IMPACT Wrestling’s Executive Vice President Don Callis appeared on Busted Open Radio where he shared his thoughts on Tessa Blanchard, Eli Drake while also revealing who he is emotionally invested into as a fan. Here are some highlights they sent in:

Don Callis on Tessa Blanchard:

“Love her. I just think she’s… I’m not even going to say she’s a great Knockout but she’s a great wrestler. It’s always those gender issues with respect to wrestling. It’s the man’s match, the woman’s match. Sometimes when you start talking about matches in the context of just ‘No, that was my favourite match’ and I had that back in the day when Gail Kim and Awesome Kong were working together. That was my favourite match, not just my favourite Knockouts match, that was just my favourite match of the night. And I think Tessa has the potential to be one of those transformational performers where it’s not about Knockouts match, non-Knockouts match, it’s just about her being a great wrestler. I like everything about her. She’s just so polished, she’s got a great mean streak and she’s got something that’s rare in the business, she’s got a fifth gear that she could kick into.”

Don Callis on who he is emotionally invested into as a fan:

“I’m pretty emotionally invested as a fan in Brian Cage and what’s gonna happen with Brian Cage. I think we’ve just really scratched the surface of establishing him as a monster and people always say Goldberg and at the start of this, my reference in booking meetings was always 911. I was like, ‘This is how we need to bring this guy out. It needs to be a slow build etc.’ So I think what’s really interesting to me as a wrestling fan is I want to get to know more about Brian Cage. We’ve seen him destroy people, we’ve seen he’s not just a big muscle guy, now we’ve seen him flying around with the best of them. I want to get to know Brian Cage the personality, ’cause he hasn’t talked yet. And I think that makes him for me as a fan, those are the guys that I was always like, ‘I wanna know more about what’s going on behind the curtain here’.”

“That would be a guy I would be invested in and on the Knockout’s side, how can you not as a fan be fascinated by Su Yung. The look that she has, the presence, the stuff that she does, very Muta-esque, and I was a big Muta mark back in the day. So those would be the two if I were watching the product that I’d go, ‘I need to see more of this’.”

On Eli Drake:

“I remember talking to Paul Heyman one night at a Denny’s, and Bully may have even been there for this one. And I remember I didn’t get a lot of time with Paul because I was always flying in for a couple of days and flying out, and I just had the sense, ‘I need to pick this guy’s brain, he’s such a resource’ and I remember saying to him, ‘Who’s the greatest… you know we’re talking about managers, I think Bobby Heenan and Jim Cornette are the two greatest managers of all time’ and he looked at me and he went, ‘Yeah?’, I go, ‘You don’t think so?’ and he goes, ‘Well the problem with those two is they’re too entertaining. So how are they heels?’. And Bobby Heenan was arguably one of the most talented people ever in the business, and I thought about that and I thought, ‘Yeah’. And I think that with Eli.”

“To use a baseball analogy, he’s a five tool player. But one of the things about Eli and I’ve said this to him, ‘You’re so damn entertaining on the mic that it’s easy for guys like that to slide into becoming a babyface. So it’s almost like you’re so good that maybe you need to be not quite that good and not quite that entertaining.'”

You can listen to the full interview here:

ECW and indy star Rockin’ Rebel, real name Chuck Williams and his wife have been found dead on Friday morning by a family member in their home in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Local authorities believe the cause of death to be a murder-suicide.

According to a press release by The West Goshen Township Police Department, gunshots were heard in the family’s house and police were called which arrived to a scene with family members and dead bodies of the two inside their house:

“The West Goshen Township Police Department was dispatched to a shooting in the 300 block of North Five Points Road, West Chester, PA 19380. The responding officers arrived at the scene and were met by family members in the driveway. The officers searched the home and observed two bodies in the living room of the residence.

An adult male and an adult female resident were found deceased inside their home. There are no outstanding suspects and there is no danger to the public. The preliminary investigation has determined the event to be a murder followed by a suicide.”

The neighbor of the couple believes that they were having marital problems and used to have arguments with “extremely nasty” language.

The tragic incident is still under investigation.

WWE Hall Of Famer Diamond Dallas Page recently talked to CBS Washington DC where he discussed WWE’s new TV deals, Ronda Rousey getting a significant push early on in her WWE career. Below are some highlights from the interview:

DDP on Ronda Rousey getting WWE Raw Women’s Championship opportunity:

I think that would be like asking whether you’re a Republican or Democrat. You’re gonna have people say, ‘She’s who she is and she should get it.’ And other people are gonna go, ‘No, she didn’t earn it, she didn’t deserve it.’ But a lot people don’t understand all the work she put in to get to where she is today. So bottom line is, she’d be one of the highest paid people there. And she’s one of the highest paid people there because she draws and people are tuning in.

My opinion is, I think she’s gonna draw. I haven’t been watching enough to see her work, but I know what she did at WrestleMania and she killed it. So I think the girls are so good today. One of the things when you’re a great worker like a lot of these young ladies today, from Bailey to The Boss Sasha Banks. Charlotte’s one of the best athletes in the company. When they get there and they realize you’re in a feud with Ronda Rousey, guess what, you just got mainstream attention.

That’s gonna hold on for a while. Because I would never even push Ronda out of maybe doing a comeback [in UFC]. And guess what. She’s still a draw. She wouldn’t come back and go right against the champion, but she’d go out there and everybody would want to tune in. So don’t discount that either.”

On new TV deals acquired by WWE:

“Wrestling is cyclical. And if you look at the 80s, it had an unbelievable run and then it just fell down. 90s had the biggest run ever, because of the Monday Night Wars. People would say, ‘Do you think you’ll ever see that again?’ I say to them, ‘You’ll never see it like that again.’ See Vince [McMahon] has mainstreamed the television. And he’s the taken the wrestle and over the last 20 years made him a superstar not a wrestler. And the biggest star in the world is who? Is The Rock. Then out of wrestling the next guy would be John Cena. And then maybe Dave Bautista, because what he did in the wrestling world, but what he’s doing in Hollywood. He is an A List actor, now so is John.

You’re gonna see a lot of guys come out of that. You’re gonna see The Miz come out at some point and have a hell of a film career. Cody Rhodes just got five episodes coming up on The Arrow. He’s mainstreamed the boys, and the girls. Because it’s not like these crazy ratings that they had. We had better ratings than they had back in the day. But it’s more mainstream audience, so it’s a way more valuable audience.

So no, I’m not surprised at all. I’m super happy because they’re getting these kind of money numbers from the television and they own the network, the WWE Network. So owning your own channel on a spot where you’ve got it 24/7 and we’re talking about creating your own channel. Just like I did with DDP Yoga. My DDP Yoga channel with my DDPY workouts, it’s my own channel. And I’m constantly putting money into making it better. I’m like over $2 million into my DDP Yoga Now App, which is insane. And no one, and that’s including Beach Body or anybody else is doing it the way we’re doing it.”

WWE RAW Superstar Titus O’Neil recently did an interview with Natalya for her Calgary Sun blog, here are the highlights:

Titus O’Neil on his childhood full of hardships:

“My mother was the victim of sexual assault and I was a product of that unfortunate circumstance. She did all that she could with little to no money most of the time and set an incredible example for me with her work ethic. Despite my mother’s hardships, she was always a very giving person and our struggles allowed us to see how to get by with minimal resources. It also taught me important life lessons and because of that I learned how to work, not just for what I wanted, but also for what I needed and what my family would also need in the future. My test became my testimony and my ‘mess became my message.”

On his competitive spirit:

“My desire to be great in any area of my life all comes from my competitive spirit. I love competition and for years I was told what I couldn’t achieve in life. Once I started achieving, I developed the heart and mindset to help others do what some say couldn’t be done. Everything I have was acquired through hard work and I try to instill that in my life. It’s one of the most important aspects of being a WWE Superstar: working hard.”

On wanting to become a champion in WWE:

“I’ve always had goals to be as successful as possible in multiple areas of my life. I feel I have everything it takes to be a champion in WWE. I also have goals of continuing success outside of the ring with my charitable efforts through my Family Foundation as well as hopefully venturing into movies and television.”

Billy Gunn appeared for an interview with Chris Van Vliet to talk about a number of professional wrestling topics. During the interview, Gunn talked about RAW 25 feeling rushed, whether he gets paid royalties from DX merch. You can check out a few highlights from the interview, via WrestlingInc.

On the DX reunion feeling rushed:

“Well you’re looking at the end of the show, they’re trying to go back and forth between two buildings. We’re in the Manhattan Center and of course everybody says they were getting mad but how do you spread all of that out? It’s the 25th anniversary, you want to go back to the place you started, but you can’t have all of the talent there, I don’t know if you’ve been there but it’s little. It was rushed a little bit, but it’s the end of the show and you’re trying to shove 200 talents into a 3 hour show. So yeah, a little rugged.”

On getting paid royalties from DX merch:

“I do. I do. Anything that has my name that I own on it. Yeah, I get a little bit. But I mean you’re talking like of a half a cent of a half of a cent but it’s still something.”

When the New Age Outlaws will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame:

“I think they’ll put me and Brian in as strictly tag stuff, then it will be a few years and they’ll induct Hunter. When they induct Hunter, the next year it’ll be the DX thing.”

You can check out the interview here.

Naito Pulls Yet Another Dine-and-Dash on Tokyo Sports

Tetsuya Naito took BUSHI and Hiromu Takahashi to a restaurant to celebrate his three year anniversary of joining Los Ingobernables. Tokyo Sports went along with them to conduct an interview. After the meal, Naito went outside the restaurant to hail a cab, but didn’t return. BUSHI and Takahashi went to check on him and they disappeared too, leaving Tokyo Sports with the tab.

LOS INGOBERNABLES de JAPON

27 de MAYO de 2015.
un día de destino.https://t.co/pAX8TreBnG pic.twitter.com/p4sB4wygwE

— ???? naito tetsuya (@s_d_naito) May 27, 2018

Table manners LIJ style pic.twitter.com/WUq2MAsMAd

— chris charlton (@reasonjp) May 28, 2018

This was a special LIJ anniversary lunch. Naito told his boys to order what they wanted, but at the end went to hail a cab for everyone and mysteriously vanished. BUSHI and Hiromu left to check on him leaving Tokyo Sports with the tab… again.

— chris charlton (@reasonjp) May 28, 2018

What Else Should The B-Team Do For A Victory Celebration?

WWE has put up a poll on their website asking fans what The B Team should do in their victory celebration next.
As of this writing here are the amount of votes that each option got:

• 22% Hit the ref with their signature move and count the pin on him
• 26% Take over commentary for the remainder of the show
• 19% Crash all subsequent backstage interviews
• 33% Declare themselves the new General Managers of Raw and attempt to take over the show

You can vote on the poll by clicking here.

New Japan Pro Wrestling is going to conduct additional training dojo camps throughout the year and the dates have been revealed on their website:

“So far the dojo camps have been a huge success! What are you waiting for? Come and join us!

Here are the dates for the rest of the year.

July 9-11, 2018

July 13-15, 2018

July 17-19, 2018

October 5-7, 2018

December 3-7, 2018”

Mark Your Calendars! NJPW Dojo Camp dates for the rest of 2018 Announced! #njpw #njdojohttps://t.co/dMnu6IdcPJ

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) May 28, 2018

NJPW conducted their first training dojo camp in March 2018 in Los Angeles. Applicants can learn ‘Japanese wrestling techniques’ from pro-wrestlers in the camp.

Early last year, NJPW President Taakaki Kidani, told Tokyo Sports that opening a training center in Los Angeles was part of the promotion’s strategy to expand into the country further.

NJPW star Kenny Omega appears as a character named Cody in the live action trailer for Capcom’s newest trailer showcasing Cody’s moveset in the game Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition.

You can check out the trailer below:

Cody is a character from the Final Fight series which has been now introduced over to Street Fighter since Street Fighter Alpha 3 and Super Street Fighter IV. The character, who is the mayor of Metro City will be available as a DLC (downloadable content) addon.

Kenny Omega plays Cody in the live action part of the trailer who receives a taunting phone call from a voice very familiar…

I wonder who would be taunting Mayor Cody like that??? https://t.co/pL9PmkjWch

— Austin Creed (@AustinCreedWins) May 28, 2018

Never met the guy but by all accounts I’ve heard he was a great dude. Considerably more than what I can say for you, Creed! pic.twitter.com/IpvriFguYE

— Kenny Omega (@KennyOmegamanX) May 28, 2018

WWE Legend Booker T believes that Hulk Hogan deserves a second chance in the WWE and that he would welcome him back despite the N-word fiasco.

“Everybody deserves a second chance,” Booker T told TMZ Sports. “It’s what life is all about.”

Booker T had this very stance on Hogan when talking about him on his Heated Conversations podcast: “The only thing Hogan can do is apologize, atone for it, and we move forward,” Booker said during the episode. “Everyone deserves a second chance that’s just the way I am.”

As noted before, WWE and Hulk Hogan have reportedly been in talks for his return for some time now. Hogan has expressed strong interest in ‘returning home.’

WWE Legend King Kong Bundy appeared on a recent episode of The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast where he discussed a variety of professional wrestling topics. Here are the transcribed highlights from the interview, as provided by TMPT.

Hulk Hogan’s Role In His Career:

“Hulk got me my job in the WWF. I was set to go work for Verne Gagne up in Minneapolis when it was still a viable territory but it was going down hill fast like all of the territories. I was set to go up there and I met Hulk in Japan and he talked me into coming and he called Vince for me and greased the skid there for me to get in there because I’d much rather do that than go to Verne but I always thought you wait until they called you. But meeting Hulk in Japan, he thought we could have good matches together and he helped me with my deal over there (Japan) and he got me in the door over here (WWF) and Hulk was very good to me. People say that Hulk Hogan has changed, I don’t know that because all he did was help me and that is all I can say. Idiots like The Honky Tonk Man that run him down and you know he saved the Honky Tonk Man’s life when he was up in Calgary and Hulk got Vince to bring him in. There are a lot of ingrates in the wrestling business.”

Departing the WWE in 1988:

“Around the beginning of ’89 I was working for a computer company which basically killed my career in the WWE because it ticked Vince off so badly. I was going to take off for a year and it wound up being like five years and I got divorced and I bought a bar and all those things you do that fail miserably [laughing] but it wound up being longer than I thought and I should have gone to WCW when I came back. I had a few matches in ECW and Vince called me and told me he was going to do something with me and that was a total lie. I remember talking to people when I was working for the computer company and not long after I left and I’ll say that I don’t think the two were related to each other but the business was down quite a bit. In ’89 I was talking to a few of the boys and they were telling me how the houses were down and I think there were some hard times there.”

Lack of Characters In Today’s Product:

“I always swore when I was younger that I wasn’t going to be one of these old timers running down the business and with the way it is now it is like John Lennon said: “I cannot be what I am not”. I just think there is no more characters anymore and too many guys seem like they are alike and so similar and I never watch wrestling anymore so I don’t know. I don’t know how good the business is doing right now but I know that they can’t go to Madison Square Garden every month. They used to go to Madison Square Garden and sold it out like a 129 months in row and now with drawing from millions of people you can’t go there once a month? It just seems like the wrestling business should be doing so much better than it is.”

You can check out the podcast by clicking here.

Tonight’s edition of WWE Monday Night RAW takes place from The Coliseum in Richmond, VA.

The episode will feature a Last Chance Women’s Money in the Bank Qualifying Gauntlet Match to qualify for the ladder match at Money in the Bank. We will also be seeing the WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins defend his title against Jinder Mahal, and more.

WWE.com is advertising the following items for the show:

• The Kingslayer defends his title against The Modern Day Maharaja
• Seven Superstars get a Last Chance to be “Money”
• How will Nia Jax respond to Ronda Rousey’s threat?
• Is Braun Strowman destined to become Mr. Money in the Bank?
• What payback does Bobby Lashley have in store for Sami Zayn?

As always, join us here later tonight for our RAW Coverage.

• 11 Takeaways From WWE RAW (5/21)

Mickie James Talks About Her Wrestling and Music Career

WWE Superstar Mickie James was recently interviewed by Fredericksburg.com where she talked about her love for both music and pro-wrestling.

“I’ve always wanted to sing so badly, but I didn’t think it was something that was possible for me. Plus I didn’t think I was good at it. … It was: ‘Do I want music or do I want wrestling?’ I wanted both. I’m good at wrestling and I love it with all my heart. I’ve devoted so much of my life and career to it that I wasn’t ready to let it go. I didn’t want to let music go either because I felt like it allowed me to express a different side of me that people don’t know. Music is so soulful and you’re a bit more vulnerable.”

Enzo Amore Still Teasing Announcement

As noted before, Enzo Amore is going to reveal his future plans in an announcement on Monday and has been teasing it since the past week. Amore is continuing to tease his announcement on Twitter where he will be “breaking” his “social media silence” at the Times Square.

#HowYouDoinNYC pic.twitter.com/90zaIIEn9w

— REAL1 (FKA Enzo Amore) (@real1) May 26, 2018

#HowYouDoinNYC #MemorialDay 9pm…. pic.twitter.com/1d5hsJFp8U

— REAL1 (FKA Enzo Amore) (@real1) May 26, 2018

The Cody Rhodes and Young Bucks’ self-funded “All In” event which sold out in 30 minutes is going to be the biggest show in the independent wrestling scene. Fans of wrestling are looking forward to the event which will take place at September 1. Major names from the wrestling world have been confirmed for the show, but only one big match has been announced and we don’t have a full match card yet.

At the Ring of Honor: United show in London, Cody Rhodes was interrupted by the current NWA World Champion, Nick Aldis. Both of them are set to face each other at All In, but Aldis wanted plans to change a little.

Cody is going to challenge the Ring of Honor World Champion Dalton Castle for his title at ROH Best in the World next month. Aldis wants his match with Cody to be a title for title match if Cody wins the ROH World Championship.

Cody agreed to Aldis’ stipulation of the match and looks like it will be a title for title match at All In if Cody is able to win the ROH World Championship from Dalton Castle.

Jim Ross’ Words of Encouragement to Fan with Cerebral Palsy

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross shared a photo on Twitter of himself with a fan at a meet and greet at the Legends of Wrestling Night event. Ross offered words of encouragement to a young fan who suffers from cerebral palsy and gave advice to the fan who also wants to become a broadcaster.

This young lad has cerebral palsy & he wants to be a broadcaster.
Told him what my Granny told me, “Somebody is gonna do it, Jimmy so why not you?

Exactly! @wv_power pic.twitter.com/sZIpGdqvv5

— Jim Ross (@JRsBBQ) May 26, 2018

The Rock Announces His Own Shoe Line

The Rock is getting his own line of UnderArmour shoes. The shoe, titled Project Rock 1, goes on sale this Monday. According to Sole Collector, the sneakers will feature “A synthetic upper, bootie-construction for a snug fit, Micro G cushioning and nubbed outsole traction. His logo, the famous Brahma Bull, adorns the heel.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjK_FS0lKIc/?taken-by=therock

This MONDAY we drop our new @UnderArmour #ProjectRock1s.
My first signature sneaker series from our CHASE GREATNESS COLLECTION.
Train hard. Stay strong. https://t.co/WoIvsFh07C

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) May 26, 2018

I’ve developed, trained in, broken down and refined this sneaker for over a year now. Highest of quality and durability. Drops THIS MONDAY. #HardestWorkerInTheRoom @UnderArmour #ProjectRock1s https://t.co/M9x8sJup2q

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) May 26, 2018

WWE Hall of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler talked about fans criticizing WWE’s product online on a recent episode of his podcast, Dinner with the King.

According to Lawler, the vast majority of the fans don’t complain about WWE. It is a small amount of vocal people online who “have nothing better to do” and “need to get a life”:

“Everybody does not complain about the current product. It’s not the vast majority either. It’s a small amount of people, a very select few that probably have nothing better to do than live their life on social media and that is really sad; but, those are the people that complain. If you’ve got nothing better to do in your life than spend time, sitting down and typing something out on your phone and getting on social media to complain about a wrestling show, man, you really do need to get a life. To all of those naysayers there, you’ve got to eat your words because whatever they’re doing is definitely working. You can’t knock success, so there you go.”

You can read the extended transcript at eWrestlingNews. You can listen to the podcast here.

‘The King of Strong Style’ has been indeed very strong with his style of wrestling as of late, with AJ Styles receiving devastating low blows from him over the last two months. Even Styles had to retaliate back with the illegal attack to give Nakamura a taste of his own medicine.

Their most recent title bout at WWE Backlash in a no-disqualification match saw Nakamura delivering a low blow on Styles, only for Styles to return the favor. The match ended with both of them simultaneously hitting each other with a groin attack, only to be unable to answer the referee’s count of ten.

The WWE Universe is wondering what is in store in the Last Man Standing Match that’s going to take place at Money in the Bank. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, the rumored ending of the match is going to take almost the same path with both Styles and Nakamura hitting each other with a low blow, but with a twist of Styles wearing a protective cup and getting a win.

AJ Styles is set to defend his WWE Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura in a Last Man Standing Match at Money in the Bank on June 17th.

Former WWE Superstar “The Big Guy” Ryback left the WWE in 2016 and cited frustrations with the creative department as one of the reasons of his departure from the company. Ryback was loved by fans and was doing pretty well until his main-event status was suddenly ended.

Ryback talked about his career in the WWE on the recent episode of his podcast Conversation With The Big Guy. He talked about the early stage of his WWE career and what he would have done differently. According to Ryback, his loss to CM Punk at Hell in a Cell marked a shift in his career and ended his momentum.

“I could have done a million different things. When I first got put into the main event, the first thing they should have done is that I shouldn’t have lost when I did with CM Punk. I should have never been put in that position with the momentum that we had. We had that for about 7, 8 months after that. Or, you avoid putting me into that position altogether and you continue to build me up and letting the process naturally evolve. That was about it. It’s not rocket science. We had lightning in a bottle, and they decided to let it out, and that is all there is to it,” Ryback said. “That could be recaptured in the right situation again, but you have to have both sides going for the same goal. If they’re not, then s**t happens. Everything was great, and there were good moments from that run, but anybody that knows anything about pro wrestling knows that it was all by design. It is what it is, it was a great learning experience, but who the f**k cares. It’s all fake anyways.”

Ryback also talked about fans who take WWE too seriously. He believes that the company does what is needed to be done and the fans shouldn’t focus too much on a decision taken by the company.

“I only think there is an outrage with a small percentage online where everyone migrates towards each other. The noise gets louder because they are all talking to each other, and are screaming to be heard. You aren’t going to please everybody. There are trillions of people on the planet. They have a product, and are making money obviously,” Ryback said. “They have a system that they have in place where they want an emphasis on the brand and not on an individual superstar. They know what exactly they are doing. When people are hot and cold, they know what they are doing and when they are doing it and know why they are doing it. They have an exact system in place. The brand makes money and you are never going to please everybody anyways. Even when they go in a direction where they put the championship on AJ Styles, you are going to have people that are going to be pissed off. They would say that Nakamura should be champion, etc. There’s always going to be people that are going to be outraged no matter what they do.

You can check out the podcast by clicking here. Quotes via WrestlingInc.

– As for Shane McMahon’s WWE return, it was noted that after a successful hernia surgery Shane McMahon will be back in shape to wrestle around WWE Summerslam.

• Update On When Randy Orton Will Be Back From Knee Surgery

– The match between Samoa Joe and Big Cass this week on SmackDown Live is speculated to be a short one to sell Cass’ work leg injury.

On the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that Joe will emerge the winner with the match being very short in length. The reason given was that Cass has been selling his injury given by Daniel Bryan even in house shows this week, meaning that it is very likely that he would continue to appear limping on SmackDown.

The Rock On Which Era Of Wrestling Is His Favorite

The Rock revealed which era of wrestling he likes the most while responding to a video on Twitter of The Iron Sheik throwing a fireball at the referee in a match against Jackie Fargo from the ’70s. The Rock said that the tension and energy was different across the country during that time when the fans believed pro-wrestling was real.

https://twitter.com/HistoryofWrest/status/998018418942103553

You can actual FEEL the tension and energy in the arenas across the country in the 70’s during matches like this when a large majority of fans believed the business was real. Very special and unique time in the biz. My favorite era in pro wrestling – 1970’s

— Dwayne Johnson (@TheRock) May 20, 2018

Mickey James’ Theme Song

WWE Music has released the entrance theme song of Mickie James titled Obsession. It should be noted that this song is composed by Jim Johnston and is more than ten years old.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BIRJ_y0w2k

Former WCW President Eric Bischoff on the first episode of his new podcast 83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff, discussed a number of topics from his time in the WCW. During the podcast, Bischoff revealed which stars got paid more than WCW’s top stars Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.

“It was never a thing with me. We had a budget in place that had been approved the year before by Turner Broadcasting Finance Committee, so I knew the parameters that I had to work with. I knew that politically, from a locker room prospective, I knew that there was no way that I can bring these new guys in and make more money than Ric Flair,” Bischoff said. “Nor did I wanted to put them at the level, even if Ric Flair hadn’t been there, I didn’t want to pay them at Sting’s rate. Sting was the highest paid guy. We were all comfortable with that, the rest of the talent was comfortable with that, but I never used it as a barometer publicly. I knew that within my budget, and Sting being the highest paid guy, along with Ric Flair and a few below him, again, the questions that I did have with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, especially with Kevin because I talked with him more based on our previous relationship with him.”

Even though Nash and Hall were not the highest paid guys in the company, it worked for them because they didn’t have to work as much as they did in WWE. They had fewer dates and an easier schedule.

“Kevin made it clear to me, we put a maximum of 180 dates, WWE was at 250, we may be splitting hairs to a degree, but it wasn’t half the dates. It may have felt that way to Scott and Kevin, but we had a maximum of 180 dates, we never hit the maximum dates, it was around 125-130 dates a year, so it was definitely a lot less of a load than what they were used to,” Bischoff said. “Kevin was expecting his very first child at that time, and in WWE he would have been on the road, add the travel that they worked along with the front and back end of traveling back home and leaving again they were probably gone 300 days a year, so it was a much lighter load. Add the income from pay-per-views, house shows, and all the profit shares, they were probably making $500,000 or more, but they had to work hard to get it, but they both expressed to me, especially with Kevin, it was much of a lifestyle consideration as it was a financial one.”

You can check out the podcast here. Quotes by WrestlingInc.

Tonight’s edition of WWE Monday Night Raw takes place from Albany, NY at the Times Union Center. We are less than four weeks out from Money in the Bank.

Raw show will feature yet another Open Challenge from the WWE Intercontinental Champion Seth Rollins for his title, as well as segments featuring Sami Zayn who will take the help of Bobby Lashley’s sisters to “expose” him and a confrontation between WWE RAW Women’s Champion Nia Jax and Ronda Rousey.

WWE.com is advertising the following items for the show:

• How will Sami Zayn “expose” Bobby Lashley?
• Will The Big Dog’s rampage continue?
• Which Raw Superstars will join the Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match?
• How will Raw’s male Superstars gain “Money” momentum?
• Who will be next to challenge Seth Rollins?
• Nia Jax prepares to face The Baddest Woman on the Planet

Immediately after RAW goes off the air, a new episode of Table For 3 will premiere on the WWE Network featuring Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Edge and Christian.

As always, join us here later tonight for our RAW Coverage.

• 11 Takeaways From WWE RAW (5/14)

Former WWE SmackDown Women’s Champion Becky Lynch was a guest on the recent episode of the Chasing Glory with Lilian Garcia podcast, where she discussed a number of things. Becky talked about her friendship with Charlotte Flair, her career in the WWE, being a part of the first women’s MITB and Royal Rumble and more. You can check out the highlights from the interview below. Transcription H/T: WrestlingInc.

Now that Charlotte and Becky are on the same brand again, they are travelling and doing other things together. Lynch discusses how enjoyable it is for her to travel with her best friend again.

“It’s awesome. You know when you are traveling, you are traveling with somebody who has the same schedule and likes doing the same things. Goes to the same gym, eats at the same food places and things like that,” Lynch said. “That is one thing that makes the traveling more convenient, but also someone you can vent to all the time, or stay up with. It just makes the road life that much easier.”

Lynch was a part of the historic women’s ‘firsts’ matches last year. She says she enjoyed being a part of them but she also admits that 2017 was a very slow year for her career.

“I mean, this year has been a mixed bag because I did a lot of great things,” she said. “I achieved a lot of the goals I had set out for myself. I moved to Los Angeles, California, which I love. I got to be the lead female in Marine 6. I did some stuff with Nickelodeon, and of course we got to do the first and second ever Women’s Money in the Bank Ladder Match. We’ve had the first ever Women’s Royal Rumble and Women’s WrestleMania Battle Royal, so there’s some great points there.

“Being somebody who is ambitious and complacent,” she continued, “I know I won’t look at 2017 as my most successful year. I wasn’t on television and featured in storylines as much as I would like to be, but of course that sets you up for the following year where we say to ourselves, ‘Okay, that may not be what I wanted, but how can we kick down the door and makes sure that 2018 is going to be better and bigger?'”

You can check out the full episode of the podcast here.

Ring of Honor wrestling has announced on their website that the main event in War of the Worlds: Chicago will feature a match between the teams of Los Ingobernables de Japon’s Tetsuya Naito, Seiya SANADA, EVIL, BUSHI, and Hiromu Takahashi going against Bullet Club’s Cody Rhodes, Marty Scurll, Adam Page and The Young Bucks.

The announcement issued states:

PWG’s Battle of Los Angeles Dates Announced

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla has announced the dates for the 2018 Battle of Los Angeles event. The event will be held from September 14 to 16 at the Globe Theater in Los Angeles, California. You can check out the announcement on their Twitter below:

The 2018 Battle of Los Angeles takes place on September 14th/15th/16th at Globe Theatre!

— PWG (@OfficialPWG) May 3, 2018

Seth Rollins Poll: Who Should Seth Rollins Face Next For The Intercontinental Championship?

WWE has a poll up on their website asking the WWE Universe who they think should challenge Intercontinental Champion Seth Rolllins.

Bobby Lashley is leading the poll with 20% votes, followed closely by “The Monster Among Men” at 20%, with Elias and Bobby Roode at 17 and 13 respectively. Other names in the list that are below 10% are: Roman Reigns and Sami Zayn both with 9%, Kevin Owens coming in at 7%, and Jinder Mahal getting 3% as the lowest votes out of the bunch.

Baron Corbin On Trolls

Baron Corbin has posted a photo of his Ferrari with the caption “How much do you make for your twitter opinions again? #eod”, taking a shot at internet trolls who Baron engages in contact with regularly:

How much do you make for your twitter opinions again? #eod pic.twitter.com/RT2gFUzIcK

— Tom (@TomPestock) May 3, 2018

WWE Hall of Famer Ricky Steamboat recently spoke with our friend Raj Giri of WrestlingInc to promote his appearance at PCW ULTRA’s May The 4th Be With You event from Wilmington, California.

Steamboat discusses his legendary WrestleMania 3 match with Randy Savage, how influential it was, how the match was put together as well as the one thing he would change in the match. He also discussed what today’s wrestlers seem to be missing in the ring. Here are the highlights:

Not expecting how influential match with Randy Savage would become:

“I did know [about winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 3], yes. I was told by Vince [McMahon]. Of course, it’s very rewarding, but truth be told, Randy and I never knew that it was going to escalate the way it has over the years and still be talked about 31 years later. We wanted to actually just steal the show that night.”

Working with Randy Savage for the first time:

“Randy and I never really got to work [prior to WrestleMania 3]. The first time was when we hooked up at WrestleMania, so we didn’t have a chance to have a bunch of matches under our belt to get ready for the big show and try some stuff. Everything that was put together for the match was strictly based on our gut feeling on the story we were trying to tell. We tried to make it a championship match and that’s the bottom line.”

How they got around to putting the match together:

“I didn’t realize it then, it was only later, that with the number of guys coming up and talking about the match, and I’m going back years later, and how we kind of changed the blueprint of how you put together a match because of all the false finishes in that match. And the false finishes to me is what made it a championship match. He’s trying to hold onto the belt and I’m trying to win it from him. I think if my memory serves me, we had 21 false finishes in a match that went about 17 minutes.

The hard part is when you’re caught up in all the action, all the drama, and the story that you’re trying to tell, is trying to remember 21 false finishes in the sequence that it was laid out. I was really stressed out before that match. I kept going through the match and all of the false finishes over and over and over in my mind, but, God, that was hard to do because customarily you would understand back then, a lot of the matches, we called it in the ring.

Nothing was really set up from A to Z like this one. We took notes on a legal pad, a yellow legal pad, and, God, I can’t remember how many steps we had, but once we got the match down, I’ll give you an example, at night, I would get with Randy and say, ‘okay, number 32 is this, this, and this. Tell me the rest of the match.’ And he would go, ‘number 33 is this, this, and this. 34 is…’ and we would quiz each other back and forth, back and forth, just so we would have it.”

What he would add to the match:

“If I was to add something to that match, it would have been this one moment to which I would have come off the top rope with my dive, which was my finish and I would have had a 1-2 count and Randy kick out just so the fans could have a little curve ball thrown in there. Back then, you never really prostituted your finish, but I think it would have fit. It would’ve worked. You see it sometimes in the main events today, a guy’s finish, especially with two top guys, and the other guy kick out only later on in the match to be caught in the finish again and for it to work.”

What today’s performers are missing:

“What I see lacking is two guys hooking up in the locker room and going over their match and lining things up, but what’s missing is being able to tell a story. Every match should have a story in it and I see a lot of that lacking. I see a lot of guys doing a lot of good stuff, and I call it stuff, filling in the blanks in their match, but the stuff doesn’t tie in. It’s not related. The phrase that I use a lot is you’ve got to connect the dots and keep connecting them up to the finish. And a lot of guys out there are doing stuff just for the sake of doing stuff.

And I say, ‘a lot of you guys are throwing away moments.’ I see a guy crashing through two tables and 15 seconds later they’re running around chasing each other and I said, ‘oh my God, you just crashed through two tables! What are the fans thinking when 15 seconds later, you’re in the ring chasing each other?’”

You can check out the interview on WrestlingInc by clicking here.