It looks like WWE may have made an announcement a little too early than they would’ve liked.
On last night’s episode of SmackDown Live, it was announced that SmackDown Live Tag Team Champions The Usos would defend their titles in a Triple Threat Tag Team match against The New Day and The Bludgeon Brothers.
A recent report from Sportskeeda suggests that match is going to be a Tables Ladders and Chairs bout, and WWE accidentally leaked that info shortly after the official announcement on the WWE App.
Some people reported on Twitter that the WWE App announced the match as a TLC match before quickly removing the announcement soon after:
Current WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar is scheduled to work the final live event of his current WWE deal on Friday in Boston from the TD Garden. WWE actually added Lesnar to this show early in February. He will defend his title against Kane and Braun Strowman in a Triple Threat match. Lesnar is currently involved in a storyline with Elimination Chamber winner Roman Reigns, who he will defend his Universal Title against at WrestleMania 34 next month in New Orleans.
Lesnar is currently scheduled to appear on tonight’s episode of Monday Night RAW from Cleveland, Ohio, as well as next week’s episode from Atlanta, Georgia. Last week Lesnar made his return to WWE TV to attack Reigns, who had been handcuffed by the authorities for showing up to RAW during his suspension. It’s expected that Lesnar will drop the Universal Championship to Reigns at WrestleMania in order to anoint “The Big Dog” the new face of the company.
WWE is still in negotiations to re-sign Lesnar, who they’d like to work a program with the returning Bobby Lashley if possible. “The Beast” still has the option to return to the Octagon in the UFC. The interest is certainly there as he was photographed with UFC President Dana White in Las Vegas last month. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more…
For the past several days wrestling fans have been in a bit of a scare as AJ Styles has been dealing with an undisclosed injury as of late. This puts the “dream match” between Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania 34 in jeopardy. Nakamura won the 2018 Men’s Royal Rumble and elected to challenge for Styles’ WWE Championship in New Orleans. This is a match fans have been wanting to see for quite some time, especially given the pair’s history in Japan.
Recently Styles said that he would work on one leg if it meant making the WrestleMania dream match happen. There’s some good news in regards to Styles’ injury, as he returned to action this past weekend when he teamed up with The New Day in Eight-Man Tag Team action. He didn’t do much work in the match, but the fact he was cleared to work it should be a good sign. In a recent edition of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that he doesn’t think the injury is any big issue since he worked this weekend.
He acknowledged Styles didn’t work much in the matches he was in, however, did note that the fact he’s cleared to compete is a good sign. Meltzer said there’s nothing to worry about in Styles working the match at WrestleMania, and said even if he’s on one leg he and Nakamura will still put on a great match. He also speculated that Styles’ injury could be MCL related, however, that has yet to be confirmed.
WWE Superstar Roman Reigns was recently interviewed on The Sam Roberts’ Wrestling Podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. “The Big Dog,” who won last month’s Elimination Chamber match, will be challenging Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title at WrestleMania 34 next month in New Orleans.
Reigns was asked about the recent label put on him of being Vince McMahon’s “golden boy.” The former Shield member responded by saying, in a sense, all WWE Superstars are “Vince’s boys”:
“Whether you’re somebody who’s been in a situation like me, or you’re somebody who is new, or has been around for a long time and hasn’t gotten the push that everyone thinks they deserve, the bottom-line is—we’re all Vince’s boys.
“And when it comes down to it, what we do for him and this company, he has a huge respect for that. You couldn’t be him and be involved in this business and run it the way he has, if you didn’t have the ultimate respect for your performers, for your talent.”
You can listen to Reigns’ full interview on The Sam Roberts’ Wrestling Podcast by clicking this link here.
WWE Hall Of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts was recently interviewed on the Prime Time with Sean Mooney podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Roberts first discussed how his poor relationship with his father, Aurelian “Grizzly” Smith, both angered and motivated him in his professional wrestling career:
“It was ultimately about anger. I was upset with my father. For me, to be in a locker room where there are crude jokes being made, but are being thrown at me because of my father. That blistered me. It made me feel so empty inside, and so full of shame. Shame is such a dangerous thing to deal with,” Roberts said.
“I had a tough time in the locker room because sometimes wrestlers have this hard-edge to them. There were a lot of things being said and done, and as I look back I wondered how I was able to overcome all of that.”
He then discussed how professional wrestling was his life 24/7, and he sometimes even wonders if he could’ve accomplished more:
“The way I was able to was because of the wrestling. It would consume my mind, heart and soul, it was 24/7 wrestling. I couldn’t trust anything else in life to be fair, because I never knew what was going to come to me next. Just to be able to focus on wrestling and have a great career, sometimes I think about how I could have accomplished so much more.
“Maybe I could have, but I feel that I did a hell of a lot,” Roberts said. “I had a pretty good career; rang some bells, and all of that. I am just so grateful for what I did do, and so grateful to of found the right woman to have children with and that my children do not have alcohol of drug issues. I am so grateful for that. My oldest daughter heads the largest rehab in the world.”
Prior to signing with WWE, Roberts earned his claim to fame during his run in Mid South Wrestling. His work caught the attention of Vince McMahon, who offered him a deal he was initially hesitant to accept. Eventually Roberts realized a WWE move was what was best for his career:
“I gave my notice to Mid-South, and they accepted it. Vince McMahon had tried to hire me before when I was in Georgia Championship Wrestling. I wanted to stay true to the NWA, so I didn’t go. Few years later I gave my notice after being screwed over again by Bill Watts. I picked up the phone and called New York and asked to speak with Vince McMahon,” Roberts explained.
“They said that Vince McMahon wasn’t going to be around for a few more weeks, and I was thinking, ‘Oh my God, I just gave my notice, so what am I going to do?’ I let my wife know that I couldn’t get a hold of him, and of course she didn’t want to hear that. As soon as I was going to head to the gym she said that Vince McMahon was on the phone, which I didn’t believe her.
“I went to the phone and he had told me to get on the airplane and fly up there, which was what I did. I sat down with him and we had a decent conversation, and that was that.”
You can listen to Roberts’ interview on the Prime Time with Sean Mooney podcast by clicking this link here.
– WWE Champion AJ Styles recently did an interview with Sky Sports to promote his upcoming title defense against Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania 34 next month in New Orleans. Styles was asked about his fans and peers labeling him the best wrestler in the world, and explains why he doesn’t agree with that sentiment:
“No, I would not agree with that,” Styles said. “I think there’s still a lot to be learned by AJ Styles and you can’t consider yourself to be the best when you’ve still got so much stuff to learn.”
You can read Styles’ full interview with Sky Sports by clicking this link here.
– Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho also did an interview of his own, this one with Milwaukee Magazine, to talk about his WWE status. “Y2J” explained why he likes not being under a full-time contract with WWE, as it allows him to do what he wants and manage other projects accordingly:
“I don’t do things for money anymore,” Jericho said. “I do it because I like to do it. It’s a good place, man, to do whatever I want to do and to enjoy all these different projects and make sure that fans can continue to get a lot of excitement out of what I do. It’s very important for me to make sure people can never pin down what Jericho is going to do next.”
You can read Jericho’s interview with the Milwaukee Magazine by clicking this link here.
WWE COO Triple H recently did an interview with Express to promote his WrestleMania 34 match; in which he’ll team up with Stephanie McMahon against the team of Ronda Rousey and Monday Night RAW General Manager Kurt Angle. This will be the first professional wrestling match of Rousey’s career. “The Game” brought up the interesting fact that this will be Stephanie’s first-ever match at WrestleMania:
“This is actually Steph’s first match at WrestleMania,” Triple H said. “The opportunity to step in the ring at WrestleMania with Steph is very exciting, she’s very excited about that opportunity but then to go back in time, so to speak, with Kurt and I … It’s awesome to see Kurt come back after all this time.”
Triple H then discussed how amazing its been to be a part of Rousey’s rise in the WWE, and what it’s going to be like when the four of them step into the ring on “The Grandest Stage Of Them All”:
“And then to step into the ring with probably one of the biggest signings from an outside notoriety standpoint and certainly one of the most amazing signings athletically is the signing of Ronda Rousey,” Triple H responded.
“For her to come in to the WWE, not just as an attraction, not just as somebody coming in and looking for a moment or shine on a different platform, but she really feels like she’s home and that WWE is going to be bigger than anything she’s done in her career and she’s really excited about being here and wanting this.
“To be there as a part of the launch of that, and that’s really what this is, it’s just the opportunity to get her going and to kind of launch what she’s going to bring to the table,” Triple H said.
“It’s really exciting and this will be a special one for a lot of reasons for me and it’s funny because it kind of encapsulates a lot of things for me. My relationship with Steph, my history with Kurt but also a long journey of conversation and everything else with Ronda.”
You can read Triple H’s full interview with Express by clicking this link here.
This year’s 2018 WWE Hall Of Fame class is complete. The inductees who will be honored the night prior to WrestleMania 34 in New Orleans are Goldberg, Mark Henry, The Dudley Boyz, Hillbilly Jim, Ivory, Jeff Jarrett, Warrior Award recipient Jarrius Robertson, and Celebrity Wing inductee Kid Rock. As with every year, WWE fans like to debate who has been snubbed from the honor for the past several years, and who got the call too soon before a more deserving candidate.
One name WWE fans bring up is none other than Kevin Sullivan; who has more than 50 years of experience in the business after his work with promotions such as CWF, NWA, and WCW. Sullivan was recently interviewed on the Pancakes And Powerslams Podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. He was asked about not yet being inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame. Sullivan divulged that he doesn’t think he’ll ever go into the Hall Of Fame because he never worked for WWE:
“No, because I didn’t work [in the WWE],” said Sullivan. “I don’t think that’s ever gonna happen, and I don’t blame them. They have their own company, and their own stars. Hey, I’m gonna be honest with you, probably my time has passed [and WWE] will never even think of that.”
You can listen to Sullivan’s interview on the Pancakes And Powerslams show by clicking this link here.
WWE Superstar Mandy Rose was recently interviewed by former WWE ring announcer Lilian Garcia on her podcast, Chasing Glory, to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Rose first discussed being brought up to the main roster recently with Paige and Sonya Deville as part of Absolution:
“It’s been great. So far, I can’t complain,” Rose said. “Being brought in with Absolution and our mentor, Paige, I think it’s really cool, and really full circle since she was our judge on Tough Enough, and she hated me. She was rough with me, but I get it.”
Before being on Tough Enough, Rose had no prior in-ring experience and took a lot of criticism from people who believed she was simply seeking fame and had absolutely no passion for wrestling. Rose said she’s working hard to prove those doubters wrong:
“For me, it was one of those things where I get it where people can be rough with me because I didn’t come from a professional wrestling background or anything like that, and the way I am perceived sometimes as someone who is just a model and is in here for the fame, and I get that, but I don’t think people get that it isn’t the case,” she said.
“Everything I have achieved in my life I worked very hard for; I didn’t just wake up and say this was handed to me, so it kind of bothered me because I was very sensitive to that, but then I thought, you know what, it’ll be more rewarding for me in the end when I prove to everyone that I can be the person that I want to be.
“Besides that, it was fun, but I think it’s awesome that it was full circle, and with her debut back from surgery and the fact that Sonya and I were with her [during Tough Enough] it’s crazy.”
Rose initially needed to prove Paige’s original conceptions about her wrong, as she only believed Rose was just a model or ‘Diva.’ Rose said she didn’t take offense to the criticism she received from Paige because she understood she lacked experience:
“It was more of the fact that she would judge me that I didn’t know how to wrestle, which I didn’t know how to wrestle at that time because I came from a fitness background; I didn’t have any pro-wrestling experience. That was the biggest thing, and I think that I am very different than Paige,” Rose said.
“Paige brought a lot to the women’s division, as the ‘anti-Diva’ which is great, but I kind of come off as the Diva, which I want to change that, I’m not just a Diva of course, we’re called superstars, and maybe that was what it had to do with. We are very different, but Paige didn’t get to know me personally; she just knew me from the show, and I wasn’t the nicest on the show, which I get. I was playing a character, especially towards the end when I played the b***h.”
You can listen to Rose’s interview on Chasing Glory by clicking this link here.
– Braun Strowman recently took to Twitter to complain to the Wendy’s fast food restaurant chain for not ever having any grilled chicken ready. He joked that Alexa Bliss, who he noted he is filming an episode of Ride Along with, is trying to keep him calm before saying somebody might “get these hands”:
Former WWE Superstar Gangrel (better known for his time in The Brood with Edge and Christian during the Attitude Era) was recently interviewed by Chris Van Vliet of WSVN-TV Entertainment to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Gangrel first spoke about training Rusev and the Bulgarian’s amazing work ethic:
“He’s always been a good guy and had a funny personality but I think his wife is a good asset to him, she brings a lot of the clown out in him. He deserves everything he’s got, he’s like the American dream. He moved from Bulgaria to become a pro wrestler so he came to that wrestling school, he trained and he worked three jobs.
“We had classes back then in the morning and in the afternoon, so he would literally sleep in the car in between the classes. He wouldn’t go home so he wouldn’t miss the classes or miss a shift at work. He really, really put the time and the work in and was totally dedicated. I couldn’t be prouder of him.”
He then discussed his time with WWE and what it was like traveling with Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit:
“It was probably the most amazing thing out of my journeys. I never stopped learning between the two of them. Eddie, just from his family of wrestling and Chris coming out of Stampede Wrestling in Calgary which is where I first got my start. I was very driven and connected to his style because we worked with the same people.
“I just never stopped learning. They never stopped talking, they were learning off each other. We figured if we didn’t learn something every match or every car ride or every situation, then we didn’t need to be in wrestling.”
Finally, Gangrel also revealed that there was a secret message in The Brood’s theme song if you play it backwards:
“If you have the right skills and technology to play it backwards, the guy who did the music, Jim Johnston was a big Beatles fan, so it says ‘I buried Paul, walk with me.’”
– For the past several weeks John Cena has been attempting to lure The Undertaker into a match at WrestleMania 34. “The Leader Of The Cenation” has called out “The Deadman” with a number of promos on Monday Night RAW, but is now taking his assault to social media. He posted the following photo on Instagram of a Cena character (of sorts) poking the head of The Undertaker with a stick, saying “C’mon, do something…..”:
– WWE Champion AJ Styles competed for the first time last night in a live event in New Jersey since his match with Rusev on SmackDown Live on March 13th. Styles teamed up with The New Day to defeat Rusev, Aiden English, Chad Gable & Shelton Benjamin. After their victory, Styles celebrated with The New Day in the ring and even Twerked. You can check out the video here:
The New Day’s Xavier Woods recently did an interview with Newsday to promote WWE’s recently released book entitled “The Book of Booty: Shake It. Love It. Never Be It.” In recent weeks The New Day has grown an infatuation with pancakes as they hand them out to fans at ringside during their entrance.
There has been some criticism that their pancake affiliation is a racial stereotype. Woods took the opportunity to shoot that down, saying it instead had to do with a Lumberjack Match they were in late last year:
“I said, ‘Well, if I’m a lumberjack, what do they eat? They eat flapjacks.’ It was hilarious. So, we said the next week, ‘Are we going to do pancakes? Yeah, sure. Why not?’ And that’s where the pancakes came from,” Woods said.
“If there’s ever any source of contention or anything like that, I think that it’s a situation where you should take a look at yourself and think about how deep you are looking into something that’s not really there.”
Woods also pointed out the he and his partners, Big E and Kofi Kingston, are “very aware of how we present ourselves,” but doesn’t want to have to suppress their witty personalities due to being under a racial lens “simply because we are African-American males.”:
“All we want is a blank slate,” Woods said. “And if people continue to refuse to give us one, then they’re doing nothing more than continuing to hold up the social constructs that we’re trying to break down.”
You can read Woods’ full interview with Newsday by clicking this link here.
SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan recently did an interview with The National to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Bryan first discussed what its been like working alongside SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon:
“I have really liked working with Shane. One of the things that is really nice about Shane is that he is a positive person. When we first started working together it was really interesting because we were shooting a shot back stage and it didn’t go as planned because the camera guy was new. But he didn’t chew him out or anything like that.
“‘Hey man, welcome here. This is how we do things here so next time do it like this’. And that is a great way for a leader to talk to people who work for him rather than being ‘Argh, you idiot, what are you doing’. So yeah, I really enjoy working with him.””
He then discussed his ongoing storyline with McMahon, Kevin Owens, and Sami Zayn on SmackDown. It’s expected Bryan will team with Shane against Owens and Zayn in a Tag Team match at WrestleMania 34 next month:
“I think there is so much that is similar between me, Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. In terms of where we come from and also kind of the perception of some of the people in the office about Sami and Kevin and the way that people perceived me as far as thinking ‘Sami Zayn does not have the look to be a top level WWE superstar’.
“But he has the ability. Like people connect with him and I think the same thing with Kevin Owens and I think that makes it a very natural storyline to tell.”
You can read Bryan’s full interview with The National by clicking this link here.
WWE has released a series of videos featuring former UFC star Ronda Rousey training for her debut match at WrestleMania. The former UFC women’s bantamweight champion is teaming up with fellow Olympian Kurt Angle against WWE executives Stephanie McMahon and Triple H, formerly “The Authority.”
Here are some clips from Rousey’s Friday training session at the WWE Performance Center:
It seems that some fans have been poking at WWE Hall Of Famer Edge for one last match after SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan was cleared to return to the ring by WWE. The belief seems to be that since Bryan was cleared to return that “The Rated-R Superstar” could as well – but of course – it’s much more complicated than that. Edge recently addressed this on the latest episode of he and Christian’s podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness.
Edge said that, while he appreciates fans wanting to see one more match out of him, his injury is significantly different from Bryan’s and he’ll never get cleared for a return by WWE:
“I greatly appreciate that people would like to see me have one more match or come back or ‘Daniel Bryan got cleared so why can’t you?’ I will never be cleared. Mine is a completely different injury. He had neck issues, but it wasn’t neck issues that retired him initially, it was the concussion issues. I never had concussion issues. What I have is cervical spinal stenosis, look it up.”
Christian then joked that Edge had “stupid neck” and the former WWE Champ continued on with the joke before urging fans to look up his injury to see for themselves that WWE could never clear him with the injury he’s suffering from:
“I have stupid neck, just look it up. You can look up ‘stupid neck’ and they’ll probably be a picture of my neck. Just do me a favor and look it up and you will realize that the WWE will never medically clear me to compete again. And I appreciate it, but that’s all there is to that.”
You can listen to E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness by clicking this link here.
Not many inductors have been confirmed for the WWE 2018 Hall Of Fame induction ceremony this year. Thus far it has only been confirmed that Edge and Christian will be inducting The Dudley Boyz, and Molly Holly will be inducting Ivory. It has been rumored that Paul Heyman could be inducting Goldberg and Hulk Hogan could be inducting Hillbilly Jim, however, those remain rumors as of this writing.
It would make sense for WWE to allow Hogan to induct Jim given that the company recently confirmed they have been talking to “The Hulkster” about a possible return. As for Jeff Jarrett, Mark Henry, and Kid Rock there is currently no news on who could be inducting any of those three. Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer reports that WWE really wants to keep this year’s inductor’s a secret.
Discussion: Do you think Hogan will end up inducting Jim into the Hall Of Fame? And who do you think would be some good options for Goldberg, Jarret, Henry, and Kid Rock?
– This past week’s episode of Monday Night RAW featured “Woken” Matt Hardy vs. Bray Wyatt in the Ultimate Deletion from the Hardy Family Compound. For the most part the segment received positive reviews from the professional wrestling world on Twitter. There were, of course, some critics who were not too thrilled about the segment. He recently took to Twitter to address these criticisms:
The #UltimateDELETION was absolutely LOVED by the majority of the audience. And the other small percentage, which were confused/disliked were EXTREMELY vocal as it EVOKED EMOTION..
– WWE’s Southpaw Regional Wrestling won Best Comedy Series at the Cynopsis Short Form Video Festival & Conference. The Cynopsis Short Form Video Festival & Conference recognizes outstanding work in short-form video, showcasing storytelling across multiple platforms. Southpaw Regional Wrestling also placed third in the Brand Content/Content Marketing – Sports category.
WWE Champion AJ Styles recently did an interview with Planeta Wrestling to talk about several professional wrestling topics. The WWE Champ is scheduled to defend his title against 2018 Men’s Royal Rumble winner Shinsuke Nakamura – a match many fans would love to see main event WrestleMania next month. “The Phenomenal One” discussed whether he’d prefer to open or close the show in New Orleans:
“Well, I think everybody wants to main event,” said Styles. “I think you wait on the last match to put on the best show. I think that’s it, that’s where everybody wants to be. But at the same time, there’s a lot of matches, so you don’t want the person to get sleepy or tired, so going on first like Shane McMahon and myself did last year was pretty awesome.”
Styles is one of the best in-ring talents of his generation and has shared the ring with some of the top names in the industry. He has an amazing ability to tell great stories with anyone he’s competing against:
“I think it’s all about the story that you’re willing to tell,” said Styles. “John Cena would obviously tell some good stories, same thing with Kevin Owens. And Shinsuke Nakamura, the story that we’re gonna tell will be no different.”
At last year’s WrestleMania in Orlando, Styles defeated SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon in the opening match of the main card. Styles feels he and McMahon stole the show that night with their amazing contest:
“Working with Shane was awesome,” said Styles. “We gave people a match they definitely didn’t expect. I think it stole the show, but I think that has a lot to do with the McMahon’s work ethic. They want it to be perfect, they want everything to be just right, and I applaud Shane McMahon’s work ethic. I think it’s unbelievable, and I’d do it all over again.”
WWE COO Triple H recently took part in an international media call to promote NXT TakeOver: New Orleans. “The Game” was asked about the possibility of WWE Champion AJ Styles missing his WrestleMania 34 match against 2018 Royal Rumble winner Shinsuke Nakamura due to an undisclosed injury. He noted that while it would be difficult to replace Styles, you always need to have a Plan B and C in place:
“You always have to have a Plan B, [and] just in case you have a Plan C,” Triple H said. “AJ is an incredible performer. Replacing AJ Styles would be very difficult. [He’s] not necessarily a replaceable talent, but we would do our best.”
He also revealed that “The Phenomenal One” is working very hard to get cleared in time for WrestleMania and WWE is providing him with the best medical care possible:
“AJ is working diligently on rehabbing his injuries and getting himself in tip-top shape for WrestleMania,” Triple H said. “We are trying to help him with that process of getting the best care and the best rehab and everything else possible. We’re hoping for the best.
“Right now he says he’s feeling a lot better and will be ready to go. Obviously we’ll get him doctors to make sure that he is ready to go and get a medical clearance, if that’s possible. He’s working very hard at it, so we’re hoping for the best.”
WWE COO Triple H was recently interviewed by USA Today’s “For The Win” to promote WrestleMania 34, and his match in which he’ll team with his wife, Stephanie McMahon, against Kurt Angle and Ronda Rousey. Here are some of the highlights:
Are you serving as Stephanie’s coach or trainer as she’s preparing for this match?
“I mean, honestly, as a husband, do you really coach your wife on a whole lot? We’re training a lot. We train together, whether that be in the gym or in the ring. We’re trying to make sure she’s as ready as possible. I worked with her – it’s an interesting thing that I’ve been there for so much of the evolution of her as a character, even prior to us having a relationship together.
“I’ve been there all along the way and I’ve put her matches together for a lot of them, almost all of them, with her. It’s exciting to see this one come to fruition, but you know, she’s also a little bit older, has a little bit more responsibility. She’s got a lot going on, as we both do, but she wants to make sure her girls see her proud. So there’s a lot of pressure on her right now.”
The biggest story of the week in WWE was Daniel Bryan’s return after being medically cleared. What has it been like watching him work behind the scenes to get back to where he is?
“It’s been an amazing process. One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do is tell talent that they can’t do this anymore. That you can’t live your dream. And for somebody like Daniel, man, it was soul-crushing. He went through *a lot* to try to get back to where he was, without any guarantee that it would ever work.
“But you take the advice of the doctors, the same doctors that told you he couldn’t, tell you he can… man, it’s like a second lease on life for him. Really excited, really happy for him. Watching him on TV the other night, just sitting at the monitor watching was unbelievable.”
TakeOver: New Orleans will feature a six-man ladder match for the inaugural North American Championship. What do you hope this new title will represent for NXT?
“I think it’s part of a long-term strategic plan for the brand. You see with the UK title, the North American Championship, I think as we branch out and become bigger, [with more] opportunities in different places.
“It allows for multiple events to take place with championships represented where I feel like, in locations across North America, Mexico, Canada, the North American Championship can be defended and be a main event-style match with the right players. The NXT Championship could be going internationally at that same period of time. It really depends, but it’s part of a long-term strategic plan.”
You can read Triple H’s full interview with USA Today’s “For The Win” by clicking this link here.
“Woken” Matt Hardy recently did an interview with TMZ Sports to discuss the Ultimate Deletion. Hardy won The Great War by defeating Bray Wyatt and tossing him into the Lake Of Reincarnation. Hardy said that the feedback from fans has been tremendous and he hopes there will be more to come soon – and it will change WWE ‘forevah’:
“I have to tell you this – it has been amazing, the feedback from The Woken Warriors and the WWE Universe, and people all across the globe. It has been met with love and with adoration,” Matt said. “I say, this is something that probably wasn’t supposed to happen on the plane known as WWE.
“I don’t know if Woken Matt Hardy was supposed to get here but he did and now that I’m here, I’m being fueled by The 7 Deities, I have introduced House Hardy, my magic, my family. I’ve introduced The Hardy Compound and now that we have the foot in the door, I believe this is only the start of many, many great things. I think this is something that will change the WWE Universe… forevah!”
WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley then popped into the interview and said he wonders what Vince McMahon thought of the segment. Hardy said he doesn’t know if McMahon loved or hated the segment – but the fact is his “Woken” Warriors and the WWE Universe loved it, and if McMahon has any issues with that then he will DELETE him:
“What absolutely pleasurable words from The Dude That Loves Mankind, Mick Foley, The Cactus Jackman. I’m very happy to hear from him, my friend and I know in his state of euphoria and excitement, of course he messed up the name but yes it was… The Ultimate Deletion!,” Matt said in reference to the Foley tweet.
“And that MeekMahan is a hard character to read. I do not know if he loved it or hated it but these are the facts – The Woken Warriors and the WWE Universe had much adoration for it and they loved the Woken/Broken Universe, and for that, if MeekMahan has any issues with it I certainly have a spot here at The Hardy Compound where I can delete him. Senor Benjamin would love to start digging a hole for him.”
WWE Hall Of Famer and WWE commentator Jim Ross was recently interviewed on former WWE Tag Team Champions Edge and Christian’s podcast, E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness. One top of discussion for Ross was the early days of former WWE Champion The Rock. Ross discussed Rock’s unrivaled confidence and stated that “The Great One” knew what he wanted even before he signed with WWE:
“He’s a different breed of cat, as you boys know.” Ross explained, “and he’s very special in a lot of ways. I never had anybody that basically hit me right between the eyes with a statement of, ‘I’m going to be your top guy’ when he hadn’t even made his first trip to Stamford [Connecticut] I don’t think.
“So, I mean, he had ‘it’ going for him and confidence in where he wanted to go. He had a direction. He knew what road he wanted to travel and not like anyone else who is human on the road, the road is the road, but, professionally, he knew just what he wanted and nothing was going to stop him.”
He then discussed why it’s good for Superstars to have a good rapport with Vince McMahon, and those who disrespect him will be “S.O.L”:
“I think, guys, when they come to work for WWE, the best thing that they can do, on a legitimate, organic, as real as it can be basis, have some sort of rapport with Vince. You have to have a rapport built on respect.” Ross continued, “don’t confront, converse, because if you confront him, you’re S.O.L. It’s disrespectful and it’s not the place to be disrespectful unless you’re just a dumbass. That’s how that worked out, but that’s the deal.”
Ross noted that The Rock was very good at building a relationship with Vince McMahon early on in his career:
“The Rock got to that level of having a good rapport with Vince really, really quick.” Ross elaborated, “I mean, they had their grandpas, The High Chief [Peter Maivia] to talk about, or Rocky Johnson, and The Rock himself. And, of course, Vince is a smart guy – he saw what we had. He knew. He knew. When you get Secretariat, you welcome him in the barn.”
You can listen to Ross’ interview on E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness by clicking this link here.
Daniel Bryan has finally been cleared to return to in-ring action for WWE. He was welcomed back to physical competition by Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens on SmackDown Live, who beat Daniels down after firing them for what they did to SmackDown Commissioner Shane McMahon last week.
Bryan hasn’t competed in a match since April of 2015 after he had just won the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 31. The following year he was forced to retire in February after he took an EEG test that revealed a lesion in his brain, in addition to the slowing of brain activity. The lesion had been causing Bryan to suffer from seizures. Over the course of his career Bryan had reportedly suffered over 20 concussions and two seizures.
After further evaluation, Bryan’s doctors told him that his decision to retire was premature and his lesion was a very vague complication. Several doctors had cleared Bryan to return to wrestling, however, WWE’s doctors still hadn’t done so. Bryan went as far as to say that if he hadn’t been cleared by WWE to wrestle again before his contract expired then he’d go elsewhere to compete. WWE’s Medical Director Dr. Joseph Maroon sent Bryan over to several neurologists to be tested for the past two months.
Following Bryan being cleared by all of the neurologists recommended by Maroon, he cleared him this past Monday. Now it’s expected that Bryan will team up with Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 34 in a Tag Team match against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. There has also been some speculation that the bout could be an Unsanctioned match or No Disqualifications. Wrestling Observer Radio reports that there was a catch to WWE clearing Bryan to compete.
He now has to undergo Impact testing and a neuropsychological evaluation with WWE doctors backstage after every match until they’re comfortable that he’s fine. It should also be noted that Bryan recently made some comments on E&C’s Pod Of Awesomeness indicating that he doesn’t really want to work a full-time schedule. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more about Bryan’s situation….
– WWE has released a 15-minute “Director’s Cut” of The Undertaker’s WrestleMania streak coming to an end at the hands of Brock Lesnar in New Orleans four years ago. Check it out here:
– WWE is continuing its aggressive pursuit of Mexican talents. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that both Ultimo Ninja and Garza Jr. will be undergoing WWE medical testing, and if they pass, it’s believed they will be offered developmental deals in NXT. WWE is also currently in negotiations to bring Rey Mysterio back to the company as well. Vince McMahon also met with former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio recently at WWE headquarters. We’ll keep you updated…
