would be nothing you could do about it. Turn him heel and hire @The305MVP to be his mouthpiece. #Raw

— MVP (@The305MVP) May 8, 2018

Interesting Jeff Hardy vs. The Miz Stat

Last night on SmackDown Live The Miz took on Jeff Hardy for a spot in the upcoming Money In The Bank Ladder Match. The Miz wound up winning the contest and qualifying for the bout.

WWE Stats & Info posted a very interesting fact about the pair on Twitter, revealing their match last night was only the second time ever they’d shared the ring together in one-on-one competition:

.@mikethemiz and @JEFFHARDYBRAND have only gone 1-on-1 twice in @WWE history:

– #Raw 9/4/2017 (#ICTitle Match): Miz won
– #SDLive Tonight (#MITB Qualifier): Miz won

With the win, The Miz is set to become the 12th Superstar to compete in four different #MITB Ladder Matches.

— Wrestling Stats & Info (@WWEStats) May 9, 2018

Vader Update

WWE and WCW Legend Vader revealed on Twitter that he recently underwent another heart surgery to repair an irregular heartbeat that put him at higher risk of heart attack or stroke. Vader noted the operation was a success:

Yesterday I had a surgery on my heart .My heart had shifted to an A-Fib irregular heart beat A person in a fib has substanily increased chance of Heart Attack &Stroke.The surgery was to put the HEART in normal sinus https://t.co/MQvHiGe0Rg was a success

— Big Van Vader (@itsvadertime) May 9, 2018

Last month former WWE NXT Champion Drew McIntyre was called up to the main roster as a member of Monday Night RAW. Interestingly enough, he made his debut alongside Dolph Ziggler – who moved over to Monday Nights from SmackDown Live – in a tag team.

McIntyre has been expected to be a big singles star upon his main roster call-up by fans, so seeing him paired with Ziggler was a very interesting choice by WWE creative. In regards to who has been calling these shots, PWInsider‘s Mike Johnson reports it has been all Vince McMahon.

Vince reportedly made the call to bring McIntyre up from NXT and it was also his call to pair him up with Ziggler.

McIntyre previously worked for WWE back in 2007 when he was signed to a developmental deal. He went on to win the Intercontinental Championship before having a major drop-off in his career, subsequently pairing up with Jinder Mahal and Heath Slater to form Three Man Band (3MB).

He was released from the company in 2014 and returned to the independent circuit. Following stints with EVOLVE, IMPACT, and many others – McIntyre signed back with WWE in April of 2017 and was sent to NXT.

Discussion: How do you like the pairing of McIntyre and Ziggler? And where do you think WWE is going with the team?

WWE COO Triple H recently did an interview with Sky Sports to talk about several professional wrestling topics. One such topic of discussion was the possibility of WWE hosting a WrestleMania in the United Kingdom. The U.K. has been clamoring for a WWE pay-per-view (PPV) for quite some time now, and a WrestleMania in their homeland would be absolutely massive.

The Game said “never say never” when it comes to the possibility of the WWE taking WrestleMania overseas:

“If you’re going to set an ambition, set it high. As we always say, never say never. WrestleMania is a week-long series of events and the logistics of executing that week along with the week leading into it and the week after it are extraordinarily difficult in our own back yard. Doing them internationally with international crews and international support systems and everything else is a factor of difficulty way beyond what we have in the US.

“Can we get there? Sure, maybe over time. We would take steps in that direction and those steps are probably other pay-per-views. From my point of view I’d like to bring other meaningful events through WWE, whether that’s NXT or the United Kingdom championships, taking international brands and putting them on in those markets.

“As the world becomes smaller and more technologically advanced, it becomes easier to do these things live from different places. From my end, that’s what I’m working towards.”

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

Sheamus Takes A Mid-Match Selfie

Last night on SmackDown Live Xavier Woods took on Cesaro with their respective teammates (Cesaro and The New Day) at ringside. At one point in the match Cesaro was working on Woods in the corner, and The Celtic Warrior took the opportunity to snap a funny selfie.

Woods’ face is in pain from Cesaro’s boot driving into the back of his neck, while Sheamus is all smiles. Check it out:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Biidd47AsEX/?utm_source=ig_embed

Ex-WWE and TNA star reacts to fans criticizing wrestling

Former WWE and TNA star Frankie Kazarian recently took to Twitter to offer some lengthy thoughts on some professional wrestling fans criticizing the sport. He also got into some constructive back-and-forth with fans as well. You can check it out here:

I liked it when people were fans. When nobody knew who the booker was. Or cared. Nobody asked “who wrote this segment?” Who was on the creative team was not even remotely a thought. Yes, everything evolves, which is positive. Along the way however, we’ve forgotten to just be fans

— ? Frankie Kazarian ? (@FrankieKazarian) May 8, 2018

Critique is great for art, but art is also subjective. My statement is true for many things I enjoy. Pro wrestling, heavy metal, movies, TV, etc etc etc

— ? Frankie Kazarian ? (@FrankieKazarian) May 8, 2018

I’m certainly not thin skinned. And definitely not telling anyone how to be a fan. Simply MY opinion and MY observation as BOTH a fan and a wrestler. My statement could be said about many forms of entertainment. Perhaps it’s more a commentary on modern pop culture.

— ? Frankie Kazarian ? (@FrankieKazarian) May 8, 2018

Wanting to know about someone behind the scenes, or something off field is great! Criticizing, negativity & complaining constantly seems counter productive to actually enjoying any type of programming. If I find myself doing this, (and I do) I usually just move along.

— ? Frankie Kazarian ? (@FrankieKazarian) May 8, 2018

Roman Reigns On Defeating Samoa Joe At Backlash

WWE posted an interview between Cathy Kelly and Roman Reigns, who describes the pride he feels over his win against Samoa Joe at Backlash. Reigns said that Joe had been saying a lot of things about him in recent weeks, and his victory solidifies that this is still his yard:

Cesaro On Watching Backlash From Home

Not all WWE Superstars were used on last night’s Backlash pay-per-view (PPV) event. While there were no Tag Team Title matches on the show, that meant that SmackDown Live’s team, The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro), didn’t have a spot on the card.

The Swiss Superman took to Twitter to comment on what it was like watching the event from home instead of performing:

Watching #WWEBacklash from home… doesn’t feel right #TheBar @WWESheamus

— Swiss (@ClaudioCSRO) May 7, 2018

Rusev On Bobby Roode Twerking During Rusev Day

A segment during last night’s Backlash event featured Elias being interrupted by the likes of The New Day, Rusev and Aiden English, No Way Jose, and Bobby Roode. In the end everyone (except Rusev and English) were dancing with Jose’s conga line – including Roode. Roode actually twerked a bit for the crowd.

Rusev took to Twitter to comment on The Glorious One’s twerking abilities:

Happy #RusevDay Backlash ! Bob Roode twerking like a skunk was terrible

— Miro (@ToBeMiro) May 7, 2018

Carmella Goes Off On Backlash Performance Critics

Last night SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Carmella successfully retained her title against Charlotte Flair during the Backlash pay-per-view (PPV). There were a few sloppy spots during the match that fans called The Princess Of Statin Island out for on Twitter.

Carmella decided to respond to some of these comments on Twitter; ranging from people telling her she has no in-ring talent, to others saying she’s nothing more than eye candy. Check it out:

Trolls:

“Carmella screams too much!”

“Carmella is the ‘wrong’ kind of annoying!”

“Carmella can’t wrestle”

Me: pic.twitter.com/EgQZU7786I

— Mella Is Money ? (@CarmellaWWE) May 7, 2018

https://twitter.com/deejaykage/status/993465105991036929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mandatory.com%2Fwrestlezone%2Fnews%2F951927-carmella-responds-to-fan-backlash-comments-on-just-being-eye-candy

Change your profile pic, then maybe people will take you seriously. ????? https://t.co/lnDioKAMkW

— Mella Is Money ? (@CarmellaWWE) May 7, 2018

https://twitter.com/BrianAn56619818/status/993461240801394689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mandatory.com%2Fwrestlezone%2Fnews%2F951927-carmella-responds-to-fan-backlash-comments-on-just-being-eye-candy

That’s where you’re wrong, Brian. I’m BOTH!! ?? https://t.co/dajiqqnPgp

— Mella Is Money ? (@CarmellaWWE) May 7, 2018

Natalya Pays Tribute To Owen Hart

RAW Superstar Natalya took to social media to pay tribute to her late uncle Owen Hart, who would’ve turned 53-years-old today. Hart passed away back in May of 1999 after taking a fall from the top of the rafters in a stunt gone wrong at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri for the Over The Edge PPV. He died from internal bleeding and blunt force trauma at a nearby hospital:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiegDB0h5rC/?utm_source=ig_embed

John Cena Posts Cryptic Tweet

John Cena is notorious for posting cryptic content on his Instagram page, and he didn’t disappoint this time around. The Leader Of The Cenation has posted a photo that shows a figure hitting another person with a steel chair, captioned by the phrase “heel turn.”

Cena could be referring to a number of things; likely last night’s controversy with Roman Reigns and Samoa Joe’s main event match at Backlash. Fans started to walk out of the arena in protest of Reigns’ continuing to be shoved down their throats – not to mention the match was a snoozer. Many have called for The Big Dog to turn heel instead of being pushed as WWE’s top babyface.

He could also be referring to the hype from fans to have himself turn heel. This has been an ongoing debate for years now, so perhaps Cena is simply having his fun with fans’ minds and making them speculate. You be the judge:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiehQbUglv9/?utm_source=ig_embed

Vader Teases A Return To Wrestling

WWE and WCW Legend Vader has been battling severe health issues as of late and has been keeping fans updated via social media. He recently took to Twitter and noted that he’s hoping to get a medical release soon that will allow him to continue wrestling:

Looking good hope to get an medical release to wrestle again soon https://t.co/ZscUktrOt4

— Big Van Vader (@itsvadertime) May 7, 2018

Former ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley made his return to the WWE last month on the night after WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans when he interrupted Elias and delivered a massive Suplex.

As of late Lashley seems to have developed an alliance with Braun Strowman on Monday Night RAW, as the pair defeated Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn at last night’s Backlash pay-per-view (PPV) event.

One thing that some WWE fans are wondering about, however, are why commentators on RAW aren’t mentioning Lashley’s previous success with the company. Per Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio, it turns out that they want to flush out his relationship with current United States President Donald Trump.

Trump, who is a WWE Hall Of Famer in the celebrity wing, is currently a very controversial figure in the country. He selected Bobby Lashley to represent him at the Battle Of The Billionaires for WrestleMania 23 over 10 years ago.

Although this happened over a decade ago, WWE doesn’t seem to want to offend anybody by bringing up Lashley’s past and possible rekindling the memory that Lashley and Trump were aligned together on WWE TV.

WWE’s next pay-per-view offering, Money in the Bank, takes place from Chicago, Illinois at the Allstate Arena on Sunday, June 17th.

After last year’s event featured the the first-ever Women’s Money in the Bank match, there are a few indications that the 2018 installment will feature a third MITB briefcase up for grabs. As seen below, advertising for the show features three briefcases – red, white and blue.

For what it’s worth, the Allstate Arena website states, “For the first time ever … a men’s and women’s ladder match with Superstars from Raw and SmackDown Live.”

Last year Carmella won the first-ever female MITB ladder match and would cash-in last month to win the SmackDown Live Women’s Championship from Charlotte Flair. Baron Corbin won the men’s MITB ladder match, but failed to cash it in on Jinder Mahal during an episode of SmackDown Live.

It should be interesting to see who leaves the Allstate Arena with the briefcases this year.

Former WWE Intercontinental Champion Anthony Carelli (a.k.a. Santino Marella) was recently hosting his Twitch show, Behind The Lights, and offered his thoughts on various professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) topics. Marella first discussed the personnel changes to IMPACT Wrestling:

“I tell you what, IMPACT Wrestling, this is such an interesting phenomenon, because they’ve had different incarnations — TNA, IMPACT Wrestling. Sometimes there’s somebody new at the helm and then people wonder, ‘How is this going to turn out?’. And sometimes, ‘ah it’s kinda the same thing, they’re shuffling old guys, whatever, whatever’, and it hasn’t really connected in the past in terms of that renaissance.

“But this one here there’s a different feeling — again, Scott at the helm and Don — there’s real change. It was getting a reputation in the past of being, ‘Oh they’re just recycling old WWE guys’, you know, hand-me-downs, and that was the reputation they had for a while. Now that’s not the case. Now they’re developing fresh, new talent that’s not… I mean if there’s someone there from WWE that’s fine, but the roster’s not comprised of leftovers anymore.

“The mentality, the direction they’re going in, it’s very good for the business because you need competition. There was a long time when there was no competition to WWE. Now there’s places to go.”

As for IMPACT Wrestling’s recent Redemption pay-per-view (PPV), Marella explained why he loved the event:

“I thought it was awesome. It solidified the notion of the change of direction for me. It’s funny because to be competition with WWE already means that you’re on the map, you’re on the radar. But you can’t compete with the budget. You can’t compete with the juggernaut marketing machine that they have.

“But you don’t have to have a massive budget to have that one creative genius especially with the different platforms we have today to be able to get out there. So before it was only TV, and now because of all these different mediums you can compete with TV.”

Marella also told fans to enjoy this evolution that IMPACT Wrestling is currently going through, and predicts a legendary moment in wrestling is coming:

Luke Harper On Not Being A Part Of The Wyatt Family

One half of SmackDown Live Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers, Luke Harper, recently took to Twitter to comment on no longer being a part of The Wyatt Family. Harper got his start in WWE alongside Bray Wyatt and Erick Rowan in the faction.

His Tweet got responses from former Wyatt Family members Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton, as well as Tyler Breeze:

I'm not in the "Wyatt" family. I'm a Bludgeon Brother. Don't @ me.

— Brodie Lee (@ThisBrodieLee) May 2, 2018

https://twitter.com/WWEBrayWyatt/status/991739651265310720?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

@ https://t.co/fRgzdfZABF

— Randy Orton (@RandyOrton) May 2, 2018

Slaughter sons!!! https://t.co/K0CsHs8PpL

— Breeze (@MmmGorgeous) May 2, 2018

The Big Show Gets Back In The Gym

The Big Show is back in the gym after recovering from recent complications from a surgery. Show posted a photo on social media showing that he’s back to work in the weight room, and is even breaking equipment:

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

Hulk Hogan On What Kane Is Like Backstage

As we’ve previously reported, former WWE Champion Kane has won his Republican Primary for the race for Mayor in Knox County, Tennessee. He will move on to the General Election in November to take on the Democratic Primary winner to decide who Knox County’s next mayor will be.

TMZ Sports posted a video in which they catch up with WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan and discussed Kane’s campaign. Hogan noted that Kane handles everything backstage and is very involved with the business aspect of things. Check it out:

Austin Aries To Challenge For The ROH World TV Title

Ring Of Honor (ROH) has announced that Austin Aries will challenge Silas Young for the ROH World TV Title at ROH War Of The Worlds next weekend on Sunday, May 13th from Chicago, Illinois. They also announced Cody vs. Jushin Thunder Liger for the Friday night before on May 11th in Toronto, Canada. You can get more information at this link.

The Kliq Reunites In Vegas (Photo)

Scott Hall posted a photo on Twitter this morning in which he is reunited with fellow Kliq members Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash and Sean Waltman. The four were reunited at the 53rd Cauliflower Alley Club Reunion yesterday and this past weekend in Las Vegas. Hall noted that Triple H was missing from the photo, captioning it “Miss you @TripleH”:

https://twitter.com/SCOTTHALLNWO/status/991919726019297281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mandatory.com%2Fwrestlezone%2Fnews%2F950285-the-kliq-reunites-in-las-vegas-photo-jericho-shares-bruno-interview

Summer Rae Returning To Wrestling After Nearly Two Years

Former WWE Superstar Danielle Moinet (a.k.a. Summer Rae) will return to the wrestling ring at Battle Championship Wrestling in Melbourne, Australia on Friday, May 25th from the Whitehorse Function & Convention Centre. Moinet is set to face Ivelisse in the second half of the first round of the BCW Women’s Championship Tournament.

Moinet was released by WWE last October and hasn’t wrestled a match since August in 2016. Her career has been plagued by neck and back injuries and had been cleared to compete by WWE since May of 2017 but was never used, thus leading to her subsequent release.

Jeff Hardy Teases Return Of “No More Words” Theme

WWE United States Champion Jeff Hardy posted a video on Instagram that referenced his old fan favorite “No More Words” theme song that he used from 2008 to 2009. Fans have been calling for Hardy to revert back to this theme song on social media lately since he’s receiving a singles push on SmackDown Live:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BiS7IvdhCgQ/?utm_source=ig_embed

Liv Morgan & Sonya Deville Exchange Words On Twitter

Liv Morgan recently took to Twitter to poke fun at SmackDown Live General Manager Paige telling Sonya Deville and Mandy Rose that Absolution is dead. Morgan is currently a member of Monday Night RAW’s six-woman stable The Riott Squad.

This led to a brief exchange of insults between Morgan and Deville. At one point Morgan even called Deville “lousy Ronda Rousey.” Check it out here below:

#Absolution is over ? ? oh no ? #RiottSquad

— LIV Morgan (@YaOnlyLivvOnce) May 2, 2018

Lemme guess you guys are going to “break up” next week since y’all wanna be us so bad. #Bargainbasementversion https://t.co/TYhqnv6b7C

— Daria Rae Berenato (@TheDariaRae) May 2, 2018

Hahaha no..because unlike y’all, we’re actually a good team?? https://t.co/wHtFoteEjg

— LIV Morgan (@YaOnlyLivvOnce) May 2, 2018

Positive you lousy Ronda Rousey @SonyaDevilleWWE

— LIV Morgan (@YaOnlyLivvOnce) May 2, 2018

Okay.. ? Coming from the girl who has to color her tongue blue to even get noticed … #stillnotrelevant ??? https://t.co/pMk7xutkSs

— Daria Rae Berenato (@TheDariaRae) May 2, 2018

WWE COO Triple H recently did an interview with Sky Sports to talk about several professional wrestling topics. One such topic was future WWE Hall Of Famer The Undertaker and where he’s at at this point in his professional wrestling career.

The Undertaker comes off a squash win over John Cena at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans, followed by a Casked match win over Rusev in Saudi Arabia at the Greatest Royal Rumble last weekend.

Triple H explained why he believes, at this point in his career, Undertaker has earned the right to call his own shots:

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

What Happened After Monday Night RAW?

The advertised main event for last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW from Montreal, Canada was a Six Man Tag Team match between Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins vs. Samoa Joe, Sheamus and Cesaro.

The entire team of Joe, Sheamus, and Cesaro are now on SmackDown Live by way of the Superstar Shake-Up. Instead, Seth Rollins got on the mic after successfully defending his Intercontinental Title against Finn Balor.

The entire Bell Centre was chanting “Thank you Rollins” as he stood in the ring. Rollins said that he wasn’t lying earlier in the night when he said the travel his job requires is strenous, and he wasn’t lying when he said there’s nowhere else he’d rather be. He then said the WWE Universe is like family and they make the ring feel like home.

You can check out a video here:

https://twitter.com/amballins/status/991167061404635136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Nia Jax Gets Custom Title Plates (Video)

After winning the RAW Women’s Title from Alexa Bliss at WrestleMania 34 earlier last month in New Orleans, Nia Jax has finally received her custom title plates. Jax will defend her RAW Women’s Title against Bliss at Backlash this weekend:

I’m official ??? #NotLikeMost #TheIrresistibleForce pic.twitter.com/ixTofQmnyv

— Lina Fanene (@LinaFanene) May 1, 2018

pic.twitter.com/0L21TEGFe9

— Lina Fanene (@LinaFanene) May 1, 2018

WWE Monday Night RAW stars Fandango and Tyler Breeze were recently guests on Edge and Christian’s E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Breeze and Fandango’s tag team saw a huge rise in fame due to the success of their Fashion Files segments.

Breeze said that Vince McMahon didn’t really understand the segment, but said to keep it up due to how much success they had on social media:

“A lot of the reason why it was a success and that it became a thing was because of social media.” Breeze recalled, “I guess we did one episode and it was kind of supposed to end after that, but I guess it was the number one trending thing on SmackDown or something like that. And even Vince, he was like, ‘I don’t get it, but the people like it, so keep doing it.’ And it was all-of-a-sudden eight months later because of social media.”

While Breeze was never considered a top talent during his developmental days, it turns out that a spot he had with a young Cesaro during a match actually saved his job:

“I’ve never been the chosen one or however you want to say it, so when I got hired, I kind of had been working for about four years.” Breeze elaborated, “Cesaro, it was his debut in FCW. He just got signed and I had his first match on FCW TV at the time, which got viewed by like 50 people in Florida.

“And they put all this emphasis on it, like, ‘okay, this guy’s special. We’ve got to make it a big thing.’ Whatever. So he did a thing where he threw me up in the air and uppercutted me out of the air and I guess it looked really cool, but I guess the people literally went, ‘okay, don’t fire him yet. There might be something here,’ so one little thing like that saved me for another year.”

Breeze was again almost cut from the company, but he impressed Triple H enough in a match that The Game saved him from receiving his walking papers:

“We end up having the first NXT pilot at Full Sail [University] to test out and see if Full Sail work work for the venue for NXT.” Breeze remembered, “and I ended up having a match with one of the guys in Ascension. He was just basically going to kill me, but he was my friend so he goes, ‘no, let’s have a match.’

“So we have this match and Triple H happened to be there and he just kind of looked over at Dusty [Rhodes] and he goes, ‘who’s this guy? Like, why have I never seen anything of his?’ And, all-of-a-sudden, I got saved again. I just kind of keep getting saved along the way. All-of-a-sudden, Dusty says Hunter liked what he saw and I’m off the list again.”

It turns out that when Breeze was supposed to be cut, it was going to be used as footage for the E:60 special on NXT:

“I was picked on it and it was revealed to me after from Triple H that I was supposed to be the guy who doesn’t make it.” Breeze admitted, “I was supposed to be like, ‘hey, let’s follow you around for ESPN and at the end, you’re getting fired.’ And, of course, I had no clue, so I’m think, ‘oh, that’s awesome – this ESPN thing is going to be really cool.'”

You can listen to E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness by clicking this link here.

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcription

Last night’s crowd in Montreal, Canada showed a ton of love for their fellow Canadians – but Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens received some major pops. Roman Reigns’ promo opened up the night but was soon interrupted by Jinder Mahal, Zayn, and Owens – all of whom wanted a piece of The Big Dog.

Ultimately all three men jumped Reigns and Bobby Lashley and Braun Strowman came out for the save. This led to a Six Man Tag Team match being made later on in the night between the teams of Reigns, Strowman, and Lashley vs. Owens, Zayn, and Mahal.

The match actually proved to be a very entertaining one, and during a physical exchange outside by Owens and Reigns, Owen’s father (Terry) and The Big Dog playfully exchanged words.

Reigns was working on Owens agains the fan barrier when the pair began jawing off at one another. You can check out the video here below:

https://twitter.com/briantheguppie/status/991110329324244993?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwnerd.com%2Fwatch-kevin-owens-dad-exchanges-words-with-roman-reigns-during-raw-in-montreal%2F&tfw_creator=innern3rd&tfw_site=innern3rd

https://twitter.com/briantheguppie/status/991134758188044288?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwnerd.com%2Fwatch-kevin-owens-dad-exchanges-words-with-roman-reigns-during-raw-in-montreal%2F&tfw_creator=innern3rd&tfw_site=innern3rd

On last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW, recent NXT call-ups The Authors Of Pain squashed a pair of local talents by the name of Jean-Paul and Francois. Akam and Rezar completely dominated the local Canadian talents before cutting a promo afterwards, putting the RAW Tag Team Division on notice.

It turns out that Jean-Paul and Francois go by the name “3.0.” They’re each billed as Scott Parker and Shane Mathews. Fans may recognize them from their work in the CHIKARA and  International Wrestling Syndicate (IWS) promotions.

This isn’t the first time 3.0 has been used in a squash match to make a top tag team look strong. Back on the April 2nd, 2016 episode of NXT, The Revival Squashed 3.0 as well. You can check a photo out form that here:

The Revival derrotaron a Matt Lee & Jeff Parker con total contundencia tras 'Shatter Machine' sobre Matt Lee. pic.twitter.com/1ZOgKFvsfb

— Phobia. (@WrestlingPhobia) April 28, 2016

Perhaps after being squashed by both AOP and The Revival in recent years, WWE could consider bringing in these young men for an opportunity in NXT. We’ll keep you updated.

Two No Way Jose Conga Line Members Identified

Last night former NXT star No Way Jose made his way to the ring in Montreal, Canada, along with his conga line, to take on Baron Corbin. Jose has been dubbed by many the next Adam Rose, who used to make his way to the ring accompanied by his Rosebuds.

It seems that two members of Jose’s conga line have been identified, and they’re quite famous on the local scene in Montreal. The duo go by the name of Tabarnak De Team, and they are one of International Wrestling Syndicate’s most popular teams. They can be seen below (the two men with beards):

https://twitter.com/briantheguppie/status/991143362454609920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ringsidenews.com%2F2018%2F05%2F01%2Fidentity-no-way-jose-conga-line-dancers-revealed%2F&tfw_creator=RingsideNewscom&tfw_site=RingsideNewscom

Why Sumo Wrestler Worked The Greatest Royal Rumble Match

Many fans were a bit confused when Sumo wrestler Hiroko Sumi appeared in the Greatest Royal Rumble match in Saudi Arabia. Dave Meltzer recently discussed this in the latest edition of Wrestling Observer Radio.

Apparently when the member of the royal family who booked the show was talking to Vince, he wanted names like Ultimate Warrior and Yokozuna wrestling. Unfortunately both of those men are no longer with us. Hiroko Sumi’s appearance seems to be a way to give that member of the royal family a taste of a Yokozuna-type character.

WWE Hall Of Famer Bully Ray (a.k.a. Bubba Ray Dudley) recently spoke on Busted Open Radio about the possibility of Braun Strowman taking Roman Reigns’ spot in WWE. Ray seemed to suggest the image of Strowman holding the belt for the Greatest Royal Rumble over his head in Saudi Arabia could’ve been a test. Here’s what he had to say:

“What a great experimental picture to paint. There was no prize for the [Greatest] Royal Rumble victory, but they made up this belt, and Braun holding the belt over his head, with the people popping, that was a hell of a picture, right? What a great experiment — well, let’s see how he looks with the championship belt over his head with the people— and it really worked.

“[Jim Ross] recently did an interview where I believe he said Braun could be or would be the face of WWE. I know that’s a discussion we’ve had, whether or not he could be the face—I don’t mean babyface, I mean the ‘face’ ala John Cena or a Hulk Hogan—face of the company. They are obviously on the right track with Braun. In a weird way, Braun is the next Daniel Bryan, because he got over very organically, right? It’s what the people want.

“I can definitely see them—after seeing the Jedda match and seeing how things didn’t exactly go great with Roman, and we’ve given them a chance after chance after chance, and obviously this is not a knock on Roman [Reigns] as a person or a wrestler— it’s just not working. But it really is working for Braun, and I think that they will run with him.”

"He got over very organically. It's what the people want." @bullyray5150 tells @davidlagreca1 why he believes @BraunStrowman could be the "next" @WWEDanielBryan #RAW #WWEGRR pic.twitter.com/i0U4y5sPqm

— SiriusXM Busted Open (@BustedOpenRadio) April 30, 2018

H/T WrestleZone for the transcriptions