The Steiner Brothers, Rick and Scott, have been named for the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022.
The brothers began teaming together in 1989 and quickly became on of the sports’ most dangerous combinations. Known for their hard-hitting in-ring style, They held tag team gold across the world, with memorable runs in WCW and WWE.
Rick Steiner’s son, Bronson Rechsteiner, wrestles as Bron Breakker on WWE’s developmental brand, NXT 2.0.
The 2022 WWE Hall of Fame Induction ceremony takes place Friday, April 1st. It will stream live on Peacock and the WWE Network immediately following SmackDown.
Ronda Rousey will not be at tonight’s WWE Raw from Pittsburgh, PA, despite WWE advertising her for the event.
The Baddest Woman on the Planet is gearing up for a showdown with Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 38 this Saturday night. You can check out the latest WrestleMania 38 Betting Odds to see who is favored to walk out as champion.
On Sunday, WWE posted a graphic on social media teasing a blockbuster women’s tag match featuring Rousey and Bianca Belair teaming up against Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch and SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair.
Unfortunately, that match has been scrapped, since Rousey has no plans on being in Pittsburgh, PA. During a live Facebook chat on Sunday night, Rousey stated:
“I’m not going to be at Raw tomorrow.”
– Ronda Rousey
Rousey speculated that the match announcement was “a mistake or something.” She will, however, be in attendance at Friday’s SmackDown from Dallas, TX.
Tonight’s WWE Raw is the “go home” show ahead of this weekend’s WrestleMania 38 premium live event. There are several matches announced for the show, including:
Rey Mysterio vs. The Miz
Raw Tag Team Champions Rated RK-Bro vs. The Usos (Non-Title Match)
Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy
Sasha Banks, Naomi, Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan vs. Natalya Shayna Baszler, Carmella & Zelina Vega
Plus, Seth Rollins will meet with Mr. McMahon, who is expected to finally give Rollins something to do at WrestleMania.
Wrestling legend Gangrel spoke with SEScoops Ella Jay this week to promote his return to Major League Wrestling (MLW). The Attitude Era star competed on this week’s episode of MLW Fusion, which you can catch on YouTube.
We discussed a wide variety of topics, including why we never got a Brood reunion in WWE, what he thinks is missing from today’s pro wrestling and much more. In this installment, we’re looking at Gangrel’s comments about training MMA fighter and AEW star, Paige VanZant.
Here’s our half-hour interview with Gangrel, with some highlights below:
Training Paige VanZant
Gangrel is currently training AEW star Paige VanZant at Coastal Championship Wrestling in Pompano Beach, Florida.
Gangrel reveals he was actually “super worried” to train VanZant, but now believes she has a bright future in pro wrestling.
“I was super worried about it. I know that Dan Lambert and them were very particular about where she trained. She could have went anywhere but because she’s local, it made a lot of sense for her to come down here in South Florida.
“I was trained by Boris Malenko and he’s a fan of the old school of training and the foundations of it. With training Rusev or Miro, Jacob and some of the other people, I felt comfortable coming there. I was a little worried, but she’s tremendous.
“I think AEW is probably on to something there and they’re gonna have a really good star on their future because like, I’ve trained a lot of people and she’s so coachable. I don’t know if it’s from Dancing with the Stars, that can’t be possible easy. There’s a lot of discipline. She was a gymnast, ballerina and plus she’s a fighter. She’s a bare-knuckle fighter, boxer and a mixed martial artist.
“So she’s got all this background and coming over to pro wrestling that could be very hard transition because it is smoke and mirrors. It’s pro wrestling entertainment or however you want to look at it. It’s not like we’re gonna go out and just kill somebody.
“Anyway, you gotta work together. I was am little worried but what she’s learned in like, three hours has taken me 3-6 months to teach other people. That’s how quick she’s learning. That’s how amazing she is. And her attitude is really, really good about it. I get a little worried when outsiders come in and they kind of take a crap on our business. You know what I mean? She’s got not a bad attitude at all. Just a golden attitude and I think she’s gonna be a something in the future. I think she’s got a future in pro wrestling.”
PVZ’s Transition from MMA to Wrestling
Paige VanZant is a great athlete and is charismatic, which is a winning formula in pro wrestling. Gangrel says PVZ is in this for the long haul and he hasn’t had to change much about the skills she brings to the squared circle.
“I don’t know where AEW is going with her. I think she’ll be hotshotted into some kind of match but but she wants to be actually trained properly on the backside for a future in wrestling. So I think they’re gonna hotshot an angle, but I think she wants to be long term and wrestle so she’s learning the proper way.”
He added, “I’ve haven’t had to change anything yet. She tends to have a fighter stance but it works for her. What I’ve learned about training somebody is that you don’t try to change who they are or what they’ve done. You just try to adapt them to to what suits them best for everybody involved.”
Gangrel was asked if he has a certain teaching style that he’s found to be more effective. The former Brood member said that it varies on the requirement of the student, but he works on the foundation and the basics the most. According to him, if the foundation is strong then one can learn anything whether it’s becoming a luchador, brawler or a high-flying wrestler.
He compared it to a cement slab that could support any type of roof as long as the foundation is strong. With Paige VanZant, Gangrel spends an hour just on the basics. While on the topic, he gave a shoutout to his student Jacob Fatu for being well rounded with everything including his footwork, strikes and highflying ability.
We’ve got updated WrestleMania 38 betting odds courtesy of Bet Online.
Sports betting odds have a strong track record predicting the winners of WWE pay-per-view events. They are usually not 100% accurate, but consider these to be “spoilers” if you want to enjoy the show without anything revealed.
These odds will shift throughout the week, based on continued betting. We will update this article on Saturday to reflect any late changes in the betting activity.
WrestleMania Saturday Betting Odds
On the first night of WrestleMania 38, betters predict we will see both Women’s Championships change hands, along with the women’s tag titles.
Drew McIntyre is favored (-1,000) to defeat Happy Corbin (+500).
Rey and Dominik Mysterio are slight favorites (-140) to defeat The Miz and Logan Paul.
RKBro are favored (-200) to retain the Raw Tag Team Championships against The Street Profits (+250) and Alpha Academy (+350).
Bianca Belair is the favorite (-550) to capture the Raw Women’s Championship from Becky Lynch (+325).
SmackDown tag team champions The Usos are favored (-200) to retain against Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs (+150).
Ronda Rousey is favored (-600) to win the SmackDown Women’s Championship from Charlotte Flair (+350).
Sasha Banks and Naomi are slight favorites (-200) to win the Women’s Tag Team championships from Carmela and Zelina Vega (+500). Liv Morgan & Rhea Ripley (+185) and Shayna Baszler and Natalya (+750).
WrestleMania Sunday Betting Odds
Universal Champion Roman Reigns is the favorite (-350) to defeat WWE Champion Brock Lesnar (+225) in the Winner Takes All Unification match.
Sami Zayn is an underdog (+200) against Jackass star Johnny Knoxville (-300).
AJ Styles is the favorite (-160) against the Rated R Superstar, Edge (+120).
Austin Theory is a slight favorite (-150) against SmackDown commentator Pat McAfee (+110).
Ric Flair and Mark Madden are going their separate ways after 19 episodes of the Wooooo! Uncensored podcast.
On Sunday night, Madden announced he was moving on from the project. He said the show was not a “good fit” for him, and cited his busy schedule and the extensive preparation required for each episode. He thanked Flair for the opportunity.
Things got ugly very quickly when Flair clarified that he, in fact, relieved Madden of his duties.
Love & Appreciate You @MarkMaddenX, But Actually, I Relieved You Of Your Duties! Best Of Luck With Your Work! I’ll Be Back & Better Than Ever Next Monday! Going Home To My Son In Law @HeyHeyItsConrad! https://t.co/O10esiWAlX
Madden responded by saying Flair “didn’t have the balls” to fire him personally, and instead told him that the show was being cancelled. Madden said Flair had Conrad Thompson do his dirty work for him, and questioned why things had to transpire as they did, in light of their 35-year friendship.
Flair replied, “Mark, it’s so sad. You’ve been telling everyone for 30 years that I’m the greatest wrestler ever. Quit trying to get the rub that made you who you are! Look forward to hearing you on The Pat McAfee Show. Oh wait, sorry, he cancelled you too! Just be happy and enjoy life!”
Madden told Flair to “have another drink” and said it’s said what Ric Flair has become.
Have another drink. God gave you the gift of life a few years back, &you thank him by getting ***t-faced every single night like you are right now. You are the greatest wrestler ever. What you’ve become is sad. https://t.co/uY1DCrsKLC
Madden added that Flair was slated to appear for AEW, before the “Plane Ride From Hell” episode of Dark Side of the Ring aired. Since then, Khan cut all ties with the “toxic” Nature Boy, including disinviting him from his birthday party.
Ric was planning to work at AEW ‘til the Dark Side ep. Not sure what Tony Khan thought. Khan doesn’t talk to Ric now. Disinvited Ric from his b’day party. https://t.co/QfAArF7mUW
WrestleMania week is upon us. WWE’s biggest event of the year takes place this weekend, but there’s plenty of action in store before WrestleMania 38 kicks off Saturday night.
The following is a list of WWE programming scheduled for the coming week:
Monday:
WWE Raw, USA Network (8pm ET, 5pm PT)
Tuesday:
NXT 2.0, USA Network (8pm ET, 5pm PT)
Friday:
WWE SmackDown, FOX (8pm ET, 5pm PT)
WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Peacock (10pm ET, 7pm PT)
Saturday:
NXT Stand & Deliver, Peacock (1pm ET, 10am PT)
WrestleMania Kickoff Show, USA Network, Peacock (6pm ET, 3pm PT)
WrestleMania Saturday, Peacock (8pm ET, 5pm PT)
Sunday:
WrestleMania Kickoff Show, Peacock (6pm ET, 3pm PT)
Former WWE Superstar Lana’s movie Cosmic Sin won a Razzie Award. That’s not a good thing.
Lana (C.J. Perry) appeared in the film alongside Hollywood legend Bruce Willis. The Die Hard and Sixth Sense star has become somewhat of a meme for churning out a staggering number of “B-movies” each year.
Willis makes so many movies that the latest Razzie Awards has an entire category dedicated to, “Worst Performance by Bruce Willis in a 2021 Movie.”
That category had eight nominees, including:
American Seige
Apex
Cosmic Sin (Winner)
Deadlock
Fortress
Midnight in the Switchgrass
Out of Death
Survive the Game
How bad was Cosmic Sin? It currently has a 3% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which puts it into “so bad, it’s good” territory.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CTVU58oPd9J/
At the end of the day, Bruce Willis is cashing huge paychecks for these films. Lana is building her acting portfolio, which will help her land future roles. Her next project, a sci-fi movie WolfLike, is currently in production.
Lana was released from WWE in June 2021 after eight years with the company. Her husband, Miro, is signed with All Elite Wrestling.
Wrestling legend Gangrel spoke with SEScoops Ella Jay this week to promote his return to Major League Wrestling (MLW). The Attitude Era star competed on this week’s episode of MLW Fusion, which you can catch on YouTube.
During the half-hour conversation, Gangrel spoke about a wide variety of topics. In this installment of our write-up, we’re focusing on The Brood.
The Brood was a faction in WWE during the beloved Attitude Era. Led by Gangrel, the Brood helped introduce Edge and Christian to the WWE Universe. A later incarnation, The New Brood, saw Gangrel paired with Matt and Jeff Hardy.
The Brood remains popular to this day, as evidenced by Edge busting out the Brood entrance and “Brood Baths” in some of his recent feuds. Gangrel would have been down for a surprise Rumble appearance and a Brood reunion in WWE, but gave a surprising (and disappointing) reason why it never happened.
Here’s our half-hour interview with Gangrel, with some highlights below:
“People Won’t Remember The Brood”
Last year, Christian reunited with Edge at the Royal Rumble. This year, fans were hoping that Gangrel would make an appearance at the Rumble to continue the Brood nostalgia tour.
Gangrel says he’d speak to Edge about reuniting the Brood in WWE, but Edge didn’t think Vince McMahon would be on board.
“No, I would talk to Edge, he would tell me that he didn’t believe Vince McMahon believed people will remember The Brood, let alone myself.”
– Gangrel on a Brood reunion in WWE
Over the past year, Edge has paid homage the Brood several times, including for special entrances and for unleashing “Brood Baths” on his enemies.
Edge’s Brood entrances were always a hit with WWE fans, but he really had to work hard in order to convince Vince McMahon that it was worth doing.
“[Vince is] very set on certain things, so [Edge] told me he had to work like two and a half months to get the music to be able to do a ‘Broodbath,’ not a bloodbath because the networks wouldn’t have blood,” Gangrel continued.
“He did that for two and a half months and and he said he was trying to work it all out. He said he did it pay homage to The Brood and myself and all that he was super happy about it.”
Gangrel said he actually had an AEW appearance lined up at one point that would have included an elaborate entrance, but that got derailed.
“And then when I told [Edge] ‘Yeah well…’ He was like, so excited to tell me on that Monday, and I go ‘Well… I was supposed to do AEW that Wednesday, they were gonna do the whole entrance and everything.’ But it just trended so much that it was just like forget it. So that was a bummer one way, but in another way it was just great to see Adam, Edge come out to that and then it cut and go to his music. It was just really, really cool and I was super happy for him and honored and flattered.”
Watch Edge’s Brood entrance from WWE Day 1 (1.1.22)
Memories of Working with the Hardys, The New Brood
Gangrel spoke fondly about working with Matt and Jeff Hardy in the early years of their careers.
“Yeah, well, a lot of people ask me what was my favorite Brood, The New Brood or the old Brood. I always say older with Christian and Edge because for one, we’re the original. We were working the Hardys and we had a program with them. I always love wrestling the Hardys. I personally love wrestling Matt Hardy because he’s a thumper. He’ll get in there and he’ll mix it up. Matt Hardy is a bit harder and tougher than people think.
I remember Michael Hayes would drive those poor guys crazy. I hope that I didn’t drive Christian and Edge as crazy as Michael Hayes did with his old school banter like ‘It’s my dime and it’s my time’ and stuff like that.
They’re just great guys. I’ve known them since, I don’t know, like since they were 16-17? I think we were all floating around doing extra work and different stuff for WWF whenever they came to the South. So I’ve known them for a long time. They’re just tremendous guys. Jeff’s super laidback, Matt’s more always intense about the business stuff. I’m super super happy for them.”
Gangrel also revealed that he’s going to be wrestling against The Hardy Boyz somewhere in Virginia soon. It will be Gangrel and Joey Janela (the “The New New Brood”) against The Hardys (“The Old New Brood”).
Gangrel with The Hardys
Steve Austin’s Input on Theme Music
The Brood’s theme music is legendary (you can listen below) and really set the tone for the group’s image. Gangrel shared a cool story about “Stone Cold” Steve Austin giving him advice about the importance of entrance music.
“…One time Steve Austin asked me, ‘What do you like about you like your music?’ The music that I had with the Brood. I go, ‘I could walk to it.’ And he goes, ‘That’s the key thing, you really want to become one with your entrance music. You really want to get that groove and that vibe and be able to gel with that coming out to get a feel.’
MLW’s two next shows are scheduled for WrestleMania weekend, at Gilley’s in Dallas, TX. If you’re in town, visit MLWTix.com for ticket information.
A new trademark filing may be used for All Elite Wrestling’s highly anticipated AEW console video game.
On Monday (3/21), AEW filed an application to secure the phrase, AEW: Fight Forever. According to the US Patent & Trademark Office database, the Goods & Services usage is listed as:
“Downloadable game software; Downloadable computer game software; Downloadable electronic game software; Downloadable interactive game software; Video game discs; Downloadable video game programs; Downloadable video game software; Recorded video game programs; Recorded video game software.”
AEW also filed to trademark the term “Undisputed Elite” this week. The Goods & Services usage for Undisputed Elite is described as:
“Fan clubs; Providing a website featuring entertainment information in the fields of sports and entertainment; Providing entertainment information in the fields of sports and entertainment via a website; Conducting entertainment exhibitions in the nature of wresting exhibits and performances by professional wrestlers; Entertainment in the nature of wrestling contests; Providing wrestling news and information via a global computer network.”
AEW Video Game
AEW is expected to release its first console video game later this year. Below are some recent articles chronicling the games development:
WWE executive Paul Levesque (Triple H) has provided an update on his health and future after undergoing a “cardiac event” in late 2021.
The 14-time World Champion spoke with Stephen A. Smith for ESPN this week. A portion of the conversation aired on Friday’s episode of First Take.
Triple H said, “I had a viral pneumonia. My lungs were inflamed, as the next couple of days went on, it got increasingly worse, and my wife saw some blood and stuff that I was coughing up. I went and got checked, and it was coming from the viral pneumonia, but I had fluid in my lungs, fluid around my heart.”
Doctors performed a thorough examination, including an EKG. Ejection fraction is the way your heart pumps blood and 55-60 is considered a healthy range. Triple H was down to 30.
“I got a quick text message saying “Don’t take time, pack your bag and head to the emergency room… by the time i got to the emergency room, my ejection fraction got down to about 22, which… I was in heart failure, bad. By the next morning, they figured that out, by the time I was going in to get a heart catheter my ejection was down to 12. I was nose diving and sort of at the 1-yard line of.. where you don’t want to be, for your family and your future.”
https://youtu.be/o5N1AurWE3I
As a family man, Triple H got emotional talking about his medical emergency.
“Let me tell you, its 99% .. it gets real, we have three young girls, 15, 13 and 11. Suddenly I come home, I’m a little bit sick, and their dad who is strong, always, suddenly is in the hospital. I don’t know if they understood the consequences of it, but there’s moments in there where .. when they’re putting you out for stuff and you think, ‘Is this it? Do you wake up from this?’ That’s tough to swallow and makes you think differently… it makes you think differently about life. It doesn’t make you any less driven for the things that you do, but it certainly makes you appreciate the things that you have more, your friends, your family.”
Triple H then confirmed he will never wrestle again because he had a defibrillator pacemaker installed in his chest.
“For me, as far as in-ring, which I get a lot, I’m done. I will never wrestle again. I have a defibrillator in my chest, which .. It’s probably not a good idea for me to get zapped on life tv.”
Stephen A. Smith’s full interview with Triple H premieres Friday night on Stephen A’s World, which streams on ESPN+.
We are just a week out from WWE’s biggest event of the year, WrestleMania. Once again, the event will be a 2-night affair, a trend that’s expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
WWE’s decision to hold WrestleMania over two nights is based on several factors, most importantly, ticket sales and merchandise revenue. By splitting up the match card over two nights, WWE avoids a 7+ hour marathon show, which many fans found to be excessive.
The current plan is for each night of WrestleMania to run for five hours, according to the Wrestling Observer. This includes a 2-hour kickoff show (6-8pm ET) and a 3-hour main show (8-11pm ET). There’s a strong likelihood the main cards run over 3 hours.
WrestleMania Saturday and Sunday will be shown in movie theaters across the United States and Canada. Fathom Events, the company bringing WrestleMania to theaters, lists a 4-hour run time for the main shows.
The WrestleMania Saturday pre-show will air on the USA Network, in addition to it streaming on Peacock. As of this writing, we haven’t seen anything about the WrestleMania Sunday pre-show airing on television.
We’ve received a few questions about whether or not there will be a battle royal at WrestleMania. WWE has featured these in the past, as a way to get more talent on the card. As of this writing, there are no plans for a men’s or women’s battle royal. There has been talk of holding an Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal on WWE TV in the weeks ahead.
WWE continues to move tickets for WrestleMania, with approximately 60,800 and 58,500 tickets sold for Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The stadium will be configured for 65,000 fans, but WWE will almost certainly announce an attendance above 70,000.
For what it’s worth, the secondary market for WrestleMania tickets has been softer than usual. That is likely a function of there still being thousands of seats still available, starting at around $35.
Do not read too much into the fact that there are still a lot of tickets available for WrestleMania. This will be the most profitable WWE event by a long shot, in terms of ticket sales and merchandise revenue.
WrestleMania 38 is just one week away, but Bobby Lashley’s status for the event remains unclear.
Lashley has been out of action since January’s Royal Rumble. The Almighty captured the WWE Championship from Brock Lesnar (with help from Paul Heyman and Roman Reigns), but he suffered a shoulder injury during the match and hasn’t wrestled since.
The shoulder injury was so bad that it was feared that Lashley would require major surgery. That procedure never took place. WWE officials have been making plans for Lashley at WrestleMania. He’s slated to face Omos at the event, if he’s healthy.
The fact that WWE has yet to announce Lashley vs. Omos this late in the game says a lot about where things stand. As of this week, Lashley is not medically cleared to wrestle, according to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
In the event that Bobby Lashley is not cleared over the next several days, WWE will have to act on contingency plans for Omos.
Check out the link below for the current match card for WrestleMania, as well as start times and how to watch the event depending on your region.
WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair and boxing legend Mike Tyson are now business partners.
Tyson, who is no stranger to the world of pro wrestling, is also a player in the world of legal cannabis. Back in December, he launched Tyson 2.0, which produces a line of premium cannabis strains sold through select retailers in Massachusetts and Nevada.
Tyson serves as the company’s Chief Brand Officer.
Ric Flair’s Tyson 2.0 Cannabis Products
Tyson 2.0 has acquired a majority stake in Ric Flair Drip Inc., an actual business entity owned by Ric Flair. The deal will see a line of Ric Flair-themed cannabis products.
In a press release sent out on Thursday, Flair commented on his entry into the world of legal marijuana. “Thanks to Mike Tyson and Tyson 2.0, I’ve become a true cannabis advocate and enthusiast,” said Flair. “I am thrilled to partner with a long time friend and fellow warrior whom I greatly admire and respect.”
“Tyson 2.0 products make me go ‘WOOOOO!’, and soon my fans everywhere can get in the Ric Flair state of mind – limousine riding, jet-flying, feeling good, and ‘WOOOOO!'”
– Ric Flair
Flair says there are a lot of synergies between him and Mike Tyson. They’ve both experienced extreme highs and lows throughout their personal and professional lives.
The Nature Boy tweeted a photo with Tyson on Thursday from Mike Tyson’s podcast studio, so it looks like Flair will be appearing on an upcoming episode of Hotboxin’ With Mike Tyson.
Tyson 2.0 recently released Mike Bites, a line of cannabis-infused gummies in the shape of an ear with a bite taken out of it.
Trish Stratus says she’s willing to step in the ring against Sasha Banks, under the right circumstances.
Stratus will be on hand for this weekend’s Road to WrestleMania live events from Canada. WWE will be in Kichener on Saturday and Toronto on Sunday. The 7-time WWE Women’s Champion spoke with ET Canada this week to promote the the live events shows, as well as WrestleMania 38.
During her conversation with Shakiel Mahjouri, Stratus commented on Lita’s recent match at Elimination Chamber, as well as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin’s upcoming appearance on the KO Show next Saturday.
Stratus has been discussing a ‘dream match’ against Sasha Banks for several years. The trailblazing Attitude Era star maintains that she’s not scared of The Boss and knows this is a match fans want to see.
“I’ve heard that I’m running from her, which is absolutely untrue,” she said. “At one point, she had done this promo saying that I wasn’t ready. I posted a photo of my six-pack and said, ‘I am ready, girl.’ These little moments. Her and I had, maybe, a five-minute moment in the 2018 Royal Rumble and, to this day, people say that’s the match they want to see.”
She continued, “Sometimes you just have this energy that is palpable. It’s like when Lita and I first faced off. People felt that. When The Rock and Austin faced off, they felt that. When Sasha and I faced off, I felt it too. It was a good moment. Will we follow up on it? If there is an opportunity, perhaps. Did I wish this was a SmackDown tour? Yes, I did.”
WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair is back with another ‘hot take’ that’s sure to get wrestling fans talking.
On the latest episode of his Wooooo Nation Uncensored podcast, Flair and co-host Mark Madden discussed the new WWE Evil series on Peacock. The show focuses on the greatest villains in WWE history, but Flair’s conversation with Madden also covered some of the sport’s best babyfaces
Flair praised AJ Styles, who he’s worked with in TNA/Impact and WWE. Flair said Styles is a versatile performer who is likable on and off screen.
“AJ is one of the greatest babyfaces of all time,” said Flair. “When he wants to be, he can be soft and mellow, which he really is in real life. He’s a very humble guy. He’s very likable. He can do anything.”
The conversation shifted to Bryan Danielson, who now wrestles for AEW. Flair said Danielson is “very good,” but he is not in the same league as AJ Styles.
Flair wasn’t just talking about Styles being a better babyface than Danielson. In fact, he said Styles superior in every way.
“Bryan Danielson is very good, but he’s not AJ Styles,” Flair said. “C’mon.. It’s a big stretch to say Danielson is in any way better than AJ Styles.”
Listen to the latest episode of Ric Flair’s Wooooo Uncensored Podcast:
Author’s Opinion: Bryan Danielson and AJ Styles are regarded as two of the greatest pro wrestlers of this generation. There are many metrics one could use to evaluate a modern pro wrestler: In-ring work-rate, promos, memorable moments, career longevity, and many more. You could make a case that Styles it he superior wrestler, or vice versa. To say that Styles is better than Danielson “in every way” is quite a stretch.
Watch: AJ Styles vs. Bryan Danielson (Daniel Bryan)
Jake Atlas is on the road to recovery five weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL.
Atlas began wrestling for AEW in late 2021. He worked the 12/28 AEW Dark Elevation tapings from Orlando and made his AEW Rampage debut on January 7th.
The former gymnast looked great against Adam Cole, despite coming up short. Unfortunately, he tore a ligament in his knee during the match. He would later go under the knife, but assured his fans that we haven’t seen the last of him.
Jake Atlas did a Facebook stream this week for the Highspots Wrestling Network and provided an update on his condition.
Atlas reveals it was several days after he sustained the injury until he knew something was very wrong with his knee.
“I didn’t know it that night,” he recalls. “I didn’t know until probably a couple days after when I flew home but definitely couldn’t walk.”
He underwent surgery five weeks ago. Doctors gave him an estimated recovery time of nine months, but he’s optimistic that he can get back in the ring sooner than that.
Watch Jake Atlas’ Highspots Wrestling Network Facebook stream:
Edge says he wants to write a children’s book with his wife, Beth Phoenix.
The Rated R Superstar recently appeared on the Steven’s Wrestling Journey podcast and revealed the “bucket list” project he wants to undertake.
“I love to draw,” he began. “I love illustrating and I love writing. At some point, I wanna do a children’s book and… yeah, I wanna release a children’s book and Beth wants to as well so we might… we might partner up.”
Edge says they’ve already written some material for the book, which is still in its very early stages. They’re working on
“I think we got an idea.. Yeah, it’ll definitely be a kid’s book,” said Edge. “That’s always kind of been a bucket list thing of mine too so, and I know it has been for Beth as well. So, that’s one thing I think I’d like to do that maybe a lot of people don’t know.”
Edge and Beth Phoenix have been married since 2016. The couple have two daughters together, Lyric Rose and Ruby Ever. They are the only married couple comprised of two WWE Hall of Famers (until next Friday).
Edge is scheduled to face AJ Styles next weekend at WrestleMania 38.
Check out Edge’s appearance on Steven’s Wrestling Journey:
The festive ring entrance meant a lot to Thunder Rosa, but it also reminded her of the time WWE and Brock Lesnar mocked Mexican culture on a 2004 episode of SmackDown.
In early 2004, then-WWE Champion Brock Lesnar was feuding with Mexican star Eddie Guerrero. In the build-up to their match, Lesnar came to the ring wearing a sombrero and orchestrated a mariachi band in the ring.
“I can tell you, I read about me bringing the Mariachi and I remember Brock Lesnar making fun of Eddie Guerrero with that,” she said. “And that hurts because they were making fun of my culture before. And on Wednesday, I represented our culture properly. With honor and with respect.”
She was especially hurt because she felt WWE was giving fans a license to make fun of Mexican people.
Brock went on to lose the WWE Championship to Eddie Guerrero at No Way Out 2004 in one of the more memorable title changes of the past 20 years.
The Hardys, Matt and Jeff, shared memories of working with Hall on the latest episode of The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy podcast.
Matt Hardy began by saying it’s extremely sad how Scott Hall’s death seemingly came out of left field. It is difficult to make sense of things when somebody passes away unexpectedly, but Matt feels that it’s important to make the most of each day. The Hardys have always “lived for the moment” but Hall’s passing is a reminder that you never really know how much time you have left in life.
Matt told host Jon Alba that Scott Hall was good to the Hardys when they worked together in the early days of their WWE careers.
“Scott was very cool to us,” he said. “We had a lot of good fun stories with him. I’ll never forget the second day I was with WWE, obviously the first day Jeff wrestled him, he was 16 years old and it was under very strange circumstances where the match was very frustrating with Scott Hall because the guy he was supposed to wrestle said he couldn’t take his finish. He was a little frustrated wrestling with Jeff and that ended up working in Jeff’s favor because he formed a little bond with him after that.”
Matt continued, “The next night, I was wrestling with him and I remember he said, ‘When I’m in the corner, poke me in the eyes, give me three or four chops, I’ll turn around and give you some,’ and I got two really good ones in that rang out loud in the arena. I hit a second one and he stopped me right then and there and turned me around and said, ‘Easy kid, you had two really good ones, I couldn’t let you outshine me out there though.’”
Jeff Hardy Remembers Scott Hall
Jeff Hardy says Razor Ramon was a huge inspiration on their careers. However, that match against Hall had him reconsidering his love for pro wrestling.
Not only were the WWE rings “terrible” back then (very stiff to take bumps on), but Scott Hall also roughed him up a bit.
“Even that first match, and that hard-ass WWE ring back in the day, you had to be like Andre the Giant to make it move, it was terrible,” said Jeff. “Him being real stiff and roughing me up, I totally second-guessed my love for pro wrestling. ‘I don’t know if I’m cut out to do this.’ I didn’t like it, I didn’t like that match at all, it really hurt. It wasn’t fun.”
That first match against Razor was tough, but he remembers Scott Hall took him under his wing and looked out for him behind the scenes.
“Then moving forward Scott Hall was so kind because he thought I looked like Vanilla Ice, and the Kliq started calling me Ice and I’ll never forget one time he told Pat Patterson, I was like 16 or 17 too, ‘Let’s get this kid on the road, get him seasoned.’ I’m not even legal yet. There’s something very special to what he saw, he saw my future through whatever it was and he believed in us every step of the way, and that’s rare, man.”
The former NXT General Manager also spoke in-depth about his time in WWE’s developmental brand. In addition to being NXT’s on-screen authority figure, Regal reveals he also had a lot to do with developing the NXT brand to be the success it once was.
“NXT had started, I was the first person, as far as I know, that [Triple H] pulled in and said, ‘What’s your vision for this?'” he recalls. “We did what we did and it was a great thing for a lot of people. It was a great success, and I have no ill will at all for anyone. I am really happy. Because it needed some kind of change because things had changed. This place had come along and different things, so it needed [change].”
Scouting Talent for WWE & NXT
William Regal worked closely with former WWE executive Canyon Ceman to make NXT a legitimate third brand for the company. He says he had the eye for scouting and developing talent, while Ceman managed the logistics like contracts.
“Canyon Ceman, who I worked for and with, is a hell of a fella, a wonderful fella, said Regal. “When he came onboard, Triple H said, ‘Can you just look after him?’ I said, ‘Right.’ And I said, ‘Let’s start off on the right foot, let me take care of the wrestling and you take care of everything else. You take care of the athletes and the contracts and that. I don’t need to know anything else.”
Regal and Ceman worked together to scout talent and hold WWE tryouts across the world. He added, “I was looking at everybody, everywhere. That’s what I did. I studied everybody from everywhere, paid attention to everything. I would just turn up at whatever country, do this tryout.”
WWE fans in the Dallas area have a chance to experience the first-ever “WWE-themed virtual restaurant.”
WWE Smackadillas is a delivery-only virtual restaurant featuring a unique menu of quesadillas. The limited-edition virtual restaurant is presented in partnership with Nextbite.
Hungry fans can order the WWE Smackadillas now through April 11th via Grubhub, Uber Eats and DoorDash.
In a press release issued via Business Wire, Nextbite Chief Growth Officer Geoff Madding spoke about the unique offering.
“WWE is one of the premier sports and entertainment organizations in the world and is known for giving their passionate fan base exactly what they want,” said Madding.
“Whether you order WWE Smackadillas from the comfort of your couch or on your way home from WrestleMania, we look forward to amping up the total WWE experience with these delicious quesadillas for all the hungry fans in the Dallas area.”
In addition to serving up WWE-themed quesadillas, WWE Smackadillas is also doing a bunch of promotions in the Dallas area during WrestleMania week, including ticket giveaways and WWE merchandise.
We have injury updates for two top WWE Superstars less than two weeks out from WrestleMania 38.
Former WWE Champion Bobby Lashley has been dealing with a legitimate shoulder injury since January. Bianca Belair has been off television following a recent attack by her WrestleMania opponent, Becky Lynch.
Bianca Belair Injury Update
Bianca Belair is scheduled to challenge Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship at WrestleMania Saturday.
Last week on Raw, Lynch viciously attacked Belair by wrapping a chair around her head and ramming her into a ring post.
WWE.com ran an article stating that Belair would be out of action for an unspecified amoutn of time after suffering a “fractured hyoid bone” in her throat.
Belair did not appear at this week’s Raw, but fans can rest assured that she will be “healthy” in time for WrestleMania. The injury is purely a storyline. She was kept off Raw to sell the injury. She will be back in time for WrestleMania, where she hopes to avenge a stunning loss to Big Time Becks last year at SummerSlam.
The Almighty Bobby Lashley’s injury is legitimate. He’s been dealing with a shoulder injury since January when he wrestled Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble.
Lashley was in Dallas at AT&T Stadium last week (according to Pwinsider) and WWE officials are hopeful that he’ll be healthy in time for WrestleMania. Lashley does not have a match booked for the show, but it’s rumored that he’ll be facing Omos.
WWE wants fans to know that next week’s edition of Monday Night Raw is a can’t miss show. The company has announced several big matches and segments for the “go home” edition of Raw before WrestleMania 38.
Here’s a look at what’s in store when WWE Raw rolls into the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburg, PA:
WWE Champion Brock Lesnar and Universal Champion Roman Reigns will go face to face ahead of their Winner Takes All Championship Unification match at WrestleMania.
There are three matches signed for the show. The card serves as a true preview for WrestleMania, since each match involves competitors who will be opponents at AT&T Stadium just 6 days later:
The Miz (with Logan Paul) vs. Rey Mysterio (with Dominik)
The Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy
8-Woman Tag Match: Sasha Banks, Naomi, Liv Morgan and Rhea Ripley vs. Shayna Baszler, Natalya, Carmella and Zelina Vega
Plus, Seth Rollins still has nothing to do at WWE’s biggest show of the year. Next week, we’ll find out what WWE has in store for him. Will Rollins have a match at WrestleMania, some sort of interview segment, or will he be left off the card entirely?
This year’s WrestleMania premium live event will take place place over two nights. Breaking from the previous format of Night 1 and Night 2, WWE has dubbed the two nights WrestleMania Saturday and WrestleMania Sunday.
The following is an updated look at the lineups for WrestleMania 38 weekend:
WrestleMania Saturday
SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair vs. Ronda Rousey
WWE Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. Bianca Belair
The Miz & Logan Paul vs. Rey & Dominik Mysterio
Drew McIntyre vs. Happy Corbin
The KO Show with special guest Stone Cold Steve Austin
SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Rick Boogs
WrestleMania Sunday
Winner Take All Unification Match: Universal Champion Roman Reigns vs. WWE Champion Brock Lesnar
Edge vs. AJ Styles
Pat McAfee vs. Austin Theory
Sami Zayn vs. Johnny Knoxville
Raw Tag Team Champions RK-Bro vs. The Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy
Women’s Tag Team Champions Carmella & Queen Zelina vs Sasha Banks & Naomi vs Rhea Ripley & Liv Morgan
Date, Time & How to Watch
WWE WrestleMania 38 is scheduled to take place over two nights at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
WrestleMania Saturday takes place Saturday, April 2nd. WrestleMania Sunday takes place Sunday, April 3rd.
You can watch WWE WrestleMania 38 on Peacock in the United States and on the WWE Network internationally.
Big E is speaking out about his battle with depression.
The former WWE Champion is one of the most beloved figures in all of professional wrestling. He’s known for projecting a positive attitude on television, but he has contemplated suicide in the past.
On Monday, Ohio State University football star Harry Miller appeared on the Today to discuss his decision to step away from football to focus on mental health. Big E saw a clip of Miller’s appearance and felt compelled to share his own experience with depression.
“In my early 20s, I wanted to be famous so that when I committed suicide, someone would care. I never thought I could be free of the sheer weight of my depression but here I am—alive and truly happy.”
You might look at Big E and ask, what does he have to be depressed about? Unfortunately, depression is like addiction: It can affect people no matter your age, gender, race or socioeconomic status. If it comes for you, it can be deadly.
Get Help If You Need It
If you or someone you know is battling depression, seek help. Suicide is never the answer. Below are some resources for coping with depression and suicide prevention:
