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.”
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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.
Tenille Dashwood (better known as Emma in WWE) recently did an interview with Chuck Carroll of CBS Local Sports to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Here are some of the highlights:
Are you surprised that Daniel Bryan got the clearance to return and maybe slightly disappointed that it doesn’t appear, at this point, that he’ll be in an ROH ring any time soon?
“Well, he’s obviously under contract with the WWE, so that stops that part of it with Ring of Honor. I guess we always thought that he would never wrestle again, so to hear this is amazing news. … As a wrestler myself, to think that you could never wrestler again when you love something like that … I can’t imagine how hard it has been for him and for Brie and the family. I was so excited and just so happy for them when I heard that he could wrestle again. I don’t know what the circumstances are as far as being cleared or anything, but I’m just very happy for them and excited. To be able to do that again is very special.”
How did you get into contact with the company? Was that through Cody or Brandi Rhodes, or did they reach out to you, did you reach out to them?
“It was a bit of everything. I think there was a number of people that I had worked with in the past that had reached out to them, saying ‘Tenille’s available now.’ And then vice versa, I’m using a booking agent, and I think they reached out to him and they spoke as well.”
This is your second time being part of the women’s movement. … Can you compare your experience with this women’s movement with your previous experience?
“I was with WWE for about six years, and NXT was a big part of that. … When wrestling started being showcased as main events on the NXT Arrival, women from then on started to have bigger matches, more opportunities, and were showcased in main events and started to get chances they hadn’t had before. It feels like a similar thing is happening now [in Ring of Honor], and it’s a chance for me to be a part of that again, and to elevate the women and to showcase that to the world.”
You can ready Dashwood’s full interview with CBS Local Sports by clicking this link here.
This past weekend in New Orleans former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey made her in-ring WWE debut at WrestleMania 34. The Rowdy One teamed up with Kurt Angle to pick up a win over Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in Mixed Tag Team action.
Despite fans’ initial expectations, Rousey actually did very well for herself inside the ring and wound up picking up the win for her team after locking in an armbar on McMahon. WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin took to his podcast, The Steve Austin Show, to grade Rousey’s performance.
The Texas Rattlesnake said he “absolutely loved” the match and found it very entertaining:
“This was such an entertaining match and I was really wondering how Ronda would handle the moment. Some people have questioned some of her interview skills, and she’s not used to being on an RF mic in front of 20,000 people in these arenas. Mostly it’s trash-talk, and soundbites, and stuff like that and a shoot aspect, and not following storyline stuff, I was wondering, ‘would the moment be too great for her?’ And this match was so damn entertaining.
“There were so many twists and turns, and submission-type moves, and right when you thought, ‘well, here’s the finish,’ they extended it – that wasn’t the finish. And the crowd bought into this. It started off a tad slow. People were wondering, I think, just like I did, but boom! They set the hook there, mister. And, damn near from the bell, it was on. That crowd, everybody there was into that match.”
Austin then broke down Rousey’s body language during the performance, specifically noting how The Rowdy One was smiling from ear to ear when she made her way to the ring:
“When she came out smiling, she looked like a million bucks.” Austin recalled, “I liked the plaid skirt and she came out. She had her gear on and then it was time. She got her game face on at the point, but I know where that came from. I’ll guarantee you that was straight out of the old man. ‘Go out there and smile’ because we know she’s a badass. We know she [has] got that mean mug face when it’s time to go out there and do business.
“And there were plenty of opportunities, and that did happen during the course of the match, but it felt a little weird to me, too, but, I think that he wanted her to smile just to be accessible, maybe to calm the nerves or maybe she’s more free when she’s focused, that laser-focus that she has. But I didn’t expect her to smile.
“But it was her first big performance in front of 78,000 people. Some people were knocking her on it. I could go either way on it, but I do know that when the bell rang, I was watching her body language and hang onto that tag rope.”
With all that being said, taking into account Rousey’s overall performance on The Grandest Stage Of Them All, Austin gave Rousey an A+ – and offered the same grade to the match as well:
“Obviously, they put a lot of time into this, she’s obviously a very talented person, and you had three hands in there with Kurt, Steph, and Triple H being able to go out there and help along with the referee,” Austin explained. “So all of the pieces were set in place for this thing to be, and this thing was built to make all of them shine, but specifically Ronda and help get her over.
“And yeah, this one, I thought they knocked a grand slam, the bases were loaded, and they knocked it out of the park. And so, we’ll see what happens in the future when she starts moving into single’s endeavors, tag team endeavors. Yeah, this was great and they pulled it off. So she still has work to do, but as far as her performance goes, I give her an A+. And I give the match an A+ because that’s how entertained I was by it.”
You can listen to The Steve Austin Show by clicking this link here.
One of the key storylines heading into WrestleMania 34 was who would be Braun Strowman’s tag team partner for his RAW Tag Team Title opportunity against The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro).
Speculation ran rampant from fans as to who the partner could be; with predictions such as The Big Show, Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Hulk Hogan, and many more being tossed around by fans.
When it came down to it, however, Braun Strowman’s partner was none other than – Nicholas. Strowman selected the 10-year-old elementary school student from the crowd, who just so happened to be WWE referee John Cone’s son.
The decision received a mixed review from fans – with some being happy for the child for getting to participate in such an amazing moment, and others being angered by the call as it devalues the RAW Tag Team Titles and both Sheamus and Cesaro as well.
On a recent edition of the Triple Threat Podcast, “The Franchise” Shane Douglas weighed in on WWE’s decision to have Strowman win the titles with Nicholas. He explained why it was a worse call than having David Arquette win the WCW World Heavyweight Title back in 2000:
“My understanding and from the guys in my entourage (that attended WrestleMania) were saying that the audience kind of died after that match and you could kind of felt the energy leave the room. But we’ve heard for eighteen years that Vince Russo is the worst thing ever to wrestling because he put the belt on David Arquette. As much as I disagree with that decision that was better than putting a belt on a ten year old kid. My thought as soon as I heard this was what about Cesaro and Sheamus?
“They’ve got to go out and do a job to one guy that has a ten year old kid as his sidekick. The only way that could have worked and this may sound terrible but if you think it through it is the only way that could have worked and that is if they had a kid that was a Make-A-Wish kid or a kid that had been sick or something and you bring him in and do something to pop the crowd. It would have still been up-roared by wrestling purists but you would have seen some kind of some light at the end of the tunnel with it.
Braun Strowman (Photo: Instagram @WWE)
“Vince Russo has been vilified for eighteen years over the David Arquette thing and now we have this. But to be fair and let’s throw some stuff in there from WrestleMania weekend. There was a show that shall go unnamed (but you can find it I’m sure if you looked) where they had The Invisible Man come out and win a battle royal. I go back to Bill Watts and I tell Bill Watts specifically about that and his mouth dropped open when I said it. To me, it reeks of and it seems that nobody has respect for the industry or their own work in the industry anymore.
“If everything is a spoof and everything is a Saturday Night Live skit where does it end? You mentioned in your lead in that Vince Russo has been vilified in this industry to this day and look at the feedback you guys got off of the interview you had with David Arquette. To me, that is so much more plausible as implausible and that was so much more plausible than having a ten year old kid come out of the audience and win the World Tag Team Titles.
“It speaks to all of what is wrong with our business today and this is what everybody hears me say in any interview and that this is the difference of sports entertainment to professional wrestling. There is a very stark difference. Nothing against the kid and I am happy that he lived a dream that he will have the rest of his life and remember forever but that is not what WrestleMania is supposed to be about and that is not what the product is supposed to be about.
“It just underscores to me just how far off the track our industry has gone. After eighteen years of vilification of Vince Russo of that (David Arquette) decision we now get this. In light of and at the same time we get The Invisible Man winning battle royals, we get freeze-frames, we get pretend hand grenades and all of this crazy stuff that has nothing to do with wrestling.”
WWE will kick off its Superstar Shake-Up next week, a two-day event starting with Monday Night RAW and ending on SmackDown Live the following night.
PWInsider is reporting that all top stars from SmackDown Live are expected to be at Monday’s RAW in Hartford, Connecticut for night one of the Shake-Up. There will be no SmackDown live event that night in order to allow the brand’s top stars to be on RAW for the show.
Behind-The-Scenes At WrestleMania 34
WWE took to YouTube to post the following behind-the-scenes video from WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans this past weekend. The footage features the likes of The Undertaker, Ronda Rousey, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Daniel Bryan, and more. Check it out here:
Shayna Baszler Gets Custom NXT Women’s Title Plates
Over the weekend a new queen was crowned in NXT’s Women’s Division at NXT TakeOver: New Orleans, as Shayna Baszler defeated Ember Moon to capture the title. Baszler posted a photo of her custom title plates on her Instagram story. Here’s a screenshot:
WWE NXT Superstar Johnny Gargano was recently interviewed on the In This Corner podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Gargano was asked about the comparisons between Tommaso Ciampa turning on him to Shawn Michaels turning on Marty Jannetty in the “Barber Shop Window” segment:
“That’s crazy you say that. As a part of my childhood, ‘Barber Shop Window’ was such a huge, monumental moment. Do I think about things that way? I am one of those people that I do something, and then years down the line I’m like ‘oh that was pretty cool!’ When I’m in the moment, I don’t think it’s special.
“I don’t think it’s probably even good. I’m not a fan of any of my own matches, my own work; I’m my own worst critic, but when people say that to me, it’s wild. All of this is still so—I’ve been wrestling for over 13 years—all of this is still so new to me. Coming around [Wrestlemania] Axxess and seeing The Undertaker, Randy Orton and Triple H, and Shawn Michaels, and then there’s a picture of me hanging up with them?
“That doesn’t make sense to me at all! Little Johnny Gargano, like little eight year old Johnny Gargano, he should be here as a fan, but I’m here as a performer. It’s mindblowing. That stuff isn’t lost on me.”
Gargano is one of the most popular and beloved stars on NXT right now. When asked what he attributes this to, Gargano responded by saying he’s simply being himself:
“I’m just real. I’m me. There’s nothing fake about anything I say or anything I do. I think about me as I know what it’s like to be a wrestling fan. I remember the little things, I remember things that as a fan would make me react, would make me go ‘oh, that’s really cool.’ That’s why whenever I see fans waiting at airports or fans waiting outside, I always make sure to go up and say hi to them.
“I know as a fan that would have meant the world to me. I think—I’m an undersized guy, undersized for this business—people see me and they see the ultimate underdog. I think it helps that I’ve been wrestling for thirteen years. A lot of these fans, a lot of these NXT fans, have been along with me on this journey.
“They saw me when I was wrestling in front of 50 people, they saw me when I was wrestling in front of 250 people, and now they’re going to see me wrestling in front of 18,000 people. I was the guy that always dreamed of being WWE, but you’d always see him and go ‘ahh, but he’s not quite big enough, but I’d really like to see Johnny get a shot.’ Johnny got his shot, Johnny’s here, and they feel like ‘we’re going to push him through that door.’”
Photo Credit: @totaldivaseps On Twitter
Having already achieved his dream of making it to WWE, Gargano also offered some advice to current indy talents working the independent scene:
“I love independent wrestling; I always have and I always will, but I know as a child I grew up watching WWE. The moments and the memories that WWE created is what I remember the most as a wrestling fan. My dream, obviously, is to be a part of Wrestlemania, and to be a part of Wrestlemania weekend.
“Yes, you can do that, and I’ve done that multiple years on the indies, but to be here at Axxess and be a part of this company—I know I sound like a real great ‘rah rah’ company guy—this is the best company in the world. NXT has the best talent roster in the world.
“It blows my mind mind how good everyone actually is. Like I said, it’s guys like me who have been traveling the world for a very, very long time, who finally get the shot to work for this company. When I wrestled on the indies— if I could say anything to fellow indie wrestlers, guys like that who are undecided—my goal was to go the ‘Daniel Bryan’ route, the CM Punk route.
“Where you do everything you possibly could on the indies, and then when you feel like you’re fulfilled, you’ve done everything you can, then you come here. That was my goal, I felt like I accomplished a lot, I wrestled on the indies for over ten years, and now I want to be a part of this company. I can’t wait to walk around the Axxess Superstore and look at all of the merchandise; it’s just bigger than all of us and it’s so cool to be a part of.”
You can listen to Jax’s full interview on the In This Corner podcast by clicking this link here.
WWE RAW Women’s Champion Nia Jax made an appearance on the In This Corner podcast prior to her match with Alexa Bliss at WrestleMania 34 this past Sunday. Jax first discussed finding herself as a character in WWE and the company not having anyone like her before:
“When I grew up, I always watched the amazing women, and you’re right— I didn’t just have anyone to kind of be like ‘I want to be exactly like her’ —but I think right now within the company and with NXT, I was able to grow and figure out myself.
“I’m still, Nia Jax is still finding herself, but it’s cool because I love to show all kinds of boys, girls, men, women, you should always embrace who you are. Never allow astigmatism, or the popular thing to define you. So I’m really excited that I get to create something different and new, and hopefully continue to evolve.”
Despite their current relationship on WWE TV, Jax and Alexa Bliss are actually very good friends behind-the-scenes. She talked about being a “homegrown” WWE talent and coming up alongside Bliss in WWE:
“It’s crazy because I didn’t even think of it that way. I don’t know if you heard, but [Alexa Bliss] worked my tryout, so that’s where I first met her and we instantly connected, or I harassed her until she became my friend. [laughs]
“It’s really cool because when you walk into something so big— the [WWE] Performance Center is outstanding, you know if you haven’t been there, and I’m sure you’ve seen videos of it—it is so cool. It is an honor to walk through those doors, and when you take your first bump or do your first flip, you’re just thinking like ‘oh my gosh, how am I going to get to a full match or for ten minutes, let alone 30 minutes?
“You’re right because we are an exact product of NXT and WWE. That’s actually something that when I had tried out—I was originally going to go work with the Wild Samoans, with Afa—my cousin had said ‘you need to go actually try out for WWE because they have their own way.’ So when I did, thankfully they liked me, and the rest is kind of history now.”
Photo Credit: WWE.com
Currently Jax and Bliss are embroiled in a feud with one another on WWE TV, and a large part of that storyline involves Little Miss Bliss poking fun at Jax’s size. Jax believes the reason the feud has done so well is because it’s such a relatable story:
“I appreciate the love and the reactions that they give me. When you’re initially a heel, it’s easier to be a heel. I’d rather people hate me than try to get them to love me. I’m the same way, if someone tries to force me or anything, I’m like ‘no, back up’. I love the fact that the fans have reacted so well to this story because it is such a relatable story.
“Everybody at one point in their time has experienced it on either end. I feel like this is why people are relating to it better and reacting to it and having such a —it’s funny because a lot of young kids are like ‘thank you so much for actually telling this story, because this is what I’m going through.’ They get to see me face my bully.”
Jax was then asked about her “relationship” with WWE commentator Byron Saxton. Saxton has quite the infatuation with Jax, as has been profiled on WWE Network shows such as “Ride Along.”:
“Byron Saxton is creepy. He has a relationship between me and him going on in his head. I’m not included in this personally, like I am but I’m not. He has a weird fetish with my feet, he loves to call me different kinds of names like ‘Samoan Sweetcake’ and ‘Twinkle Toes’. It goes on from there.
“I can’t respond to him, I barely open up his messages. He creeps me out.”
You can listen to Jax’s full interview on the In This Corner podcast by clicking this link here.
WWE continues to apply for interesting new trademarks. PWInsider reports that the company has now applied to trademark the term “Global Localization.” WWE applied for the trademark on April 7th, 2018, and the description for the filing can be found below:
“Entertainment services, namely, a show about professional wrestling; entertainment services, namely, the production and exhibition of professional wrestling events rendered live and through broadcast media including television and radio, and via the internet or commercial online service; providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network; providing information in the fields of sports and entertainment via an online community portal; providing a website in the field of sports entertainment; fan club services, namely, organizing and staging events with wrestling fan club members; providing online newsletters in the field of sports entertainment; online journals, namely, blogs in the fields of sports entertainment; business development; entertainment services, namely, development and distribution of talent and content”
It should be noted that this trademark comes on the heels of rumors that WWE is looking to revamp its “Global Warning” pay-per-view (PPV) event in Australia later this year at a 100,000 seat arena. WWE originally held the event in Australia back in 2002.
People TV’s Profile On Stephanie McMahon
People TV recently did a profile on WWE CBO and Monday Night RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon. McMahon took to Twitter to react to the feature and noted that it focuses on her personal life as a mom of three, as well as her responsibilities in WWE:
Thank you @peopletv for sharing a glimpse into my life. I’ve never shared so much about my life at home. From being a mom to 3 amazing girls, to CBO of @WWE, to Wrestling @RondaRousey in her debut match at #WrestleMania! Check it out at #PeopleFeatureshttps://t.co/nbHp32hLvI
WWE continues to scout the globe for the absolute best talent in the professional wrestling world, and put their world-class Performance Center in Florida to good use.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, WWE was scouting at a Shimmer event during WrestleMania weekend, and Tessa Blanchard was said to be a stand-out performer. Blanchard is the daughter of Four Horsemen alum Tully Blanchard and the step-daughter of Magnum TA.
Recently there have been rumors floating around that Blanchard’s attitude backstage is an issue, however, she cut a promo at an indy show a few months back and addressed this. The 22-year-old has some experience working with WWE in the past.
She lost an opening round match to eventual tournament winner Kairi Sane in the Mae Young Classic. Sane and Blanchard put on a great bout that was very well received from the tournament’s audience.
We’ll keep you updated as we learn more on the situation…
E!’s Total Divas recently wrapped up its seventh season this past January. The show has been in production since 2013 and has been airing for the past five years.
In the past several seasons we have seen Divas come and go from the show, with new stars being added recently such as Carmella, Alexa Bliss, and Nia Jax. Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer reports that both Paige and Sonya Deville are cast for next season.
Liv Morgan of SmackDown Live could also be added to the show as she was recently filming an episode with Lana during WrestleMania 34 weekend. Deville is one-half of the Absolution tag team on RAW, alongside Mandy Rose – who is also showcased on Total Divas.
Deville is one of the first openly gay female athletes on WWE’s roster. As for Morgan, she is one-third of The Riott Squad on SmackDown Live alongside Ruby Riott and Sarah Logan. It should be interesting to see how these young main roster call-ups interact with veterans backstage.
– Bray Wyatt seems to be “Woken,” and that means he’s going to be a lot more vocal with fans on Twitter. One fan teased Wyatt’s relationship with RAW ring announcer JoJo Offerman, saying that she was an attractive and wealthy woman who is with a “fat neckbeard” like Wyatt – not for the money, but because she likes his personality.
Wyatt responded by listing out his accomplishments, before posting a photo of the fan attacking him and captioning it “You are this…..”:
– Relevant Magazine recently published an interview with WWE Champion AJ Styles. In the article, Styles talks about his love for Christian rap – as his faith is something that’s very important to him.
The Phenomenal One named Tedashii, Trip Lee and NF as some artists that he enjoys – but named Lecrae at the top of his list.
– Back in December Roman Reigns claimed in a WWE Network special interview with Corey Graves that he was the best in-ring performer in the world today. A month later, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Kenny Omega responded:
“It is what it is, and I understand that it’s a fun thing for fans to generate interest in the product,” Omega said. “I take absolutely zero offense in him saying it. Especially, since it’s quite clear that the fact of the matter is much, much different.”
It seems The Cleaner has taken the time to respond to WWE’s Big Dog yet again. Reigns recently Tweeted out the following statement:
If Reigns and Omega want any shot at having a match, it’d have to be in NJPW as The Cleaner has been very vocal about not wanting to leave his current promotion.
Discussion: Do you think this could lead to anything between Omega and Reigns in the future? What are the odds The Cleaner makes his way to WWE when his current deal in Japan is up? Do you even want to see Omega in WWE?
– WWE posted the following video of Daniel Bryan watching his first televised match with the company against Chris Jericho. The match happened on NXT, when the show was still a competition series, and Bryan wound up losing to Y2J via submission. Check it out here:
– Liv Morgan made a big mistake by posting a photo on her Instagram story earlier today. Morgan posted a photo of herself without realizing the run sheet for tonight’s NXT tapings was in the background.
The sheet lists out three matches that are scheduled for the program, as well as which Superstars are involved in various segments. WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels was listed as producing a few segments as well as two matches featuring Aleister Black.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhdQgY0ANTT/
– As we’ve noted, RAW General Manager Kurt Angle name-dropped TNA on this past Monday’s episode during a segment with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. Owens and Zayn, who are out of a job at SmackDown Live following their WrestleMania loss to Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon, came to RAW in hopes of finding a spot on the roster.
Angle told the pair that his tag team division was full, but he hears that TNA is hiring. Fans went nuts for the line. IMPACT even responded to the name-drop on their Twitter account shortly after. Now, several days later, IMPACT has again referenced their name being mentioned on WWE TV.
The account joked that someone came into their offices with donuts and a resume, before saying they’re the company everyone wants to work for:
Somebody just showed up at our offices with some donuts and their resume. Looks like we're the company everybody wants to work for these days. #WeAreIMPACTpic.twitter.com/iaxXIZwCkA
This past weekend in New Orleans at WrestleMania 34, Universal Champion Brock Lesnar successfully defended his title against Roman Reigns, contrary to popular belief that The Big Dog would be going over.
24 hours later it was announced that The Beast had signed a new deal with WWE, however, the details of the new contract remain unclear. Lesnar has been confirmed to be defending his title against Reigns yet again, however, this time it will be in a Steel Cage match at the Greatest Royal Rumble event in Saudi Arabia.
Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio reports that WWE and Lesnar agreed to a new deal the Monday prior to WrestleMania. The contract wasn’t signed until the day of WrestleMania in New Orleans.
It was noted that the contract was a new deal, and not an extension of his previous one. Lesnar will also be receiving a higher rate than his last deal, and Meltzer noted that he’s not sure if it’s a one-match contract or not.
The agreement was reportedly kept quiet and very few people knew about it. Roman Reigns wasn’t alerted of this until the day of WrestleMania, and believed he was going to be winning the title from The Beast up until that point. Their original finish to the match was supposed to be Reigns countering the F5 into a spear and pinning Lesnar for the win.
It was then changed to Lesnar F5’ing Reigns for a sixth time and retaining. Nobody went off-script in the match.
It seems that a fan from the U.K. who traveled to New Orleans for WrestleMania weekend has been hospitalized with the measles.
The tourist reportedly attended the 2018 Hall Of Fame Ceremony the Friday before WrestleMania 34, per a report from FOX 8 New Orleans.
He was hospitalized the following night on Saturday and other attendees at the Hall Of Fame are being contacted by the Louisiana Health Department now.
It also appears that, as of this writing, there is no further information on any other events the fan might have attended while infected. It was noted, however, that those who were two rows within the tourist have been emailed and urged to contact the health department:
BREAKING: The UK tourist hospitalized with measles was at the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony Friday before being hospitalized on Saturday. Attendees are receiving notifications from @LADeptHealth now. We’ll have more on @FOX8NOLA.
Not yet. A few attendees of HOF got an email saying they were seated within two rows of the infected man and to call health dept. Still waiting for official details from them.
Another fan on Twitter noted that they received an email saying they were on the same plane as the infected tourist on the way over to New Orleans. The Louisiana Health Department has already concluded that the tourist was already infected before arriving to the U.S.
It was noted that an infected person can take between 10 days to three weeks to show symptoms of measles. We’ll keep you updated….
It has been a great past weekend for former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. She made her professional wrestling debut at WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans, teaming with Kurt Angle to defeat Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in a Mixed Tag Team match.
This comes after a dark period in Rousey’s life, in which she suffered the first back-to-back losses in her mixed martial arts (MMA) career. Rousey told The Ellen Degeneres Show that after her loss to Holly Holm at UFC 193 she struggled with depression and even contemplated suicide (via ESPN):
“Honestly, my thought in the medical room, I was sitting in the corner and was like, ‘What am I anymore if I’m not this?’” said Rousey. “Literally sitting there thinking about killing myself. In that exact second, I’m like, ‘I’m nothing. What do I do anymore? No one gives a s— about me anymore without this.’”
Rousey was recently on E!’s Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry, which airs tonight at 9 P.M. EDT on E!. During that appearance Rousey opened up about her own father’s suicide when she was young:
“My dad, he had broke his back, and he happened to have a really rare blood disorder that kept him from healing, similar to hemophilia and it doesn’t allow you to clot your blood,” said Rousey.
“And so, for years, he was getting platelet transfusions and trying to put rods in his back, everything. Eventually [the doctors] said you’re gonna be a paraplegic and then a quadriplegic and then you’re gonna die and there’s nothing we can do about it.
“And so, my dad decided to take matters into his own hands because he was in a huge amount of pain every day. He couldn’t work anymore, he felt like he was just a drag on the family and he was very much like a person who takes care of everyone. And he drove his car out and he put a hose in the exhaust. I was eight years old.
“I remember that what he passed, I would just try to tell myself that he was on a business trip and he’d be back. And that was my way to cope with it,” Rousey said. “But, I wouldn’t be crying unless he was awesome. He was the best.”
