– Paul Heyman had some high praise for Braun Strowman over the weekend. After witnessing first-hand what Strowman was capable of at the Royal Rumble last month, Heyman wrote on Facebook,
“Just for the record, this is one seriously talented and credible contender. Braun Strowman’s upside is … dare I say … MONSTROUS!”
Heyman’s official Heyman Hustle website just posted a new batch of photos (courtesy fo photographer Bruno Miguel Silveira) from the Royal Rumble that are really worth checking out.
– WWE posted a video of Nia Jax cutting a promo on the competitors involved in the first-ever Women’s Elimination Chamber match. Jax is currently set to face first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble winner Asuka at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view (PPV), and if she wins she’ll be added to the RAW Women’s Title match at WrestleMana – making it a Triple Threat match:
– RAW exclusive PPV Backlash will go down on May 6th in Newark, New Jersey from the Prudential Center. WWE has announced tickets will go on sale for the event on February 24th.
Former WWE Superstar John Morrison (also known as Johnny Mundo) recently did an interview with WSVN-TV Entertainment reporter Chris Van Vliet in his backyard where he has his own wrestling ring. During the interview Morrison talked about what it was like to work with Ricochet and seeing him go to WWE:
“It’s bittersweet to see him go. I wrestled Puma/Ricochet/Trevor all over the world by all these different names. He’s one of the best in the business right now and I’m really excited to see what happens for him at WWE and see him on NXT. It’s sad to see him go but when he was a kid he grew up watching WWF and I think it’s something he had to do for himself.
“He had to get there and see what it was like for himself. I think he’s going to kick ass there… Everyone’s going to miss Puma. I actually teared up on that last episode when he walked away. It was emotional man.”
If Morrison were to return to WWE, there are a ton of talents on the roster that he’d be excited about working with:
“There’s a lot of cool matchups that are waiting for me in the WWE. I’d love to teach Roman Reigns how to work. Just kidding. Seth Rollins. Unfinished business with The Miz. It’d be fun to get back in there and maybe do some Dirt Sheet episodes with him. Me, Miz, Ziggler and Zack Ryder would have a hell of a faction I think. I’ve never really had a long program with Cena. That’d be a fun one. I have a feeling that Daniel Bryan will be back when he gets cleared.”
After Morrison and The Miz split up as a tag team in WWE during their early days, Miz has gone on to enjoy a tremendous amount of success with the company. He is a former WWE Champion, main evented a WrestleMania with John Cena and defeated him, and has won the Intercontinental Championship several times. None of this comes as a surprise to Morrison:
“I’m not surprised. The Miz is someone who people are usually like ‘I can’t believe how well he’s doing. I can’t believe this, I can’t believe that.’ But to me he’s someone who really always defined what it takes to becomes a successful public persona and in-ring entertainer and to me that’s being authentic. The Miz is always emphatically himself. He’s always The Miz. He’s in my wedding party.”
Over the years in his professional wrestling career Morrison has wrestled under several names. He regrets doing this simply because he doesn’t own any of them:
“I don’t own any of these names. I don’t own Johnny World, Johnny Mundo, John Morrison, Johnny Nitro, Johnny Blaze or Johnny Impact. None of it. If I had my career to do over again, I think I would wrestle under my real name John Hennigan because if there was some sort of brand test associated with professional wrestling I would hardcore fail that test because I have so many names it’s confusing to me even. I don’t know how to introduce myself to people on the phone depending on who I’m talking to.”
Morrison also discussed the heat that has has with Vampiro:
“He’s always going to be a turd cutter. Are you kidding me? I believe he’s going to be back for Season 4. Him and I and Kevin Cross, Fantasma, Tejano and Dr. Wagner have some unfinished shenanigans in AAA. Pretty much if you ask the entire wrestling world they will agree with the turd cutter assessment as far as Vampiro goes.”
Its been a hectic schedule for Lucha Underground in preparation for the promotion’s fourth season. Morrision discussed what to expect from the organization when it finally drops:
“This is going to be an insane schedule. They’re going to try to get Season 4 done in 5 weeks. The entire season. I’m not even sure how it’s going to be scheduled, that has yet to be completely announced but I think we are going to be taping 3 days a week and so we’re probably going to be knocking out 6 episodes a week.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Shawn Michaels recently joined the “In This Corner” podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. One such topic was his WrestleMania 24 match against two-time WWE Hall Of Famer “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. The pair put on one of the best matches in WrestleMania history. It was the last match Flair would work inside of a WWE ring.
During his interview on the show, Michaels divulged that he took creative control over the match and choreographed it himself. He described himself as a “control freak”:
“Truth be told, when it came to that kind of stuff, I am a bit of a control freak. Emotionally, I just knew where I wanted–especially with that match, that might quite honestly it was my ‘love letter’ to Ric Flair. My way of trying to show him, not only the friendship that we have, but also the impact that he had on a 15-year-old me, and trying to convey that to him through a wrestling match, and knowing that I couldn’t be the only guy that he had that effect on. You hope that the other 80,000 fans out there get that; clearly everyone did, and the millions at home did.
“It’s sort of making that decision as a performer to say, look, this is something I want to do, please let me do it. It’s not because you don’t want them to do anything to mess it up, it’s your feelings and emotion, so you have to be the one that is driving that match if it makes any sense. That is why I was so adamant about that match. Honestly, that is how most of my matches were. I probably wrestled only one way too much from my heart than to my head, but honestly for me that is what made the difference in those matches, which was for me to do it in more from a 15-year-old fan in me.”
You can listen to Michaels’ interview on the “In This Corner” podcast by clicking here.
Earlier this morning ESPN broke the news that former WWE Women’s Champion Ivory would be inducted into the 2018 WWE Hall Of Fame class prior to WrestleMania 34. If you saw the announcement initially from ESPN on Twitter, you may have noticed an awkward error the company made. ESPN accidentally tagged former WWE Superstar Victoria in the post instead of Ivory.
The Tweet was deleted, but not before WrestleVotes could nab a screenshot of it:
ESPN screwed up its Hall of Fame announcement, which they have probably had the information for weeks now. Tagged @REALLiSAMARiE (Victoria), who is not getting inducted. pic.twitter.com/nI1jQofPWn
Although Victoria, a former two-time Women’s Champion, is not part of the Hall Of Fame yet, she certainly deserves to be inducted one day. There are now rumors as of this writing of that happening this year.
Back in October former WWE RAW Tag Team Champion Jeff Hardy underwent surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. A timeframe of six months was initially given for his return to the ring, meaning he would likely miss WrestleMania 34. With Matt Hardy now playing the “Woken” character on WWE TV since Jeff’s injury, many have been wondering how WWE will use the former WWE Champion once he returns.
Bryan Alvarez of Wrestling Observer Live recently speculated that Jeff could possibly return using the “Brother NERO” character. With both Matt and Jeff using characters from their “Woken Universe” it’s hard not to see another run at the RAW Tag Team Titles in their futures. Jeff’s last appearance on WWE TV came on RAW 25 when he appeared in a backstage segment with WWE Superstars of the past.
Back in October Hardy posted this photo after undergoing surgery for his injured shoulder:
Former WWE Champion Chris Jericho recently took to his podcast, Talk Is Jericho, and discussed how Brock Lesnar and Goldberg’s feud with one another last year affected WWE’s plans for him at WrestleMania 33. Originally Jericho was supposed to feud with Kevin Owens for the Universal Title, and he would eventually win the strap from “KO” at WrestleMania:
“[I]t was in November [2016] maybe, Vince [McMahon] said, ‘Okay, at WrestleMania it’s you and Kevin Owens for the world title [Universal Title]. You’re gonna win the world title at WrestleMania,'” Jericho recalled. “‘Wow, winning the world title at WrestleMania?'”
Jericho would then immediately drop the title to Brock Lesnar at the next pay-per-view (PPV) which was Payback:
“[Vince] goes, ‘Yeah. You’ll lose it the next pay-per-view to Brock [Lesnar].’ I’m like, ‘That’s cool!’ And for me I’d never won the title as a babyface either, ever. It’s been six times but always as a heel,” said Jericho. “So this was kind of like, ya know, we’re not marks here, but it’s a pretty cool thing. Let’s be honest.”
After Goldberg defeated Lesnar at Survivor Series and WWE planned out a feud between the pair extending into WrestleMania 33, those plans of course changed:
“One week later Survivor Series happens, Brock versus Goldberg,” said Jericho. “Goldberg beats Brock in a minute. And that’s when Brock went, ‘I can work with this guy [Goldberg]. I want to work with him.
“I’ll lose in a minute, but only if I can beat him for the title at WrestleMania.’ And Vince had to make a decision: what’s the bigger box office? Ya know and obviously it was Brock and Goldberg, and Chris and Kevin take back seat.”
You can listen to Talk Is Jericho by clicking this link here.
Chris Jericho recently took to his podcast, Talk Is Jericho, and discussed several professional wrestling topics. One such topic was the hilarious story of how “Y2J” first met Stone Cold Steve Austin. This came during a time where Jericho worked in WCW and found himself sharing a plane with several WWE guys:
“I met [Austin] on a plane one time and [Austin] gave me the greatest line of all time. No, [Austin was not rude]. It was a great line! I was walking on the plane. It was one of those rare moments when you would see WWE and WCW on the same plane.
“And [Austin] walked by me and [Austin] said, ‘hey’. I only knew Steve Austin. I was like, ‘hey,’ he was like, ‘hey, there’s a gay guy on the plane.’ I said, ‘really?’ He goes, ‘yeah, give me a kiss and I’ll tell you who it is.'”
Later on Jericho would make the switch over to WWE and would join the ranks of Austin, The Rock, and Triple H. He found out right away that new heels weren’t allowed to call out guys such as Undertaker, Rock, or Austin in promos:
“I came in as a heel, so I had no problem. I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to talk s–t about The Undertaker in a promo or talk bad about Steve Austin in a promo! That’s what heels do to babyfaces! Right? But I learned very quickly that that’s not what heels do when they first come in.
“I had no idea! Nobody ever taught me that in WCW. They didn’t even tell me how to bump and feed a comeback. I had been in WCW for three years and I had no idea what that even meant as crazy as it sounds right now.”
Jericho also discussed changing the way people saw him, coming from WCW as one of the main guys in the Cruiserweight Division:
“I knew I can’t win with [Triple H] and DX, and Rocky was always cool and [Austin] was in and out. [Austin was] always on your own, but [he was] always cool to me. But what I did was I worked really hard always, but I knew if I could get over with the bullpen, with the mid level guys, that would bleed up to the top.
“Bob Holly, those type of guys, JBL, Bradshaw at the time, working with those types, Rikishi, having great matches night after night, after night, with those guys, where I was programmed, word gets around, ‘hey, that guy’s not an asshole. You guys are talking s–t about him, but he’s really good and he’s a really good guy.’ That really helped to alleviate some of the tension that was there.”
“Y2J” also revealed that the original inspiration for “The Highlight Reel” came from Gene Okerlund:
“My initial idea was learning from one of the greatest, I don’t know what you would call him, backstage interviewers, was Gene Okerlund who could lead you through a backstage promo even if you didn’t know what you were doing. Right?
“My idea when I started the Highlight Reel was I wanted to be the Gene Okerlund, have guys that didn’t get promo time, and let me do an improv promo. Let’s see what they’ve got. Of course, that did not fly with Vince. He wanted an actual promo segment with top level guys.”
You can listen to Jericho’s full episode of Talk Is Jericho by clicking this link here.
SmackDown Live Superstar Tyler Breeze recently did an interview with Sky Sports to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Breeze discussed overseas tours with WWE and how much he and his fellow Superstars enjoy visiting places such as Britain and Ireland:
“We don’t get to go there too often so when we do show up, the crowds are a little bigger and they’re very, very excited to see everything that they watch every week on TV in front of their faces, live. When we go over there we’re so excited because the crowds are so excited and you can’t help but feed off that energy and give it back.
“As soon as we finish those tours, we can’t wait to go back. We’re literally sitting here waiting to see what the schedule is going to be and what cities we’re going to be going to. It’s something that we get to look forward to. Some of those shows are so much fun.”
The English crowds in particular always come up with some interesting chants at WWE events. Oftentimes Breeze finds himself in the ring wondering what exactly they’re saying:
“They all have a little trait that stays with you. You almost have to get people to explain sometimes when the chants break out. You’ll be in the ring wondering what they’re saying. It’s a big thing over there and it’s great that people get into it that much. It’s all part of the atmosphere and the culture and it’s really cool to see people that into what we do.”
You can ready Tyler Breeze’s full interview with Sky Sports by clicking this link here.
– WWE NXT Superstar Chad Lail recently took to Instagram to show off a nasty injury he suffered while training. His pinky finer seems to have bent the wrong way. Lail said in the caption of the photo:
– WWE recently posted another video on their YouTube channel as part of their “WWE Now” series in which they feature Carmella’s recent documentation on Instagram of getting stuck in her hotel room. Check it out:
WWE Hall Of Famer Edge recently did an interview with Chuck Carroll of CBS Local Sports to talk about several professional wrestling topics. “The Rated-R Superstar” was asked for his thoughts on Paige’s neck injury that forced the end of her in-ring career with WWE:
“You know, I don’t know. It is tough, because if that is the case, and she does have to retire… I haven’t heard anything past the initial speculation… it is such a different case, because when I retired, I was 37. I had accomplished everything and then some I set out to do within that industry, so there wasn’t anything else besides wanting to help some younger talent and teach them. That was what the next mode of my career was going to be. So it is a different scenario.
“I guess all I can say, if that is the case, is she did a lot. She got a lot accomplished. She won the women’s championship, and she stood out. You just try and focus on the positives instead of drawing on the negatives. That’s really all you can do in that kind of situation. But I don’t know if there’s a magic elixir or the perfect sentence you can say to make that easier to swallow.”
Edge was then asked who he thinks is better – John Cena or The Rock:
“I guess it depends on what you’re going for. I’ll politically say it as that. How about Batista?”
The former WWE Champion has accomplished a lot in his professional wrestling career, but has also had the ability to travel the world and do some amazing things. Carroll asked Edge what he has left on his bucket list after his storied career:
“I keep exploring what I’m doing now. The pod is fun, and I get to connect to my childhood best friend every week, no matter where I am. We get to catch up with some friends who we don’t get to see all the time. Basically just bust each other’s chops. I really want to explore different characters and see what the next character is. I mean, who knows what’s next? But I would like [it] to be as challenging as this one has been.
“I don’t want to take a step back. I just want to keep going forward and just see what there is out there and just try to keep honing my craft and my chops. More importantly than all of that is just trying to be the template that you want your little girls to see of what a man is. So between all of those, that should keep me pretty busy.”
You can read Edge’s full interview with Chuck Carroll of CBS Local Sports by clicking this link here.
Posted February 10th, 2018 in WWE, News. Tagged: Edge.
WWE Superstar Braun Strowman recently did an interview with the Daily Star to talk about several professional wrestling topics. The sequence in which Strowman hit Lesnar with a stiff knee, and “The Beast” returned fire with a stiff punch to the jaw during their Royal Rumble match was brought up:
“Any time Brock and I are in the ring it’s very physical. You’re talking about two larger-than-life human beings who are fighting for dominance. Stuff happens. It’s a contact sport – it’s not tennis. We’re not going out there to slap a ball around, we’re going out there to beat each other up. That’s what we did.”
“The Monster Among Men” then offered his thoughts on being a part of a “dying breed” of big men in professional wrestling:
“I’m a dying breed, considering how fast-paced the sport has become with the cruiserweights and guys like AJ Styles who can go out there and do these crazy, unbelievable things.”
Strowman is currently teaming up with RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss in the Mixed Match Challenge. He said that the MMC gives him the ability to show another side of the Braun Strowman character, and it may just be that he’s “sweet on Alexa Bliss”:
“To be able to wind down a little bit when my body was beat up, I was fighting a little bit of a cold, was a very entertaining and refreshing segment to go out and work with. I got to show another layer of Braun Strowman the character, to show that he has a little bit of a softer side. It might be that he’s sweet on Alexa Bliss.”
You can read Strowman’s full interview with the Daily Star by clicking this link here.
– It looks like Seth Rollins’ luggage was checked by the TSA while he was traveling recently. “The Architect” took to Twitter and accused the TSA of stealing his pre-made Trifecta System meals – claiming there were 13 when he checked his bag and opened it up to find only nine:
– The Undertaker’s wife, Michelle McCool, took to Instagram to post a video of her husband working out in the gym. Current rumors have “The Deadman” returning to in-ring action at WrestleMania 34 to take on John Cena. WWE has yet to confirm The Undertaker will be wrestling at this year’s event:
Former WWE Cruiserweight Champion Sean “X-Pac” Waltman has released a new episode of his podcast, X-Pac12360. During the show Waltman reacted to Shelton Benjamin’s recent social media post in which he reveals that he found a loaded gun in his rental car:
“Here’s the thing, in all the years of traveling around and trying to rent cars like we do. There have been a few times when you find things leftover from the last person that rented the car, but come on man, a loaded gun?! Who freaking forgets something like that… Let’s just use our imaginations and think of all the bad scenarios that could come from something like that.”
He also explained why he didn’t want to win the now-defunct WWE light heavyweight title. It turns out winning the title would actually result in a pay cut for the former n.W.o member:
“I was the very last WWF Light Heavyweight champion. I fought a long time to not have to have that belt. One time, I got my payoff and I gave him [Jim Ross] a call. It was a SummerSlam payoff and I asked him if they were paying me by the pound? So that’s how I felt about the pay scale there. That you were paid by the pound sometimes, and it’s not really, but you can get that being in the WWE at times. I didn’t want that. There was no way I wanted that. That was a pay cut for me. So that was the issue.”
You can listen to X-Pac12360 by clicking this link here.
It looks like SmackDown Live’s Women’s Division will be short one talent due to an injury. Tamina Snuka has reportedly suffered a torn rotator cuff and underwent surgery to repair the issue. Her last appearance came in the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match where she wrestled through the injury. Two days later she underwent surgery to fix the issue.
Snuka’s appearance in the Women’s Rumble was up-in-the-air prior to the match as she was removed from promotional material for the bout at one point, before being added back again. She entered the match at the number seven spot but didn’t stay in the match longer than a few minutes as she was eliminated by WWE Hall Of Famer Lita. Snuka’s injury is the same as former RAW Tag Team Champion Jeff Hardy’s.
Hardy has been out-of-action since October and was given a six to eight month timetable for return. No timeframe has been given for Snuka’s injury return, but we’ll keep you updated as we learn more….
Last week WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T went off on Corey Graves during his Houston Sports Radio 610 show, Heated Conversations, blaming the former NXT Superstar for being the reason he was replaced by Jonathan Coachman on the Monday Night RAW commentary team. Booker followed that up by challenging Graves to a legitimate fist fight. Its since been reported that the feud between the pair is a work and Booker was replaced simply because Coachman was re-signed by WWE.
The former WCW World Heavyweight Champion then took to Twitter to offer for Graves to call into his show tonight and clear the air:
I’m going to address all of the news from this past week on my show tomorrow. There’s been a lot of things said and I’d like to publicly invite @WWEGraves to call in and clear the air.
– The New Day’s Xavier Woods recently took to Instagram and posted a video of himself, Big E, Kofi Kingston, and Renee Young popping balloons on what looks like the set of a game show. The set featured a WWE Network sign and a podium that says “Who Knows?” Check it out here:
– Ex-NFL quarterback Tim Tebow recently did an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Off The Board and was asked about Vince McMahon’s XFL relaunch. During the press conference last month McMahon mentioned that he’d be open to having Tebow play for the league. When asked if he’d consider the opportunity, Tebow said he isn’t sure at the moment as his primary focus is playing baseball with New York Mets:
“That’s very nice of him, but 2020 is a long way from now,” Tebow said. “I’m focused on today, I’m focused on spring training and a lot of things before that. I’m not even close to thinking about that right now.”
When prodded for a “yes or no” answer, Tebow had this to say:
“What if it’s a ‘I have no idea?’ That’s in 2020 and I’m super excited about baseball.”
WWE SmackDown Live Superstar Tyler Breeze recently did an interview with Planeta Wrestling to talk about several professional wrestling topics. You can find the highlights here below:
You’ve had some amazing matches as a solo competitor in NXT, like the one Jushin “Thunder” Liger or Apollo Crews. What happened when you got called to the main roster? Why do you think you didn’t have that amazing run in singles competition?
“It’s all about timing. It was one of those things when I was ready to get out of NXT. I proved my point there and there really wasn’t much more for me to do and it was time to go. Whether it’s coming up here and for doing what I was doing, you have to adapt. It’s a new environment and basically that is what I was doing the first little while. I was kind of comfortable in my NXT role and up here is not like that.
“You can’t make the quick transition over, you have to adapt to new opponents, new environment, new TV shows and I was kind of minding my footing. Even getting paired with Fandango for the first little while, we where struggling to find where our chemistry was and we finally clicked. Being paired with Fandango really helps out. I help him out, he helps me out, and I think we’ve really done something special with that.”
Who came up with the idea of the Fashion Files and how do you create your weekly segments? What is the process of putting all the pieces together?
“It was kind of a mix of opinions. It was one of those thing when we were trying to find where our chemistry was and we just started to throw ideas out there and one of them was to be the Fashion Police. We just started with little ideas, little videos and all of the sudden it took off. We were having fun with it and other people were enjoying it and all of the sudden it became a thing.
“It was on Smackdown every week for about eight months and we are still doing it now, but we are trying to find the transition and try to focus on other stuff. But it was very important to get some momentum behind us.”
How does it feel to be one of the most entertaining duos in WWE and not been able to perform in one of the most funnest [Royal] Rumbles in the last decade?
“Ha ha! It’s one of those things… Everybody has their time, it’s all about patience. I know that is very easy to get frustrated and seated at home asking, ‘Why me?’ It’s all about patience. We have a extremely talented roster and everybody eventually get the chance and you just have to be positive and enjoy the ride.”
– Scott D’Amore, IMPACT Wrestling’s Vice President, was recently a guest on the Sitting Ringside with David Penzer podcast. During the episode Penzer asked D’Amore who he’d like to build IMPACT around if they were available. D’Amore made it very clear that one day he wants to see “The Phenomenal One” back in an IMPACT Wrestling ring:
“God, that’s a tough question!” D’Amore said. “A.J. [Styles] was the face of this company for so long, and I have to think somewhere in the back of my mind, very deep in my heart, there’s one day that A.J. steps back in an Impact ring and has that homecoming moment!”
Listen to D’Amore on Sitting Ringside with David Penzer by clicking here.
– John Cena was again on TODAY this morning and actually officiated a wedding. He also made a joke about his “You Can’t See Me” catchphrase. Watch the segment here:
As WrestleMania 34 approaches there has still been very limited news as to whether or not we’ll actually see the rumored match-up between John Cena and The Undertaker. Several months ago it was being reported that Cena’s plans for WrestleMania were bigger than the title matches on the card.
It was then reported that Cena vs. Taker was penciled in for “The Show Of Shows.” Many fans expected the feud to setup at RAW 25, however, Undertaker’s appearance on the show was arguably the most disappointing segment of the night. Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s Dave Meltzer reports that, as of a few weeks ago, Cena vs. Undertaker at WrestleMania 34 is still the plan.
Meltzer speculated that if WWE still wants to do it they could set it up after Cena loses the Elimination Chamber match. It should be interesting to see how creative books the feud between these two legends on the road to New Orleans.
Yesterday SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan was removed from the WrestleMania 34 AXXESS VIP Signings on April 8th, the day of the event. Several hours after this was reported, Bryan was added back to the listing by WWE. Bodyslam.net reports that Bryan was initially removed from the listing because tickets sold out.
Someone decided to remove Bryan from the listing, however, after news got around that he would no longer be at the event he was quickly added back. In conclusion, Bryan has not been pulled from the signing and is still scheduled to sign autographs at 8 A.M. Many fans began to speculate that this was a sign Bryan could be wrestling at the event. This does not seem to be the case, however, and he has yet to be cleared by WWE doctors.
WWE Hall Of Famer Booker T was removed from the RAW commentary team and replaced with the recently re-signed Jonathan Coachman. Some fans believed Booker T’s initial claims on his radio show, Heated Conversations, that it was due to his friction with Corey Graves on-air.
A report from Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Newsletter reveals that the real reason the WWE Hall Of Famer was moved to pre-show panels was strictly because of the signing of Coachman. It had absolutely nothing to do with Corey Graves. The WWE Universe has mixed feelings about Booker T’s ability on commentary, but WWE wanted to bring back “The Coach” because he was always loyal to the company before departing for a job with ESPN.
After his time with the sports news juggernaut came to an end the WWE welcomed back the former Executive Assistant to Vince McMahon back with open arms. Unfortunately that meant that Booker needed to be moved off of weekly WWE commentary.
– With some acting experience now under her belt as she co-starred in WWE Studios’ “The Marine 6: Close Quarters” last year, former SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Becky Lynch wants in on the upcoming Disney Channel movie “Kim Possible.” The show was originally an animated series that ended back in 2007, however, Disney is now rebooting it for a live-action movie. Lynch, who looks a lot like the Kim Possible character, volunteered on Twitter for the role:
– WWE Superstar John Cena appeared NBC’s “Today” show yesterday and announced he’ll be crashing one lucky fan’s high school prom to promote his upcoming movie “Blockers.” Below is WWE’s official announcement on the promotion:
Find out how you could get John Cena at your school dance
Your senior prom is about to get an Attitude Adjustment thanks to John Cena.
The 16-time World Champion stopped by “TODAY” with Kathie Lee and Hoda Kotb to talk about his upcoming movie, “Blockers,” and revealed his wild plan to crash the school dance of a lucky high school senior.
Cena didn’t attend his senior prom, but he wants a second chance — and it could happen at your school dance.
If you are a high school senior, older than 17 and have a dance coming up, visit the Kathie Lee and Hoda Facebook page and submit a creative video inviting Cena to #CrashOurDance.
The submission cutoff is Friday, Feb. 23. “Blockers” premieres Friday, April 6.
Cena also revealed that he officiated a wedding for one lucky couple. Don’t miss the ceremony Friday on “TODAY” during the 10 a.m. hour.
– The ‘Hotel Roman Reigns’ Bed & Breakfast has opened up in Duff Dunbar, India. Booking.com has the following description of the hotel:
“Featuring free WiFi, Hotel Roman Reigns offers accommodations in Duff Dunbar.
“All rooms include a flat-screen TV. Certain rooms have a sitting area to relax in after a busy day. Certain rooms feature views of the mountains or garden. Every room comes with a private bathroom.
“There is a 24-hour front desk at the property.
“The nearest airport is Gaggal Airport, 54 miles from Hotel Roman Reigns.”
– Another WWE 24 special on the WWE Network will focus on The Women’s Evolution. The title of the special is WWE 24: Women’s Evolution 2, and no release date for the special has been announced as of this writing. The WWE’s initial special on the Women’s Evolution came back in August of 2016 entitled WWE 24: Women’s Evolution. It focused on the Women’s Division getting a big spot on WrestleMania 32’s card.
– SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair was asked by a fan on Twitter if she’d face-off against Ronda Rousey ‘if she had to.’ Here’s how she responded:
– A lot of former WWE Superstars and personalities returned to the company for RAW 25. One was former United States Champion MVP. He recently was a guest on Big League Wrestling’s podcast to talk about his return to WWE and indicated that it was a one-time deal and there are no plans as of this writing to have him back:
“By and far and away I was the sharpest dressed poker player in the building. At the end of the day I made a very nice pay day to show up in a suit, play cards, say hi to my friends, no bumps I win. It makes me laugh because people were like congratulations on going to RAW. Congratulations for what? It’s a date. I’m going to work, it’s a one off. Thanks I guess. not that big a deal. For me. With all due respect.”
WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler recently took to his Dinner With The King podcast to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Lawler recently served as a guest commentator for the Men’s Royal Rumble match and discussed the preparations for commentators before the bout:
“Honestly, I think Michael Cole does know. When I said I don’t have to go to production meetings, Michael Cole does. I mean, he has to,” Lawler said. “When you are the main guy you have to be ready for that information so I’m pretty sure who was coming out next from 1-30. I had no list. I went into this thing so unprepared I honestly felt like they may have forgotten they called me to be at the Royal Rumble. I mean, I talked to some people, but nobody in charge. I didn’t speak to anybody in charge all day,” he said.
“I had finished the pre-show and had headed up to the Gorilla position when the Royal Rumble started, because as you know the Men’s Royal Rumble was on the third match, so I went and changed into my old King coat and crown and all of this stuff. I had went up there and started standing around and then the show started. Vince McMahon saw me and got up and shook my hand to ask me how I was and then he went and sat back down. Michael Cole was already out there. I just felt weird because we were getting closer to the time of the Royal Rumble but nobody told me anything.
“Then, I finally had gone to Billy Kidman because he’s the one who kind of runs the time of the show because the Royal Rumble was about to start and then they run a package. I went over to him to ask if I was supposed to be out there already and he looked over at the sheet and said, ‘Oh no; you are going to have your music and entrance.’ I let out a big sigh of relief. Then, little bit after that I went out. I hadn’t talked to anybody; I hadn’t talked to Michael Cole or Corey Graves about what to do or say about the show. I had no clue about anything on the order that was going to happen.”
The King also offered his thoughts on former WWE World Heavyweight Champion and former Royal Rumble match winner Rey Mysterio returning for the bout:
“Rey Mysterio looked amazing. They have John Cena being the spokesperson for Pistachios, Rey Mysterio needs to be the spokesperson for Kapiti. What a tan he had! He’s like Tom Brady. I hope he is back full-time. I wish I had known he was 43 years old, I would have had some one-liners for that.”
Lawler also said that when he ran into Triple H at the Royal Rumble “The Game” joked at him by saying to stay awake for the match. This was in reference to the picture that went viral on social media during RAW 25, making it seem as if Lawler and Jim Ross fell asleep while off-air:
“The first time I saw Triple H at the Royal Rumble, he goes, ‘Hey King.’ I said, ‘Hey Hunter.’ He said, ‘Try to stay awake out there tonight.’ I said, ‘OK.’ So yeah, it’s kind of like a joke.”
You can listen to Dinner With The King by clicking this link here.