– As seen on this past Monday’s special Christmas Day episode of Monday Night RAW, Jason Jordan and Seth Rollins defeated The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro) to win the RAW Tag Team Championships. Jordan stepped in as a partner for “The Architect” after Dean Ambrose was forced to be sidelined for several months due to a bicep injury.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that aside from Jordan, former WWE Universal Champion Finn Balor was also considered to step in for Ambrose as well. In the end WWE creative decided to continue their push of Jordan and gave him the top babyface role instead.
– Cesaro celebrated his 37th birthday yesterday and Sheamus took to Twitter to post a few pictures of their celebration. It looks like a cake fight took place between the now-former RAW Tag Team Champions:
– The Miz joined fellow celebrities such as Adam Devine and Iliza Shlesinger in the Middle East during Christmas for a four-day USO tour. The former WWE Intercontinental Champion did various activities such as getting boomeranged off the USS Theodore Roosevelt in a military plane. Here’s what Miz had to say about the experience via TMZ Sports:
“I’ve been on all kinds of rollercoasters and nothing beats this,” The Miz said. “I literally tell (Devine), ‘My balls are in my throat.’”
– Former WWE Champion JBL recently did an interview with The Guardian to talk about his charity work with Beyond Rugby Bermuda. Here’s what he had to say about the program:
“I had seen the ethos of rugby and I was very much an admirer,” JBL said. “For us it’s a beautiful sport, what I guess what Pele called soccer in Brazil. It’s so simple, it’s easy to understand, you can play five on five or 15 on 15. I would be so much better coaching American football, but you need 22 on each side and all the equipment and everything. With rugby you just need a mouthpiece and grass.
“We have issues with gangs and with drugs in Bermuda but we want to attract the most hardcore kids. We want the gang leaders, because they’re going to be leaders either in a gang or on the rugby pitch. And we’ve had a lot of success. We have super-tough kids who grew up in super-tough environments and they enjoy getting out there and knocking each other around and having a piece of pizza and going home.”
You can read The Guardian‘s full story on JBL by clicking this link here.
Longtime Impact Wrestling Ring Transportation Manager Bob Rosen took to Facebook to announce that his time with the promotion has come to an end. The company decided to let Rosen go after 13 years of service, which included suffering a heart attack during a television taping last year with a 99% blockage of his heart. Here’s what he had to say:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xe6prisGqqs
“Well it’s time to thank everyone who trusted me to build and keep anyone who step foot into one of my rings safe. I’m officially gone from Impact Wrestling (not by my choice!) $.
The last 13years have been the greatest time in my life from the great talent who showed me much respect for what we did with the rings and cages.
“To the back production people who never got the credit they deserve. These people who come together under great stress and pull off some of the greatest show you’ve watched weather it was TNA or IMPACT WRESTLING.And to the friends and fans I had the privilege of making through my time on the road in this business.You will always be my friends ! I’m not gone from wrestling.
“You will see me again because I still believe every talent deserves to work in a great ring ! My passion for this business has taken a hit because on how this staff was treated but I still love wrestling and I will be back .
I’m still building the best rings today !
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!”
As we’ve previously reported, the main event for WWE’s Fastlane pay-per-view (PPV) in March has been leaked out – a Fatal-Five Way match for the WWE Title between AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura, Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn. The match has yet to be confirmed by WWE, however, if that match does take place it would indicate that Orton, Nakamura, Owens, or Zayn won’t be winning the Royal Rumble match as it wouldn’t make sense for them to challenge for the title at Fastlane after winning the rumble.
There has been speculation that perhaps John Cena could win the Royal Rumble and go on to challenge AJ Styles for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34, with the storyline being Cena trying to break the record he shares with Ric Flair of being a 16-time World Champion. Per a report from Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Cena vs. Styles will not be happening as Cena will be involved in a much bigger match at WrestleMania 34 instead.
Meltzer noted that he didn’t know who Cena would be facing, however, he was told it would be made clear over the next several weeks. The only names Meltzer could come up with were The Undertaker, Batista, Goldberg or Hulk Hogan. Hogan would be a huge surprise given the leak of his racist comments a few years ago and the issues he has with his back. It’s expected that some matches for WrestleMania 34 will begin to build-up at RAW’s 25th Anniversary special on Monday, January 22, 2018.
The event will be a special simulcast event from both the Barclays Center and the Manhattan Center in New York City; with names such as John Cena, The Undertaker, Kevin Nash, Shawn Michaels, and more scheduled to appear. We’ll keep you updated as we learn more….
WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently did an interview with TV Insider to talk about several professional wrestling topics. “Good Ole’ JR” discussed calling matches with Jerry Lawler and Vince McMahon over the years, working with “Macho Man” Randy Savage and calling 1-2-3 Kid vs. Bret Hart, and missing out on Mick Foley winning his first WWE Championship due to Bell’s Palsy. Here are the highlights:
Calling matches with Jerry Lawler and Vince McMahon over the years:
“I had no idea what the franchise Monday Night Raw was going to eventually mean what it has. I worked with Vince [McMahon] and Jerry Lawler. That was new. Three men in a booth was new for me. Not being the lead guy was new. It was a great, refreshing start. A reboot. At that time, I came from a chaotic WCW with all the changes in management. It was a relief to work for a company where you could get a straight answer from the decision-maker. I loved that part of it.”
Working with “Macho Man” Randy Savage and calling 1-2-3 Kid vs. Bret Hart:
“I worked with Randy Savage, which is never easy. I loved his talent. I loved his passion, but he had to trust you. I think he had trust issues, but he was damn sure talented. He and I called the 1-2-3 Kid and Bret Hart. To many in the crowd, I’m sure they thought it would be an easy Bret Hart win and that this young guy, Sean Waltman, wouldn’t have a chance. It was one of the classic examples of how great a talent Bret Hart was, because he made Sean Waltman look like a million bucks. They had an extremely competitive match that was based in logic, unpredictability.”
Missing out on Mick Foley’s first WWE Title win because of his second battle with Bell’s Palsy:
“I worked so diligently and with all my heart to get Mick hired because I felt like he was a good citizen and a great opponent for The Undertaker, which I needed at that time. I didn’t get to call that match. That’s one of my regrets as far as Raw was that I was ill when Foley won his title. I thought it was a moment I would have loved to experience with him.”
You can read Ross’ full interview with TV Insider by clicking this link here.
– In Alfred Konuwa’s latest blog on Forbes, he takes a look at the most disliked videos on WWE’s YouTube channel. The most disliked video of 2017 was Roman Reigns’ promo the night after defeating The Undertaker at WrestleMania 33. The video has 35,000 dislikes compared to the 27,000 likes, making it’s dislike percentage of 56%. One of Emmalina’s promos from January received 11,000 dislikes compared to 1,000 likes, giving it a dislike percentage of 92%. You can read Konuwa’s full blog at this link.
– Newsday recently did an interview with Kane to promote yesterday’s WWE live event from the Nassau Coliseum. During the interview Kane discussed having to work on Christmas Day for a live episode of Monday Night RAW. Here’s what he had to say:
“The thing about it is that this is one of our most important times of the year business wise. We do really, really good business the week after Christmas,” Kane said. “It is what it is. There’s always trade-offs. We’re not the only people who this year will be working on Christmas Day. A lot of people do that to provide for their family.”
– Kane (real name Glenn Jacobs) has released a new shirt to help fund his mayoral campaign in Knox County, Tennessee. The new shirt is inspired by the old WWE RAW logo, and he also has some inspired by The Bullet Club as well. He Tweeted out the following:
Chris Jericho was recently a guest on WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross’ podcast, The Ross Report, to discuss his upcoming “Alpha vs. Omega” match against IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom 12 next month. “Y2J” discussed surprising New Japan Pro Wrestling fans with how involved he has been in the build-up for the bout, and how talented Omega is inside the ring. You can check out the highlights here below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiV4Mwfp24w&t=7s
Surprising NJPW fans with his involvement in the feud’s build-up:
“I think when this match was made, Alpha vs. Omega, Jericho vs. Omega, a month-and-a-half ago in Osaka [Japan] or wherever it was, it makes me laugh that people think, ‘Jericho announces a match, here we go, it’s going to be a big match, we’ll see you in Tokyo [Japan] in a few months on January 4 [2018],” said Jericho. “As if I wouldn’t do something to build an angle. I’m too much of a disciple of Vince McMahon/Bill Watts/Stu Hart. Any great promoter would do an angle to build the match, to sell the tickets.
“So once again, in Fukuoka, Japan and I attacked Kenny Omega from behind, nobody saw that coming. And I love that! To me, that’s what [pro] wrestling’s all about. When you can surprise the fans and the ‘smart marks’ that think they know everything, but they don’t know anything, it makes me laugh because even you, Jim, would understand as an old school guy, of course I’m going to build an angle! Of course I’m going to do that. That’s what wrestling is!
“Honestly, yeah, the match is important. We want to have a good match. I love good matches, but who cares? The most important thing is the story and the angle building towards that match and selling the biggest amount of tickets we can, okay?”
Omega’s talent inside the ring:
“He’s a great performer,” Jericho said. “He’s a great worker. And once again, it was pretty heavy stuff. And [Ross] know[s] this, in 2017, for some reason, if you get busted open, your mentor Gordon Solie, ‘his face is a crimson mask’ and that’s what it was. And we don’t see that a lot. For me, I think it has been 10 years since someone has been busted open in a match that I was involved with and it felt good.
“There [are] certain rules and regulations that we have to abide by in the United States, in the WWE at this point in time, so to come into New Japan and have no rule, but there [are] still rules, I mean, listen, I understand the concept of [pro] wrestling, so I know what to do, but to have Kenny Omega busted open and to feel that, maybe, power, vibe, or energy, there’s nothing like it.
“And in the right circumstances, when you can bust somebody open, when you can get some color, as we used to say, it means the world because people understand that more than anything. This is the real deal. After 10 years to have a guy I’ve never been in the ring with, to see the reaction of the people, the reaction of the worldwide audience, and to see those pictures that were taken of Kenny Omega with the aforementioned crimson mask, wow, that sells tickets!”
You can listen to Chris Jericho on The Ross Report by clicking this link here.
Ring Of Honor Television Champion Silas Young recently spoke to Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated on a number of professional wrestling topics. Young talked about going from a recovering heroin addict to ROH TV Champion, his son’s reaction to his victory, and the kind of champion he expects to be. The highlights can be found below:
Going from a recovering heroin addict to ROH TV Champ:
“There are certain situations in life that are character-building, and I feel like that was one of those moments in my life,” said Young. “Sometimes, the battles with yourself are the hardest battles, and that goes for a lot of people. Our own worst enemies are often ourselves, so it takes a lot of mental checking-in-with-yourself–almost giving yourself a daily mental pep talk–because our biggest opponent is our self.”
His son’s reaction to his victory:
“My son, who just turned nine years old, was running around the house with the belt,” said Young. “Then my wife and I celebrated over breakfast.”
The kind of champion he expects to be:
“I want to take this title and run with it,” said Young. “It’s a hard task to accomplish, but I want to raise the Ring of Honor World Television title and elevate it higher than it’s ever been. I also want to live up to it; what the title means, the standards former champions have set, and surpass it. I’m up for the challenge.”
You can read Young’s full interview with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated at this link here.
Former WWE Universal Champion and United States Champion Kevin Owens recently spoke to MLive.com to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. “KO” discussed not caring about being booed or cheered by crowds, wanting to wrestle Shawn Michaels, and if he’d let his kids wrestle. The highlights can be seen below:
Not caring if he is booed or cheered by a crowd:
“I just try to listen to strong reaction. To me the best reaction is a mix of both boos and cheers. John Cena and Roman Reigns get insane reactions where half the crowd loves them and half the crowd despises them. When you’re in the ring waiting for your opponent, whether it’s John or Roman, you get hit by this crazy noise. It’s people almost competing with each other. The guy who’s booing one of them is trying to be louder than the guy cheering. It makes for a special atmosphere. That’s really what I’m striving for.”
Wishing he could’ve wrestled Shawn Michaels:
“Michaels is the reason I became a wrestler in the first place. I saw him when I was 11. I was a scrawny kid at the time. People thought I was 7 or 8. So to see the smallest guy on the show be the best guy on the show really spoke to me. I said if he can do it, I can do it. Now I get to share different pieces of his wisdom with him when he comes to a show here or there. I try to sit as close to him as I can and listen to him and discuss wrestling, family and life. It’s so great to talk about those things with someone I look up to so much. I can’t even imagine what it would have been like to have been in the ring with him.”
If he’d let his kids become wrestlers:
“I don’t hope for it, but if they want to then they’re more than welcome. I have no preference. I just want them to be happy. I always pursued this dream, but for the first 7 years that I was a wrestler, I worked at a gas station part time. I finished high school, but still needed a job to make money to live on. I was lucky enough to have the boss to give me time off I needed to wrestle. I think you can be happy doing whatever you want in life as long as it fulfills you can you get something out of it.”
You can check out Owens’ full interview with MLive.com by clicking this link here.
Ring Of Honor (ROH) star Flip Gordon recently spoke to Marc Madison of The Wrestling News Hub Magazine to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. Gordon compared independent wrestling promotions’ wrestling style compared to major promotions, his match with NXT star Oney Locran, and who he’d match up well with in ROH. Here are the highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bGmLjiKOEM
Independent wrestling promotions’ in-ring style compared to major promotions’:
“My take on it is, you have to do a lot to get your name out there and get noticed. That is how you are getting booked more. If people don’t know who you are, they aren’t going to book you. You have to do something to get your name out there, and once you get your name out there then you start learning how to work. You start working with better guys, and that is when you are going to start learning how to work. Obviously, you are not going to know everything about how to work when you start wrestling.
“Talent just has to get the buzz around them, and that is what a lot of guys do, get their name out there and do crazy sh-t, boom, boom, boom. A quick highlight reel so they can share it. That’s what I do. For the first six months to a year, I did the craziest things I could think of to get me a lot of buzz. I put it in a highlight video to help build a lot of attention, and that helped me a lot when it came to bookings, and I started traveling.”
His match with NXT talent Oney Locran:
“May 6th, 2015. He was one of the best on the indies that I wrestled against. It was only a couple of months before he was picked up. It was crazy, and I think about this match like it was yesterday. I can’t remember everything that happened in the match, but I do remember I learned so much from that one match with him because of how much of a professional he was.
“I had no business being in the ring with him. He definitely took care of me and taught me so much that I still remember to this day. There are little things from that match that I still learn from because of him. It was really cool. He taught me things from a selling point and listening to the crowd.”
Who he’d match up well with in ROH:
“I think Shane Taylor and I would have a good match. I think it would be different, and I think it would be more difficult, but I think it would be a good match. It would be a different kind of story that we would be telling in the ring. I am not going to be able to do all my moves on him. I would have to think differently. It just wouldn’t be your typical Flip Gordon match. I think that it would be a cool story to tell because it would be different. I also think it would give me an opportunity to show people that I am not just a high flier that I am well-rounded in the ring.”
You can read Gordon’s full interview with The Wrestling News Hub Magazine by clicking this link here.
IMPACT Wrestling star Alberto El Patron (a.k.a. Alberto Del Rio) recently did an interview with The Orlando Sentinel to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. El Patron discussed feeling at home while working at IMPACT, portraying a heel as a professional wrestler, and possibly retiring soon. Here are the highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqsAYnQ73xc
Feeling at home while working with IMPACT Wrestling:
“I know in a spot like the one Impact gave to Alberto, I need to live my life in a certain way. When you’re asked to carry a company, there are certain things you should and shouldn’t do, certain things you have to do, and I didn’t.
“I enjoy Impact so much because some places, if they see you down, they won’t be good enough to come take your hand and help you with what you’re going through. I really appreciated that.”
Portraying a heel:
“I love being a heel. I don’t like being a babyface and a good guy. But it’s not always about what we want, it’s what the fans want. [Before] this last storyline, they liked me. You can’t force the audience, though, if they want to boo or they want to cheer. Right now, I’m really having fun — I’m working as a bad guy, doing all the heel things, but still getting cheered by most of the fans. It’s the best of both worlds.”
Retiring soon:
“Alberto will continue to do this for two years, then start to think about retirement. I’m not tired of the business, or the fans, or the ring — what I don’t like is what goes on behind the curtain. When I went to Impact, I started to feel like I got my passion back. So I’ll wrestle in 2018, then maybe 2019 I’ll start to think about a farewell tour.”
You can read El Patron’s full interview with The Orlando Sentinel by clicking this link here.
SmackDown Live Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair recently did an interview with Fox News to promote her new book, “Second Nature,” and talked about a variety of professional wrestling topics. Flair talked about the characterization of her Charlotte Flair persona, understanding her father now that she herself is a WWE Superstar, redefining women’s wrestling, and more. You can check out the highlights here:
Who is Charlotte Flair?
“Charlotte Flair is continuing her father’s legacy, but paving her own, and she’s opening the door for women all over the world to be superstars in a male dominated industry.”
What’s something about your dad [Ric Flair] you understand now that you’re a WWE superstar yourself?
“When I look back, I just wish I could have been more understanding in 2008 when he retired, because I just couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t just walk away from the job….But now being apart of the company [WWE] and understanding what it’s like to be in the main event, to feel the rush of the crowd…that’s what he did for his entire life and I understand now why he couldn’t walk away. Now I see why [but] in 2008 I couldn’t understand and I just gave him a hard time and we just went separate ways. But it was a growing process for both of us.”
How has it felt to redefine women’s wrestling?
“I think because I’m in it, it’s really hard to take myself out of the bubble and see how much we’ve accomplished as a whole. Even now when you look at posters or how many storylines the women have just from three years ago, it’s mind boggling to think that we’ve made such an impact in such a short amount of time. But the future with the Mae Young Classic, where women all over the world competing in one tournament that’s solely just women, that goes to show that who knows how that’s going to translate eventually on the main roster.”
You can read Charlotte’s full interview with Fox News by clicking this link here.
– Two matches have been officially confirmed for the first SmackDown Live of 2018 next week. First, Shelton Benjamin and Chad Gable will take on The Usos for the SmackDown Live Tag Team Titles after defeating The New Day and Rusev & Aiden English in a Triple Threat No. 1-contender’s match last night.
Also, The Bludgeon Brothers vs. Breezango has been confirmed after The Ascension challenged The Bludgeon Brothers on Breezango’s behalf.
– On last night’s SmackDown Live former WWE Champion Jinder Mahal defeated Tye Dillinger to advance to the second round of the United States Championship Tournament. WWE posted the following video of Mahal backstage in which he claims he’ll bring class, dignity and diversity to the United States Title:
Shortly after last night’s SmackDown Live from Chicago went off air, a dark match main event took place in the form of a Six-Man Tag Team match between the teams of Jinder Mahal, Sami Zayn & Kevin Owens vs Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura & AJ Styles. SmackDown Live General Manager Daniel Bryan served as the Special Guest Referee.
The team of Orton, Nakamura & Styles won the match to send the Chicago crowd home happy. At one point in the match, Bryan helped “The Viper” hit the RKO on Zayn to set up a Kinshasa from Nakamura for the win. Check it out here:
– WWE held a live event from Madison Square Garden last night, and after his match against Kane, Braun Strowman celebrated in the ring by using Hulk Hogan’s mannerisms. Check out a photo here:
– Hideo Itami has used the GTS as his finishing maneuver for quite some time on WWE TV, however, after a recent incident in his match with Brian Kendrick on RAW this past Monday, there’s speculation the company could be banning the move. On 205 Live last night Itami defeated Jack Gallagher using a new finisher – Neville’s Rings Of Saturn.
This feeds the speculation that WWE could be shelving the move. With Itami now using the Rings Of Saturn there’s also speculation that Neville won’t be coming back to the company. We’ll keep you updated.
TMZ has an interview up with former WWE star Torrie Wilson in which they discuss the rumored return of the XFL.
Torrie claimed that if there was ever a time to start up a football league, now would be the time. She mentioned that she had actually just been discussing how the NFL has been declining in viewership due to the controversy surrounding the National Anthem and players kneeling. Torrie stated that “a smart man like Vince McMahon would swoop in” and take some of the fans currently protesting the NFL.
When asked wether or not she believes Vince could be successful a second time around, Torrie believes that he has learned a lot of lessons from his first failed run with the XFL and could produce a much better product than before. She also said she is all in for an XFL return and would love to be a part of it if Vince McMahon called her up.
Torrie said she’d like to be a head cheerleader or a referee – and is even willing to go to “ref school”:
“I’ll be the head cheerleader. Yeah, or ref. I could be a ref. I can go to ref school.”
Ring Of Honor (ROH) star and WAGS Atlanta star Brandi Rhodes was recently interviewed by Wrestling Inc. to talk about a variety of topics. You can read the highlights from the interview here:
If Cody Rhodes will be appearing on WAGS Atlanta:
“Yes, I’m going to say, but again, he and I, and everyone on that show, our schedules were killer. I had people texting me all the time from other cast members saying; where are you? We haven’t seen you in a while,” she said. “Same with Cody; this summer he was just so busy. He was at the peak of busyness. He was in Japan, he’s here, and there, so we caught him for how much that we could. A lot of the story of us is grounded in each other because we spent so much time together, so you will definitely see Cody, which I hope you will see a lot of him, but we will just have to see what they come up with.”
How she and Cody began dating:
“We started dating randomly. I had been there for a minute, and Cody hadn’t really shown much interest in me at all, so it wasn’t something that I had thought about, and then all of a sudden, he became extremely fascinated with me, where he would go out of his way to make a strange joke that I wasn’t sure if I would get or not, and he would just surround himself around me all the time, and then finally, some of the girls would say that they are sure he is into me and that he likes me, just being coy about it,” she said.
“Finally he started asking me to come hang out with him and I said no many times because it’s a work environment and I was new at the time and was not looking to rock the boat by getting into this romance, but all along I definitely did want to go out with him. I was very into him, but it took a while. It probably took around a month for me to go out with him, and after that the rest is as they say history because I feel that we ended up spending everyday together after that; everyday that we could. It just naturally happened, and it was one of those things where we were on the road all the time. People say it all the time, you are with these people more than you are with your family so a lot of times they do become your family.”
Having aspirations beyond what WWE was allowing her to do:
“It was definitely difficult to be on the road a lot and being in a relationship with him. To me, it was a big change because we moved to Atlanta, which I had never lived there before, and didn’t have many friends. Some of my career goals and what I was trying to do, he didn’t really understand that. It is funny that you grow up fundamentally different, but it’s funny with the tie in to WAGS Atlanta because the women on this show, they are the epitome of what is considered to be a ‘WAG,’ which is a wife, or major supporting figure, so a lot of these girls don’t have jobs,” she explained. “Some of them have children and some of them don’t.
“A lot of their sole purpose is to make their man comfortable, which I believe is a very southern thing, because it’s something that I can’t do it. It is not in me and I don’t understand it. It is a lot to learn, and unique, but it is commonplace here in Atlanta where the man takes care of things and the woman becomes a homemaker, and later on in the relationship, a mother, which isn’t the things that I ever considered. I think Cody thought that I would want that for my life since he grew up in that, but that is just not me. I like to make my own money, and I like to go my own way, and get excited about various opportunities and ventures, so it wasn’t something that I could have done for very long.”
You can read Rhodes’ full interview with Wrestling Inc. by clicking this link here.
– WWE.com reports that Roman Reigns has been fined $5,000 for shoving referee John Cone during his title defense against Samoa Joe on Raw last night. Reigns was disqualified as a result of the shove:
Roman Reigns receives $5,000 fine for shoving official on Raw
“Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns has been fined $5,000 for shoving referee John Cone during his title defense against Samoa Joe on Raw last night, WWE.com can confirm.
“The incident occurred after Reigns backed Joe into the corner of the ring and continued to attack him past the official’s count. When Cone attempted to intercede, Reigns shoved him aside to continue his attack. The champion was subsequently disqualified, though he kept his title as a result of champion’s advantage.”
– On next Monday’s New Year’s edition of Monday Night RAW, WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore will defend his title against Cedric Alexander. Alexander Tweeted out the following regarding his Cruiserweight title shot:
Former WWE Superstar Ryback took to his podcast, Conversation With The Big Guy, to offer his thoughts on Dolph Ziggler’s current status in WWE. You can read the highlights of “The Big Guy’s” comments here below:
Thinking Dolph Ziggler should take some time off:
“I personally think he should take a little break. I think he deserves a break,” Ryback said. “Whether he resigns or not I think he should take some time off, at least 6 months. I want to see him in the Bahamas just drinking. I say take a year off. He is still young enough.”
Why Dolph Ziggler should not to re-sign with WWE:
“I’m a big believer–when I left, and it was under different reasons, but when I left it was the best decision I had ever made because it allowed me to address my health that I put off for a long time, and physically I am in such a better place. No doubt in my mind that if I had stayed and re-signed the contract and given in to everything, I bet you my career would have been over after another year there,” Ryback said. “I would have had to of had back surgery. My back would have been done because I didn’t get MRI’s when I was there because I didn’t know how bad I was, which is a very hard-headed thing to do, but not everyone was necessarily like that, but you don’t want to know how bad you are f***ing up your body.
“Again, it was one move that really did me in, which was that back-pack stunner, but I didn’t know that, and I wouldn’t have known that had I not done the MRI’s and spoken to those who know about it. I feel that now I have a new body because of it at 36 because I took time off for different reasons, which was the best thing for me. I look healthy, lost a little weight, and I got to chill out, work out for three hours. Being that heavy takes a toll on you. I naturally have to train heavy, which I got to dial down on that and not train as heavy this year so that everything can heal up.”
Ziggler might end up regretting not leaving WWE later:
“When you are there for quite some time it’s okay to take a little break, whatever your reasons are. I always say that you work so hard in life and that everyone wants to talk about the grind, but you have to enjoy life,” Ryback said. “What is the point of making money if you can’t enjoy it? You are going to get to a point when you are 50 and realize you missed out on your best years. Not to say that you have years ahead of you, but stepping away and getting out of the bubble will open your eyes and see the light that is out there. There is always ways to make money and wrestling is always going to be there.”
You can listen to Ryback on Conversation With The Big Guy by clicking this link here.
On last week’s episode of SmackDown Live, Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair thanked the crowd for being so invested in the Women’s Revolution. This promo came just 24 hours after Monday Night RAW Commissioner Stephanie McMahon announced the first-ever all-female Royal Rumble match set to take place next month. Charlotte is a big fan favorite at the moment on WWE TV, but former WWE Superstar Taz took to his radio show, The Taz Show, to explain why he feels “The Queen” should’ve turned heel:
“There was a good portion of [the interview] were I thought, ‘Wow, she’s gonna turn like, nasty heel here, early in this promo,’” said Taz. “She didn’t do it, but I thought she was gonna. I really did. And then they went into doing angles after that. But, there was an opportunity for her before Naomi came out.
“For her to really turn heel, heel, heel, but, it’s probably not time. I just was thinking, they need someone to bury this Royal Rumble first time ever female thing. They need a woman to do it, not a guy. And it’s just a heat, heat gimmick, and I think Charlotte could do it with no problem. But, I think [WWE] had their chance, and they didn’t do it. Instead, they went to a tag match.”
You can listen to The Taz Show by clicking this link here.
ECW Legend, House Of Hardcore frontman, and former WWE Superstar Tommy Dreamer was recently interviewed on the School of Morton podcast to talk about a number of professional wrestling topics. You can check out the highlights here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnUQ9grmGYY
If he has forgiven Paul Heyman and ECW closing up shop:
“I forgave him and I told him this. I forgave him for everything. I lost a lot of money. I lost my parents money and when he did his interview on Monday Night RAW for when he was like the general manager and cut a promo on Vince McMahon and he said… I lied. I did everything I could to keep my company afloat just like you would, Vince and he cut this really, really great promo. When real promos aren’t scripted, they are direct from the heart and have meaning and I remember there sitting there watching it and at first crying and then I was like I get it… and especially I get it owning my own wrestling company now.”
Working directly with Vince McMahon:
“I worked alongside him. I worked in the office next to him which he has veins of coffee because one he never sleeps, he may be a vampire and two his office is always cold so that’s another way he could be a vampire but I’ve got nothing but respect for Vince McMahon, I love him.”
His favorite part of working in the WWE front office and who he signed that did him proud:
“I hired a lot of men and women, that was my favorite part of the job. When I got to hire people and help them pursue their dream. I hired CM Punk, Joey Mercury. I hired a lot of people who did me proud and did themselves proud. You need in this business someone to push for you and I was kind of that guy.”
You can listen to Dreamer’s interview on the School of Morton podcast by clicking here.
WWE RAW Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss was recently a guest on Sam Roberts’ Wrestling podcast to talk about her journey through the industry. During the interview, “Little Miss Bliss” discussed the comparisons she has received, as far as her in-ring ability goes, to women such as those in the Four Horsewomen stable. Oftentimes Sasha Banks, Becky Lynch, Bayley, and Charlotte Flair are referred to as better workers than Bliss, however, “Five Feet Of Fury” is statistically the most successful champion since the beginning of the Women’s Revolution.
During her interview with Roberts, Bliss explained that she believes this distinction is made due to the fact that she doesn’t use “flashy moves,” something she doesn’t like to do as a heel character:
“When I was in NXT, I was still training every day. I was still in the ring every day and working every live event. And just because I wasn’t on shows that were taped for NXT TV, I don’t think people knew what skills I could do. And being a bad guy, I try not to do a lot of flashy moves and a lot of, I guess, good guy skills because that’s not my character and I feel like people take that as, ‘oh, well, she’s not as skilled as Sasha [Banks] or Bayley, Charlotte [Flair], or Becky [Lynch].
“But, I take that as a challenge. I’m like, ‘well, I can do all these things. I chose not to because I don’t have to. My character isn’t supposed to be flashy and be over-the-top. I’m supposed to be dirty in the ring. I’m supposed to kick and punch and I’m supposed to cheat and find ways to win at all costs.”
You can listen to Bliss’ interview on the Sam Roberts’ Wrestling podcast by clicking this link here.
– WWE Hall Of Famers Sting and Hulk Hogan are set to reunite with one another at next month’s Ace Comic Con in Phoenix, Arizona. The pair have had run-ins with each other during their days in both WCW and TNA.
– Current independent wrestling star and former WWE Superstar Gene Snitsky is looking to be in incredible shape as of late. Snitsky, who worked for WWE from 2004 to 2008, shared the following photos of his physique on Twitter earlier last week:
IMPACT Wrestling’s Laurel Van Ness was recently a guest on the “With Spandex Podcast” to talk about a variety of professional wrestling topics. Here are some of the highlights:
The origin and evolution of her character in IMPACT:
“Well, everyone asks me that. It started out basically where, yes, when I was left at the altar, everything that happened after I was left at the altar, so me dropping down to my knees and being the most dramatic human in the world, that was me. Then when I got to the back, everyone was leaving, that was the last day of tapings, and Dutch [Mantel] came up and said, ‘I just want you to cut a quick promo. We don’t know if we’re gonna use it. You’re gonna sit, and you’re gonna cry.’ So as I was doing this promo, drinking champagne, which was real champagne, it was like my second bottle of champagne.
“Oh yeah. I’m drinking the champagne, and he’s kind of shouting ideas at me, like, ‘Oh, sing. Sing ‘The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow.’ Do you know that song?’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, sure.’ He’s like, ‘Act crazier. One more take, but do it even crazier.’ When that aired, it kind of took off in this weird way I never thought it would. So then when I came back for the next set of tapings they were like, ‘Okay, we’re gonna roll with this crazy bride. I think we’ll keep you in the dress.’ I was like, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’
“From there on it was them saying to me, ‘Do whatever you want and be as crazy as you want, and hopefully we have to tell you to dial it down.’ So every time I went out there I did something crazier. You know, more outlandish than the last time I went out there. But I can’t just say it was only me, because what I loved about Laurel, and I still love about Laurel is that every time I was kind of going through a match someone random in the locker room, it could have been Dutch, it could have been Abyss, it could have been EC3 or Spud. Random people have always had ideas. One idea, Pat Kenney was like, ‘Oh, you should do an airplane around Kong.’ I was like, ‘Sure. Done.’ He said that as I walking out, and then that became Laurel’s thing.
“Someone else was like, ‘Hey, I saw this funny spot where you take the girl down, and then you pin her like Cameron from WWE. Pin her on her stomach, and you think that that’s real.’ So then I’m like, ‘Easy. I’ll do that,’ as I’m going out there again. And the next time it’s like, ‘Oh, you should get tangled up in the ropes, that’s funny. And then you should get hit with this move,’ and I’m like, ‘Okay. Sure.’ So it’s kind of like this weird character where it doesn’t matter what you tell me to do, I can go out and do it because I am the most unexpected kind of random character. Nothing that I do you question and be like, ‘Wait. Why?’ You know what I mean? Because it’s fun like that.”
Her unique smudged makeup look:
“Oh my gosh. It’s my favorite thing ever. It’s so funny, because I go in in the morning and I get my makeup done. I’m looking good, I take selfies. Then they’re like, ‘Okay, Chelsea. You’re on in three matches,’ and I’m just like [smearing] makeup all over my face. My lipstick’s going everywhere, and smudging my makeup.”
Winning the IMPACT Knockouts Championship:
“It’s crazy, isn’t it? It’s so crazy. Bound for Glory week was such a whirlwind. With it being filmed in Canada, it was really exciting for me. Although it was on the East Coast and I’m from the West Coast, still felt like I was kind of in my hometown, I don’t know. It felt like this wrestling world had come full circle, and for it to come full circle and then for them to be putting the title on me was also really overwhelming.
“I wrestle Rosemary for the title, which you’ll have seen by now I guess. She could tell you the same thing, and Gail would say the same thing. They told me three times that I was winning that match. I didn’t realize that that match was the finals at the tournament for the title.”
You ca read the full highlights of Van Ness’ interview on the “With Spandex Podcast” via Uproxx at this link.
