Last night at WrestleMania, WWE Champion AJ Styles defended his title against 2018 Men’s Royal Rumble winner Shinsuke Nakamura in a “dream match” for the WWE Universe. Despite all the hype and the potential, the match has received mixed reviews from fans and pundits alike. Many described the match as slow paced without the drama and excitement Styles and Nakamura’s matches are typically known for.
While the finish was pretty creative, there weren’t any huge false finishes, ridiculous high spots, or anything else that knocked fans’ socks off. There was actually a “boring” chant from the crowd during the match. The match’s placement on the near seven hour card didn’t help matters much either, as crowd fatigue set in mid-way through the marathon show.
Nakamura’s surprise attack on Styles after the match signifies a heel turn from the Japanese Superstar and likely the continuation of this program.
– Nia Jax defeated Alexa Bliss last night at WrestleMania 34 to become the new RAW Women’s Champion. This comes after weeks of Bliss bullying Jax for being and looking different.
WWE posted a video of Jax after her win, who said she’s happy with the message the match sends out to young boys and girls – not to take crap from people who make you feel insecure about yourself:
– Daniel Bryan is back where he belongs – inside a WWE ring. After years of battling concussions, seizures, and a blockade from WWE’s medical staff – Bryan finally returned to in-ring competition at last night’s WrestleMania in New Orleans.
Bryan was cleared to return to the ring several weeks ago after passing tests from numerous doctors referred to him by WWE’s Medical Director Joseph Maroon. He then entered into a feud with Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn, who attacked Bryan on SmackDown Live after firing the pair.
The former WWE World Heavyweight champion fired Owens and Zayn for their assault on SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon the previous week. Bryan then announced he would team with Shane O’Mac against Owens and Zayn at WrestleMania in a Tag Team match. Had Owens and Zayn won, they would’ve been reinstated on SmackDown.
Bryan and McMahon were attacked from behind early on in the bout, with Bryan being put on a stretcher after getting hit with a powerbomb on the ring apron. He later made his triumphant return into the match to bring his team back, and hooked the YES! Lock on Sami Zayn, who was forced to tap out.
WWE released the following video of Bryan reflecting on his WrestleMania return, and also his daughter getting to see him wrestle. Check it out here:
– New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) star Kenny Omega was asked on Twitter what he was doing during the biggest professional wrestling show in the world. It turns out The Cleaner was too busy playing video games instead of watching the New Orleans show:
– Speaking of WrestleMania, The Miz dropped his Intercontinental Title to Seth Rollins in a Triple Threat match that featured Finn Balor in the opening bout of the main card. Just prior to this, however, The Miz got to meet the stars of “Impractical Jokers” Sal Vulcano and Brian Quinn.
Vulcano and Quinn said that Miz would cheat in his match, which upset Miz (who just so happened to be walking by) a bit. Check it out here:
Paul Heyman recently did an interview with USA Today’s “For The Win” to promote WrestleMania 34, and his client Brock Lesnar’s Universal Title defense against Roman Reigns. Here are the highlights:
Brock Lesnar will take the stage at WrestleMania having held the universal title for more than 365 days – the longest reign of his career. Where does Brock’s reign rank among the great heavyweight champions?
“I never rank Brock alongside anyone else, because I don’t think Brock belongs in a category that should be shared by others. Brock Lesnar is the most unique athlete in this history of World Wrestling Entertainment, and I say that with without embellishment or exaggeration.
“A, there’s no one that has his credentials that has ever stepped into the ring. B, I daresay there’s no one that has his ability, either in the aspect of entertainment or in the aspect of legitimate fighting, that’s ever stepped into the ring. And C, he is the only person in history that has been able to go back and forth between mixed martial arts and sports entertainment with this level of success. So I never compare Brock to others, nor others to Brock, because I feel he’s a category all unto himself.”
You shared an amazing photo on Twitter from when you managed the Samoan Swat Team – what was that experience like and how well did you get to know that family?
“I’ve known the members of Roman Reigns’ family since I was 15 years old. Afa and Sika [Reigns’ father] were very generous with their time and their teachings with me and to me. I knew Roman Reigns when he used to come into the locker room with his father, holding his father’s hand, barely out of diapers. And I don’t say that as an ironic statement… I mean it sincerely. So I’ve known Roman Reigns his entire life and I’ve known his family and worked with his family since I was 15 years old. I had a wild time with the Samoan Swat Team in 1989. Samu and Fatu, who’s now better known as Rikishi, were just coming into WCW from Dallas, Texas, and they were as wild as wild could be.
“There are famous stories about wars we had on the road, on the highways, with Sting and the Steiners that are legendary in the South. I, to this day, am blackballed from renting a car in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, because of the Samoan Swat Team…. It was a most unique experience for me, but it was a learning experience because I learned so much about the culture and the upbringing and the closeness of that family.
“Without any kind of exaggeration, there’s about 100 members of that family that are in and around and involved in the pro wrestling business. They all have each other’s back, they all have a passion for this industry – or the others won’t allow them in. So for Roman Reigns to now step up as the leader of the family, and taking the family name and legacy into the main event of WrestleMania for the fourth consecutive year is an awful lot of pressure on Roman Reigns. And I commend him on the dignity with which he carries that legacy.”
People love to speculate about who you may advocate for in the future – but it’s very clear that you have a special connection with Brock Lesnar. If Vince McMahon told you ‘hey, I want you with so-and-so tomorrow,’ is that something that could even work, or do you have to be invested in that performer first?
“Yes, I would have to be invested in that person first. B, I think I have established such credibility in the things that I say with Brock Lesnar, that I don’t envision Vince McMahon forcing someone to be paired with me – because unless I truly believe in that person, I don’t think Vince would want me to advocate for them. And again, to be blunt here, Brock and I are fully committed to making this WrestleMania, April 8th in the main event with Roman Reigns, as memorable an event as has ever been presented by WWE. Neither one of us has made the commitment to stay after April 8th yet because we’re so focused on April 8th.
“Brock is very task-oriented. He learned that on the dairy farm in Webster, South Dakota, when he was a child. 5 a.m., wake up, milk the cows. 7:30 a.m., get the eggs from the chickens. You handle the wheat at 11:00 a.m. And he takes on each task as it stands in front of him. We both made the commitment through April 8th. I can, with great candor, tell you I have no idea WrestleMania for either one of us in this business, because Brock is obviously eyeballing a return to the octagon.
“It’s no secret now. I’m developing projects in a co-production between my agency, the Looking 4 Larry agency, and Roy Bank’s Banca Studio, to pitch to networks. Whether that means April 8th is the last day in this industry? I don’t know yet, and I’m very comfortable with that because it just allows us to laser-focus on putting together the greatest main event possible for this year’s WrestleMania.”
You can ready Heyman’s full interview with USA Today’s “For The Win” by clicking this link here.
It looks like The Rowdy One has interest in becoming the first-ever Paul Heyman Girl – but don’t hold your breathe on the possibility.
Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer reports Rousey wants to have Heyman advocate for her in the ring. That’s highly unlikely to happen, however, due to backstage politics between Heyman and the McMahons.
Rousey is being booked up to be a huge babyface fighting against the authoritarian figure of Stephanie McMahon. Heyman is seen as a heel on WWE TV, despite the fact that current Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is received as a babyface due to Heyman’s representation.
Discussion: Does having Heyman paired up with Rousey make sense? Would Rousey do better as a heel? Will WWE bite the bullet and allow Heyman to advocate for The Rowdy One?
WWE COO Triple H recently did an interview with ESPN to talk about several professional wrestling topics. One such topic was NXT Superstar Adam Cole. The Game had some high praise for Cole and believes he has a very bright future with the company. Here’s what he had to say:
“I think he plays a very big role, probably, in what WWE will be over the [next few] years. He’s a very talented young man, lot of charisma. That’s the thing that I would say first. Talented in-ring performer, absolutely, but the charisma and the character, that’s there. Great human being, too. Those are the things that make me happy about his success, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he does with all the things that are coming his way, and how he takes advantage of them
“The truth is, we can put the opportunity out there, but what’s done with it and where it goes is on the talen, I say that all the time. We just set the table, and you can say whether it was set right or it was set wrong, but we set the table, and they get the opportunity. Everybody has the chance to knock that opportunity out of the park, and to run with it. He, so far, has. Hopefully he will continue to.”
You can ready Triple H’s full interview with ESPN by clicking this link here.
With rumors circulating that Big Cass is nearing a return to WWE TV, following a torn ACL suffered several months ago, it appears he could possibly be returning under a new name. WWE filed to trademark the name “Colin Cassady” on March 30th, 2018. This was Cass’ name before being known as Big Cass in WWE.
Perhaps WWE is attempting to remove any sort of association with Enzo Amore by bringing back Cass as a new character. Here is WWE’s explanation of what they plan on trademarking the “Colin Cassady” name for:
“Entertainment services, namely wrestling exhibitions and performances by a professional wrestler and entertainer rendered live and through broadcast media including television and radio and via the internet or commercial online services; 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; organizing and staging entertainment events with wrestling fan club members; providing online newsletters in the fields of sports entertainment; online journals, namely blogs, in the fields of sports entertainment”
UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor has landed himself in some hot water over this past week. The Irishman attacked a UFC fighter bus by tossing a dolly at it and breaking a window. The glass cut UFC lightweight Michael Chiesa – forcing him to pull from his fight against Anthony Pettis and also landed glass fragments in the eye of UFC flyweight Ray Borg – also forced to pull from his respective bout.
McGregor later turned himself into the local authorities hours after the incident and is awaiting bail. The attack was in retaliation for tomorrow’s UFC 223 pay-per-view (PPV) main event fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov punking McGregor’s teammate, Artem Lobov, in their hotel earlier this week. Nurmagomedov was on the bus that was attacked.
Sheamus took to Instagram to poke fun at The Notorious One, posting a picture of a dolly and saying it will be Braun Strowman’s partner at WrestleMania on Sunday:
For more coverage of McGregor’s situation, run over to our sister site, MMANews.com. We have staff in Brooklyn exclusively covering the latest surrounding the event!
WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz is set to defend his title in a Triple Threat match against Finn Balor and Seth Rollins at WrestleMania 34 this weekend. The Miz has experienced many snubs in the WWE promotional department in the past, but to be left off an advertisement for The Grandest Stage Of Them All as a title-holder – it’s the ultimate disrespect.
Before Miz made his scheduled appearance at the Cricket Wireless store in New Orleans, he took to Instagram to comment on being left off the ad. Check it out:
Ex-UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey is officially now a WWE Superstar. Rousey is expected to make her in-ring debut at WrestleMania 34 this weekend in New Orleans. She will team up with WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle against Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in a Mixed Tag Team match.
The Queen Of Harts recently did a column for The Edmonton Sun and praised The Rowdy One’s work ethic in her professional wrestling career. Here’s what she had to say:
“At the Royal Rumble, no one could forget the debut of Ronda Rousey. Ronda is one of the most prominent names and a pioneer for female athletes. To have her join our roster of strong, empowered women is truly awesome. Ronda is very special in so many ways. She is a dedicated athlete who is passionate about what she believes in. What I love about her is that she makes no apologies for who she is.
“If she has a dream, she goes for it, even if she’s not entirely sure how it’s going to all work out. She knows that if she gives it her all and puts in the work, she won’t have regrets. I respect Ronda, I admire her and I’m proud to call her a friend. I also can’t wait to wrestle her one day!”
The Rock is currently on a media tour to promote his new film “Rampage.” It just so happens his old WrestleMania foe, John Cena, is doing to same to promote his own movie “Blockers.” The Great One recently made an appearance on The Jimmy Kimmel Show and was asked about Cena’s Hollywood success.
Rock was asked if he and The Leader Of The Cenation have any real tension with one another, because although they feuded in the WWE, the rivalry wasn’t real. The former WWE Champion actually corrected Kimmel and revealed some real issues he had with Cena:
“In the world of wrestling, as you guys know, it’s fictionalized, it’s a TV show. But we had our rivalry, and now we can look back on it, it was so real. Like, we had real problems with each other,” Johnson said. “We had real issues with each other.
“Now… he’s one of my best friends,” Johnson said. “We talk all the time, I’m rooting for him to win.”
WWE RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss recently did an interview with TV Insider to promote her WrestleMania 34 title defense against Nia Jax. Bliss first discussed her appreciation for WWE’s creative team and not knowing how she’ll make her WrestleMania entrance yet:
“Our creative team is awesome. They always take our suggestions for entrances. We always try to work with them because sometimes they have some ideas for us or sometimes there are no ideas at all. So, we just have to mesh together and be open to suggestions on both ends. Our creative teams and writing teams are always great about that.”
Little Miss Bliss then talked about her feud with Nia Jax and their build-up to their bout in New Orleans:
“It has been a very real road with Nia. We both have struggled with image issues in the past. So, it’s a very real subject that we are bringing to light with mine and Nia’s story. I think because it’s an actual issue, people can relate. There are people who are bullied or are bullies.
“I think it’s one of those things that people are going to be invested in our story because it’s real and there is real emotion behind it. People know that me and Nia up to this point were best friends, which they’ve seen through Monday Night Raw and Total Divas. Now our storyline is more personal; I think that is what getting people into what we are doing.”
The RAW Women’s Champ then offered her thoughts on ex-UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey joining the roster:
“I’ve always said that if anyone can legitimize the fan’s perception of what we do, I think it’s Ronda. Everyone knows she has made a name for herself in UFC and had this division built around her. She has done all these amazing things, but to see her train and struggle and do the grind of what we do, I think it gives people more appreciation for what we do. For many, Ronda is it. I think it’s great that we have her, and I think it’s what our ‘Women’s Revolution’ needs.”
You can read Bliss’ full interview with TV Insider by clicking this link here.
Roman Reigns recently did an interview with The New York Post to promote his Universal Championship match against Brock Lesnar this weekend in New Orleans at WrestleMania 34. Reigns was first asked about Paul Heyman saying Brock Lesnar will most likely return to UFC after WrestleMania:
“Not only will it help fuel this fire between Brock and I, it will get some truth that needs to be said a little bit. Some people need to hear this stuff because this has kind of been a thing. Brock’s not the only part-time guy. But there are a lot of full-time guys that are never gonna, as a collective, reach our potentials if we are dominated in this portion of the year by part-time guys.”
The Big Dog also explained why business is better within WWE when the company has a full-time World Champion:
“Whenever you have a champion who is on every single live event, every single house show, every single appearance that’s scheduled, it changes numbers. It’s true. I’ve seen it before. The tour we had after I beat Triple H in Dallas [at WrestleMania 32] the numbers didn’t lie and it’s not going to be any different [this time].”
Reigns then described how huge a victory over Lesnar on The Grandest Stage Of Them All would be for his career:
“It wouldn’t only be huge for me. It would be huge for this whole locker room. This is a team thing that we do and I represent this new generation.”
You can read Reigns’ full interview with The New York Post by clicking this link here.
– WWE posted the following WrestleMania Diary video on their YouTube channel of 2018 Hall Of Fame inductee Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett did an interview with The Midday 180 on Nashville’s 104.5 The Zone:
– Below are videos of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon arriving in New Orleans for their Mixed Tag Team match against Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey at WrestleMania 34 this weekend. Check it out:
– WWE posted a clip from WWE Network’s “Ride Along,” featuring Jinder Mahal and Sunil Singh. Mahal discussed the formation of Three Man Band (3MB) and said he believes the faction will return one day as a dominant one:
WWE Superstar John Cena recently did an interview with Collider to promote his new film, “Blockers.” The Leader Of The Cenation discussed how comfortable he’s getting with comedic acting:
“I think a lot of that is being comfortable with the people around you and being comfortable with the material. Even if it’s not your sense of humor, you have to understand the humor. I also know that a lot of the humor rests on me looking like an idiot, so I’m okay with that. I’m okay with looking like an idiot.
“Some people don’t go there, but I don’t care. You have to get the perspective of funny people and not have any reservations on looking like a dumb-ass. I just trusted Kay and trusted my co-workers, and hoped that she then put it together well.”
If he ever imagined that he’d be butt-chugging, as his character does on the film:
“No, but I couldn’t have imagined any of this. I couldn’t have imagined that I’d have a WWE match and they’d give me money for it. This is not supposed to happen. For me to digest that moment, the moment is essentially that this dude will do anything for his daughter, and then he gets called out on it. He’s a guy who’s a man of his word. He will do anything for his daughter. Not only does that statement mean something, but he genuinely means it.
“It’s funny as hell. You’ll laugh out loud. But if you wanna talk about a vulnerable moment for a dude who’s built like a brick shithouse, to be humbled and humiliated in front of a part full of people because he’s worried about a bad decision his daughter may or may not make, that’s where I get the depth of shoving a beer up my butt.
“Everybody has their own process, but that’s why it’s funny and that’s why I’ll do it. It fits in the movie. It’s not just, “Hey, so we have this gag and we wanna do the gag.” There’s meaning behind it.”
He also commented on the reception that the movie has been receiving thus far:
“My goodness, of course! We saw it at SXSW, which is an amazing place to premiere a movie, and people were laughing so hard that they missed a lot of the punchlines. They were laughing over five jokes. You wanna stand there and be like, “Guys, be quiet!,” but at the same time, you don’t because they’re laughing at moments.
“Moments outlive punchlines. The punchlines will lose their luster, after awhile, but people were laughing at the outrageous moments of the movie, and that sets something up for long-term success. They’ll just have to go back and see it again.”
You can read Cena’s full interview with Collider by clicking this link here.
Ring Of Honor (ROH) star Cody Rhodes recently did an interview with NOLA.com to promote this weekend’s Supercard Of Honor XII event. Rhodes first commented on his feud with Kenny Omega:
“I spend more time with those guys. I put in way more work than Kenny, who has the reputation of having some of the best matches in the world, but that’s a lot easier to do when you barely ever wrestle. The issue has been Kenny not going quietly into the night. We thought it would be easy for me to beat up Kenny Omega with Crossroads and leave him lying, and I would be the leader of the Bullet Club. But Kenny is not giving up the position, the title easily.”
The former WWE Intercontinental Champion then explained why his upcoming match with Omega is important:
“Whether there were tensions or whether this was a cold match, it still holds the same importance because it’s the very first time Kenny and I have ever squared off in singles competition. It was a match people have asked for for a number of years. We weren’t getting close to it because we were both members of the Bullet Club.
“There’s been tension, but this match is very important to the wrestling community. His star has risen from his performances, his stellar matches that he has had in Japan, and here in the States as well. He should be very proud of what he’s been able to accomplish.”
In regards to a possible return to WWE, Rhodes really can’t see that happening for him anytime soon:
“It’s always safe to say never say never. But … no. Only because we’ve taken on such a project with All In. Wrestling is currently going through a revolution. It’s less about the brand and more about the talent and their fans. That’s my focus. I don’t think I really could belong anywhere ever again. I make Ring of Honor my home team these days, but I still play my music how I want to play it. I had a great time in WWE. I had multiple singles matches at WrestleMania.
“Met my wife there. It was a really wonderful place to grow up. It’s the house that built me. But also, it’s where I learned the fundamentals of this industry, which have led me to seek it outside WWE. The wrestling that I love the most doesn’t happen there. It’s not a knock on them. It’s just the wrestling that I love the most, is out there in the world. And that’s where I tend to be these days.”
You can read Rhodes’ full interview with NOLA.com by clicking this link here.
There has been a ton of speculation on whether or not The Undertaker will return under his American Badass gimmick at WrestleMania 34 this weekend. Taker is expected to confront John Cena, who has been calling him out for the past several weeks on RAW, however it’s unknown if the pair will have a match or not.
In a recent episode of Busted Open Radio, former WWE Champion Chris Jericho explained why he doesn’t think the gimmick will be returning this weekend:
“American Bad Ass is a pretty cool character, and Taker loves it, but guess which character Vince McMahon loves? It’s the Undertaker, Vince’s greatest creation. I’ll be the devil’s advocate to you guys – I would feel a little disappointed if it was the American Bad Ass, because I love the Undertaker, and I love that entrance, and you’ve been out there when you hear that bell and the druids chanting – it’s second to none.
“There’s never been an entrance like that in wrestling, in my opinion, and we’ve been waiting for it, teasing for it, for so much I feel if it was the American Bad Ass it would be a little bit of a downer – for me.”
“Your fanbase is a little bit more of a knowledgeable fan base, a little bit more of a hardcore fan base I would venture to say. Where you have 70,000 people in the Superdome where 60,000 of them don’t even remember what the American Bad Ass is? We haven’t spoken of the American Bad Ass, we haven’t had any video packages or any recollections of that guy, you would have a bunch of people going ‘What is this?’ in my opinion.
“Once again, I think that it’s a really cool debating point if you know wrestling and you’re a giant wrestling fan and you’ve been watching since 2000. There’s a lot of people who just started watching over the last three or four or five years, a lot John Cena fans that don’t know what happened in 2000.
“So, once again, in my opinion, the hardcores would like to see it cause it’s something different, whereas your general, average wrestling fan will go nuts when the Undertaker’s music hits and I think, I’m a 100% certain, that it’s gonna be the Undertaker at WrestleMania, and not the American Bad Ass.”
WWE Monday Night RAW commentator Corey Graves recently did an interview with Rolling Stone to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Graves first discussed what it’s like doing commentary instead of competing inside the ring like he used to:
“I think I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t always something of a little glimmer of hope that something miraculously would change. But I’ve fully embraced my role now… I’m cool with wearing suits and talking about other people for a while, because I can hopefully do this a lot longer.”
Graves also briefly commented on calling his first WrestleMania this weekend in New Orleans, saying he gets goosebumps just thinking about it:
“I just get goosebumps talking about it.”
While Graves appreciates the praise he gets for his work on the commentary booth, he still holds Bobby Heenan and Jesse Ventura on a pedestal – and he still has a long way before he gets there:
“They are mythical creatures to me. I’d love to be in the same breath as them, but I probably won’t accept it someday, maybe not until I’m gone.”
You can read Graves’ full interview with Rolling Stone by clicking this link here.
– Fans are upset that The Undertaker wasn’t on Monday Night RAW last night to accept John Cena’s WrestleMania challenge. For the past several weeks The Leader Of The Cenation has been calling The Deadman out, but to no avail. Since Taker doesn’t use social media, fans typically go to his wife, former WWE Women’s Champion Michelle McCool, for answers.
One fan told McCool they were very disappointed her husband didn’t show up last night. When he asked “where is your husband???” McCool responded by revealing they’re actually eating breakfast:
– This past weekend at a WWE live event, with some help from Mike Rome and Nia Jax, Paige pranked her fellow Absolution members Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville. The pair were told Paige missed her flight and got in trouble before being sent home. Check it out here:
– After RAW went off-air last night, RAW Tag Team Champions The Bar (Cesaro and Sheamus) hit the ring to attack Roman Reigns. John Cena’s music hit and The Leader Of The Cenation came down for the save. Cena hit an Attitude Adjustment and Reigns hit a Spear – both at the same time – to send the crowd home happy.
– In the opening segment of Monday Night RAW, a Q&A session took place inside the ring between Kurt Angle, Ronda Rousey, Triple H, and Stephanie McMahon – hosted by Jonathan Coachman (which was awfully similar to a UFC pre-fight press conference).
During their face-offs things got physical between the four, which led to McMahon putting Rousey through a table. Rousey and Angle will team up against Triple H and Stephanie at WrestleMania 34. It will be Rousey’s official in-ring debut for WWE.
Rousey took to Instagram to comment on being put through a table, using a quote from George Santayana:
– Elias is not currently penciled in for a match at WrestleMania 34 this weekend, however, he noted on RAW last night that he’s preparing for the greatest performance of a lifetime in New Orleans this Sunday:
Last night’s episode of RAW featured a tremendous match between Seth Rollins and Finn Balor. The pair will be challenging for The Miz’s Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 34 this weekend. Before that, however, The Architect and The Demon King went to-to-toe with Miz on commentary.
The pair tore the house down before Rollins was able to hit a Curb Stomp for the victory. In an interesting bit of backstage news, Fightful’s Sean Ross Sapp reports that Tyson Kidd was actually the producer of the match:
Tyson Kidd produced the Seth Rollins vs. Finn Balor match that is about to happen.
— Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful.com (@SeanRossSapp) April 3, 2018
Several months ago WWE hired Kidd as a backstage producer. If Kidd is able to produce more matches like what Rollins and Balor performed last night, he has a very bright future ahead of him indeed.
– As we’ve noted, The Undertaker did not appear on last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW to accept John Cena’s WrestleMania 34 challenge. Despite Undertaker remaining silent, Cena continues to poke fun at The Deadman on social media. He posted the following on his Instagram:
One of the most talented tag teams on the WWE’s roster right now is none other than SmackDown Live Tag Team Champions The Usos – and Paul Heyman has taken notice. In a recent interview with NBC Sports, where he also explained how Cody Rhodes’ success outside WWE parallels Steve Austin, Heyman expressed his high praise for the sons of WWE Hall Of Famer Rikishi:
“That’s on them. The Usos are a great example, a GREAT example. The Usos were always frustrated because they always felt that they could be the defining tag team of this generation. They didn’t just want to put on good matches, they didn’t just want to have a catchy entrance tune, they didn’t want to just look good on pay-per-view and on television, the Usos wanted the opportunity to be the defining tag team of this generation.
“They tried all of these different ways to get to that level until finally they just came out of the box with their promos and their promos now are so innovative, so progressive, so ahead of everyone else’s that they are now truly in my opinion now have an argument to say, they are not only the best tag team in WWE right now, but certainly of the last decade and could certainly wind up being the best tag team of all time.”
You can read Heyman’s full interview with NBC Sports by clicking this link here.
Professional wrestling fans often hold the Attitude Era as the greatest in WWE history. The Attitude Era is essentially used as the measuring stick for what WWE produces today. A lot of today’s professional wrestling fans despise the “PG Era” WWE is currently in, and one day hope for the company to return to content similar to what was produced in the late 90s or early 2000s.
WWE Superstar John Cena addressed this in a recent interview with Screen Rant and explained why the Attitude Era wouldn’t work in today’s world:
“Coming in in 2002 you’re still riding the coattails of the Attitude Era. It’s 18-35-year-old males, it’s very visceral, the entertainment is very extreme. Fast forward to 2004, 2005, 2006, more families are showing up. and I don’t feel comfortable saying the things I was saying on the microphone because I got to look at a little kid and at that point, I’m supposed to be the good guy?
“That’s not how a good guy is so I use the opportunity of the platform of The Marine – because the movie did reach a bunch of people – to genuinely, subtly, begin to change my character into more of a P.G. environment because those are the tools I’m dealt. I can do a butt chug scene if you put an ‘R’ on the movie but when you put a TV-PG on the show and you’re out there doing stuff that makes your audience feel uncomfortable, your career longevity is going to be nothing.
“So a lot of these guys today also want to do all the things we’re not supposed to do. That’s not being a good mechanic. You take the tools that you have to fix the problems in front and everybody’s like, hey, would you bring back the rap guy? It would bomb right now. It would bomb. One, because all those punch lines are inappropriate. Especially, for now, they’re not P.G. so if I were to still come out in the outfit, I did, I managed to sneak one in against the Rock.
“Man, was it difficult to write those lines and I even had to say before I cut the promo, okay, sometimes you have to fight fire with fire so I’m sorry that I have to do this but it’s got to be done. I had to preface it with like earmuffs, kids, because it’s about to get pretty raw and even still meandering through all that I had a double entendre my way through something that I could possibly only do for one night, or it would not work right now. Neither would The Attitude Era.”
You can ready Cena’s full interview with Screen Rant by clicking this link here.
Last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW was the final opportunity for The Undertaker to respond to John Cena’s WrestleMania 34 challenge. The Leader Of The Cenation has been calling out The Deadman for the past several weeks.
After failing to punch his ticket to WrestleMania by way of the Royal Rumble, the Elimination Chamber, and a Six-Pack Challenge match for the WWE Title at Fastlane – Cena attempted to land a bout at The Showcase Of The Immortals be attempting to lure out Taker.
Despite a hefty amount of derogatory remarks on the microphone, and a social media campaign fronted by the #DoSomething hashtag, Undertaker has produced no response to Cena’s challenge.
Although the match is expected to happen, fans believed last night’s RAW would be the night we finally received an answer from Undertaker. Instead, The Deadman made no appearance and delivered no message to Cena.
Cageside Seats reports that Undertaker didn’t appear on RAW to accept Cena’s challenge because they don’t feel that they need to officially promote the match, and hope the uncertainty surrounding it will be enough buzz for it.
– On last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW, Seth Rollins and Finn Balor went one-on-one in an amazing match, while Intercontinental Champion The Miz sat in on commentary. Miz will defend his title against both Balor and Rollins in a Triple Threat match at WrestleMania 34 this weekend.
After Rollins and Balor’s amazing match in Atlanta last night, 2018 WWE Hall Of Fame inductee Bubba Ray Dudley took to Twitter to comment on the bout:
The #RAW and #SDLive before ‘Mania are probably the most “nerve wracking” shows of the year because no-one wants to get hurt before the big one.
– PWInsider is reporting that former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Brian Kendrick was backstage at last night’s episode of RAW. Notable injured names that weren’t backstage include Jason Jordan and Big Cass.
