– While Dave Meltzer was discussing this week’s Mixed Match Challenge match on Wrestling Observer Radio, there was some speculation that Titus Worldwide could be over. Here’s what Meltzer had to say:
“I don’t know if Titus Worldwide is over but they certainly gave the impression that it could be. Apollo pretty much turned on Titus and Dana Brooke got destroyed by Nia Jax. We’ll have to see how that all plays out on RAW next Monday.”
Most angles from the Mixed Match Challenge don’t usually cary over into RAW or SmackDown, but Meltzer suggested this looks like a turn:
“He definitely didn’t turn badly on Titus but he definitely turned on him.”
Check out the segment here:
– Also on the mailbag portion of Wrestling Observer Radio, Meltzer was asked about the possibility of having an NXT match on the WrestleMania 34 card. Meltzer said that due to the fact NXT TakeOver happens the night before he doubts an NXT match or NXT Title match will be put on the Mania card:
“I seriously doubt it now. They aren’t going to have enough time for what they need to have. It’s going to be one of those 7-hour shows and an NXT show the night before anyways. I would really would be surprised if they did that. They may have someone from NXT in the Andre the Giant Battle Royal or something. If they have a Women’s Battle Royal, they may have a few NXT women in there as well. As far as NXT Championship matches, I would think no.”
With all expectations pointing towards Roman Reigns winning this weekend’s Elimination Chamber match, and going on to face Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania for the Universal Title, one question remains – what’s next for “The Monster Among Men” Braun Strowman?
This weekend’s pay-per-view (PPV) will see the first-ever Seven-Man Elimination Chamber match between Reigns, Seth Rollins, John Cena, Elias, Finn Balor, WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz, and Strowman. The winner will go on to challenge Lesnar at WrestleMania. A recent report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio suggests WWE is planning for a match between Strowman and The Miz at WrestleMania 34.
Meltzer said that the real story coming out of this Sunday will be the setup to Strowman vs. The Miz at Mania. Not much else was mentioned about the feud and it’s unclear if the Intercontinental Title will be on the line. Should Miz retain the strap heading into “The Show Of Shows,” however, it can be assumed it will be. Previous reports suggested a match between The Miz and Finn Balor could be in the works but those plans seem to have changed. Perhaps Balor can still find his way into the match and make it a Triple Threat for the Intercontinental Title at WrestleMania?
Regardless, it should be interesting to see how WWE books a feud between The Miz and Strowman coming out of the Elimination Chamber.
Discussion: What would you like to see WWE do with Strowman for WrestleMania this year? Do you think “The Monster Among Men” will win his first singles title at the event?
This past September WWE Superstar Bray Wyatt split from his wife Samantha after she reportedly learned that Wyatt had been cheating on her with WWE ring announcer JoJo Offerman. Wyatt and Samantha were college sweethearts and had been married five years before separating. The couple had two children together, aged six and four-years-old. Per a court order Wyatt was demanded to pay $14,735 per month in spousal support in addition to an upfront payment of $50,000 for legal expenses.
Apparently Wyatt has only been paying Samantha $6,000 per month, which is almost two-and-a-half times less than the court ordered. Daily Mail is reporting that Wyatt has apparently been spending the money he needs to pay Samantha on expensive gifts for JoJo. This claim comes from Samantha herself via Daily Mail, who reports Wyatt “spends much of his time” at JoJo’s apartment in Florida. Legal documents suggest Wyatt has spent more than $11,000 on “non-necessary” purchases since December 20, 2017.
Some items included on the list are $5,006.27 worth of miniature horses, food between the dates of 2/20 and 12/29, $533.93 worth of jewelry “not for his wife,” and hundreds of dollars spent at various locations such as a Miami bar, burlesque club E11even, Tootsie’s strip club, Stillwaters Tavern, and many more. Ray Rafool, Samantha’s attorney, claims Wyatt has a “reckless and dangerous mentality,” and says he needs to own up to his responsibilities:
“This really is just the tip of the iceberg,” Rafool told The Daily Mail. “He had already gone to Vegas and spent a lot of money at Nobu or one of the restaurants – substantial amounts of money. He’s told my client – it’s my money, not your money. It’s my money. That’s a dangerous and reckless mentality. It’s not accurate under the law and it’s not healthy for the family.”
Wyatt seemed to subtly respond to these reports online in a recent Tweet. Here’s what he had to say about the “lies”:
Ronda Rousey is scheduled to sign her RAW contract at Elimination Chamber on pay-per-view (PPV) this weekend. “The Rowdy One” made her WWE debut at the Royal Rumble last month following the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match. She made her way to the ring to confront Rumble winner Asuka, RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss, and SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair.
After having her extended hand smacked away by Asuka, Rousey pointed to the WrestleMania 34 sign – indicating her intentions to wrestle at the event. Recently Rousey finished up filming her latest project in Columbia. She has now returned to the WWE Performance Center and has been working there this past Monday and Tuesday to prepare for her in-ring debut. Rousey was also at WWE’s Headquarters in Stanford, Connecticut on Wednesday.
It’s expected that Rousey will kick off her WrestleMania 34 feud this weekend at Elimination Chamber during her contract signing. Recent reports suggest WWE is eying a Mixed Tag Team match between Rousey and a mystery partner against the team of Triple H and Stephanie McMahon. Ideally WWE would like for Rousey’s partner to be The Rock. Other names being considered are WWE Hall Of Famer Kurt Angle, SmackDown Live Commissioner Shane McMahon, and Seth Rollins.
WWE Superstar Luke Gallows recently took part in an international media call and talked about several professional wrestling topics. Gallows was asked about the segment between The Club (himself, Karl Anderson, and Finn Balor) and DX during RAW 25. Gallows was asked whether or not it was a passing of the torch kind of moment:
“It was a surreal moment for Karl [Anderson] and I. This is why we got into the business. This is why we do what we do. We grew up watching these guys and to share the ring with them, and for them to ‘pass the torch’ or whatever you want to call it. It was very symbolic for us. I have the picture up at home with all of us throwing up the ‘Too Sweet’ sign. I was very proud of that moment.”
Gallows was also asked to answer a rather difficult question – if he prefers having The Club with AJ Styles or Finn Balor:
“I think we are both unique, and both talented, but what I would rather have is a four-man faction with AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, Finn Balor and myself. Add Tama Tonga and Bad Luck Fale while we are at it and let’s just take over the entire WWE once and for all.”
He then discussed what it’s like being back with WWE after working in Japan for the past few years:
“When Karl [Anderson] and I jumped the rail and made our debut on RAW in Los Angeles, California, we had some trepidation because we are very highly confident guys and we know that we are highly capable, but we didn’t know whether or not the WWE Universe knew who we were. So, when we jumped the rail and we heard that reaction and felt as though they were happy to see us, it felt like it was icing on the cake for what has been an incredible WWE run with more to come.”
– WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently did an interview with Sportskeeda and offered his thoughts on WWE signing Jeremy Borash. “Good Ole’ JR” says that WWE “hit a goldmine” by signing Borash:
“It’s another great hire,” Ross said. “I can’t tell you when WWE has made a cooler hire in any area quite frankly. He’s a great get. He can do a lot of things. He doesn’t even have to be on camera for example. His value, his worth in character creation and development, the production side, and he’s got great product knowledge.
“He’s has an insane work ethic; which I really admire. They hit the gold mine with him. I think he’s gonna be focusing on NXT stuff, so that is a great slot for him in my opinion.”
– SmackDown Live star Rusev recently took to Twitter to comment on being off WWE TV for the past few weeks. Here’s what he had to say:
Former WWE Superstar Wade Barrett recently did an interview with SPORTbible to talk about several professional wrestling topics. One topic of discussion was former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Neville and what it was like to work with him inside of the ring. In fact, Neville is one of Barrett’s favorite opponents of all time:
“Neville for sure is in my top three opponents of all-time. When I saw my name against him, it was almost like I knew I could go asleep during that match because everything he does is amazing. I think a lot of people look at Neville think, ‘Oh he’s that high-flying guy who does all the flips’, but literally everything he does, from even the most basic stuff, locking up, tying up, the way he moves around the ring; the way he reacts to anything I do to him and sells my stuff is always incredible, so, he’s one of the best in-ring guys ever.”
Barrett also explained how WWE doesn’t have enough space at the top of their card and how they misuse a lot of talent:
“They [WWE] misuse a lot of guys, there’s a lot of guys you could do more with but at the end of the day they pick the guys they want to go with and go with them. I don’t think they purposely sabotage, I think there are limited spots to be at the top of the card or the highlighted guys – there are probably seven or eight guys where it’s like, ‘Ok these are our main guys going forward for the next six to twelve months’ and they need to be the guys getting the biggest reactions, being involved in the biggest storylines and stuff like that.
“So if there’s a guy who is getting bigger reactions than them, then I think there is an attempt to, I’m sure, make that reaction transfer on to the guys they are going with – the guys they want to push. There are just a limited number of spots, that’s the issue. You can’t have everyone in those spots.”
You can read Barrett’s full interview with SPORTbible by clicking this link here.
– SmackDown Live Superstar Aiden English took to Instagram this week while WWE was in El Paso, TX to post a tribute to his father-in-law and WWE Hall Of Famer Eddie Guerrero. English is married to Shaul Guerrero, who is the daughter of Eddie and Vickie Guerrero:
“I’m not taking a selfie or snapping a picture of myself here…that’s because this isn’t about me. And honestly, it’s not really about you. It’s about what you’ve given me. Something you never knew you’d be doing. It’s about the greatest gift I’ve ever had in my life. The gift you and the woman I now get to call “mom” gave me is a blessing beyond words. And that’s what this is about. It’s about her. She fills my day with love, laughter, joy and endless support.
“She sees me as I am and takes it all in with full heart – a job not always so easy. And here we are tonight in hers and your hometown to do what you spent your whole life doing to raise and support her and the family. I’m working tonight to try to do the same for her and to do the same for our future family. Here’s to work. Here’s to home. Here’s to familia. And here’s to her.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BfZW6RIBlXx/
– Two-time WWE Hall Of Famer “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair recently posted a teaser video of some content he is working on with YouTuber Anwar Jibawi. Check it out:
As we’ve previously reported, Dolph Ziggler has signed a new two-year contract extension with WWE worth $1.5 million. This comes via a report from Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated. In a new report from Barrasso he revealed that Ziggler was previously making $1 million per year. WWE believes the extra half-a-million dollars is money well spent as they want to keep the 13-year veteran with the company.
For the past several months Ziggler has been rumored to possibly leave WWE, however, the company has always planned on re-signing him to a deal. The 37-year-old made the decision to stay with WWE as it better serves his brand. Also, WWE overpaying Ziggler indicates that they see him as an integral part of “the machine.” Ziggler is currently scheduled to face Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn and AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at Fastlane on pay-per-view (PPV).
Ziggler recently won the WWE United States Championship at Clash Of Champions last year on PPV when he defeated Baron Corbin and Bobby Roode in a Triple Threat match. He vacated the title on the next episode of SmackDown Live before making his return to WWE TV several months later at the Royal Rumble. He entered at number 30 in the Men’s Royal Rumble match.
WWE has recently announced that, starting with their Backlash pay-per-view (PPV), they will no longer be holding brand-exclusive events. Previously the only events that RAW and SmackDown Superstars merged at were the big four: WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, and Survivor Series. WWE has also dropped two of its PPVs from its yearly lineup as well.
One reason for the switch is because live attendance has been doing rather poorly as of late. Ratings haven’t exactly been doing well either. For example, SmackDown Live’s October 31st episode saw a ridiculous 21% drop from the previous week. The show went from a 2.699 million viewer rating to a 2.119 million. A photo from this week’s SmackDown Live crowd showed that the attendance was absolutely terrible. Tons of seats were empty and a section of the arena was even tarped off:
Fastlane is coming up and the main event is scheduled to be a WWE Championship defense of AJ Styles against Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler, and Baron Corbin. The winner of the match will go on to WrestleMania to face Shinsuke Nakamura for the WWE Title. It has also been announced that United States Champion Bobby Roode will defend his title against Randy Orton at the event as well.
– Now that Kaitlyn has returned to professional wrestling a lot of rumors have been floating around about a potential return to the WWE for the former Divas Champion. PWInsider is reporting that there is currently no sign that WWE will sign Kaitlyn back to a deal. It was noted that if Kaitlyn is back in professional wrestling she likely has bigger goals than just working the independent scene.
– NXT star The Velveteen Dream recently took to Twitter to shoot on “indy guys” coming into NXT and “taking up spots.” Here’s what he had to say:
This past Monday on RAW WWE opened up the show with a near-two hour Seven-Man Gauntlet match with names such as Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, John Cena, Elias, Finn Balor, WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz, and Braun Strowman. For a match that lasted nearly two hours it was actually pretty entertaining. Seth Rollins put on an amazing performance after lasting more than half of the match, and also earning two clean pinfall victories over WWE’s biggest stars – Roman Reigns and John Cena.
All seven men involved in the match will compete in the Elimination Chamber this weekend. The winner punches their ticket to WrestleMania 34 and will challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship. PWInsider reports that Vince McMahon was actually the person who suggested the Gauntlet match for Monday Night RAW. This reportedly shocked a lot of people backstage because Vince suggested it “out of nowhere.” It’s said that he traditionally isn’t very high on these kinds of matches. After the plan was laid out Vince approved the length and presentation of the show.
Some fans actually believed that this was a Triple H suggestion given how different it was from usual plans. It turns out that Vince was the mastermind behind Monday’s Gauntlet match idea.
As we’ve previously reported, WWE has plans to turn Seth Rollins heel after WrestleMania 34 so he can feud with Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. Per a report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, those plans were initially for Dean Ambrose before he suffered his unfortunate bicep injury that has sidelined him for the past several months. The original plan was for Ambrose to feud with Reigns after The Shield reunion. Now those plans have been changed for Seth Rollins.
Roman Reigns is currently expected to win this weekend’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view (PPV); which features other names such as Rollins, John Cena, Elias, Finn Balor, WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz, and Braun Strowman. The winner will go on to challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Championship at WrestleMania 34.
It’s expected that after Reigns dethrones Lesnar he will feud with Seth Rollins, who’s expected to turn heel. RAW currently has a shortage of top heels that are up for the task, thus their decision to turn Rollins.
Brock Lesnar is currently awaiting the results of this weekend’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view (PPV) to see who he will defend his Universal Championship against at WrestleMania 34. Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, John Cena, Elias, Finn Balor, WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz, and Braun Strowman will compete inside the Chamber to determine who gets those honors.
It’s expected that Reigns will win the Chamber match and go on to dethrone Lesnar for the Universal crown at “The Show Of Shows.” Lesnar has a ton of options after his WWE contract expires. He could either re-sign with the company and focus on a potential feud with Bobby Lashley, or go back to the UFC and once again chase the moniker of “Baddest Man On The Planet.”
As we reported recently, this year’s SummerSlam ticket featured pictures of Superstars such as Ronda Rousey, AJ Styles, Braun Strowman, Sasha Banks, Roman Reigns, The Usos, Seth Rollins, Shinsuke Nakamura, Naomi, Charlotte Flair, Randy Orton, and Samoa Joe – no Lesnar in sight. Per Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the reason Lesnar wasn’t featured is because he won’t be under contract with WWE at that point and there’s no guarantee he’ll be with the company. WWE decided not to use him in any promotional material for the event.
A return to the UFC is definitely possible as President Dana White has said he believes “The Beast” will fight in the Octagon this year. Jon Jones called out Lesnar last year, and with Jones nearing a return from a United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) violation soon, the door is still open for that fight.
Monday’s edition of WWE RAW featured a standout performance by Seth Rollins in the 7-Man Gauntlet match. The match, officially the longest match in WWE history, saw Rollins best the other participants in Sunday’s Elimination Chamber match, including Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, John Cena, Elias, Finn Balor, WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz, and Braun Strowman.
Rollins started off the night with Reigns and picked up the upset win via rollup pin. The pair put on quite the back-and-forth before “The Architect’s” win and John Cena entered next. Rollins and Cena probably put on the best bout within the Gauntlet match, but again Rollins was able to pull off a clean pinfall win over “The Leader Of The Cenation.” He lasted in the match for over an hour and picked up two clean pinfall wins over WWE’s biggest stars.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Rollins’ big night on RAW was the beginning of an effort to position him as a heel challenger to Roman Reigns in the months after WrestleMania 34. Rollins’ role at WrestleMania is currently undecided after his originally scheduled opponent, Jason Jordan, was forced to undergo neck surgery.
This weekend’s Elimination Chamber match will determine who will go on to WrestleMania and challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal throne. It’s no secret that Roman Reigns is the strong favorite to emerge victorious on Sunday and challenge The Beast on April 8th.
With Dean Ambrose out of action due to injury and this latest Shield reunion effectively dead on arrival, it will be interesting to see how Rollins is transitioned to a heel and how they’d jumpstart a potential post-WrestleMania program with Reigns.
Does a post-WrestleMania Roman Reigns vs. Seth Rollins program interest you? Let us know in the comments.
Lucha Underground has moved its tapings away from their original venue in Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles to a warehouse that holds more people. The promotion will begin filming season four of their show this Friday at the new warehouse in Union Central Cold Storage on Industrial Street in Los Angeles. Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that the promotion is looking to base its talent in L.A. for the entire five weeks of taping to save money on travel.
Tapings will take place Friday through Saturday and talents will be filming vignettes midweek. There is no news on who will be involved in the full roster for season four, but it’s known that some of the roster from last season will not be brought back due to budget concerns. Lucha’s budget issues is also part of their decision to move venues, as the previous Boyle Heights location in East L.A. was more expensive.
The roster will look a lot different at the end of the season, as many talents being used this season will be working under the agreement that their characters will be written off storylines so they can be released from their seven year contracts.
WWE Superstar Apollo recently did an interview with The Mirror to promote WWE’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view (PPV) this weekend. Below are some of the highlights:
How have you found working with Titus O’Neil and being a part of Titus Worldwide?
“I’m enjoying everything we’re doing with Titus Worldwide. We’ve got the addition of Dane Brooke and to me I think it’s a great dynamic. Titus is an amazing guy, inside and outside of the ring. He’s helped me a lot, not just in WWE, but in my real life. He’s taught me to be myself and show people more personality and more character.
“He is such an amazing human being, being around him on camera helps me, allows me to be myself and whether or not we continue with this, hopefully I can continue to be more comfortable and more relaxed like that on camera and take the personality that I’ve shown in Titus Worldwide and carry it on to another tag team that I’m in, or as a singles competitor. I think we’ve proved we are worthy competitors, we are great competitors and given a chance, we can make things happen.
“Titus helped me to understand that WWE is not only all about wrestling. He helped me to understand that I need to learn to be an entertainer as well. When you are having fun, people can feel that and they can have fun themselves, so he is helping me to be more relaxed on camera and open up my personality and not be afraid to go out there and make a fool of myself and just have fun. I think when I first got to WWE, I took myself a little too seriously.
“I was like ‘I just want to be a great wrestler’, but I think there is a lot more to that when it comes to WWE and he has helped me to understand that, which has worked out a lot better for me. People have recognised that I do have personality and I do have character and charisma, so I thank him for that every day.”
The group is becoming more prominent on Raw and we have seen you emerge as challengers to Cesaro and Sheamus for the Raw Tag Team Championships. Do you think tag team wrestling is a way you can show a different side to yourself?
“Yes it is. Me and Titus have two different styles, but when you put us together, it’s very interesting. Titus and myself, we can go out there and be funny or whatever the case may be, but when it’s time to get to business, we get serious, we put that face on and go out there and throw people around and have that killer instinct. It’s great for us to be able to showcase that and it’s only just the beginning. Keep on the lookout because we’re coming.”
What do you think you need to do to become a champion in WWE?
“You know I’m hoping it will happen sooner rather than later, but for the moment I’m just focused on my work. I just keeping grinding and stay focused, stay humble and any opportunity I get, I take full advantage of it. I try to be the best I can and if there’s something that needs to get done, if they need me to do something specific, I try and make sure I do that to the best of my ability.
“Staying injury free is another thing I try and do, especially with the talent that’s out there right now, if you get injured, someone else will come in and take your spot. So I train as hard as I can, make sure i stay healthy especially with my eating and dieting and the rest will take care of itself. I just focus on the things I can control and hope the rest will fall into place.”
You can read Apollo’s full interview with The Mirror by clicking this link here.
WWE Superstar Luke Gallows recently did an interview with Sky Sports to talk about several professional wrestling topics. He explained how Bullet Club members The Young Bucks over in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) owe it to themselves to sign with WWE and leave their mark on the professional wrestling industry:
“I hope the Young Bucks come in,” Gallows said. “I think they’re highly, highly talented and if you want to make your mark in sports entertainment, if you want your name to go down in the annals of sports entertainment history, you absolutely have to come to WWE.
“This is the pinnacle. It doesn’t get bigger than this. There’s no bigger worldwide stage than WWE. So I think the Young Bucks owe it to themselves to come out here and thrive.”
While Gallows, a former talent in NJPW, acknowledges Japan is a great place to work as a professional wrestler, he says you can’t beat the platform of WWE:
“Japan is a great place to wrestle but WWE is a worldwide platform and you can’t beat that. Their reach is all across the world.”
You can read Gallows’ full interview with Sky Sports by clicking this link here.
We’ve noted that Jeff Jarrett will be inducted into the 2018 WWE Hall Of Fame prior to WrestleMania 34. Jarrett will join Bill Goldberg, Ivory, and The Dudley Boyz thus far. Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated reports that Triple H was actually the person who pushed to have Jarrett inducted this year.
“The decision to induct Jarrett was pushed for by Triple H. Following the hire of former longtime TNA employee Jeremy Borash, the question now exists whether Jarrett would fit into Triple H’s team for NXT and developmental.”
Triple H has really been taking on a bigger role in WWE as of late. Now serving as the head of talent relations, “The Game” has also taken over 205 Live in addition to his duties on NXT.
– “Ms. Money In The Bank” Carmella recently answered a question from a fan on Twitter asking her where she got the idea for her moonwalk entrance. Michael Hayes jumped in and claimed that Carmella has stolen “everything I ever did”:
Hi @CarmellaWWE where did you come up with the moon walking idea, Only wrestler i can remember doing it was @MichaelPSHayes1
@CarmellaWWE__ has stolen everything i ever did!!! Where do U think she came up with Fabulous??? Let me guess, next she will write her own theme song!!! Bahahaha
– WWE Intercontinental Champion The Miz is one of seven men that will be involved in this weekend’s Elimination Chamber match. He took to Twitter and listed out each of his adversaries’ gimmicks, claiming to be the only ‘real’ thing involved in the match:
WWE Superstar Nia Jax recently did an interview with Dave LaGreca and Mark Henry on Busted Open Radio yesterday. During the interview Jax was asked about her thoughts on former UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey signing with WWE. Jax said she’s excited for Rousey coming to WWE and claimed she’s a big part of the women’s revolution:
“I’m very excited. Ronda Rousey was a huge part in the women’s revolution around the world and part of the WWE and now she’s coming to the WWE. It’s going to be absolutely amazing. She’s so talented and has so many things to bring to us. It’s literally going to expand the women’s division and people don’t realize how much she’s going to bring to us and how far it’s going to take us. I personally am very excited for her to come. She’s willing to put in the hard work.
“I’ve seen her put in the hard work in the UFC and how hard she worked to get to where she got. I know she’s going to prove herself in the WWE. I’m very excited to step in the ring with her and see what we can do together. I have nothing but positive things to say for anyone who wants to come to the WWE because it is not an easy place to get into and not an easy place to get through, so if you feel like you can make it here and get through, I say welcome. Let’s do it.”
When Rousey does finally get to the WWE locker room, however, Jax said that the former Olympic Judoka needs to show respect:
“Respect is #1 in this business. You definitely have to walk into the door with a lot of respect: a lot of eye contact, a lot of handshakes, introducing yourself. We are a very tight-knit family at WWE. We are very protective of our family. When an outsider comes in, you want to make sure the outsider is worthy to step into the family. When Sasha Banks says she had nothing nice to say (on a previous episode of Busted Open), it’s not necessarily that she wants to go out and be mean, but rather making sure that this outsider is worthy to step into her family.”
Jax revealed that John Cena vs. The Rock at WrestleMania 28 was her inspiration for becoming a professional wrestler:
“I got to sit front row with my aunt and watch Dwayne and just see the energy not just in the ring, but the fans. At the end of the day, they are what make us who we are, and just seeing their energy and passion that they had watching that match is what gave me the bug. I said ‘oh my god, I want to do this. I want to put on a great match and I want these people to be interested in what I’m doing’.”
She also explained how impressed she was with Seth Rollins’ recent performance in the Seven-Man Gauntlet match on Monday Night RAW:
“I was standing by Gorilla staring at the screen just watching and these guys were putting on an amazing show. Seth Rollins, I think, tore the house down. All of them did, but Seth outdid everyone. Seth has always been such a great athlete. You’ve always seen that since he’s been on the road, but watching last night made me a bigger fan of his. It was really cool. I almost forgot I was on the show!”
– As we’ve mentioned, former WCW World Heavyweight Champion and WWE Universal Champion Goldberg will be inducted into the 2018 WWE Hall Of Fame Class. It has not officially been announced who will be inducting Goldberg, however, PWInsider‘s Mike Johnson is reporting that Paul Heyman is being rumored as the man for the job. Here’s what he had to say:
“This word is that Paul Heyman will be inducting Goldberg into the Hall of Fame. I don’t know how that makes any sense but that’s the story making the rounds. I guess they are both Jewish? I don’t know. I don’t get it.”
– Last night the final match of the first round of the WWE Mixed Match Challenge tournament took place. WWE has announced its second round (quarterfinals) match-ups here:
Finn Balor & Sasha Banks vs. The Miz & Asuka
Braun Strowman & Alexa Bliss vs. Jimmy Uso & Naomi
Rusev & Lana vs. Bobby Roode & Charlotte Flair
Next week’s first quarterfinals match-up will be between Finn Balor & Sasha Banks vs. The Miz & Asuka:
– Hurricane Helms’ appearance at the Royal Rumble last month may only be the beginning of his WWE return. Shortly after the Rumble appearance Helms had this to say:
“If that was my last time in a WWE ring, and I don’t think it will be, to have probably the loudest pop of my career, what a way to come full circle.”
Current 205 Live star Daivari posted a Tweet to promote his match against Buddy Murphy last night, announcing his intentions to go on and win the Cruiserweight Championship. Helms responded by telling Daivari to keep the title warm for him, indicating he may soon be joining 205 Live:
– SmackDown Live Tag Team Champions The Usos recently took part in a conference call for Catch Au Quotidien. During the call they were asked about New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) stars The Young Bucks. This caught the attention of Matt Jackson of The Bucks, who said he’d love to work with the SDL Tag Team Champs in the future:
WWE Superstar Rusev recently did an interview with Akhilesh Gannavarapu of Wrestling Inc. to talk about several professional wrestling topics. “The Bulgarian Brute” has seen a huge amount of support from the WWE Universe with his new “Rusev Day” gimmick and was asked if he thinks WrestleMania could be the turning point for him in 2018:
“Well, I don’t even know what I’ll be doing at WrestleMania, so it’s very far – fetched for me to think that WrestleMania is going to be my moment, to turn 2018 (around). I don’t even know; I take it day by day. Each Rusev Day by each Rusev Day. As long as I open my eyes in the morning, that’s a great opportunity for me, and that’s how I look at it.”
Rusev was one of the WWE Superstars who responded to Conor McGregor calling out the WWE several years ago. He was asked his thoughts on possibly seeing the Irish UFC champ in the WWE:
“McGregor? He’s not coming to WWE. What is he going to do here? He just made $ 160 million (against Mayweather). What is he going to do here? He’s going to sit at home. Yeah, I’d definitely like to see him, me and Sheamus get a pint of Guinness, and go from there (laughs).”
You can read Rusev’s full interview with Wrestling Inc. by clicking this link here.
– Last night on RAW the show opened up with a Seven-Man Gauntlet match between Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, John Cena, Elias, Finn Balor, The Miz, and Braun Strowman. The match started off with Shield members Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins. After a great back-and-forth bout Rollins was able to hit the rollup for an upset win over “The Big Dog.” Reigns took to Twitter to say that he respects Rollins for his performance last night, but still intends to go on to WrestleMania and challenge Brock Lesnar:
– WWE posted the following video on their Twitter account of a “WWE: Photoshoot” segment in which Hall Of Famer and RAW General Manager Kurt Angle discusses his relationship with Vince McMahon:
