– As we’ve previously reported, Jason Jordan will miss WrestleMania 34 after undergoing a recent neck surgery. WWE reportedly had plans for a WrestleMania match between Jordan and Seth Rollins. Jordan broke his silence on the matter via a recent Tweet:
– Roman Reigns is one of seven men set to compete in the Elimination Chamber match later this month. The winner will go on to WrestleMania 34 to challenge Brock Lesnar for the Universal Title. Reigns took to Twitter to hype the match:
After ending her toxic relationship with former WWE Champion Alberto Del Rio last November, former Divas Champion Paige has found herself in a new relationship. A story on Metal Injunction talks about Paige and metal core band, Attila, bassist Kalan Blehm taking their relationship public. Blehm, 33, recently took to Instagram to post a picture of he and Paige at an Orlando Magic game last week. Here’s the description:
“Congrats on the win and the hospitality tonight @orlandomagic ||| @stuffmagic did a great job of creepin my girl out too but we cool”
– Last night on Monday Night RAW WWE confirmed Ivory would be inducted into the 2018 Hall Of Fame class. Ivory joins The Dudley Boyz and Goldberg in this year’s class. The Rock took to Twitter to react to the announcement of Ivory getting the Hall Of Fame nod:
Very happy to hear about this. One of the original ladies of GLOW. We worked a lot together and what a class act and trail blazer this woman is. Congratulations Ivory! Well deserved. #WWEHOF https://t.co/97r66NwvOY
– WWE recently uploaded a video on their YouTube channel of an Extreme Rules match between Bobby Lashley and Hardcore Holly from 2007. Lashley’s contract with IMPACT Wrestling recently expired and he’s expected to return to WWE soon:
WWE Superstar Apollo Crews recently did an interview with Planeta Wrestling to talk about several professional wrestling topics. The highlights can be found below:
Last week we spoke with Tyler Breeze and he was explaining how difficult it was transitioning from NXT to the main roster. How difficult was it for you?
“It is a lot different because never in my life have I been on the road that much. I worked [independents] before I got to WWE. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday we are in [NXT in] Orlando training and Thursday we are traveling on the road, but we are not traveling too far outside of Orlando so two hours maximum outside of Orlando. When you get to WWE, literally every week you are getting on a plane from state to state and city to city; literally four different cities and states.
“I believe it is different, especially when you are used to a certain structure with my training, eating, it took me a while to figure out a schedule. Packing my meals, bringing my food on the road, training every moment I get. It is almost like you have to plan accordingly otherwise you lose sleep, training time, you lose time to eat so you really have to stay focused and really plan out your day and stay organized.”
Being focused in this new adventure with Titus Worldwide, I would like to know what is Titus O’Neil giving you as a performer point of view and if you would like to have any new additions to the group?
“Titus helped me to understand that WWE is not only all about wrestling. He helped me to understand that I need to help learn to become an entertainer as well. When you are out there having fun people can feel that and they can have fun themselves, so he is helping me be more relaxed on camera and open up my personality and not be afraid to go out there and have fun. I think when I first got to WWE I took myself a little too seriously. 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 recognized that I have a lot more of a personality and I do have character and charisma so I thank him for that everyday.”
– As RAW General Manager Kurt Angle noted last night, Ronda Rousey will sign her RAW contract at Elimination Chamber. WWE released the following statement on the news:
Ronda Rousey’s official Raw Contract Signing to take place at WWE Elimination Chamber
The squared circle is about to get rowdy! WWE Elimination Chamber will not only feature the first-ever Women’s Elimination Chamber Match, but it will also mark the official entry of iconic mixed martial artist Ronda Rousey into WWE as a Raw Superstar.
The former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion instantly made headlines following the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble Match at last month’s groundbreaking pay-per-view, walking to the ring to confront winner Asuka, SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte and Raw Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss. Without saying a word, she pointed directly to the WrestleMania sign looming in the rafters to signal that she intended to make a splash on The Grandest Stage of Then All.
According to a story published by ESPN.com following Rousey’s appearance, the former MMA star has reportedly come to terms with WWE to be a full-time Superstar.
“This is my life now. First priority on my timeline for the next several years. This is not a smash-and-grab; this is not a publicity stunt,” Rousey said. “When I first met with Triple H, I told him, ‘There are other things I can do with my time that’ll make way more money, but I won’t enjoy nearly as much.’”
Rousey’s new life kicks off at WWE Elimination Chamber, but when you consider the chaotic nature of contract-signings in WWE, as well as all the attention that Rousey’s arrival has been garnishing in the WWE Universe and in the locker room, one has to wonder whether the special moment will indeed end in bedlam.
Don’t miss a moment of the historic night, featuring the Men’s and the first-ever Women’s Elimination Chamber Matches, Sunday, Feb. 25, at 8 ET/5 PT on the award-winning WWE Network.
– WWE posted a video of Mike Rome interviewing Absolution’s Paige, Mandy Rose, and Sonya Deville. This came after Sonya and Mandy’s victory over Alexa Bliss and Mickie James on RAW. Paige then interrupted and explained how both Sonya and Mandy have the advantage heading into the Chamber. Check it out:
– Last night’s Monday Night RAW featured a Fatal-Five Way between Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, “Woken” Matt Hardy, and Apollo Crews to determine who would be the final entrant into the Elimination Chamber match. Both Rollins and Balor pinned Wyatt at the same time and no clear winner was determined. RAW General Manager Kurt Angle was interviewed after the show by Renee Young live on Facebook, where he was interrupted by both Rollins and Balor.
Both men were bickering back-and-forth over who deserved the opportunity more, before Angle named both Rollins and Balor into the match. It will be the first seven-man Elimination Chamber match in WWE history. Rollins took to Twitter to react to the history making news:
– Last night Braun Strowman put on one of the more entertaining segments in recent RAW memory when he attacked Elias with a cello. He took to Twitter to react to the segment:
– Per a report from Nick Hausman of WrestleZone, there seems to be talk about WWE holding another WWE Draft or Superstar Shakeup. It’s possible the Draft or Superstar Shakeup could take place at Backlash on pay-per-view (PPV) instead of on TV. The idea is to give the new dual-brand PPV format a jumpstart.
– After last night’s Monday Night RAW went off-air RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss defender her title against Asuka. The match ended in a No Contest when Nia Jax hit the ring and attacked both women. Bayley and Sasha Banks hit the ring for the save and Asuka was declared the winner via disqualification. Of course, that resulted in Bliss still retaining.
– Below is the video of Ivory’s 2018 Hall Of Fame class induction that aired on RAW last night:
Thus far WWE has announced that Goldberg, The Dudley Boyz, and Ivory will be inducted into the 2018 Hall Of Fame class. There have been a number more names rumored to be joining them, such as former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Mark Henry, but it seems that another name has joined that mix.
Mike Johnson of PWInsider reports that multiple people within WWE have told him there has been talk of possibly inducting Jeff Jarrett into the Hall Of Fame this year. Johnson noted he has been hearing these rumblings for the past three weeks, and up until yesterday the rumors were still going strong. While he couldn’t officially confirm whether or not it will actually happen, Johnson noted there is definitely smoke to the fire:
“There are guys inside of WWE that have come to me and said that they have heard that Jeff Jarrett is being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. While I have no idea that this is the case or not but there certainly seems to be some smoke floating around. Whether there is fire to that smoke, I don’t know.”
We’ll keep you updated as more information becomes available…..
– In case you haven’t seen them yet, Paul Heyman’s Heyman Hustle website has a must-see photo gallery from the Universal Championship match at last month’s Royal Rumble pay-per-view.
Heyman wrote on Twitter, “I have advocated for more #WWE champions than anyone in history. Spent the majority of my time in #WWE screaming “reigning defending …
No one in history matches Brock Lesnar’s level of dominance. No one. #WrestleMania #April8 #NewOrleans #BrockLesnar”
– Both Sasha Banks and Bayley took to Twitter ahead of their “friendly competition” match tonight on Monday Night RAW. Here’s what the two women had to say:
Former WWE and IMPACT Wrestling star Ken Anderson (also known as Mr. Kennedy) recently made an appearance on Sean “X-Pac” Waltman’s podcast, X-Pac12360. During their conversation Anderson discussed what it was like working with Paul Heyman when he was in OVW:
“First, when I was doing tryouts, I remember one day we were in the ring working just all the indie guys and the only two people sitting in the front row were Paul Heyman and Jim Ross. Guys were getting in [the ring] doing chain wrestling which was fine, but they just weren’t showing character. I got in there and I started putting heat on somebody, talking smack. Fast forward, Jim Cornette got released from the company and they said Paul Heyman was coming in and he’s gonna run OVW and he’s gonna run all the TV and everything. I remember he came in and said, ‘I need to talk to you.’
“[He] pulled me into a room and said, ‘You’re the next guy up… I have been a fan of yours,I’ve had my eye on you.’ At that point I been there for 6 months and he said, ‘We’re gonna do so much stuff with you on TV here that they’re gonna have to take you onto the main roster.’ Five weeks later Tommy Dreamer called me and said, ‘Hey they want to take a look at you on Smackdown. In that case Paul was correct, and I just continued to be friends with Paul.”
He also revealed that he would occasionally call Heyman for advice during his run in TNA Wrestling:
“After I got released [from WWE] and went to TNA, a lot of people don’t know this, but they would a lot of times hand me a script and I would call Paul and say, ‘Hey here’s what they gave me, I am not digging it, what can we do?’ Almost every week and he would say, ‘Give me a couple minutes and I’ll write something up for you.’ A couple minutes later he would have an email to my inbox. We just kinda collaborated, it was really cool. He’s a great guy.”
Now Anderson runs a wrestling school and enjoys passing on his knowledge of the business to the next generation:
“To me it’s not work, it is fun. I enjoy it especially when the students are really into it and it’s a really good atmosphere and everyone is having fun. It’s not work and I put a lot of time in it. We wanted to have a place that… we sorta designed it on a way lighter budget obviously, we looked at what the performance center is doing and how do we take that to an independent level.”
Molly Holly is a trainer at Anderson’s school and reacted to Holly’s appearance in the first-ever Women’s Royal Rumble match:
“What a huge reaction from the people in the room, when they saw one of their coaches [Molly] come out as one of the entrances of the first ever women’s Royal Rumble. Which I must say, in my humble opinion, that was the match of the night, those women crushed it.”
You can listen to Anderson’s appearance on X-Pac12360 here by clicking this link.
Ring Of Honor (ROH) star Madison Rayne recently did an interview with Channel Guide MagazineChannel Guide Magazine to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Currently Rayne is a ‘free agent’ and she discussed what that means for herself and her family moving forward:
“I think in 2018 it’s fun and exciting to be able to control your own narrative and go where you want and do what you want. It’s also very gratifying to have a company who wants to invest in you and wants to put their branding on you and bring you on board. I don’t really know what I would prefer at this point. I want to have a contract and have that be home. Then I start doing all these things that make it exciting for me to be a ‘free agent.’ I don’t know what the right thing is.
“I’m just going to do what works best for me and my family and for my life. Right now, getting to go everywhere and do everything and wrestle so many different women. I was with Impact for so long and have this group of women who are now lifelong friends and I’ve traveled the world with, but now I’m getting to branch out more and wrestle different people and different crowds.”
With the current vamp WWE has taken in women’s professional wrestling, a debate has sparked over which promotion really started the Women’s Revolution – IMPACT or WWE? Rayne offered her thoughts on the matter:
“I know right now there is a lot of contention of, ‘Well, the Knockouts started the Women’s Revolution.’ At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. The Knockouts in 2007 did their thing and probably inspired many who are doing it now in WWE and Ring of Honor and Impact. I hate getting caught up into who did it and who did it better. I think for many years it has been growing and getting bigger and better.
“It makes me feel good that I was part of this first generation and did it at such a young age. I think I was 21 when I had my first tryout match at TNA. I’ve done it for so long. I’m in that really good spot involved heavily back then and involved into it now. It’s fun.”
Rayne also discussed ROH starting to expand their own women’s division, and it being the perfect time to do so:
“Deonna Purrazzo, Kelly Klein, Mandy Leon and Sumi Sakai, those women laid the foundation for what Women of Honor is right now. I have the opportunity to come in now to put my name and brand on the division. Brandi Rhodes is doing the same thing. … Back when I was wrestling infrequently with them, they had some incredible names and could have easily formed a championship and division. But I don’t think women’s wrestling was where it is right now.
“There was a lull in the amount of activity women had at Ring of Honor for a few years. I would say this is the perfect time for them. Women’s wrestling is probably at its highest point right now. So, for Ring of Honor to capitalize on it, I think it’s brilliant because I think Ring of Honor is growing just as quickly as women’s wrestling is going. I feel like it only makes sense right now.”
You can read Rayne’s full interview with Channel Guide MagazineChannel Guide Magazine by clicking this link here.
Ex-WCW feature producer Neal Pruitt has released another episode of his podcast, Neal Pruitt’s Secrets of WCW Nitro, and talked about several WCW related topics. One such topic covered WWE Hall Of Famer Stone Cold Steve Austin’s time with the company. Pruitt talked about Austin’s issues with bing nervous during interviews:
“I don’t think anybody ever wants to really expose their weaknesses, but when you do expose your weaknesses to someone that’s willing to help you, you can really excel. Not that I had anything to do with it…but [Austin] did tell us he had an issue with speaking [upon his arrival to WCW]. [He said] it was something he really needed to work on.
“Having been in the interview room for so long, [I know] that what really freaks people out is… it’s just not natural to look in the camera lens instead of somebody’s face. So it’s already a weird thing to do, and the intimidation factor creeps in for whatever reason. [Often] when the light goes on the camera, the personality goes off.
“I knew Stone Cold was uncomfortable with that – looking right in the camera. So I told him, ‘if you’re nervous about looking in the camera, don’t even look in the camera. These people don’t deserve your gaze’. So if you watch some of his earlier stuff when he had hair and he was on WCW Saturday Night, you’ll see that he’s not looking at the camera at all.
“He worked at his talent at talking, [and] so did Cactus Jack. When they would ride down the road together, they would never turn the radio on. They would just [practice their promos]. That’s how dedicated these people were at becoming professionals at what they did. And I really admire that, because I know that’s what it takes. It doesn’t come naturally to most people, but if you work at it, you can get it.”
Pruitt also tackled the rumors that WCW fed in “Goldberg” chants to their programming when he made his entrance:
“Sometimes some of it would be recorded, and we would mix that in to get the people excited. It didn’t happen all that much as far as the live shows went, but I know I would enhance some of the pay-per-view events.
“When I did the show for Deep South Wrestling – that’s where people like Luke Gallows, Kofi Kingston, MVP, Jack Swagger, The Miz and lots of [other] guys at WWE [came from] – I would always super-enhance the audio, as far as when the show aired on TV. I had a ‘roar’ track that I used underneath [the crowd noise], that I think really enhanced the show.”
You can listen to Neal Pruitt’s Secrets of WCW Nitro by clicking this link here.
– 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.
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.
