WWE is set to release a new DVD on Matt and Jeff Hardy, “Twist of Fate: The Best of the Hardy Boyz,” that will feature footage from their days in TNA/IMPACT Wrestling.
The three-disc special is set to be released on May 1st, and will include 27 matches and new segments filmed at The Hardy Compound in North Carolina. WrestlingDVDNews released the following sneak peak of the set:
This DVD will be the first WWE DVD to feature footage from TNA or IMPACT Wrestling, and this same footage could be used on the WWE Network.
WrestlingDVDNews also reviewed an advanced copy of the DVD and reports it features interviews with Matt and Jeff Hardy discussing the highlights of their time in IMPACT – including their “Broken” gimmicks and the Final Deletion.
The DVD also featured a plug for IMPACT’s streaming service, as any TNA or IMPACT footage on the DVD contains a logo on the corner for the Global Wrestling Network. The DVD also features the following notice from WWE:
“To watch all the Hardys’ Impact Wrestling matches in their entirety, download the Global Wrestling Network app. Available on all your favorite streaming devices!”
Rusev On Chris Jericho Being Removed From Undertaker Casket Match
There has been a ton of changes made to The Undertaker’s Casket match at the upcoming Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia. Originally, Rusev was scheduled to face The Dead Man.
After some controversial comments were made by Rusev to TMZ regarding Undertaker, WWE made the change to have Chris Jericho step in for Rusev instead. It was later cleared up Rusev didn’t offend The Undertaker and he was inserted back into the match.
The Bulgarian Brute took to Twitter to tease Jericho’s previous involvement in the match, posting a promotional image for Undertaker vs. Jericho and captioning it “TBT”:
A Six-Man Tag Team dark match has been announced for next week’s episode of Monday Night RAW. The team of Roman Reigns, Braun Strowman and WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins will take on Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens and Jinder Mahal.
WWE Superstar Drew McIntyre recently did an interview with Planeta Wrestling to talk about several professional wrestling topics. McIntyre first discussed his recovery from the recent bicep injury that kept him sidelined for several months:
“I got injured on November 18th [NXT TakeOver:War Games], I was wrapping my arm around my injury [torn bicep], and I started to Google the fastest amount of time someone has healed with this type of injury, it said four months, so I set out to get healed in four months by WrestleMania weekend, and I have been working very hard to come back.”
The match McIntyre injured himself in was against Andrade “Cien” Almas, who defeated the Scotsman to become the new NXT Champion. McIntyre offered his impressions of the now-former NXT Champion, who was recently called-up to SmackDown Live:
“I think he is very, very good. I think the pairing with Zelina Vega was perfect. It was just something that was missing. He is very good in the ring; great high-flyer, but he never really got to show it until he wrestled against myself. He can do everything.
“There was just something that was missing until the pairing with Zelina Vega, and I think he is going to shine in every area of his game. There is no shame in losing against him. He hits very hard. I hit very hard. He has some cool moves up his sleeve.
“In the end he dropped me on my head, tore my bicep and won the title and put me out on four months. On that night, he was the better man.”
McIntyre was then asked who he would like to sign with WWE from the Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) promotion:
“There are a few of the guys that are already part of the NXT brand. Wolfgang is already over here. Guys like Killian Dain, Nikki Cross, Noam Dar, who is part of the Cruiserweight division. There are a few guys from ICW that I would like for them to come over here to show what they can do.
“Jack Jester and Sha Samuels perhaps. BT Gunn is another guy that I would like to see. He is amazing in the ring. We have so many. The entire Insane Championship Wrestling roster is very talented.”
Finally, McIntyre offered his thoughts on ex-UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey now becoming a WWE Superstar:
“It is a huge deal. She is such a gigantic name on the mainstream. She is box office in sports and in the Octagon. I didn’t watch UFC much, but whenever she had a fight I would want to watch. She is such an attraction. She is such a big fan of our business, and isn’t just here for a payday. She genuinely loves this. I remember seeing her at a Pro Wrestling Guerrilla show in Los Angeles, when she was in the crowd.
“Her rival was on next for a UFC pay per view while our show was going on, and myself along with Trevor Lee were having a match in the crowd. A photographer took a picture of us fighting in the crowd with her in the background watching our match instead of watching the UFC fight. That is how much she loves this business, and we saw her in the crowd all the time. She is not taking this lightly, and is doing a great job.
“This is not an easy job to get. It took me 17 years to get to the point where I am at. It took her two months to get to the point where she is at and I see her looking more and more comfortable in the ring as well.”
The 2018 Superstar Shake-Up is in the books and some of WWE’s biggest stars are now on a different brand than they were the previous year.
Now having completed a Superstar Shake-Up for the second year in a row, as opposed to a full-out WWE Draft, it should be interesting to see which WWE Superstars prefer the most – a Shake-Up or the Draft?
Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful is reporting that, after speaking to several WWE Superstars, he has determined that the majority prefer the Shake-Up. Sapp also reported that the WWE stars who were switching brands were told beforehand, which is something that hasn’t always been done in the past.
There have been some stories in previous cases of wrestlers finding out which brand they’d been drafted to at the same time as the audience. It was also reported that some Superstars were given the day off.
Discussion: Do you prefer the Superstar Shake-Up or the WWE Draft? Which brand got the better of this year’s Shake-Up? And what moves were you not a fan of?
The WWE is currently touring in South Africa at the moment, and it looks like they’re making fans happy even outside the ring.
Despite being in Africa; Seth Rollins, Sasha Banks, Bayley, and Titus O’Neil are still using Uber as a means for transportation. Their driver just so happened to be a WWE fan and absolutely freaked out when he realized who he’d be driving for.
The driver admitted that he watched them on TV every weekend, and also revealed a funny little tidbit about himself. It turns out that he shares the same name as former NXT Champion Sami Zayn.
Titus O’Neil caught most of their interaction with the fan on video and uploaded it to his Twitter. It’s a truly amazing and hilarious thing to watch. Check it out here below:
The WWE is set to head to Saudi Arabia later this month for the Greatest Royal Rumble event. One of the featured matches on the card is a 50-Man Royal Rumble match, the largest in WWE history.
Huge names like The Undertaker, Chris Jericho, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and Roman Reigns are scheduled to appear. WWE has also now announced that they will be holding tryouts while in Saudi Arabia as well:
WWE to hold tryout in Saudi Arabia this week
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA and STAMFORD, Conn. — WWE is in Saudi Arabia this week in search of the next generation of WWE Superstars with a four-day talent tryout in Jeddah beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, April 18, through Saturday, April 21.
The tryout, which will be hosted at the King Abdullah Sports City Sports Hall, will give more than 25 athletes from Saudi Arabia the opportunity to showcase their abilities with the goal of being selected to begin training at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla. The talent pool will be comprised of elite performers with a diverse background in sports, including soccer, powerlifting, volleyball, boxing, jiujitsu, gymnastics, CrossFit and taekwondo.
The world-class tryout is part of WWE’s commitment to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, highlighted by the Greatest Royal Rumble event on Friday, April 27. General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia Chairman, His Excellency Turki Al Sheikh, WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia invite the world to celebrate this signature event. It is the first event as part of a long-term partnership between WWE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Greatest Royal Rumble card includes the first-ever 50-Man Greatest Royal Rumble Match; John Cena vs. Triple H; The Undertaker vs. Rusev in a Casket Match; Brock Lesnar vs. Roman Reigns in a Universal Championship Steel Cage Match; an Intercontinental Championship Ladder Match featuring champion Seth Rollins vs. The Miz vs. Samoa Joe vs. Finn Bálor; United States Champion Jeff Hardy vs. Jinder Mahal with Sunil Singh; a Raw Tag Team Championship Match between “Woken” Matt Hardy & Bray Wyatt and Sheamus & Cesaro; and SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Bludgeon Brothers vs. The Usos, as well as a WWE Championship Match and a Cruiserweight Championship Match.
“WWE is dedicated to recruiting the most talented athletes and entertainers from around the world and developing them into global Superstars,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative. “In partnership with the General Sports Authority, we look forward to bringing the Greatest Royal Rumble to Saudi Arabia while showcasing this historic event to the world.”
The Jeddah tryout is the latest example of WWE’s global talent recruiting efforts. In recent years, WWE has scouted rugby and soccer players from Europe, kabaddi and kushti athletes from India, and martial artists and boxers from China. In 2017, WWE held a tryout in Dubai, which resulted in the first Arab woman, the first Indian woman and the first Kuwaiti man to sign with WWE.
Rare AJ Styles vs. RVD Match (Video)
Title Match Wrestling has recently released a video of a match between current WWE Champion AJ Styles and former WWE star Rob Van Dam (RVD) from Pro Wrestling Syndicate’s “Frightmare Before Christmas” event in 2014.
The special guest referee for the match was Jerry Lynn, and Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson also make appearances. You can watch below:
Daniel Bryan is now back on WWE’s roster as a full-time in-ring competitor. While Bryan was out due to injury for the past several years, he took a lot of verbal abuse from The Miz. To add insult to injury, Miz began using a lot of Bryan’s moves inside the ring as well.
Now that Bryan is back to competing inside the ring, and Miz was swapped to SmackDown Live last night by way of the Superstar Shake-Up, Bryan says he can’t wait to punch Miz in the face.
The Miz fired back at Bryan via Twitter, telling the former WWE World Heavyweight Champion to be careful when he punches his face because he could get hurt and sit out another three years.
Cody Rhodes Announces Press Conference For “All In”
Cody Rhodes recently took to his Instagram account to issue an announcement that a press conference will be held on May 13th for the “All In” event at Pro Wrestling Tees retail store in Chicago, Illinois.
The presser will begin at 1 P.M. CT and will be streamed via Facebook Live and Twitch. The first 50 fans who arrive will be allowed into the press conference:
Longtime WWE veteran Goldust recently took to Twitter and issued out a lengthy statement thanking fans for their support over the years. The wording sounds very much like he’s retiring from in-ring competition and switching over to a role that allows him to help talent and pass on his knowledge to the next generation.
You can read Goldust’s statement in the Tweet below:
Goldust has long been teasing a change to his WWE role for quite some time on Twitter. It should be noted that WWE.com still lists him as a member of the RAW roster.
Roman Reigns Remembers His Late Brother Rosey
Today marks one year since the passing of former WWE Superstar Matt “Rosey” Anoa’i, who passed away at 47-years-old due to congestive heart failure in Florida. His brother, current WWE Superstar Roman Reigns, took to Twitter to say some words of remembrance:
I miss my Brother so much. He will be forever loved and never forgotten. #RIPMatt
WWE is set to hold its Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia on April 27th. The event will feature the biggest Royal Rumble match of all time, with 50 participants competing in the bout.
While the match is huge in magnitude and simply winning it would put a huge notch in any Superstar’s belt, the company has yet to announce what the winner of the historic bout would be receiving.
Recently WWE has shown an infatuation with awarding Rumble winners trophies, and typically a title opportunity is only granted if it’s for the winner of the traditional Royal Rumble match in January – however an exception could be made for this particular event.
WWE fans are left wondering what exactly the prize could be for the eventual winner of the Greatest Royal Rumble. A recent Tweet from WWE Espanol may have just revealed exactly what the prize will be.
The account Tweeted out a promotional image for the event, showcasing all the big Superstars advertised for the match, but a huge trophy is also featured in the middle. Check it out:
11 DÍAS para el Mayor #RoyalRumble de todos los tiempos.
(We’ve also posted the photo of the poster below in case the Tweet is deleted later)
Discussion: What are your thoughts on WWE issuing out another trophy to a Rumble winner? Do you think a title opportunity should be granted to the winner instead? And who do you think deserves to win the bout?
Opening last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW – the first day of the Superstar Shake-Up – the United States Title was introduced to the red brand when Jinder Mahal made his way out to the ring.
Jeff Hardy would then challenge The Modern Day Maharaja for the strap, and won it after hitting a Swanton Bomb. It was announced shortly after Hardy’s win that the victory made him a Grand Slam Champion under the new format (he is also a Grand Slam Champion under the old one as well).
It turns out that’s not the only bit of history Hardy made with his win over Mahal. WWE Stats & Info’s Twitter reports he is now the first and only person in WWE history to have held the following titles in their career:
WWE Championship
World Heavyweight Championship
Intercontinental Championship
United States Championship
World Tag Team Championship
RAW Tag Team Championship
European Championship
Hardcore Championship
Light Heavyweight Championship
#RAW's @JEFFHARDYBRAND is now the first (and only) Superstar in history to hold the #WWE, World Heavyweight, Intercontinental, United States, World Tag Team, RAW Tag Team, European, Hardcore and Light Heavyweight championships in his @WWE career. #GrandSlam#SuperstarShakeUp
While Ronda Rousey’s WWE in-ring debut was fairly well received by the professional wrestling community, it looks like one WWE Hall Of Famer isn’t a fan of The Rowdy One venturing off into the professional wrestling world.
Superstar Billy Graham took to his official Facebook page and went on an absolute rant regarding Rousey’s WWE career, referring to her as Ronda “Lousy” several times. For starters, Graham takes exception to Rousey playing off of Roddy Piper’s gimmick.
He also did not like the rumors flying around before her WrestleMania 34 match suggesting she could win by making Triple H tap out. Here’s Graham’s full rant:
“Ronda Lousy vs HHH
“First off to the fan who wrote.. ‘ I find Ronda’s use of Piper’s gimmick nauseating ‘ You my brother are dead on my man !!! I find it a total insult and absolutely reveals that she does not have an original thought in her head. Damn, can’t she be an original at anything ? This shows you how shallow she is and by the way, I am a fan of females being in the main event.
“That is why I put up this photo of Amanda Nunes kicking her ass in 48 seconds. She looked pitiful, a TKO in 48 seconds on Dec. 30th, 2016 by Nunes, a real fighter and Rousey just a jobber. Speaking of jobbers, I read today a quote by Meltzer that shook me to the core, it goes as follows, ‘ There was a rumor going around by WWE officials prior to mania 34 that Rousey was going to make HHH tap out to her armbar finisher ( instead of Stephanie McMahon ) and it appears the company went in the latter direction specifically due to storyline continuity reasons; as Rousey attacked Stephanie’s arm the next night on Raw whereas HHH is not a regular on-screen character and has disappeared for now. ‘
“WHAT ??? Miss Lousy was going to make H tap out ??? This would have been received as well as a cement truck full of pig sh*t being dumped on the mania 34 fans. God folks, what is the WWE thinking ??? RR is not a god of some kind but a mere female x UFC failure that got her flat ass kicked twice on the way out. Now this is nauseating.
“I demand that you fans respond to this crap the WWE is trying to lay on you by even thinking about her making HHH tap out, god this makes me sick. To help you get over your urge to vomit over this news, please click on the link directly below that my main man Mike found for me. Just a 60 second promo by me from Florida and please tell me if anyone in the WWE today can match my short promo, UN-scripted and loaded !!! Superstar B. G.”
Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho recently did an interview with Still Real To Us to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Y2J first offered his thoughts on how the WWE Hall Of Fame differs from the Rock N’ Roll Hall Of Fame:
“I find Hall Of Fame is more for the fans than it is or anybody else. I’ve never been that focused on the Hall Of Fame. I kinda thought it was cool when Axl Rose didn’t show up or Van Halen didn’t show up or being super snotty and kinda being a dick. Like when the Sex Pistols sent in a letter saying they didn’t want to be there, they refused to be mentioned or whatever.
“But I think for the fans it’s kind of a cool buttoning of the whole career. But I just watched the Hall Of Fame and Bon Jovi was up there with all the members and it was cool and then the guy from Dire Straits didn’t show up so it’s kind of an embarrassment. There’s so much drama behind the Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame because you’re talking about bands — the good thing about the WWE Hall Of Fame is it’s just you.”
Jericho still feels that he’s at his peak in his professional wrestling career, and doesn’t think that’s the time one should be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame. For that reason, the former WWE Champ doesn’t think he’s ready to be inducted quite yet:
“So I imagine I’ll probably show up if I’m ever invited. But I don’t really feel like I’m at that point in my career where I should be in the Hall Of Fame. To me, that’s kinda the end of the road not kind of when you’re at your peak — like what people are saying about the Kenny Omega match and the quality of the match.
“‘It’s the best match of Jericho’s career’ — well jeez if that’s the case then I got nowhere near the Hall Of Fame yet I still have a bunch of great matches left in me it’s not like that was my last ditch one and then I’ll explode into a puff of dust.”
You can check out Jericho’s full interview with Still Real To Us by clicking this link here.
Yesterday Asuka Tweeted out a picture of herself with the caption “Fabulous.” This prompted a response from SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Carmella. She said “Girls just wanna be Carmella.”
The pair then continued to go back and forth a bit. Check out the exchange here:
Currently Asuka and Carmella are on opposite brands, however, tonight marks the beginning of the Superstar Shake-Up. It’s possible a feud between Carmella and Asuka begins if they end up on the same show.
Sting Reunites With Fellow WCW Alumni
WWE Hall Of Famer Sting posted a picture on his Twitter account from WrestleCon during WrestleMania weekend. The former WCW World Heavyweight Champion is pictured reuniting with fellow WCW alumni such as Lex Luger, Mr. Hughes, Mick Foley, and Rick Steiner:
New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Kenny Omega lost to Cody at the Ring Of Honor (ROH) Supercard Of Honor XII event and dubbed himself the leader of The Bullet Club. One fan took to Twitter to ask Omega if Cody is truly the leader of the club. The Clenaer responded – “Of course not”:
First official weekend as the leader for this group
Chris Jericho’s Rock ‘n Wrestling Rage at Sea cruise is set for October 27th – 31st. Ring Of Honor (ROH) has announced that Mike Taven will be joining the long list of wrestlers already scheduled for the cruise.
Other names confirmed include Kenny Omega, Cody, Young Bucks, Dalton Castle, Marty Scurll, The Briscoes, Deonna Purrazzo, Brandi Rhodes, Kelly Klein, Mandy Leon, Adam Page, Jay Lethal, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, Flip Gordon, Kenny King, Silas Young, Beer City Bruiser, Delirious, Cheeseburger, BJ Whitmer, Rhett Titus, and Will Ferrara:
— ROH – Ring of Honor Wrestling (@ringofhonor) April 16, 2018
The Rock Surprises Movie Goers
Former WWE Champion The Rock surprised movie goers who were viewing his latest film, Rampage. Rock visited several theatres in Los Angeles to thank fans for their support. Check out the videos here:
The WWE could be getting ready to make quite a significant change to its commentary teams in the near future.
Currently, Monday Night RAW’s commentary team features Jonathan Coachman, Corey Graves, and Michael Cole. SmackDown Live also features Graves, along with Byron Saxton and Tom Phillips.
Dave Meltzer is reporting that WWE is very big into diversity right now and could be looking to diversify its commentary teams. He noted that WWE is hiring right now based on fitting into certain demographics. The report also states that WWE is looking to eventually bring a woman in to do color commentary.
WWE Hall Of Famer Beth Phoenix, who did commentary during the Mixed Match Challenge series and the WrestleMania Women’s Battle Royal, would be a natural fit for this gig. Fellow Hall Of Famer Lita could also be a contender, as she did commentary during the Mae Young Classic opposite Jim Ross.
Former WWE Champion CM Punk is set to return to the UFC’s Octagon in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois on June 9th from the United Center.
Punk left the WWE back in January of 2014 citing several issues with the promotion. He then signed a multi-fight deal with the UFC and announced his intentions to pursue a career as a mixed martial artist.
Following two years of training, Punk made his official MMA debut against welterweight prospect Mickey Gall at the UFC 203 pay-per-view (PPV) event. Gall immediately took Punk to the ground and battered him before locking in a rear-naked choke for the first round submission win.
Despite the lopsided defeat, the former professional wrestler announced his intentions to continue fighting and refused to give up. Now, two years after making his MMA debut, Punk is back and will be challenging fellow 0-1 professional record-holder Mike Jackson.
Jackson is actually an MMA journalist who fought Gall back in 2016 for the opportunity to welcome Punk to the Octagon. Jackson lost that fight to Gall via first round submission as well after being rocked by the New Jersey native.
In fact, Punk lasted much longer in his fight against Gall, as Jackson was finished in just 48 seconds. Punk was submitted at the 2:14 mark. Despite this, Jackson believes he will pick up a dominant victory over the former WWE Champion.
Jackson recently did an interview with TMZ and said he’s going to show Punk that MMA isn’t for him. He also claimed to be the real draw in the match-up:
“I’m just going in here to beat him up a little bit and show him it’s not for him.”
“If you bring in someone else … it’s not gonna get this type of buzz. It’s getting this type of buzz because of me. This is a storyline not even Vince McMahon could write.”
For the best MMA news coverage available be sure to visit our sister site at MMA News.com
Tonight WWE is set to kick off its Superstar Shake-Up event, shuffling WWE stars to different brands for the next 48 hours.
It all starts tonight in Hartford for Monday Night RAW. While many are ready so see Superstars swap brands, it’s also expected that some names from NXT could be called up as well.
One of those names just might be former NXT Champion Drew McIntyre. Per a report from the WrestleVotes Twitter account, McIntyre is backstage for tonight’s RAW. The report noted that there’s currently no news on if he’ll be drafted or not:
Interesting Monday Night Raw tonight. A majority of the Smackdown roster will be in town, including some surprises. NXT star Drew McIntyre is in Hartford. No idea if he’s getting the call up or not. Personally, I’d throw him on the Smackdown brand but we’ll see.
Also, the majority of SmackDown Live’s roster is also backstage at RAW, with some more surprises as well. Tonight’s RAW should be a very fun one indeed, and it will be interesting to see where WWE decides to send some of its biggest stars.
McIntyre has been out-of-action since his NXT Title loss to Andrade “Cien” Almas at NXT TakeOver: WarGames in November. He suffered a torn bicep during the match and has been rehabbing ever since.
The WWE continues its pursuit of global domination. PWInsider has announced that WWE will make its debut in Norway on November 1st in Oslo for a RAW brand show. Currently superstars such as Roman Reigns, Finn Bálor, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, Alexa Bliss, Sasha Banks, The Miz, Sheamus, Cesaro, Asuka, and Bray Wyatt are scheduled to appear – but the card is subject to change due to today and tomorrow’s Superstar Shake-Up.
Brooke Hogan On Possibly Returning To Wrestling (Video)
Brooke Hogan, daughter of WWE Hall Of Famer Hulk Hogan, was recently interviewed on Access Live to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Hogan was asked about a possible return to wrestling.
She responded by saying she has been considering it and has had some training, but admitted it’s probably not enough. Hogan also teased a possible match with Charlotte Flair, who is the daughter of two-time WWE Hall Of Famer Ric Flair. She also revealed that she now owns an all-female league.
Here’s what she had to say:
“I’m considering it. I’m thinking about it. I have had training, probably not enough. I actually own my own female league that I am now doing. That’s a whole new ball of wax. I can’t really say much about it. I shouldn’t have even brought it up. I think about it. Everybody wants me to wrestle Charlotte Flair, so who knows?”
WrestleMania 34 has concluded this past weekend and WWE fans can expect the DVD to be hitting shelves fairly soon. A report from WrestlingDVDNetwork reveals that the DVD will not be including this year’s WWE Hall Of Fame ceremony.
The Hall Of Fame event ran nearly four and a half hours this year. In its place, the DVD will include the episode of Monday Night RAW the night after WrestleMania 34. The Hall Of Fame ceremony has been included in all WrestleMania DVDs since 2005.
It should also be noted that all matches from the pre-show will be included in the DVD, as opposed to last year.
Vince McMahon Thanks New Orleans & The WWE Universe
Days after the conclusion of WrestleMania week in New Orleans, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon took to Twitter to thank the city and the WWE Universe for experiencing WrestleMania 34 this past Sunday night:
New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and Ring Of Honor (ROH) star Adam Page recently did an interview with the Pittsburgh City Paper to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Page first discussed The Bullet Club’s storyline being played over a long period of time and why he enjoys it:
“This, for me, is what wrestling is about. This is why I love it, why I enjoy doing it long term. Long-term stories, people attach to that. With Being The Elite, people watch that every week, and people message us to say that it’s something they consistently look forward to, something that gets them through the week, and some of the people have really latched onto it. It’s the work of our lives, and it’s what we love doing.”
Page then talked about his “Hangman” gimmick and why he got away from using a noose:
“I found out that I was joining Bullet Club and going to work for New Japan just a few weeks before it happened, and it was something that kind of took me by surprise. I hadn’t anticipated going that direction, but it was a great surprise.
“It caught me off guard, and one of the things that was suggested to me, since Adam Cole was joining Bullet Club, was that I have some sort of different name. Someone from New Japan suggested the name Hangman Page, and I’d take the gallows from Luke Gallows and fill that role a little bit.
“Looking back it’s something I wish I wouldn’t have done, or I would have done differently. But I think in the time, I was rushed to get gear ordered, to figure out who I was going to be, what I was going to be.
“And at this point I’ve figured it out, but with just two weeks notice? I had the noose for awhile, and I tried to be as sensitive as I could about in every way I possibly could, but I still had people writing me who were kind about it, but who had family members that had committed suicide and it made them uncomfortable, or maybe the racial connotations of me carrying a noose were uncomfortable, and I get that.
“I tried to be really sensitive about it, but it was something I wanted to get away from. I still carry a big untied rope with me to the ring, and honestly I kind of carry it out more now out of habit than anything, and I’ve kept the name because it’s kind of a cool sounding name, and at this point people connect it with me. It’s just become my name.”
You can read Page’s full interview with the Pittsburgh City Paper by clicking this link here.
Former WWE Superstar Hornswoggle recently did an interview with Uproxx to talk about several professional wrestling topics. The former WWE Cruiserweight Champion first discussed not being brought back to WWE for the Cruiserweight Tournament:
“I get asked that so much. I think they think like, ‘Oh, he’s definitely not 205 pounds or less right now.’ I mean, it’s not close, but I can see why they’d say that. No, and I wish they would have made mention in some way.”
Having been the last person to ever hold the old Cruiserweight Title belt in WWE, Hornswoggle said he would’ve like to have kept it:
“Yeah. And they never did anything with it, ever. And I just want that real title [belt] they never gave me, ’cause they always said, ‘We’re gonna bring it back.’ I said, ‘No, you’re not. You’re not gonna do that.’ I just want the real one.”
Hornswoggle then discussed his historic Wee-LC match against El Torito and revealed he received a standing ovation from Vince McMahon and many others backstage after the match:
“Unexpected. People expected it to be us biting each other’s asses on top of ladders. Instead, we beat the piss outta each other and ourselves. It was a lot of moving parts, man. Everyone was so excited. Everyone involved was so excited, between the agents and all the guys involved, we were so excited for everything. And I remember getting … I say it at every interview.
“I get to the back and didn’t get ungeared for like two hours. I was like, ‘This is so awesome.’ Easily, maybe my only standing ovation in ‘Gorilla,’ even from Vince [McMahon], which made me feel really good about myself. It was awesome. That’s the one where, if someone asks what I do, I give them that. I’ve only watched it once. It’s one of the three matches in my career I’ve watched. I’ve never watched any more than that. I don’t watch my stuff.”
As for his Hornswoggle gimmick in WWE, it was then discussed how the company couldn’t make up their mind if the character was a child or an adult:
“It was all the time. Literally, one week it was a child, the next week I was a grown-ass adult. I was drinking beer on SmackDown, getting hammered on SmackDown backstage, ’cause they just have me keep doing the takes. And it would bust, and I would bust it on purpose a couple times just so I could keep drinking the Guinness. I finished a four-pack of Guinness during a shoot; it was awesome.
“Bruce Prichard proceeds to go, ‘Are you drunk?’ ‘No, sir. I would never drink at work. I would never get drunk.’ He goes, ‘You’re drunk.’ I go, ‘Nah. Meh.’ He goes, ‘How about we stop drinking so much and we actually do this?’ And I go, ‘Ah, okay, I guess.’ ‘Cause we just kept topping off the beers.”
You can read Hornswoggle’s full interview with Uproxx by clicking this link here.
Austin Aries Has Added Another Title To His Collection
Austin Aries added a sixth title to his collection last night when he defeated Swerve (Shane Strickland) to capture the Defy Championship at “Vibes.” Here’s what he had to say on social media:
“Last night continued to prove why I love being a #prowrestler doing #prowrestling right now. @defynw has something cool going on in the NW right now. Well run, good locker room, and a legion of rowdy, loyal fans. Some weren’t happy how I swerved “Swerve” @stricklandshane, but sometimes that’s what it takes to beat a top talent and stay #TheBeltCollector. Thank you @defynw and it’s fans for a really fun night. See you soon. Time to celebrate.”
The WWE Superstar Shake-Up is days away, and that means that some fresh new faces could be coming to the main roster from NXT.
Just this past week on the RAW and SmackDown Live after WrestleMania; we’ve seen Authors Of Pain, No Way Jose, Ember Moon, and The Iconic Duo (Peyton Royce and Billie Kay) make their main roster debut.
WWE’s Superstar Shake-Up will kickoff on RAW this Monday and continue through Tuesday night on SmackDown Live. It’s expected that a few more names from NXT will get called up from the main roster.
Per a report from Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline, multiple sources note that WWE is debating whether or not to call up NXT star Velveteen Dream. Meltzer said that if it were to happen that it would be “imminently.” This has yet to be confirmed, however, as Meltzer also says there are several schools of thought from people backstage on bringing up Velveteen.
As for other rumored call-ups, WWE recently changed the NXT banner on their website. Now-former NXT Champion Andrade Almas and Drew McIntyre have been replaced on the banner by Tommaso Ciampa, Shayna Baszler, and Velveteen Dream.
This has sparked some speculation that Almas and McIntyre could be on their way up to the main roster. Meltzer also recently reported that there has been an interesting pitch going around to call up SANITY and have Bray Wyatt turn on Matt Hardy to become the group’s new leader.
This past weekend at WrestleMania 34, the WWE Championship match between AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura didn’t appear to live up to the hype for most fans. Throughout the build-up to the match, the bout was being promoted as a ‘dream match’ between the former New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) stars.
Fans in attendance didn’t seem to be too thrilled with what went on in the ring, with pockets of those in the crowd even chanting “boring” at some times.
Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Christian recently weighed in on the matter in a recent episode of he and WWE Hall Of Famer Edge’s podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness.
Christian explained how the crowd can affect the perception of a match, and even compared it to he and Randy Orton’s feud during his time in the ring:
“Sometimes the crowd can affect the perception of a match, [and] I think it happened during this one a little bit,” said Christian. “I think that’s where it started to happen when the crowd was getting fatigued. Especially, when it’s two guys that are babyfaces. And, there’s the title on the line, but emotionally, what else is going on? And I think what they did after the match meant more than anything that did in the match.
“I was thinking about the babyface match I had for the world title with Randy Orton when we wrestled at Over the Limit, and I was thinking, what’s the difference between that and this other than one was at Over the Limit and one was at WrestleMania? So, what I was thinking about is the emotion was not good guy – bad guy, heel – babyface. The emotion was, this guy who we’ve wanted to see at this level for like 17 years has been scratching and clawing and finally won it.
“And then, had it snatched from a guy who’s been patented as ‘the golden boy’ for years and years, and has been molded to be a top superstar gets it back after a couple of days. People didn’t want to see me lose it yet. That was the emotion. ‘Can he get it back? Can he get back to that level already, so quickly after he worked so hard to get there?’ People liked me, but they didn’t like what happened. That was the emotion.
“On this one, they liked both guys, so [fans] are just kinda choosing a side. There’s nothing else. So, to me, now I can really sink my teeth into this, because I think Nakamura now is gonna do better work. I think he’s gonna work more with a chip on his shoulder, I think he’s gonna work more aggressively. He works aggressive anyway, I think he’s gonna have a mean streak that he hasn’t had before, and I think it’s gonna amp up, and I think he’s done himself a huge favor by the aggression he had after the match, in my opinion.”
You can listen to E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness by clicking this link here.
Rusev has been subject to quite a bit of controversy in the past several days. The Bulgarian Brute was originally scheduled to face The Undertaker in a Casket match at The Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia later this month.
Those plans were later changed and Rusev was instead replaced by Chris Jericho. This comes just days after rumors began to float around that the former United States Champion had asked for his WWE release.
After news broke that Rusev had been replaced, The Bulgarian Brute removed all WWE references from his Twitter profile. He also changed his name from Rusev to his real name, Miroslav Barnyashev. This sparked some controversy from WWE fans, suggesting Rusev may have left the company.
Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated reached out to WWE on the matter, and received a response. WWE says that Rusev has not left the company and will be competing in the Royal Rumble match in Saudi Arabia instead:
Wrestling fans, I asked the WWE if Rusev has left the company. WWE said those rumors are not true, he is still with the company and he will be in the Royal Rumble match at Greatest Royal Rumble in Saudi Arabia. #RusevDay
WWE Hall Of Fame commentator “Good Ole'” Jim Ross revealed on Twitter that he had finally undergone an MRI this past Tuesday for a back injury that occurred back in September. He posted the following photo, showing Ross’ battered and bruised back:
This injury occurred in September ‘17 and I finally got around to getting a MRI Tuesday.
Results: I’ve been diagnosed with a fractured vertebrae.
