SEScoops

Author: Jon Fuentes

  • Kevin Owens Reveals What Was Going Through His Mind When He Headbutted Vince McMahon

    Kevin Owens Reveals What Was Going Through His Mind When He Headbutted Vince McMahon

    Former WWE Universal Champion Kevin Owens recently did an interview with AL.com to discuss several professional wrestling topics. “KO” discussed his activity on Twitter, as he’s famous for delivering some of the best smack talk on social media out of anyone on the WWE’s roster. He also was asked about possibly being a Grand Slam Champion, which he would be if he were to win the WWE Championship.

    Owens has held the Universal Title after winning the vacated belt back in August of 2016. Finn Balor was the first-ever Universal Champion after defeating Seth Rollins at SummerSlam for the inaugural strap but was forced to vacate it after suffering a shoulder injury during the bout. The former NXT Champion also discussed what winning the WWE Title would mean as opposed to having held the Universal crown.

    And finally Owens revealed what was going through his mind when he headbutted Vince McMahon on an episode of SmackDown Live to hype his Hell In A Cell match with Shane McMahon last year. Here are the highlights:

    You have a really great voice on Twitter, but you’ve also expressed concerns about the nastier aspects of social media. Where do you stand right now in terms of how you manage your social media presence and how you engage with fans both positive and negative?

    “I really don’t go on Twitter as much as I used to. I feel like as you become more well-known, more and more people have access to you and know who you are. There’s a lot of people out there who are just miserable in their own lives I guess and just trying to make other people miserable as well to bring themselves up. There’s no shortage of that, that’s for sure. It’s taken a toll on my in terms of how much I love social media. I don’t enjoy it as much. But whenever I do, I get messages from people telling me how my work helps them in their life in the struggles they’re going through.

    “That always means the world to me. It will never stop. There’s something very special about meeting fans you know you reach with your work. We do this every week, we get into a routine, and as passionate as we may be, it’s like any other job in a way. Once you do something long enough, you kind of get used to it. Sometimes we’re lucky enough to meet somebody that’s really touched by your work, and that always puts things in perspective and is really cool.”

    How important is winning the WWE championship to you? Obviously you’d be a grand slam champion, but now that you’ve been Universal champion, which is a top title in the company, why would it still mean a lot to win the WWE title?

    “Honestly, to me, the WWE championship and the Universal championship are the same thing. They’re the top championships on the respective brands. If the brand extension were to end or whatever may happen, those titles would just be fused into the WWE championship again. The point is, they mean the same thing. So of course I want to be WWE champion because of what it means, and that means you’re the top superstar. I don’t think that you necessarily have to be the champion to be the top superstar, but it certainly helps.

    “It’s an accolade that everybody wants. Who doesn’t want to be WWE champion? I was Universal champion, and I’m very proud of that, and that’s always going to be a highlight of my career. But of course I want to be WWE champion, just like I want to be tag team champion eventually. All the titles just mean your work is being recognized, and you’re seen as someone who can represent the company. That’s always very gratifying.”

    Can you paint a picture of what goes through your head when you find out that you’re going to headbutt Vince McMahon?

    “No I really can’t, honestly. It’s pretty indescribable. But it’s something I’ll remember forever, I’ll guarantee you that. [laughs]”

    You can read Owens’ full interview with AL.com by clicking this link here.

  • Alberto Del Rio Compares His WWE Promos To IMPACT Wrestling

    Alberto Del Rio Compares His WWE Promos To IMPACT Wrestling

    Former WWE Champion and current IMPACT Wrestling star Alberto El Patron (a.k.a. Alberto Del Rio) recently did an interview with The Miami Herald to talk about his run with IMPACT as well as his past experiences with WWE. El Patron made his IMPACT Wrestling debut back in March of 2017 after being released from WWE in September of the previous year. El Patron explained how much more creative freedom he has with IMPACT as opposed to his previous employer:

    “They let you be yourself and just do it on the fly, it feels better. People appreciate that even more, it’s natural. When I went back to Impact Wrestling for Bound for Glory, I was just telling the truth and speaking from the heart and making people open their eyes to the situation.

    “And it’s going to continue, as long as I’m at Impact, I have the freedom to say what I think. … I keep hearing people say ‘Every time you’re on the mic in Impact, it’s amazing. What happened? Why wasn’t it like that in the other company?’ Well, the reason was I never had that freedom.”

    The former GFW Global Champion also offered his thoughts on former IMPACT Wrestling frontman Jeff Jarrett and the current management within the promotion:

    “I was having a lot of fun with Jeff Jarrett, he’s a personal friend. He was the one giving me the opportunity to have my Dad and my Brother in that storyline with LAX. I was always grateful for that and wanted to say ‘thank you’ to Jeff for giving me the opportunity to have them in the ring with me, but it was also a fantastic storyline.

    “It was not something they just did to please me. … I know Jeff is no longer with the company, but we have another group of people with the same idea, with the same goal, which is to take Impact Wrestling to the place where it belongs.”

    During his early professional wrestling days in the 2000s El Patron used to wear a mask, a normalcy in the Mexican professional wrestling world. El Patron was then asked about the possibility of competing with a mask once again as the 40-year-old begins to wind down in his career:

    “That would be amazing! That would be fantastic, but it’s a little bit difficult when it’s done in Mexico. Once you lose it, you lose it. They don’t want to see you wearing it, they would feel like you’re disrespecting the lucha libre tradition, but I never lost the mask, it was a personal decision.

    “I never lost the mask in the ring. I decided to remove that mask and give light to Alberto Del Rio. … Maybe for my last match, maybe for the day when I say ‘adios’ to the pro wrestling business.”

    H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

  • Two More Former WWE Stars Rumored For RAW’s 25th Anniversary Show

    Two More Former WWE Stars Rumored For RAW’s 25th Anniversary Show

    The WWE’s 25th Anniversary episode of Monday Night RAW is set to go down on January 22nd in a special simulcast event from both the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and the Manhattan Center. Some big names have been advertised for the event; including Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, DX (Shawn Michaels, Triple H and The New Age Outlaws), Ric Flair, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and much more.

    You can check out the full list of confirmed names here. PWInsider is reporting that two more former WWE stars are now scheduled to appear on the show, in WWE Hall Of Famer Ted DiBiase and Sean “X-Pac” Waltman. Waltman ended his full-time run with WWE back in 2002 and has since been working the independent scene with sporadic appearances on WWE TV over the years.

    DiBiase retired from in-ring competition back in 2004 and has since become a Christian minister. He was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2010.

  • WM35 Location Update, Shayna Baszler On Why She’s In WWE

    WM35 Location Update, Shayna Baszler On Why She’s In WWE

    – It appears that WWE is planning to hold WrestleMania 35 in the Northeast part of the U.S. in 2019, per a report from PWInsider. There’s still a chance plans could change as WrestleMania 34 was originally expected to take place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, however, New Orleans offered WWE a better deal.

    – We previously posted a video from Shayna Baszler’s Twitter in which she goes nuts and chokes out a fellow NXT Performance Center trainee, Jessie Elaban. Baszler is expected to make her NXT TV debut this Wednesday, and Tweeted out the following about why she’s in WWE:

    Over the weekend, WWE posted this video of Baszler interrupting a training session at the WWE Performance Center. Baszler offers to show Jessica Elaban the proper way to apply a submission hold.

  • Update On Chris Jericho Possibly Working Another NJPW Event

    Update On Chris Jericho Possibly Working Another NJPW Event

    It appears that Tetsuya Naito’s attack on Chris Jericho at the New Year’s Dash event following Wrestle Kingdom 12 last week could’ve beeen to set up a match between the pair.

    Per a report from Wrestling Observer Radio, the current plan is to have Jericho vs. Naito go down at the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) USA: Strong Style Evolved show on March 25th from Long Beach, California at the Walter Pyramid.

    The Walter Pyramid seats approximately 5,000 fans and hosted the 2-night 2017 G1 Special event that saw Kenny Omega be crowned the first-ever IWGP United States Champion. Ticket information and match card will be announced soon at NJPW1972.com.

  • Cedric Alexander Comments Cruiserweight Title Shot, Titus O’Neil Calls Out H&M

    Cedric Alexander Comments Cruiserweight Title Shot, Titus O’Neil Calls Out H&M

    – As we’ve previously reported, Cedric Alexander is set to receive his shot at the Cruiserweight Title tonight on Monday Night RAW against Enzo Amore. Alexander earned his shot several weeks ago by defeating Drew Gulak on RAW, however, the match was put on hold as Amore was sidelined from WWE TV with the flu. Alexander Tweeted out the following regarding finally getting his shot at the strap tonight:

    https://twitter.com/CedricAlexander/status/950093107743412231?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    – WWE Superstar Titus O’Neil called out clothing line H&M for a racially insensitive ad on Twitter. Check it out:

  • The Rock Tweets Finn Balor, Dalton Castle’s ROH Title Challenger Announced

    The Rock Tweets Finn Balor, Dalton Castle’s ROH Title Challenger Announced

    – Former WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor recently Tweeted about receiving several “electric shocks” and asked how former WWE Champion The Rock deals with it on a daily basis. “The Great One” responded:

    – Ring Of Honor has announced Dalton Castle’s first challenger for the ROH World Heavyweight Title. Castle will defend his strap against Punishment Martinez at their International TV Taping on January 20th:

    Ring of Honor Wrestling International Television Taping
    Local Time: Saturday, Jan 20, 2018 06:00pm CST
    Nashville Municipal Auditorium
    417 4th Ave N

    Nashville, Tennessee 37201

    ALREADY SIGNED

    ROH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

    ROH WORLD CHAMPION DALTON CASTLE vs. PUNISHMENT MARTINEZ

    MATT TAVEN vs. “THE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE” CODY

    ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

    ROH WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS (ALEX SHELLEY & CHRIS SABIN) vs. BEST FRIENDS (BERETTA & CHUCKIE T.)

    ROH WORLD SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP

    ROH WORLD SIX-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS ADAM PAGE & THE YOUNG BUCKS vs. SOCAL UNCENSORED (CHRISTOPHER DANIELS, FRANKIE KAZARIAN, & SCORPIO SKY)

    JAY LETHAL vs. FLIP GORDON

    “THE VILLAIN” MARTY SCURLL vs. SHANE TAYLOR
    WOMEN OF HONOR
    “THE GATEKEEPER” KELLY KLEIN
    “THE EXOTIC GODDESS” MANDY LEON
    KAREN Q.
    BRANDI RHODES

    “BONESAW” JESSIE BROOKS

    … AND MORE!
  • How WWE Could Possibly Book The Undertaker vs. John Cena At WrestleMania 34

    How WWE Could Possibly Book The Undertaker vs. John Cena At WrestleMania 34

    The 25th Anniversary special episode of Monday Night RAW later this month is supposed to begin to lay the groundwork for several WrestleMania storylines. One such storyline could be for a match between John Cena and The Undertaker. The show is set to go down on January 22nd and will be the go-home show to the Royal Rumble pay-per-view (PPV).

    During the latest installment of Wrestling Observer Live, Bryan Alvarez speculated how WWE could book The Undertaker vs. John Cena on RAW’s 25th Anniversary special. Alvarez said The Undertaker could tease retirement on RAW before Cena comes out to the ring and challenges “The Phenom” to one last match at WrestleMania 34. Alvarez also said that there is a “big plan” for Cena’s match at this year’s WrestleMania.

    It’s said to be “bigger than the championship matches on the card.” With the possibilities running very thin, a match between The Undertaker and John Cena is the only match that could make sense as it pertains to what Alvarez is referencing to.

    Discussion: What do you think the “big plan” for John Cena is at WrestleMania 34? If it is a match against The Undertaker, how would you like to see it booked?

  • Enzo Amore Set To Defend Cruiserweight Title On RAW

    Enzo Amore Set To Defend Cruiserweight Title On RAW

    It looks like Enzo Amore is ready to make his in-ring return on Monday Night RAW, as WWE announced that tomorrow night he will finally defend his Cruiserweight Title against Cedric Alexander:

    From WWE.com:

    “It is now official that Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore will defend his Cruiserweight Title against Cedric Alexander tomorrow night on Raw.

    “The match, originally scheduled to take place last week, had to be postponed after The Certified G was hospitalized with the flu. However, with Amore now out of the hospital and ready to compete, he will square off against one of the most dynamic and toughest challengers to his title reign – 205 Live standout Alexander.

    “Will Enzo be at full health for the title contest, or will Raw be Cedric’s night to rise to the top of the Cruiserweight division? And how will the Zo Train factor into the major championship match? Find out tomorrow night on Raw!”

    Last weekend Amore reportedly got sick during WWE’s annual holiday live event tour after working with Kalisto that entire week. He did not wrestle in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and waited to go to the hospital until he flew into Miami, Florida for last week’s RAW. There he received IV treatment and attempted to talk WWE officials into allowing him to compete on RAW hours before the show.

    His request was denied and Amore was instead ordered to return to his hotel room and rest up as it was feared he could be contagious. Cedric Alexander has been waiting for his Cruiserweight Title shot for the past several weeks after defeating Drew Gulak for the No. 1-contender’s opportunity on RAW.

  • Vince Russo Talks Vince McMahon Surrounding Himself With ‘Yes Men’

    Vince Russo Talks Vince McMahon Surrounding Himself With ‘Yes Men’

    Former WWE and WCW writer Vince Russo was recently interviewed on The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast to talk about his time in the industry. The highlights can be found here below:

    Where the “crash TV” concept came from when writing for the Attitude Era:

    “Basically where “crash” TV came from is real simple because there is no reason in the world that they should not instill the same freaking work ethic and if they instilled this today the show would go from a one to a ten overnight. Where “crash” TV came from was because we were going head to head with Monday Nitro. The way Ed (Ferrera) and I wrote the show is you had a television with a wrestling fan sitting in front of that television set on Monday night and they had a choice between Nitro and RAW.

    “When they flip over to RAW and they are watching RAW they are begging you to give them a reason and give them a low and give them the opportunity to tune over to the other show and (bro) knowing if they tune over to the other show and there is something good there, they may never come back. Ed and I literally wrote that show like the wrestling fan was sitting in front of his TV on Monday nights and he had the remote control in his hand and he was begging you to let him flip over to see what was going on on Nitro. That is where “crash” TV came from and you know what? There is no reason in the world that it should not be the same psychology today.”

    The main issue plaguing WWE across the board:

    “Here is the problem in a nutshell and this is the problem across the board. It’s because of politics and that is what it is all about. It is all about ego and because of ego, politics and power they have people in key positions that have no reason being there. You know how in every other big company like if you work for Apple or you work for a Chevrolet, any company you work for will want to hire the best people to make their company better. That is how companies become better. You look at kids coming out of college and you look at people that are out there with experience and you are always looking for better people to make you better. Bro, wrestling is the complete opposite.

    “They have inadequate people in key positions that got there because of politics and if you are on the outside looking in and you have any kind of talent whatsoever they will do anything in their power to keep you away. They will bury you, they will start campaigns online, they will smear your name, they will lie about you, they will make crap up about you and anybody that is better than them they just destroy because they are protecting their spot. When somebody comes in that is better than them all of a sudden they are exposed. There is no light at the end of the rainbow and they don’t have the right people in there and they don’t have the right people doing the key jobs and that is evident every time you watch one of their shows.”

    Vince McMahon surrounding himself with “yes men”:

    “Bro, you want to know something that makes no sense? All of these clowns, they are all writing to please Vince. They are all writing to please a 72 year old man. Unfortunately, 72 year old men are not your audience.”

    Challenging Vince McMahon on booking calls:

    “I will never forget there was a Summer Slam at Madison Square Garden with AC/DC Highway to Hell and I’ll never forget the main event was Taker vs. Austin. Taker and Austin were really good friends and they wanted to go into that match at Madison Square Garden and they wanted to make it a babyface match because as a shoot they were very close. I remember getting in a yelling match with Vince McMahon and lets face it Taker and Austin were the top guys and they earned that spot so Vince wanted to make them happy and I couldn’t understand that.

    “I remember saying to Vince and especially in New York at Madison Square Garden that people do not want to see a babyface match between Austin and Taker, they want to see these guys freaking kill each other. It’s freaking New York City bro this isn’t Wisconsin and I remember yelling at him in his freaking car. The end of that story is they had their babyface match and there was no response and both guys knew why but that doesn’t matter. My point is that I got away with that stuff because at the end of the day Vince knew my passion and he knew that Vince Russo wasn’t about power and ego and money and all that crap but he was about wanting the show being the best it could absolutely be.

    “Vince knew that and if he didn’t know that do you know how many times he would have fired me? He knew what my agenda was and he knew where my heart was and it was always in the show being the best it could be. Today it is all about protecting your spot and making sure you are safe, write something that Vince will like and OH MY GOD bro it is freaking horrible.”

    The biggest misconception people have about himself:

    “You know what part of the misconception is about me and listen I’m not saying this to be braggadocios because I swear to you I do not have an ego and I don’t give a crap. But I wrote for characters long enough to know what gets a character over and at the end of the day here is what gets a character over. Basically you’ve got to find something in them that is very real so when they go out and portray that (character) you magnify it a million times over and people believe it. They are not acting because it is real to them. That is the key to getting a character over. With that said, when they started putting so much freaking pressure on me to get rating at WCW, bro I never wanted to be a character on TV and I never had any intentions of being a character on TV. To this day, I promise you that is 90% of the reason why so many people disdain me.

    “They disdain me because in their minds I am still that character and I’m not. That is not me, I don’t carry myself that way and I swear to God that I buried myself at WCW and later on in TNA buried myself because I never put on a power play, I never wanted power, never wanted more money I just wanted to write the television show. That is all I cared about and those around me who were political animals buried me and were burying me because they were afraid of me and because they knew my talent. The only way they were going to bring me down was to continue to bury me over and over again until they convinced that person that I was the person that they wanted me to be. Bro, I didn’t fight back because my whole theory was if you want to buy into that and want to believe them than no problem just get rid of me and let them do the job and lets see what happens.

    “With TNA, you can look at TNA and you can look at the numbers and you can pinpoint exactly where Russo left the company. You can look at those numbers and see that Vince wrote up to this point and than Vince left because you look at that number month after month and they started losing more and more audience. So that is the misconception, people don’t know me, they have no idea of who I am and they don’t know about Vince Russo the son, the husband, the father, they know of me as being a fictional character that they saw on TV.”

    You can listen to Russo’s interview on The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling by clicking this link here.

  • Braun Strowman Reveals His Favorite Part About Being A WWE Superstar

    Braun Strowman Reveals His Favorite Part About Being A WWE Superstar

    “The Monster Among Men” Braun Strowman recently appeared on ESPN Radio’s The J&J Show to promote WWE’s upcoming episode of Monday Night RAW from Memphis, Tennessee. During the interview Strowman revealed his favorite part about being a WWE Superstar, and it turns out its the influence he has on the younger generation of WWE fans:

    “When it comes to the kids, I always have time for [them]. Literally, that is my favorite part about being a WWE superstar is the influence that we get to [have] with the little ones. Just seeing their faces, walking around the arena now that, per se, I’m more liked by the crowd and almost a good guy. Just on my way out of the ring high-fiving the kids, just the looks on their face. I mean, it’s really, really special.

    “There’s so many opportunities to open a kid’s eyes and show them a window of things that they’re not used to seeing. Just that little split second when I stop on my time just to give them a handshake or a high-five. That, in my opinion, leaves a lasting impression… At the end of the day, that’s the best part about all of this.”

    You can listen to Strowman on The J&J Show by clicking this link here.

    H/T Wresting Inc. for the transcriptions

  • Sting & Hulk Hogan Cut Promos To Promote Upcoming Appearance (Videos), The Revival Wants A Title Shot

    Sting & Hulk Hogan Cut Promos To Promote Upcoming Appearance (Videos), The Revival Wants A Title Shot

    – WWE Hall Of Famers Sting and Hulk Hogan are set to appear at the Ace Universe Comic Con on Monday, January 15th in Glendale, Arizona for a photo-op. Both Sting and Hogan took to Twitter to cut promos in order to promote the upcoming appearance; with Hogan referencing his 1997 loss to Sting at Starrcade, while Sting did his best impression of “The Hulkster.” Check it out:

    – The Revival’s Dash Wilder took to Twitter to ask RAW General Manager Kurt Angle for a shot at the RAW Tag Team Titles against Seth Rollins and Jason Jordan. Wilder reminded Angle that he and Scott Dawson are undefeated as a tag team since making their main roster debut:

    https://twitter.com/DashWilderWWE/status/949422019099156480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

  • Cody Rhodes Praises Marty Scurll (Photos), NJPW’s 2018 Schedule

    Cody Rhodes Praises Marty Scurll (Photos), NJPW’s 2018 Schedule

    – This past Thursday morning Marty Scurll dropped the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship to Will Ospreay in a Fatal Four-Way Match that also featured Hiromu Takahashi and KUSHIDA at Wrestle Kingdom 12. Scurll’s entrance featured mechanical wings, that Cody Rhodes said Scurll worked all day on backstage before the show. Cody took to Twitter to praise Scurll for his dedication:

    https://twitter.com/MrLARIATO/status/948863800471687168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    https://twitter.com/MartyScurll/status/948872042694283264?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    – New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) has announced their 2018 Big Event Schedule. You can check it out here:

     

    THE NEW BEGINNING IN SAPPORO

    January 27 (Sat), January 28 (Sun)

    Hokkaido • Hokkaido Kita Yell

     

    THE NEW BEGINNING IN OSAKA

    February 10 (Sat)

    Osaka • Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium

     

    NJPW 46th ANNIVERSARY

    March 6 (Tue)

    Tokyo • Ota Gymnasium

     

    NEW JAPAN CUP FINAL 2018

    March 21 (Wed)

    Niigata • Aore Nagaoka

     

    STRONG STYLE EVOLVED

    March 25 (Sun)

    Los Angeles • Walter Pyramid

     

    SAKURA GENESIS 2018

    April 1 (Sun)

    Tokyo • Ryogoku Sumo Hall

     

    WRESTLING HI NO KUNI 2018

    April 29 (Sun)

    Kumamoto • Kumamoto Gran Messe

     

    WRESTLING DONTAKU 2018

    May 3 (Thu), May 4 (Fri)

    Fukuoka • Fukuoka International Convention Center

     

    BEST OF THE SUPER JUNIORS 2018

    May 18 (Fri)~

     

    DOMINION IN OSAKA JO HALL

    June 9 (Sat)

    Osaka • Osaka Jo Hall

     

    KIZUNA ROAD TOUR

    June 15 (Fri)~

     

    G1 CLIMAX 28

    July 14 (Sat), July 15 (Sun)

    Tokyo • Ota Gymnasium

     

    July 16 (Mon)

    Hokkaido • Hokkaido Kita Yell

     

    August 10 (Fri), August 11 (Sat), August 12 (Sun)

    Tokyo • Budokan Hall

    New Japan’s first appearance in the Budokan since June 2003

  • Mick Foley Thinks His First WWE Championship Win Was A ‘Mistake’

    Mick Foley Thinks His First WWE Championship Win Was A ‘Mistake’

    WWE Hall Of Famer and former Monday Night RAW General Manager Mick Foley recently did an interview with Sky Sports about his historic WWE Championship win over The Rock on Monday Night RAW back in January of 1999. Here are the highlights:

    Seeing his WWE Championship win as a ‘mistake’:

    “It meant so much to me on a personal level and I think I’m right in saying the fans have voted it the best ever Raw moment,” Foley said. “I’m excited to have been part of so many big matches on Raw. But I saw me as champion as a mistake. I didn’t think it was a good idea. I always thought the challenger should be chasing the champion, and The Rock was a great champion. But it turned out to be the best thing for everybody. We were going up against a massive live WCW show at the Georgia Dome in front of 40,000 people and nobody thought we’d be celebrating a big victory that night.”

    The ratings proving how big of a moment it was:

    “It was not seen as a big moment at the time,” Foley said. “I saw it as a big moment for myself because I’d never dreamed of being champion, but we all thought it had been an exciting conclusion to a good show. We didn’t realize the force of the show until the ratings were revealed the next day.”

    WCW’s decision to have Hulk Hogan defeat Kevin Nash for the WCW World Heavyweight Title with the “Fingerpoke of Doom” match the same night:

    “I did watch Nitro later that night and the ‘Fingerpoke of Doom’ was a dreadful creative decision, but the even worse decision was to give away the ending to our show,” Foley replied. “It obviously backfired. It’s interesting to talk to Eric Bischoff these days and he says he was doing what he thought he had to do to make his show better. He miscalculated and ended up kind of giving us a huge victory.”

    You can read Foley’s full interview with Sky Sports by clicking this link here.

  • Update On John Cena’s WWE Schedule Through WrestleMania

    Update On John Cena’s WWE Schedule Through WrestleMania

    “Free Agent” John Cena will be working a more regular schedule for WWE during WrestleMania season starting with the RAW 25th Anniversary show on January 22nd.

    Cena is slated to work several RAW brand events in addition to being a part of the 30-Man Royal Rumble match, a “Special Guest Appearance” at the SmackDown Live-exclusive WWE Fastlane (the final PPV before WrestleMania), and the 25th Anniversary Show of Monday Night RAW on January 22nd.

    You can check out Cena’s updated WWE schedule here below:

    • January 22nd Monday Night RAW – New York City
    • January 28th Royal Rumble – Philadelphia
    • January 29th Monday Night RAW – Philadelphia
    • February 5th Monday Night RAW – Des Moines, Iowa
    • February 11th RAW live show – Fresno, California
    • February 12th Monday Night RAW – San Jose, California
    • February 18th RAW live show – Prescott, Arizona
    • February 19th Monday Night RAW – Phoenix, Arizona
    • February 26th Monday Night RAW – Anaheim, California
    • March 11th WWE Fastlane – Columbus, Ohio
    • April 8th WrestleMania 34 – New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Mike Kanellis’ Twitter Exchange With Fans Over His WWE Status

    Mike Kanellis’ Twitter Exchange With Fans Over His WWE Status

    A fan recently Tweeted at SmackDown Live star Mike Kanellis asking about his current status with WWE. He was also asked if he would appear in the men’s Royal Rumble match later this month. This led to an exchange between Kanellis and a few other users over if he has failed during his WWE run. Even Road Dogg chimed in on the action to defend Kanellis. Here’s the full exchange:

    https://twitter.com/RealMikeBennett/status/949013008419827714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    https://twitter.com/GizmodoTroll/status/949311774448324608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    https://twitter.com/RealMikeBennett/status/949325714494492672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    https://twitter.com/GizmodoTroll/status/949335252345999361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    https://twitter.com/RealMikeBennett/status/949336593306972161?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    https://twitter.com/jkin30/status/949334773981302786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    https://twitter.com/jkin30/status/949335267969658880?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    https://twitter.com/RealMikeBennett/status/949337005145706496?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    https://twitter.com/RealMikeBennett/status/949379382031847424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    https://twitter.com/NiceGuyRy22/status/949468768492707841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    https://twitter.com/RealMikeBennett/status/949472452995928064?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

    https://twitter.com/RealMikeBennett/status/949720113783214081?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

  • AJ Styles Turns Down National Championship Offer, Why No Way Jose Has Been Off NXT TV

    AJ Styles Turns Down National Championship Offer, Why No Way Jose Has Been Off NXT TV

    – Unfortunately is seems that WWE Champion AJ Styles is going to have to cheer on his Georgia Bulldogs from the road as they take on the Alabama Crimson Tide in the College Football National Championship game Monday Night. “The Phenomenal One” took to Twitter to announce that he reluctantly had to turn down an offer to attend the championship game:

    – For those wondering, the reason No Way Jose has been off of NXT TV for the past month is because he has been dealing with injuries. It seems like he’s doing better, however, as he returned to action during Thursday’s set of television tapings at the Center Stage arena in Atlanta. He is currently not booked for the NXT:TakeOver Philadelphia event.

  • Kenny King Reveals Past Talks With WWE About Joining NXT

    Kenny King Reveals Past Talks With WWE About Joining NXT

    Solo Wrestling has an interview up with Ring Of Honor (ROH) star Kenny King to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Below are the highlights:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHVZPdHULAQ

    After Tough Enough, has anyone from WWE contacted you or have you tried to return to WWE:

    “I had a tryout in 2007, but I’ve been under contract for a major wrestling company since 2008. We’ve been in contact. I was talking with the WWE office about going to NXT [in December of 2016]. My whole situation is based around I have joint custody of my daughter. So moving to Florida to NXT was a problem. That’s why I decided to sign with ROH last year.

    “WWE is everybody’s goal when they start, but I think the goal of every professional wrestler is to be able to pay your own bills and work as a wrestler no matter what company you work with.”

    The Beat Down Clan was expected to be a big thing in TNA, but after all the problems with Hernandez and Lucha Underground, the idea was quickly dissolved. As a wrestler, how did you feel when this happened? Was that the main factor of you leaving the company and going back to ROH?

    “It was very heart breaking for me because I loved the idea and I thought we were on the way to do our very best work. For the way it happened, over nothing, over poor business… one night we film like six episodes where we were the focal point and then we just disappeared. There was a lot of that that sucked. After it was gone, I just didn’t think the direction they had for me and the direction I wanted to go didn’t seem to go in the same direction. Credit to John Gaburick and Dixie [Carter], we had a very amicable split. We are still friends. It was just business.”

    After all the problems in 2012, was it hard to go back to ROH and earn the confidence and the respect of the company back?

    “There was never any heat. There was never any heat with someone that matters inside the company. There was heat with one guy that isn’t even allowed to enter the locker room. I didn’t leave the company in an unprofessional way. If I did, Joe Koff wouldn’t welcome me back with open arms. He’s always welcomed me back.

    “There was never any heat or lack of respect, the issue was because of the heat with [Jim] Cornette and a lot of people believed whatever BS that he was saying. Other than that I’ve never had a bad relationship with the ROH office.”

    You can read King’s full interview with Solo Wrestling by clicking this link here.

  • Seth Rollins Comments On His “CrossFit Jesus” Moniker

    Seth Rollins Comments On His “CrossFit Jesus” Moniker

    WWE Superstar Seth Rollins recently spoke to ESPN about CrossFit and how much its benefited him as a training regiment. Here are the highlights:

    Looking for a training regiment that fit his body type:

    “I’m 6-foot-1, 205 pounds. I have to move around in the ring a lot. I can’t be like a Braun Strowman or an Andre the Giant. They kind of get to just stand there and throw bodies around. I’m the body that gets thrown around. I figured it would behoove me to maybe put some of this into my training. And the more and more I got into it, the more and more I started to fall in love with the training paradigm.”

    The “CrossFit Jesus” nickname he has received:

    “I think I bear a striking resemblance to the western version of Jesus Christ of Nazareth facially with my own beard and long hair and stuff like that. And I’m always talking about CrossFit, so somewhere along the line, somebody put that together and came up with the CrossFit Jesus moniker, which is fantastic. I think it’s wonderful. It’s funny, and it’s correct, and my wrestling school made a T-shirt out of it.”

    Using CrossFit to train his students at his Black and Brave Wrestling Academy:

    “I’m trying to basically start a new wave in functional training with wrestling, with professional wrestling. I just think it’s the best foot to start off on. At least after three months, they’re going to have some idea of the fundamental of how to move their bodies through space with strength and speed and accuracy. So I’m just trying to pass the information and the things that I’ve learned and accomplished on to the next generation.”

    You can read Rollins’ full interview with ESPN by clicking this link here.

  • Charlotte Flair Gives Her Pick For The Women’s Royal Rumble

    Charlotte Flair Gives Her Pick For The Women’s Royal Rumble

    WWE SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair recently did an interview with The Times of India to talk about several professional wrestling topics. Here are the highlights:

    NXT Assistant Head Trainer Sara Amato:

    “[Sara] Amato has had a huge impact. She was the first ever female brought in to work with the women wrestlers at the performance center. Her knowledge, her experience is immense, and she has wrestled all over the world. Being able to know what we go through as females in a male-dominated industry helped all of us a lot. I think she is one of the key elements to what changed in the women’s division. A few years ago, when FCW changed in to NXT and then NXT had its first-ever TakeOver pay-per-view, she had a big part to play. Just having a female presence in meetings, and having someone qualified as her, I think our collective effort and having her on our team made the difference.”

    Who she’s picking to win the Women’s Royal Rumble match:

    “There are so many. Actually, it is a tough question. I would say from RAW brand, Bayley is a fighter. Anyone who has followed her career would know she never gives up and she is the lovable underdog. From SmackDown, I would have to go with my best friend Becky Lynch, but personally I don’t want to face her at WrestleMania. She has shown that whenever she is knocked down, she gets right up. There are a lot of women in the division who are capable of winning. Sasha could win, Asuka could 100 percent win that.”

    The highlight of her career:

    “Up until few weeks ago, it was WrestleMania 32 facing Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch and winning the first ever RAW women’s championship after we re-branded the division. But a few weeks ago, I won the SmackDown championship in my home town of Charlotte, North Carolina. It had been hard couple of months for my family and winning the title against Natalya and my dad coming out in the end was very emotional.”

    You can read Charlotte Flair’s full interview with The Times Of India by clicking this link here.

  • Justin Credible Opens Up On His Run With WWE

    Justin Credible Opens Up On His Run With WWE

    Justin Credible was recently a guest on former WWE European Champion Sean “X-Pac” Waltman’s podcast, X-Pac 12360, in which he talks about a variety of professional wrestling topics. Below are the highlights:

    Not being able to adapt in WWE:

    “In ECW, I felt really comfortable because we were kind of allowed to just do our own thing and the pressure weren’t on. But I never could adapt to WWE and it wasn’t because of WWE. I think I still carried that Aldo Montoya thing, where I was still the young boy and I always felt that. I took it too far where I wanted to show respect and humility. But I took it to a level where it sounded like, I was beating myself up and it didn’t serve me well. And I really lacked confidence. Anytime I went up there really. You know? And that’s a me thing. I caused that. Nobody else did.”

    Appearing drunk at a recent indie event and the positives that came out of the incident:

    “This all happened so quick. I was actually doing stuff with Dallas (DDP) prior to this. Just not to this level, we were communicating. It’s funny, this came through a third party and somebody reached out to Dallas like, ‘Hey, can you get a hold of PJ?’, and Dallas was like, ‘I’m already talking to him.’ Long story short, a gentleman by the name of Douglas Cartelli who works with pro athletes… he is actually going to sponsor me and send me to Atlanta to Dallas’ after I have thirty days of clean time to go down there and to go through his program.

    “Because of that, they’re thinking of pairing with this director locally who does documentaries and other films, to possibly shoot a documentary about this whole journey of recovery and hopefully redemption, really. It’s a real cool opportunity and at the end of the journey, this Douglas wants to open up a facility to train athletes in wellness from all walks of life. So something in Connecticut and kind of wants me to be one the professionals in that facility.”

    Getting to meet Chester Bennington before he passed:

    “I had the privilege of meeting Chester Bennington from Linkin Park. I got to meet him a couple of times. I met him last year, before he passed away this August. I was actually in treatment in Tampa when I got the news. I can’t say he was a friend and he probably has no clue who I am. But that is not the point, the point is that this guy from the outside looked like he had everything in the world. I communicated through twitter with his wife; he was doing fine days before he killed himself. I think mental health and addiction have a component and work hand in hand and I think mental health has this stigma attached to it.”

    You can listen to Credible’s interview on X-Pac 12360 by clicking this link here.

  • Kevin Nash’s Nasty Knee Surgery Photo

    Kevin Nash’s Nasty Knee Surgery Photo

    WWE Hall Of Famer Kevin Nash recently underwent knee replacement surgery this past December. He took to Instagram to share some gruesome pictures from the surgery, including one taken during the actual operation and another showing the post-operation scars (which required 20 stitches to close up). You can check them out here:

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bdgd8Atgu8W/

    https://www.instagram.com/p/Bcaxo22g0DA/

    Nash is currently advertised to appear at WWE Monday Night RAW’s 25th Anniversary special episode on January 22nd.

  • Jay White Joins CHAOS (Photo), ROH’s Wrestlers To Watch In 2018

    Jay White Joins CHAOS (Photo), ROH’s Wrestlers To Watch In 2018

    – During the post-Wrestle Kingdom 12 press conference earlier today it was announced that Jay White would be joining CHAOS after turning down Kenny Omega’s invitation to join The Bullet Club. At the New Year’s Dash event following Wrestle Kingdom Omega got on the mic and invited White to join The Bullet Club (H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions):

    “I am sick of the in-fighting. I am sick of the Bullet Club talking behind everyone’s back. This group, the Bullet Club, hasn’t been whole for a long time,” said Omega. “We need unity, we need to be a team again. Bullet Club needs to be number one. No more fighting. And so, I have an idea. I know exactly what we need. Switchblade! Jay White.

    “Jay, I’ve always seen the potential. I’ve always known what you could be. You could have the world. You remind me of ‘The Cleaner,’ Kenny Omega, in 2015. Look at you. You’re the complete package. And so, Switchblade: I would like to honor you. Bullet Club, Switchblade. Welcome to The Club.”

    White put on a Bullet Club shirt and celebrated with Omega before hitting “The Cleaner” with his Blade Runner finisher and fleeing the scene. At the press conference White explained why he decided to join CHAOS instead:

    “Since I came back, there’s always a lot of speculation about if I was going to join a group or not,” White said. “See, the way things work over here in New Japan is you can’t always do it alone. Not completely, anyway. So, if I’m going to take on the Bullet Club – I’m not delusional – I know that I can’t do that by myself.”

    – Ring Of Honor (ROH) released an article on the top five wrestlers to watch for in 2018. The list named Shane Taylor, Kelly Klein, Matt Taven, Flip Gordon, and Punisher Martinez at the number one spot. You can check out the article here.

  • Kenny Omega & Chris Jericho React To Their Match, Wrestle Kingdom 12 Attendance Numbers, More

    Kenny Omega & Chris Jericho React To Their Match, Wrestle Kingdom 12 Attendance Numbers, More

    – As we’ve noted before, IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega defeated Chris Jericho in one of the featured bouts of Wrestle Kingdom 12. The match received a ton of positive reviews after being hyped up for several months. Chris Jericho and Kenny Omega Tweeted out the following about their match:

    – Per report from F4WOnline, Wrestle Kingdom 12 generated 43,000 total fans (34,995 paying fans) in attendance at the Tokyo Dome. It was the largest audience for a professional wrestling event in Japan in 15 years. The event was considered to be a near-sellout because of the stage and ring setup NJPW used.

    – NJPW is set to return stateside on March 25th from Long Beach, California at the Walter Pyramid for USA: Strong Style Evolved. It was announced tickets will go on sale on January 29 at 1pm ET / 10am PT. Prices range from  $50-$200. Ticket sell site has yet to be announced.

  • Enzo Amore Interview Set To Air On WWE Network, Nia Jax On Being Paired With Apollo Crews (Video)

    Enzo Amore Interview Set To Air On WWE Network, Nia Jax On Being Paired With Apollo Crews (Video)

    – Immediately after Monday Night’s RAW goes off air the WWE Network will be airing a new episode of  Corey Graves’ “Straight To The Source” featuring an interview with WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore.

    – Nia Jax doesn’t seem too thrilled about having to team up with Apollo Crews for the Mixed Match Challenge. WWE posted the following video of Jax, Crews, Titus O’Neil, and Dana Brook backstage being interviewed by Renee Young after the news broke: