SEScoops

Author: Rayan Sayyed

  • WWE Releases Tribute Video For Scott Hall

    WWE Releases Tribute Video For Scott Hall

    The wrestling world lost one of the most influential people in the business as Scott Hall, also known as “Razor Ramon”, unfortunately passed away on March 14.

    Hall was hospitalized this month after he broke his hip from a fall. He underwent hip replacement surgery and a blood clot was dislodged, which led to him suffering three heart attacks. He was then put on life support. On Monday afternoon, he was taken off life support and WWE announced his passing later that day.

    The company shared a touching tribute video on Monday Night Raw dedicated to the “Bad Guy.”

    “The WWE family will forever remember Scott Hall as a gifted entertainer and 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, a loving father and a dear friend,” a post shared on WWE’s Twitter account reads.

    “The WWE family is saddened by the passing of Scott Hall, the man who proved it’s good to be the ‘Bad Guy,’” the video starts with the narration.

    The video highlights the quick impact that Razor Ramon made upon his debut in the WWE in 1992. Triple H, Kevin Nash, and Hulk Hogan recount how Hall made it cool to be the bad guy with his Razor Ramon persona.

    The video also touches on his legacy as one of the greatest Intercontinental Champions, and how he helped revolutionize sports entertainment with his stint with the nWo. Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Sean Waltman recall that Hall was the pioneer in bringing something to sports entertainment that felt special and real.

    The video aptly concludes with part of Razor Ramon’s Induction speech at the 2014 Hall of Fame: “Hard work pays off, dreams come true. Bad times don’t last, but bad guys do.” Ramon will always be one of the coolest guys to ever step in the ring, and his sheer swagger will continue to inspire many to be the cool bad guys.

  • William Regal Offered a Role at Impact Wrestling

    William Regal Offered a Role at Impact Wrestling

    Barely a week into the new year, William Regal was released from his WWE contract back on January 5, including several other members of NXT such as producers, writers, and office staff. This brought an end to Regal’s 22-year run with the company.

    While we don’t know if Regal has a 90-day non-compete clause that active wrestlers have when they’re released. We don’t know where Regal may end up in the future but he already has an offer on the table for him. On Thursday’s Busted Open Radio, Tommy Dreamer revealed that he offered a spot to William Regal in Impact Wrestling.

    “If you look at management, and you look at, let’s say, the New York Giants, their G.M. is retiring, and then there goes the head coach that he picked,” Dreamer said regarding Regal’s release.

    “There goes everyone associated with that person. Triple H is no longer in charge, and everyone associated with him is gone. The only guy who’s remained is Shawn (Michaels), but Shawn was a Vince guy before he was a Triple H guy. Regal, the moment I heard (he was let go), I shot him a text and said, ‘If you want to be a commentator at Impact or if you want to be a General Manager figure, just let me know.’ He will have something when he chooses to.”

    Regal’s WWE Release

    WWE sent out a statement to select media members explaining the releases, stating, “With the continued evolution of NXT 2.0, we’ve decided to part ways with some of the staff based in our Performance Center. We thank them for their many contributions throughout the years and wish them the best.”

    Wrestling fans celebrate Regal’s technical style of wrestling, as well as his on-screen role as general manager of NXT which he began in July 2014. Inside the ring, he was two-time Intercontinental Champion, a five-time Hardcore Champion, a four-time European Champion, a four-time World Tag Team Champion, and the winner of the King of the Ring tournament in 2008. Regal made his first comments regarding his release from WWE, thanking the company.

    “Thank you to @WWE for a wonderful 21 year run. You gave a lad who was happy and in wonderland wrestling on a carnival have a charmed life for 21 years. No complaints and please no one waste time replying as I won’t have a bad work said against the company. I will add that @WWE  saved my life in 1999 when they didn’t need to, kept my family fed and took me all around the world. You have my gratitude forever. You allowed me to live a charmed life.”

    H/T to WrestlingNews.co for the transcribed quote

  • New Ring of Honor Champion Crowned on Impact Wrestling

    New Ring of Honor Champion Crowned on Impact Wrestling

    Deonna Purrazzo has become a double champion once again on last night’s Impact Wrestling.

    “The Virtuosa” who is also the AAA Reina de Reinas Champion, faced Ring of Honor Women’s World Champion Rok-C. The match was a title vs. title match, with Purrazzo putting her Reina de Reinas Championship on the line against Rok-C.

    The match was impressive and physical, and it ended when Deonna Purrazzo forced Rok-C to submit by applying the Venus de Milo armbar. Purrazzo had just participated in a Texas Death Match at Hard To Kill, where her opponent, Mickie James, defeated her. Purrazzo still performed impressively on Impact Wrestling after the brutal match.

    Related: Deonna Purrazzo on Mickie James Royal Rumble Announcement

    Purrazzo’s after-match celebrations didn’t last long as Maria Kanellis along with a group of other ROH talent confronted her. Kanellis let the new champion know that she will take her titles. Help arrived from Impact but the ROH talent laid waste to them as Purrazzo got out of the ring as the battle began.

    Deonna Purrazzo is a two-time Impact Knockouts Champion, however, this is her first ROH title reign. She dropped the Knockouts title to Mickie James at Bound for Glory in October and as previously mentioned, was unsuccessful in winning it back at Hard To Kill on Saturday.

    Rok-C held the title for 119 days after winning it in a 15-woman single-elimination tournament Death Before Dishonor XVIII to become the inaugural champion.

  • Josh Woods Says Matt Bloom Warned Him To Not Hurt Daniel Bryan

    Josh Woods Says Matt Bloom Warned Him To Not Hurt Daniel Bryan

    Current ROH Pure Champion Josh Woods signed a contract with WWE at the end of 2014 and trained at the WWE Performance Center. He appeared on a few episodes participating in battle royals and on house shows. He was released in 2016 from the company. During his time in the black-and-yellow brand, he found out that he was going to train with Daniel Bryan, who was making his return at the time.

    Woods was told by Coach Matt Bloom that he’d be fired if he hurt Daniel Bryan by injuring him. Speaking to Inside the Ropes, Woods recalled the intense moment:

    “When I was in NXT, Bryan was coming back from a neck injury and they do a lot of rehab for the WWE guys there and he was coming in and rolling around,” Woods stated. “I don’t remember how this conversation got started, but Matt Bloom was the coach or my coach at the time, and I was like, Yeah, I’ll get in and I’ll go with them as I have like a jujitsu background because Bryan’s a really big jujitsu guy and he’s pretty good.

    “So I’m like, all right, cool. Yeah, I’m taking my shoes off because you don’t wear shoes and like, this fricking awesome and Matt goes, hey, man, he’s coming off a neck injury. If you hurt him, you’re fired. I’m just like, I don’t want to get in there anymore because I’m scared because like, I’m a little bit bigger than Brian. I’m like, Oh s***, this is Bryan Danielson. Like, Well, oh god, I’m like, s***. It’s like, I get in there and it was pretty cool and It was so fun.”

    Woods also stated that he it is not impossible for him to defend his ROH Pure title against Bryan Danielson in AEW.

  • Kurt Angle Says He Was Going To Be WWE’s First Undisputed Champion

    Kurt Angle Says He Was Going To Be WWE’s First Undisputed Champion

    After WWE purchased WCW, they took their former rival company’s unbranded “World Championship” and unified it with the then WWF Championship at Vengeance in 2001. Chris Jericho became the first Undisputed WWE Champion (also the first undisputed champion in over 50 years of wrestling, in general). One of the competitors he beat to achieve this feat was Kurt Angle, who was unable to win the match. It turns out that if plans hadn’t been changed then Angle would have made history instead by becoming the first Undisputed WWE Champion.

    On a recent episode of The Kurt Angle Show, the Hall of Famer discussed the tournament that took place featuring himself, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, and Chris Jericho to unify the championships. According to Angle, Jericho was never planned to win the title. Instead, it was Angle who was supposed to win the championship.

    Conrad asked Angle if he knew about the plans on the day of the show or if he had a good idea that he’s not going to win on the way to San Diego (where Vengeance 2001 took place).

    “Well, the first thing was, you know, the week before the pay per view, I was still supposed to be Undisputed Champion. Vince McMahon had me pinned as the Undisputed Champion and wanted me to win the two titles. Vince came to me at the week prior to the pay-per-view and said ‘Listen, is it okay if I give it to Jericho ’cause I want to start pushing Jericho and I think this would be great for him.’ I said ‘No Vince, you should do that. I think Jericho needs it and it’s a great opportunity for him.’ So I was supposed to win the Undisputed Championship but Vince McMahon changed it at the last second and gave it to Jericho.”

    During the four-man tournament, Jericho would go on to win against The Rock and then Steve Austin in the final to win both the titles and becoming the first wrestler in history to unify the championships.

    Read more: Kurt Angle On Not Signing With AEW: “I’m A WWE Guy”

  • Bella Twins Reveal Custom Divas Championship Belt

    Bella Twins Reveal Custom Divas Championship Belt

    The Bella Twins have both captured the WWE Divas Championship during their career in the company. Brie Bella captured the championship once in her career and Nikki Bella has two reigns to her name. While WWE didn’t do make any custom changes to the title for the champion holding it, the Bella Twins have decided to look back on their days as champions and have made a custom title for themselves.

    In a video uploaded on their YouTube channel The Bella Twins, the twins unbox their custom Divas Championship belts which are red in color instead of the signature pink. Brie’s title had “Brie Mode” printed on it while Nikki had “Fearless 02” printed on the left side of the belt.

    “Honestly, if we embark for one more run, I think I would have to replace the Raw Women’s Championship, the SmackDown Women’s Championship or the Women’s Tag Team Championships with this,” Nikki said. “Ooh, how much would people hate us?” questioned Brie. The twins added that the belts are available to purchase from WWE’s online store.

    Brie Bella won the Divas title from Eve Torres in April 2011. Two months later in June, she would drop the title to Kelly Kelly on an episode of Raw. She would only hold the title for one reign of 70 days.

    Nikki Bella would then win the title in April 2012 by defeating Beth Phoenix in a lumberjill match on Raw. This would be the first time Nikki would win the title. The title reign didn’t amount to much, however, as she would lose the belt at Extreme Rules six days later to Layla, who had just made a return at the time.

    Nikki would hold the title again at Survivor Series 2014 from AJ Lee and this time she would hold the title for 301 days, becoming the longest-reigning Divas Champion of all time.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg7YxYB1n5Q

  • JBL Reveals Vince McMahon Asked Him About John Cena’s Potential As Top Star

    JBL Reveals Vince McMahon Asked Him About John Cena’s Potential As Top Star

    John Cena is a name synonymous with WWE. He was the franchise player for the wrestling company. There are only a few names in the industry who can evoke such strong emotions and reactions from the crowd as Cena did. He has tied Ric Flair’s record for most world championships reigns at 16. He served as the company’s top stars for more than a decade. However, before taking on the superman gimmick in the company, Cena still had to gain the trust of the company to fully believe in him.

    Before using his popular The Doctor of Thuganomics gimmick, John Cena was about to be let go by the company. WWE Hall of Famer JBL said in a recent interview that Vince McMahon personally asked about his first impressions of Cena and whether he thinks Cena has potential to be in the main event scene.

    “There weren’t a ton of believers in Cena,” Layfield said while appearing on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast (via Sportskeeda). “I don’t think there were un-believers. But Vince asked me one day, he said, ‘How is he?’ I said, ‘He’s your guy, man.’ Vince said, ‘He’s that good?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’”

    “It’s a different dynamic going from, say, eight minutes to going to 30 minutes,” JBL added. “Now, I think he had done it with Kurt Angle too, obviously one of the greatest of all time. But when I first got out there with him, some guys never make that transition. It’s hard.”

    John Cena has transitioned to Hollywood as a successful actor and wrestles sporadically. Most recently, he made a brief return to the WWE, where he challenged Roman Reigns for his WWE Universal Championship at SummerSlam. He was unsuccessful in capturing the title. Cena was asked at the Florida Supercon back in September if we would ever see him wrestle in another company. Cena reiterated pro wrestling’s famous “never say never” philosophy. Though he added that he is certain it would never happen.

    “There’s a whole like ‘never say never’ philosophy and I’m also that way in life because you never know what life will bring you. But, I can with certainty say no.”

  • Becky Lynch Gets Pinned In Dark Match On SmackDown

    Becky Lynch Gets Pinned In Dark Match On SmackDown

    This week’s WWE SmackDown saw some special appearances including Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch. While she didn’t compete on broadcast, she did get in the ring after the cameras were off.

    Becky Lynch participated in a fatal four-way match that featured SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Bianca Belair, who is also from Raw.

    Fans captured the dark match and from the footage it can be seen that Sasha Banks pinned Becky Lynch, much to the fans’ delight. It’s also interesting to note that Lynch was last pinned on television by Banks too, on the October 15 edition of SmackDown.

    Meanwhile on the main show, Banks offered advice to Toni Storm in a backstage segment after she picked up a victory against Charlotte Flair in a contender match. Storm was awarded the win by disqualification as Flair wouldn’t stop attacking her. This effectively made her the number one contender for the title.

    Lynch, on the other hand, may be facing Liv Morgan to defend her Raw Women’s Championship in a rematch. We saw Lynch using ropes for advantage while rolling up Morgan for the win on this week’s Raw. Of course, the referee didn’t notice this illegal move, so it is likely that we’d see a rematch to settle things fairly.

    Morgan recently got in hot water for a promo on the 29 November edition of Raw. During the promo, Morgan said, “You’re the reason why your friend is gone, just like the reason why your big, fat greedy contract is the reason why my friends are gone.” 

    She explained her stance in an interview and said she’s not apologetic. “…Becky brought up my friends. She’s brought up my friends not being here,” said Morgan. She continued, “… After my segment aired, I got texted from my friends saying how proud they were and how amazing they thought it was. I don’t think there were hard feelings, kind of anywhere around. I know I’m kind of addressing something that may feel like an elephant in the room or maybe taboo, but these are things that are happening. You know, and I don’t think I said anything wrong.”

  • Xia Li Makes Debut Against Sonya Deville On SmackDown

    Xia Li Makes Debut Against Sonya Deville On SmackDown

    Xia Li has finally made her main roster debut. During last night’s episode of SmackDown, we saw WWE SmackDown co-general manager Sonya Deville and Naomi come face to face in the ring for a match. Deville, however, revealed that Natalya was the special guest announcer for the match, along with Shayna Baszler who would serve as the special timekeeper. Naomi went to work on Baszler and Natalya to get them out of the way before focusing on Deville one on one.

    While Deville got away and helped Natalya and Baszler up on their feet to attack Naomi, a new entrance music blared through the arena, with the newest SmackDown superstar Xia Li coming out to the ramp.

    Related: Xia Li Praises Sasha Banks For Welcoming Her To WWE Family

    Xia Li’s new music suited her persona and the entrance seemed pretty cool. She removed her headgear on the entranceway, and performed several moves while carrying two blades. The entrance looked unique as lightning and other special effects were added while she was doing the moves.

    Xia Li got in the ring after wrapping up her entrance and faced off with Naomi as everybody in the ring was unsure of what was coming. Li then helped Naomi throw out Natalya as a brawl broke out in the ring. Pretty soon, they cleared the ring together.

    Naomi faced off with Deville, who turned around and faced Li. She then turned back to Naomi and ducked a punch, only to get hit with a roundhouse kick by Li that put her down. Deville then ate a split-legged moonsault off the top rope but Baszler and Natalya pulled Deville out of harm’s way. Naomi and Li stayed in the ring and bowed to show respect to each other and ended the segment.

    Xia Li has been part of WWE and its NXT roster since 2017, and she made her in-ring debut during the inaugural Mae Young Classic Tournament. Li is also the first Chinese woman to compete in a WWE ring.

  • Shinsuke Nakamura Wants To Wrestle More With Roman Reigns

    Shinsuke Nakamura Wants To Wrestle More With Roman Reigns

    Shinsuke Nakamura wants to face Roman Reigns in the ring more and hopes to have an entire program with him.

    The Intercontinental Champion Nakamura is set to face Universal Champion Reigns at WWE’s Tribute to the Troops show which is set to air on November 14 (Spoilers here).

    Nakamura says that he’s hoping that he gets to wrestle Reigns more and eventually have a feud with him in the future.

    Speaking to Sports Illustrated, Nakamura said that he needs a full storyline between himself and Reigns. He praised Reigns and said that he’s a luminary in wrestling, placing him alongside Hiroshi Tanahashi.

    “This is a match for a special show,” Nakamura said. “After this, we need a full story between myself and Roman Reigns. Roman has a real responsibility for WWE and professional wrestling, and a responsibility to his bloodline to be the best professional wrestler,” Shinsuke Nakamura said.

    “He is one of the best in the world. But I need to get the WWE world title. I need to prove I’m better than him. Roman has that fighting spirit. I want to wrestle him more, and that includes Rick Boogs vs. Paul Heyman.”

    Shinsuke also talked about performing at Tribute to the Troops and how much of an honor it is for him. He said that especially as a Japanese person, he is honored to pay respect for everyone’s sacrifices and that he is happy to see respect for all races even even though Japan and United States fought each other a long time ago.

    A storyline between the Intercontinental Champion and Universal Champion would be great to watch if executed properly. Will you want the two to feud with each other? Let us know in the comments.

  • Buddy Matthews Reveals Shinsuke Nakamura’s Eye-Opening Advice

    Buddy Matthews Reveals Shinsuke Nakamura’s Eye-Opening Advice

    Buddy Matthews revealed advice he received from Shinsuke Nakamura that opened his eyes.

    Matthews said that this particular piece of advice from Nakamura helped him set himself apart and have something unique about him.

    Speaking to Forbes, Matthews revealed the reason why he chose his ring attire for himself. Nakamura once talked to him about how casual fans perceive the product and the wrestlers need to differentiate themselves from the rest so that casual fans attending the shows can remember them.

    That is why Matthews sports a unique ring gear featuring ripped-up shorts. This helps him distinguish himself with fans who aren’t that familiar with the product.

    “I remember talking with Shinsuke Nakamura and he brought up a very good point that opened my eyes to it,” said Matthews. “He said when you have a casual fan and families that come to these events and watch us—especially a casual fan—they’re not going to remember our names. Because they’re not familiar with the product. They’re just there to follow their family, they enjoyed the show, hopefully, and then on the drive home they generally kind of recap the show.”

    Matthews continued, “So Shin said they’re not going to remember his name. ‘Shinsuke Nakamura’ isn’t the easiest name to come off the tongue, but they can also describe him as something: ‘the guy who wears all red.’ And that kind of triggered something with me. ‘Okay, so what’s my description word to a casual fan when he’s driving his family home from an event? The guy in the ripped-up shorts.’ No action figure has had torn shorts before. So it was just all about having something unique to myself.”

    This is the reason why Matthews stuck to his unique ring gear and sure enough, it helps him look unique because of that.

    Matthews will be sharing the ring with Kazuchika Okada for his NJPW debut at NJPW Battle In The Valley this Saturday (Nov. 13). He discussed the magnitude of facing Okada and how he’s preparing for the match.

  • Charlie Haas Gets In Great Shape, Challenges Chris Jericho

    Charlie Haas Gets In Great Shape, Challenges Chris Jericho

    Charlie Haas, who worked in WWE from 2000 to 2009, has come back with an amazing body transformation. He got in great shape and posted his new physique on social media. Interestingly enough, he also issued a challenge to AEW star Chris Jericho.

    Haas called out Jericho in the caption of the post and used the hashtag “#JerichoFearsHaas” as well. He wrote, “It’s over when I say it’s over. To those that support me thank you, To the Haters, thank you. I love to prove you wrong. I’ve worked to hard. I’ve wrestled all over the world, I’ve wrestled the best that there is, in this era. I have never wrestled the GOAT. @Iamjericho. I want to see where I fall, or I may just want to see how Great I Am. @charliehaas @thehaaspod#JerichoFearsHaas.”

    Back in December 2020, he got fans concerned as he lost a lot of weight and looked almost unrecognizable. Fans are now congratulating him online for making positive changes in his life and getting back into shape.

    Charlie Haas is best known for his run in the WWE as part of a tag team with Shelton Benjamin in December 2002 on SmackDown. They won the WWE Tag Team Championship twice, and called themselves “The World’s Greatest Tag Team.” The duo split in 2004. He would win the Tag Team Championship one more time with Rico.

    Haas would move to singles competition before his release from WWE in 2005. After wrestling in the independent circuit, he would be re-signed to WWE in April 2006. Haas and Benjamin would reform the World’s Greatest Tag Team. However, Benjamin would be moved to the ECW brand and Haas got stuck doing gimmicks like a comical luchador, and a Hall of Fame wrestlers impersonator. He would be released in February 2010.

    It would be interesting to see what comes out of Charlie Haas challenging Chris Jericho. Jericho still hasn’t responded, but it would surely be fun to see the two square off in the ring.

  • Becky Lynch Says She’s Open To Pursuing Hollywood Career

    Becky Lynch Says She’s Open To Pursuing Hollywood Career

    Becky Lynch is interested in working in the Hollywood industry after leaving WWE.

    This week, Lynch went viral after some fans thought that she was spotted on the set of Marvel’s upcoming film, Black Panther. It was another female actor on set that reminded some of Lynch, but the rumor spread like wildfire and reached Lynch herself. She had an amusing reaction to the rumor, and responded with a meme on Twitter:

    Lynch, however, does seem interested in working in films. In an interview with The Independent, Lynch said that she loves performing and after WWE she would be open to acting.

    “Performing is what I love to do. Right now I love what I’m doing. I love this business, where I’m at, this challenge. I love putting little nuances into what I’m doing,” Lynch said. “I studied theatre, that’s what I got my degree in. That is something I would love to do when the wheels fall off. Just performing, being involved in entertainment, in general, is what I love and honestly, it’s the only thing I’m really good at.”

    Lynch also revealed that she asked The Rock and John Cena for advice about transitioning into Hollywood.

    “They are just so generous with their time. If ever I have a question or issue or worry, or something to run past them, they are so open and generous and there to help me out,” Lynch said. “When you’re at that level, when you’re that busy and you still check on the generation coming through, what incredible human beings they are.”

  • Changes Made To Survivor Series Teams

    Changes Made To Survivor Series Teams

    Survivor Series is coming up ahead, and changes have been made as two sports on Team SmackDown have opened up following last night’s episode of SmackDown.

    This update comes following Aliyah and Sami Zayn’s removal from their Survivor Series teams last night on SmackDown. Aliyah got removed from the women’s team by Sonya Deville, and Zayn’s ejection came following a loss to Jeff Hardy. For now, we do not know who will take up their spots in the team.

    Aliyah teamed up with Sasha Banks and Naomi to defeat Shotzi, Natalya and Shayna Baszler in a six-woman match. Aliyah got the win for the team when Naomi helped her reverse the Sharpshooter into a pin. Backstage, Deville approached Aliyah and said that she has been removed from the team. While we don’t know why this decision was taken, it probably has something to do with Deville being involved in a feud with Naomi.

    On the men’s side, Zayn went to Adam Pearce to convince him to remove Hardy from Team SmackDown. Pearce instead booked them in a match with the loser getting removed from the team. Zayn tried to cheat and pick up a victory to keep his spot but Hardy defeated him via pinfall after hitting him with a Twist of Fate followed by a Swanton Bomb.

    We don’t know who will get the final spots on Team SmackDown for Survivor Series. The event will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on Sunday, November 21.

    Updated WWE Survivor Series Card

    WWE Champion Big E vs. Universal Champion Roman Reigns – Champion vs. Champion Match

    Raw Women’s Champion Becky Lynch vs. SmackDown Women’s Champion Charlotte Flair – Champion vs. Champion Match

    Team Raw (Seth Rollins, Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, Rey Mysterio, and Bobby Lashley) vs. Team SmackDown (Drew McIntyre, Jeff Hardy, Xavier Woods, Baron Corbin, and TBA) – Men’s Elimination Tag Team Match

    Team SmackDown (Sasha Banks, Shayna Bazler, Shotzi Blackheart, Natalya, and TBA) vs. Team Raw (Bianca Belair, Rhea Ripley, Liv Morgan, Carmella, and Zelina Vega) – Women’s Elimination Tag Team Match

  • Beth Phoenix Pitched Storyline to Play Brock Lesnar’s Sister

    Beth Phoenix Pitched Storyline to Play Brock Lesnar’s Sister

    Brock Lesnar is known as “The Beast” in WWE and for good reason. He is exceptionally strong and burly, and has been a force to be reckoned with. While he performed mostly as a singles wrestler, having a female counterpart to him could be a very interesting idea if the execution is done properly. Beth Phoenix had this exact same idea but it never came to fruition.

    The WWE Hall of Famer recently revealed that she pitched an interesting idea to producer Michael Hayes during her time with the WWE as an extra. She wanted to play the role of Brock Lesnar’s sister. She even came up with a detailed storyline on how she could be brought in as Lesnar’s sister.

    “Fun Fact: At one of my first gigs as a @WWE extra I pitched a detailed storyline to Michael Hayes to be brought in as Brock Lesnar’s sister. I had ZERO CHILL,” Beth Phoenix wrote on Twitter.

    Beth Phoenix joined WWE’s developmental territory OVW in 2004. This is the same year Lesnar left the WWE to join the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (but was cut from the team pre-season). Phoenix would work in OVW till 2006, and she would make her debut on the WWE main roster in the same year. During this time, things between Brock Lesnar and WWE were strained which could be the reason why didn’t want a female counterpart of him.

    Interestingly enough, Phoenix would leave WWE the same year Lesnar would make his return in 2012. Currently, Phoenix is a color commentator on NXT and occasionally makes wrestling appearances. Brock Lesnar is suspended as part of a storyline but has vowed to make his return.

  • Keith Lee Tells Fans “Patience Is Key” After WWE Release

    Keith Lee Tells Fans “Patience Is Key” After WWE Release

    Keith Lee got released from his WWE contract earlier this month on November 4. He received a lot of support from fans online and looks like there are some who are ready to drop watching WWE altogether because they released him.

    A fan wrote to Lee on Twitter saying that he will never watch WWE again and would never support the company by going to their events. They asked how they can keep supporting Lee from now onwards.

    Lee responded by thanking his fans for supporting him and asked them to be patient. He said he’s looking forward to the future and only time will tell what’s next in store for him.

    “Right now, I think patience is key. Time is a friend right now. And I intend to make the most of it. I feel your support right this moment. In the not so distant future, I am sure something will come about. At such a time… well… time will tell I suppose,” Lee wrote in the quote tweet.

    It would be interesting to see where Keith Lee would end up next. AEW Tony Khan is interested in the recent WWE releases, and in a recent interview he said that he’s interesting in doing business with some of the people that WWE let go.

    Following his release, it was reported that Lee had “attitude issues” in the company and that may have played a vital role in his release from the contract. PWTorch’s Wade Keller reported, “He just had, in general, attitude issues. Or as one wrestler told me tonight, “perceived attitude issues.” He just was frustrated. I’ve heard different things about him in terms of his mood being altered way more than it should in the modern era about being asked to do a job.”

  • Chris Jericho Explains Why He Constantly Changed Look In WWE

    Chris Jericho Explains Why He Constantly Changed Look In WWE

    Chris Jericho has a good reason behind changing his look and attire all the time while working with the WWE.

    Jericho revealed that he changed his look and his ring gear in WWE to keep things fresh and relevant in the wrestling business. By doing so, he was also able to make more money from merchandising.

    Speaking to Sports Media with Richard Deitsch, Jericho revealed that he did not want to turn into a nostalgia act so he made a conscious effort to keep reinventing himself.

    “When I first started working on TV every week in WCW and more specifically, in WWE when SmackDown started, and we used to do both shows [before the roster split/brand drafts]. I said people are going to get bored of me pretty quickly if I am on TV twice a week and I look the same and have the same rap, shall we say? ‘We’ve got to change it up,’” Jericho said.

    Jericho said that he would keep changing his ring attire subtly enough every week. This meant that multiple versions of actions figures would be made for him to accommodate all the different changes. He would do the same thing with his facial hair. This resulted in Jericho making more money from merchandise.

    “I remember the late, great Pat Patterson said to me, ‘You always have different facial hair every week.’ And one of the reasons for that was because it was always something different. Subtly, it was something different,” Jericho added. “I had different tights that I changed every week, and then I noticed that they would make an action figure for every set of tights that I wore and every set of facial hair that I had. So now you’re making more money too, because there’s more diversity of what people can market from you.”

    Jericho attributes this mindset of keeping things fresh and constantly staying ahead of the curve from show business and rock and roll culture. He stated that he got advice from KISS bassist and co-lead singer Gene Simmons to never stagnate and keep reinventing yourself, and that this can be applied to life in general.

    Related: Chris Jericho Says Recent MJF Promo Got the “Wrong Kind of Heat”

    H/T Wrestlezone for the quotes

  • The Undertaker To Undergo Multiple Surgeries

    The Undertaker To Undergo Multiple Surgeries

    The Undertaker is set to go through multiple surgeries for his right knee.

    After having an illustrious career spanning three decades, it’s no surprise that being in the ring for such a long time has taken a toll on The Undertaker’s body. Even though he has been officially retired from wrestling for a year, he is still trying to heal from decades’ worth of wear and tear of that his body has went through wrestling.

    Speaking in an interview on The Norm and D Invasion show this week (via PWInsider), The Undertaker said that he has surgeries lined up for his new right knee.

    “Both my hips are partial hip replacements already,” The Phenom said. “I need, I need a right knee, so I have surgeries lined up. I just… I gotta wait until hunting season is over for [them.]”

    The Undertaker also said that he still misses performing in front of live audiences, especially during WrestleMania season. However, he is thankful and feels blessed that he had a very long career in the ring. “…but the body can only take so much and deliver so much, and for me that time.  I realized at the last WrestleMania that I had, that I did [WrestleMania 36] that my time had come.”

    In a recent interview, Undertaker said that he is simply unable to meet the standards of a traditional wrestling match these days, due to his age and the condition of his body.

    “I think it’s always in my head and in my heart, especially getting ready for WrestleMania here at AT&T Stadium it’s just like … man. But it’s just at a point where physically, I can’t perform at a level. I mean, I could go out and walk through something and I could get through a match. But I can’t give people what they expect at this point.”

    The Undertaker had his Final Farewell at Survivor Series in November 2020. His last match was with AJ Styles at WrestleMania 36. The match was cinematic and narrative-heavy, and was dubbed the “Boneyard Match”. He won the match and his performance was heavily praised.

  • The IInspiration Say Impact Wrestling Feels Like Home

    The IInspiration Say Impact Wrestling Feels Like Home

    The IInspiration made their debut for Impact Wrestling at the Bound for Glory event and picked up a big win by winning the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship. The duo feel at home working with Impact Wrestling, with Cassie Lee and Jessica McKay both talking about signing with the company and how Impact turned out to be a perfect fit for them.

    Speaking to Alex McCarthy on the Wrestling Daily podcast, Lee said that they had many options to choose from but in the end they decided to go with Impact and it was a perfect fit for them.

    “I feel like it was a perfect fit for us or not to toot our own horn but we’ve had many options and what it came down to Jess and I just felt like we just fit perfectly with IMPACT in the knockouts division they just use their talents so incredibly well and the women are just you know put on a pedestal which they should be they’re so good and I just feel like we slipped right on in you know became not hesitating champs did the damn thing and you know, [we fit in IMPACT] like a missing puzzle piece,” Lee stated.

    “We found a home because that’s how it really felt. We wanted it to feel like the best decision and it really did, it fits so well. We were so happy,” McKay added. “We’re just incredibly grateful to be part of IMPACT and The Knockouts Division I’m super stoked. That’s all I have to say.”

    According to McKay, one of the biggest plus points of working with Impact is the open communication the company maintains with its talents. The company provided them with all the information they needed and kept in touch with them frequently. They also spoke about the freedom Impact gave them regarding their characters.

    “The freedom that we’ve had is, I mean, it just makes me so freakin’ happy. Because we know The IInspiration better than anyone we have built this from the ground up is a 17-year-old friendship, you cannot force anything on that and they respect that and they respect us as performance. It’s just beautiful and that was a big decision in us joining IMPACT,” McKay said. “We felt that respect and we felt wanted, to be honest, and that’s it. That’s an awesome feeling to have.”

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFEF2s7vhKU

    H/T to Fightful for the quotes

  • Brock Lesnar Vows To Make Return To SmackDown

    Brock Lesnar Vows To Make Return To SmackDown

    Brock Lesnar is likely to make a return to WWE television. The Staples Center in Los Angeles, California made an announcement which stated that Brock Lesnar has vowed to buy a ringside ticket to the December 10 edition of SmackDown.

    “The suspended Brock Lesnar vows to buy a ringside seat in Los Angeles for @WWE Friday Night Smackdown on December 10!,” says the caption of the post by Staples Center’s official Twitter account.

    There are no details available yet on what this particular episode of SmackDown will have in store for us. Brock Lesnar got suspended in storyline on the post-Crown Jewel SmackDown episode. He started a locker room-clearing brawl with Roman Reigns, which earned him the suspension by WWE producer and on-air authority figure Adam Pearce. Lesnar also proceeded to attack Pearce afterwards. He was drafted to SmackDown on October 27 despite being suspended. On the following SmackDown episode, Lesnar was fined $1 million by Pearce.

    It is possible that we will see Lesnar involved in a storyline that will continue on till Royal Rumble 2022. The Ticketmaster pre-sale for the event went live in October and the promotional material features Brock Lesnar prominently. The Royal Rumble poster features Lesnar in the middle with other stars like Roman Reigns, Big E, Becky Lynch, and Bianca Belair beside him.

    Royal Rumble will take place on Saturday, January 29, 2022 from The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri. We could see Lesnar appear in action on the event. It wouldn’t be surprising if he is featured in a main event match, apart from the Men’s Royal Rumble.

    Related: Update On Post Draft Plans For Brock Lesnar And Other Free Agents

  • CM Punk Shoots Down Possibility Of AJ Lee Return

    CM Punk Shoots Down Possibility Of AJ Lee Return

    CM Punk puts rest to any rumors brewing about his wife AJ Lee returning since he made his return to AEW on August 20. He gave her a shout-out on the show, saying “One more thing, I just wanna say hi to my beautiful wife, sitting at home. I love you April.” Lee even joked about it later on Twitter, responding, “Wasn’t expecting to hear my government name tonight.” While Lee’s fans are hoping she will follow in her husband’s footsteps and make a return to wrestling herself, it unfortunately seems like it won’t be happening anytime soon.

    CM Punk stated that Lee’s not gonna make a return to wrestling and he’s going to quash any rumors about it. The reason he stated is that Lee’s neck is not in a good condition and it would jeopardize her health to be in the ring right now.

    “I just want to say, no,” Punk told The New York Post. “Just because [of] her neck. The reason she stopped wrestling is because of her neck. She’s got a bad neck, you know. I wouldn’t want her to jeopardize [her] health and neither would she, so we’ll put an end to that rumor right now.”

    Dr Britt Baker recently said that she would like to see AJ Lee come out of retirement and wrestle in AEW. She revealed that she was a big fan of AJ Lee during her WWE run and would love to wrestle her. She also added that a Punk & Lee vs Baker & Adam Cole match could happen too. “I was a big AJ Lee fan. One of the first moves I asked my trainer to teach me when I was training was her finished the Black Widow. So, that would be really cool. I would love to see her back in the ring. I would love to see her in the ring with me.”

    Big E, however, has said that if Lee decides to return to the WWE, the company would pull out the red carpet for her and she could even have a schedule akin to Brock Lesnar. “I also think, if she wants it, of course, there very easily is a massive place for her,” he said. “I feel like she’s in this legend territory where she comes back and she gets a massive pop. She can have a Brock Lesnar type schedule if she wanted to and work a few times a year. So, if it’s something she wants, of course there’s a place for her.”

  • Kurt Angle Says He’s Received Multiple Offers From AEW

    Kurt Angle Says He’s Received Multiple Offers From AEW

    Kurt Angle got his release from the WWE in April 2020, and we haven’t seen him anywhere since he became a free agent. It was speculated that we’d see him somewhere soon enough — most likely AEW, but he’s said that it’s off the table. The Olympic gold medalist has recently said that he’s received offers from AEW comprising of different roles from being an active in-ring wrestler to simply being an on-screen personality.

    Angle detailed the various offers he’s received from AEW and stated that while Tony Khan’s been really nice to him, he can’t accept any offers at this time. “Yes, they offered me a couple of different contracts,” Angle told Wrestling Inc. Daily. “I turned it down for personal reasons, but Tony Khan’s been really nice to me, very generous, and I really appreciate his interest in having me there. But at this particular time, I can’t do it.”

    Angle added that with AEW’s first offer they offered him “many” matches with the company, and the subsequent deal included three matches and deal following after that included an on-screen role with no wrestling.

    Back in July, Kurt Angle revealed that he was contacted by Triple H and he was offered a role of a trainer at NXT. He was told that his task would be to go over stuff with talent, and that he could even do it from home on his computer. All he had to do was go through tapes and give the talent notes on what they did right or wrong. Angle said he was interested but he was ghosted by WWE and never heard back from Triple H. “I never heard back from him. Long story short, they were interested but at the last second they must have backed out, which is okay with me.”

  • Paul Heyman Says Pairing With Cesaro “Did Him No Favors”

    Paul Heyman Says Pairing With Cesaro “Did Him No Favors”

    Paul Heyman took Cesaro under his wing as the Swiss Cyborg revealed himself to be a Paul Heyman guy on Raw in April the night after WrestleMania 30 in 2014. It lasted only briefly, as by July of the same year Cesaro declared that he’s no longer a Paul Heyman guy.

    Paul Heyman recently reflected on their short-lived stint and said that it ultimately did no favors to Cesaro. He also discussed why he thinks Cesaro is a main event level talent in the WWE.

    WrestleMania 30 saw The Undertaker’s streak being broken by Brock Lesnar, and Cesaro winning the inaugural André The Giant Memorial Battle Royal. Since Lesnar wasn’t going to be available every week on Raw, Cesaro was coming in hot after winning the battle royal. And this is why Cesaro was made a Paul Heyman guy, explained Heyman while speaking to Inside the Ropes.

    “I’ve always thought Cesaro was a main event player in WWE. Cesaro was paired with Paul Heyman because Paul Heyman needed an excuse to be on television to say the words, ‘My client, Brock Lesnar, conquered The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania.’ That was an elevation in terms of exposure for Cesaro, but it did him no favours in terms of showcasing his talents.”

    The pairing really didn’t do much for Cesaro, and the two were soon split up without any significant big break up scene. Cesaro spent most of his career as a midcard talent after that, until recently when he got in the main event picture at WrestleMania Backlash where he faced Roman Reigns for the WWE Universal Championship in a losing attempt. He then got into a brief feud with Seth Rollins which saw a match in the Hell in a Cell PPV event. He hasn’t been up to much since then on SmackDown and only time will tell if Cesaro will be able to break through the mid-card and stay in the main event picture.

  • Charlotte Flair Wants To Be The Female John Cena

    Charlotte Flair Wants To Be The Female John Cena

    Charlotte Flair won the WWE Raw Women’s Championship for the 12th time in front of 51,000 people at SummerSlam this past week. She defeated the previous champion Nikki A.S.H. and Rhea Ripley in a Triple Threat match to regain her title.

    Another star in the company who has more than a dozen reigns under their belt is John Cena. With his joint-record, he has the world championship 16 times under his name. Charlotte Flair said that she wants to be like John Cena and embody him, and have a work ethic that’s similar to him.

    Charlotte stated that she believes that there will never be another John Cena. He means a lot to the industry and he is irreplaceable. But Charlotte said she knows that since the day she started and even to this day, she wants to mold herself after Cena and be like him.

    “Unfortunately, I am a bad guy on camera, and Cena is the ultimate good guy. But I never lose that density or passion of wanting to embody WWE, wanting to do as much on the outside, for instance, media and the Special Olympics. There’s so many community events that we take part in,” Charlotte told DAZN News.

    Charlotte continued saying that she wants to be considered to be in the same class as John Cena, in terms of in-ring success as well as the work they do outside the ring as well.

    “I hope to be mentioned in the same sentence as him. He’s John Cena. I’m a talent in the same company as him. Not even a peer but as a co-worker, and I still say it like that. He’s John Cena. Yes, I want to be the female John Cena. And if people say that, then I’m going to continue, even if I don’t feel like I’ve gotten there yet, but I’m going to continue to work as hard and feel that I want to be that way with everything I do.”

    Nia Jax and Charlotte Flair Match Breaks Down into Shoot Fight on RAW
  • Sheamus Considers Current WWE Run His Best

    Sheamus Considers Current WWE Run His Best

    Sheamus has done quite a bit over the past year after making his return from injury. He went back to his old hairstyle, won the United States Championship at WrestleMania 37 and had some great matches. He recently talked about his current run in the WWE and said that it’s the best one he’s had so far.

    Sheamus also revealed that The Undertaker recently told him that Sheamus is “one of the old crew now.” Sheamus told ComicBook that it took him a second to process that he’s now considered one of the “seniors” in WWE, because the last 12 years have been like a blur to him.

    Sheamus was asked if he thinks this has been the best run of his career. He absolutely agreed that he’s done his best in all aspects, whether it’s on the mic, or inside the ring. He’s finally able to be himself and not have second thoughts about what he’s doing.

    “I guess sometimes it was in my interest to emulate this persona that wasn’t me. So for the last year and a half, I’ve really been able to just throw all that aside and just be me, and go out there and do what I do best. I’ve always been a physical competitor in the ring, and for me it’s never been the ‘Oh, you just want to take liberties’. You hear all that stuff in the past. It’s always about bringing the best out of my opponent, bringing the fight out of my opponent, because I know at the end of it all, whoever I’m in there with when the match is over, I’ve had that physical encounter,” Sheamus said.

    Sheamus considers this year and a half his best. He stated that he loves working with the younger talent and others including Matt Riddle, Damien Priest, Keith lee, Humberto Carrillo, Drew McIntyre, etc. Sheamus said that it feels like he has started his career right all over again.