For those still upset over Kevin Owens turning on his best friend, Chris Jericho, during the Festival Of Friendship, Jericho has now revealed another tidbit over the duos WrestleMania 33 payoff match: Vince McMahon hated it.

In fact, according to Jericho, Vince McMahon hated it so much he allegedly called it “one of the worst matches in WrestleMania history.”

Speaking Inside The Ropes, the All Elite Wrestling (AEW) wrestler would discuss his long association and eventual feud with Owens. He revealed that he wanted the turning point at the Festival of Friendship to feel like the Red Wedding from Game Of Thrones, shocking fans with the sudden change in tone.

“Vince Said It Was One Of The Worse Matches In WrestleMania History”

Discussing his ‘Mania match specifically, he confessed that he “thought the match was good” before adding that “I was very surprised when I saw KO after and he’s like, ‘Vince said it was one of the worst matches in WrestleMania history.”

According to Jericho, McMahon’s opinion came down to what he perceived Owens’ heel persona to be versus what he delivered that night against Chris Jericho.

“Do I think it was a great match? No. Do I think it was the worst match in WrestleMania history? Absolutely not. […] Overall it was very hard to put on a match that would live up to the hype of the match. But, y’know, it’s all about the story of getting there. Like, the match was cool but I’d rather have a great story and an okay match than an okay story and a great match.”

For those interested, the fallout of Vince McMahon’s reaction to Kevin Owens that night can actually be seen on the Network series, 365. When Owens asked if Vince was happy with the match, he would receive a one-word reply: “No.”

With WrestleMania 35 taking place this Sunday, the company is naturally in full-on promotion mode. WWE Superstars have been doing media tours in an effort to hype their matches and raise further awareness outside of the WWE Universe.

One such Superstar is Drew McIntyre. The “Scottish Psychopath” appeared on WJLA’s Good Morning Washington show to discuss his upcoming matchup against the returning Roman Reigns.

“It’s A Great Opportunity And A Show Of Faith By The Company”

During the course of the interview, McIntyre would talk about his initial run with WWE and his eventual return. Drew admitted that “It’s wild” that he’s going to be facing Roman for his first major singles match since returning from leukemia.

“You know, I’ve been back on Monday Night RAW for 10 months now and I’m fighting Roman Reigns, the number one guy, returning from his illness in his first big singles match at WrestleMania. It’s pretty incredible, it’s a great opportunity and a show of faith by the company in my ability now, and I’m very, very excited to give the world a performance they won’t forget.”

“We’re Going To Lay Into Each Other Pretty Good”

Naturally, talk segued into Roman’s illness and the work WWE has been doing with numerous charities.

“We can make such a difference in so many different areas. Some areas that are very personal to myself, and with someone like Roman coming back, it’s his personal mission to get word out there and really make a difference, and I admire him more than probably anybody on the roster,” McIntyre admitted.

“I did strongly recommend that he didn’t accept my challenge for WrestleMania because I don’t want to have to embarrass him in front of the world, but fortunately now it’s a big marquee match, we’re two large men and we’re going to lay into each other pretty good.”

His matchup with Roman is a huge opportunity for Drew McIntyre to solidify his place not only on RAW but in WWE. Once considered “The Chosen One” by Vince McMahon himself, this Sunday could see Drew McIntyre finally prove himself on the “Grandest Stage Of Them All.”

Dana Brooke appeared during a backstage segment for last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW. She would give an update on her injury—sustained during a post-match attack at the hands of RAW Women’s Champion, Ronda Rousey.

She has not been featured on WWE programming since. Despite this, Brooke is scheduled to be a participant in this year’s Women’s Battle Royal at WrestleMania 35.

Sporting a sling, Dana promised that she would be there to compete on “The Grandest Stage Of Them All.”

“Next Sunday is WrestleMania. Like I said before, underdogs make history,” she said. “I’m not worried. I am not worried. I went toe-to-toe with the baddest woman, Ronda Rousey, and next Sunday I will come out with one arm or two arms, fighting for what is mine.”

“I Cannot Give Up Now. I Can’t”

Brooke recently divulged her frustrations with the company, admitting to Lilian Garcia that she recently considered quitting WWE whilst on Garcia’s podcast, Chasing Glory.

After some introspective consideration, however, Brooke admitted that “[…] if I quit now, what kind of example am I gonna be for everyone that’s followed me, who’s supported me, who’s been my backbone through the hardest times. I cannot give up now. I can’t.”

She went on to have promo time with Ronda Rousey. The week after she would have a matchup against the Champion where she sustained her injury.

Using this as a starting point however, Dana Brooke has begun crafting herself an “underdog” story. But will this underdog have her moment at WrestleMania, coming out on top in the Women’s Battle Royal?

Last night’s episode of Monday Night RAW finally confirmed what we’ve seen hints of for weeks: The Demon King returns at WrestleMania 35.

For weeks there have been hints, teases, and (somewhat) subtle references to Finn Balor’s alter ego returning. Whether it was through posters and adverts for the event itself or backstage promos, all signs pointed towards the return.

During RAW, Bobby Lashley, accompanied by Lio Rush, spoke with Charly Caruso. He explained that he’s been fighting for a long time. Because of this experience, he sees no difference between Finn Balor and The Demon:

“If you think I’m scared of some little Irish fairy tale, you’re out of your mind. Finn Balor is the Demon, and the Demon is Finn Balor. I whoop and dominate Finn Balor every single time.”

He would then be interrupted by Finn, who cautioned Lashley. He shared that he’s “always been a guy who’s had demons” before promising that at WrestleMania, “My Demon will become your nightmare.”

WWE has uploaded the clip, suggesting that “There’s a chance @fightbobby may need to be a little concerned heading into #WrestleMania because a DEMON is coming for his #ICTitle! #Raw @itsLioRush @FinnBalor”

The two will compete for the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 35, which takes place this Sunday on April 7th.

Turns out that the WWE Universe may have to wait even longer for the rumored faction feud between WWE’s Four Horsewomen and Ronda Rousey’s MMA Horsewomen.

Despite recent reports speculating that WWE is aiming to close WrestleMania 35 with a feel-good moment for the WWE Four Horsewomen, this may no longer be the case.

Writing in a post on the Wrestling Observer Forum, Dave Meltzer divulged that this is apparently no longer the current plan for the end of ‘Mania.

“This is not happening,” he said, “well at least as not happening can be with Vince changing his mind every hour. It makes no sense with the direction they are going.”

Close The Show

With Charlotte Flair now holding the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship, the rumor speculated that Becky Lynch would defeat her rival, Ronda Rousey, for the RAW Women’s Championship.

Lynch and Flair, now each holding gold, would then be joined by their former Horsewomen stablemates and WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions, Bayley and Sasha Banks. That is, of course, if they successfully defend them in their matchup.

In case you didn’t know, the women were colloquially known as the Four Horsewomen during their time in NXT. Since that time, Ronda Rousey and a number of her MMA friends have joined WWE’s roster. Prior to that, however, they had also adopted the Four Horsewomen name.

Both took the name in honor of legendary wrestling stable, the Four Horsemen.

What do you think? Are we on the way to a feel-good moment? With Ronda’s Horsewomen stablemates still in NXT, Is a clash between the two still a long way off?

Current Impact Wrestling’s Knockouts champion, Taya Valkyrie, unfortunately suffered a recent injury, causing her to cancel a few upcoming appearances.

Taking to her Twitter account, Valkyrie, shared the initial damage in a video, showcasing heavy bruising and a swollen eye. She later clarified that this came about after an accident delivering a moonsault. When asked by a fan if there was anybody to blame for the incident, Taya replied:

“Nobody, it was an accident. This is pro wrestling and accidents happen. I’ve executed 1000s of perfect moonsaults. Tonight something just went wrong. That’s all.”

“It’s Just Putting Pressure On My Eyeball”

She has since provided a further injury update. Once again uploading a video to her Twitter, she would display the bruising and explain that “As you can see, my face is still super swollen. We got some x-rays and stuff done last night because the pressure on my eye was actually really bad, but I don’t have any fractures, thank God.”

Taya explained that “It’s just severe swelling on the whole right side of my face, so, it’s just putting pressure on my eyeball. And some contusions. I just have some eye drops and lots of icing and I just have to try to stay positive even though I look like this.”

It’s an undeniably nasty looking injury, and we hope that Taya Valkyrie heals up fast so she can get back to doing what she loves.

WWE has no intentions on slowing down with their recent clothing collaborations. The company recently partnered with New Era Cap to release a range of Superstar specific caps. Now, WWE Superstars announced their partnership products with Foot Locker and FILA.

This deal sees a limited number of sneakers available for purchase at footlocker.com and the Foot Locker store in New York’s Time Square. The shoes will launch on April 4th—so just in time for wrestling fans descending upon New York for WrestleMania 35.

WWE x FILA

Two Superstars, in particular, have shared their collaboration shoes, inspired by their character and gimmicks.

“The Boss” Sasha Banks shared an image of her golden sneakers inside a locker, writing that:

“Sasha Banks Edition part of the Fila x @WWE collab, launching on 4/4, exclusively on , and available at the Footlocker times square location. Just in time for you to rock them at the grandest stage of them all, WRESTLEMANIA!!!

It’s Limited Edition, Yes It Is

New Day’s Kofi Kingston, on the cusp of Kofi-Mania, also hyped his FILA x WWE collaboration, sharing that the Kofi/New Day shoe is limited to only 483 pairs. The number is representative of the New Day’s 483-day tag team title reign.

He wrote:

“Ya boys done came up…We got our own sneaker! ? Only 483 pairs made in honor of our record tag title run.”

So if you’re a wrestling fan, a sneakerhead, enjoy collecting, or just like the look of these shoes, be sure to grab them as soon as they become available. The New Day ones, in particular, may not be around for long.

Last Tuesday’s episode of SmackDown Live, saw Charlotte Flair claim the SmackDown Women’s Championship for an eight time. This impromptu matchup against Asuka would see a previously planned Fatal Four Way scrapped. Naomi, Carmella, Sonya Devilla, and Mandy Rose all lost an opportunity to become number one contender. The winner would have gone on to face Asuka on “The Grandest Stage Of Them All” at WrestleMania 35.

Understandably, the women involved in that decision weren’t particularly happy about this direction. Naomi, in particular, has been pretty vocal about her feelings.

Feel The Glow

Naomi has previously provided a sarcastic response to WWE’s announcement regarding the second annual Women’s Battle Royal at ‘Mania, writing:

“Y’all sure this ain’t going to get cancelled too? Btw thank you so much for the opportunity”

A recent exchange with a fan only highlights her frustrations. The fan, calling the Superstar “entitled” would be told that Naomi’s feelings refer to “the [SmackDown Women’s] division as a whole” and not just her.

“This isn’t about me this is about our division as a whole we all work to hard & have come to far to come THIS FAR! So go back to your cave bish this don’t concern you”

Given that the WrestleMania 35 event is scheduled for a staggering seven and a half hours, a Battle Royal at least gives the women from all brands an opportunity to feature on the show. So is her frustration justified?

Ronda Rousey has become known for frequently bending, if not flat out breaking, the fourth wall on her personal YouTube show, Ronda On The Road.

This weeks episode of the show follows her journey to this week’s Monday Night RAW in Boston, Massachusetts. During the video, Ronda would speak candidly on her match at WrestleMania. She would admit she thinks Becky Lynch vs Charlotte Flair wouldn’t be enough to main event the show. She went on toe say they “need” her in the match to elevate their feud. Their triple threat will see womenclosing the show for the first time in WWE history.

“It’s really cool to see people so p****d off, that thought I would fail miserably,” Rousey said. “And see that within one year, I’m in the main event of WrestleMania. And, you know what? I could promise you that Charlotte vs. Becky 9000 would not have made the main event of WrestleMania. They need me and I made it happen.”

Under Pressure

The pressure of main eventing WrestleMania on April 7th isn’t lost on the champion. She shares that “Going into this WrestleMania, I think it’s just… we just need to make sure the event is a huge success.”

She continues, “It needs to do extremely well views, I mean, it needs to do extremely well on pay-per-view buys. I want it to be the best ever because we need the women headlining WrestleMania to not be an isolated event. We need it to be, like, proof that this works and if we don’t do that, everything that we’ve done is for nothing, and we’re going to take so many years and steps back. So, there’s just so much depending on the success of this event. It really reminds me of me and [Liz] Carmouche for UFC. Everything depended on that event [UFC 157] being a success. The whole future of women in that sport, and I think the future of the women in this industry depends on the success of WrestleMania 35.”

Ronda Rousey defends her RAW Women’s Championship against SmackDown Women’s Champion, Charlotte Flair, and “The Man” Becky Lynch in a triple-threat at WrestleMania 35. The history-making matchup goes down on April 7th from MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

This past January at the Royal Rumble, “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey would successfully defend her RAW Women’s Championship against Sasha Banks. Rousey wasn’t shy in admitting that she considered this matchup a “dream match” for her.

But was the feeling mutual?

Speaking with journalist Vicente Beltran whilst doing international media for WWE, Sasha Banks would comment on their Royal Rumble clash. She confessed she didn’t consider it to be a “dream match” for her.

“No,” Banks admitted. “It was a dream match for her though. She said it.”

“It Could Be Any Team, Any Place, Any Time”

Later in their conversation, the discussion turned to the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships. Sasha shares these titles with her partner, Bayley.

She would comment on how The Boss ’N’ Hug Connection is committed to defending their belts on any show, wanting them to become esteemed in the process. When asked how they would feel if they were to defend their titles on an NXT TakeOver event, Banks would reply:

“I think that would be amazing. That’s exactly what me and Bayley want to do, we want to take these titles all over the world. Whether it’s RAW, SmackDown, NXT, NXT UK, it doesn’t matter. It could be any team, any place, any time. We really do mean that; we want to take over the world and we want to make the tag team titles very important.”

The team will be defending the championships at WrestleMania 35 in a Fatal 4 Way against The Divas Of Doom (Beth Phoenix and Natalya), The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce), and Nia Jax and Tamina.

The Bella Twins recently announced their retirement from pro wrestling. Despite this, they have already speculated about what could bring them back to the ring.

During the debut episode of their new podcast, The Bellas Podcast, Nikki Bella would candidly address her own retirement announcement. She revealed her reasons behind the difficult decision. She also divulged that she wasn’t allowed to talk about the real reason due to corporate decision making—though it wasn’t specified whether this was a WWE or E! decision.

“Something we really couldn’t air on Total Bellas is that people didn’t realize how hard my comeback was for me to go back to a place that I called home and met the love of my life.”

She continued, “[…] when they showed you that I made the decision [to retire] because I couldn’t hang with the girls in the ring anymore, what they also don’t air—because they never want me to talk about my neck—is … it’s because of my neck.”

“I Would Get Paralyzed Too Or Even Worse”

Nikki would then mention Paige and the unfortunate incident that saw her having to retire from in-ring competition:

“You saw what happened to Paige,” Nikki said. “Paige and I have the same hardware. So if I was to get kicked in the back of the head, I would get paralyzed too or even worse.”

Co-host, and twin sister, Brie mentioned how Nikki would cry in the locker room every single week. The cameras, however, refused to show it. Nikki added that “we weren’t allowed to,” demonstrating the structured nature of the supposed ‘reality’ show.

H/T to ProWrestlingSheet.com for the transcription.

With WrestleMania 35 around the corner, two of WWE’s biggest Superstars are still not officially announced to be a part of the event.

It had been rumored previously that John Cena may have been revealed to be Kurt Angle’s final opponent. This would have been for Angle’s retirement match at WrestleMania. That honor instead went to Baron Corbin—a fact that didn’t impress Cena.

Brad Shepard and Jon Fisher from the ‘Oh, You Didn’t Know’ Podcast discussed the chances the WWE Universe has in seeing either Superstar at WrestleMania.

“WWE is now operating as if The Undertaker will not be at WrestleMania, which is a big surprise to people internally. They did expect he would probably at least appear, they would work it out. But it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen now. At least as of right now, they’re operating as if he won’t be there.”

In regards to John Cena turning up, the two shared we may still see him. But don’t expect it to be in a matchup:

“WWE are considering having John Cena interrupt Elias’ performance at WrestleMania.”

Although not a wrestling or competitive role, if true, Cena may end up dusting off his rap skills in confronting Elias. But is this the best way to utilize a talent of John Cena’s stature?

The WWE Universe is still reeling at the surprise title change that went down this past Tuesday on SmackDown Live. For those that missed it, Charlotte Flair would challenge and defeat Asuka for the WWE SmackDown Women’s Championship. 

This decision saw a previously slated Fatal 4 Way between Mandy Rose, Naomi, Carmella, and Sonya Deville cancelled. The winner of that match would have gone on to face Asuka at WrestleMania 35. Unsurprisingly, Flair stepping in to claim the championship wasn’t well received by the women who lost their opportunity for it. 

Since all of this went down, Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com has discussed WWE’s reasoning behind the decision. He said that the “decision was made at the last minute.”

Meltzer has now discussed why WWE decided to pull the trigger on this decision. He claims that the promotion intends to close WrestleMania with the Four Horsewomen all holding gold. 

“This is not about Asuka, it’s about Charlotte. The Women’s Champion could have been Asuka, it could have been Naomi, it could have been Carmella—it doesn’t matter who the SmackDown Champion would have been. They want the Horsewomen closing out the show as champions at WrestleMania, so whoever was the SmackDown champion was losing that title to Charlotte.”

If this does occur, and a WWE Four Horsewomen reunion is on the horizon, could this potentially lead into the long-awaited feud between them and Ronda Rousey’s MMA Four Horsewomen faction?

Both fans and pro wrestling veterans continue to comment on Kurt Angle’s retirement match at WrestleMania 35. Angle revealed that his final matchup would be against Baron Corbin, of all people.

In the run-up to ‘Mania, Angle has been having a farewell tour of sorts, wrestling high calibre athletes on both RAW and SmackDown before his match with Corbin on April 7th.

Now Jim Ross has commented further on the announcement via his podcast, The Jim Ross Report.

“Underwhelmed”

Ross would preface that he has “no issues” with Baron Corbin, admitting that he believes he has a lot of potential and a “significant and visible upside” before stating that “He’s just not there yet.”

Extrapolating on his initial tweet, in which he shared he (like most) was “underwhelmed” by Kurt’s opponent, Ross explains that his comment had “nothing to do with ability, the work ethic, the passion of performing of Baron Corbin. Nothing! Not even the same time zone. It has everything to do with how you honor Kurt Angle going out.”

He would go on to say that “[…] I thought WWE might have done a better job of selecting somebody else — and they still might! Who knows? Hell, I don’t know. That’s not an unfathomable idea. But let’s say it’s going to be Corbin and Kurt,” he continued, “do everything you can to make it special, but it could have been made more special if it was somebody that was more tenured and was perceived by the audience as more ‘over.’ I just think Angle deserves everything that he can be provided to make his retirement match meaningful and memorable. He deserves that. I don’t know if you can get there with Kurt Angle versus Baron Corbin.”

Rumor up until Angle’s announcement had revolved around John Cena coming back, providing Kurt with a retirement match deeply rooted to their first ever encounter when Cena debuted in 2002.

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

In a short video uploaded after this week’s Monday Night RAW, another hint was dropped regarding who might be showing up at WrestleMania 35 to face Bobby Lashley: Finn Balor or The Demon.

This week’s episode of RAW saw Finn Balor defeat both Lashley and Jinder Mahal in a handicap matchup. This victory would secure an opportunity at Lashley’s Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 35.

Bobby Lashley’s manager, Lio Rush, uploaded a short clip to his Twitter account. The video features the two having a clash of words backstage. Lashley, angry over Finn’s win and new number one contender position, would lash out at Rush’s choice of partner for him that night.

Lio Rush would respond, saying: “Don’t do this right now, do not do this right now, you need to focus. You’ve got Finn at WrestleMania, that’s it. That’s the match. You versus Finn at WrestleMania. We’ve still got a couple of weeks until then, so the real question is: what do we do now? What do we do now, because the match is already set in stone.”

Lashley’s reply was to the point:

“I’m gonna beat the demon out of him.”

Demon Balor

Earlier this month, WWE released a WrestleMania advertisement that actually featured Finn Balor in his demon attire. This would prompt fans to anticipate The Demon’s return at WrestleMania 35. This video from Rush just adds to the speculation that The Demon may return on April 7th.

It appears that, despite becoming the RAW tag team champions, The Revival may still be unhappy within WWE. The team, comprised of Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson, haven’t been shy of hiding their frustrations.

After having teased a matchup with The Young Bucks via social media, and amongst the influx of talent requesting releases and also vocalising their frustrations, the team would go on to become tag champions.

In what could add further speculation to their happiness and position within WWE, The Revival posed recently posed with a fan at a WWE Live Event. The fan just so happened to be wearing an All Elite Wrestling (AEW) t-shirt. The fan posted these photos and quoted that he was told: “I’ll see you in May.” This is an obvious reference to their friendship with AEW members as well as AEW’s upcoming event, Double Or Nothing, which takes place in May.

It’s an interesting comment to make considering The Revival’s contracts with WWE expire in 2020.

“Don’t Wish Being Raw Tag Team Champs On Them”

Adding to this speculation over their current job satisfaction, Dash Wilder would respond to a fan’s tweet. The tweet showcased the fan’s nephews showing off a pair of RAW tag team championship belts, which they got for their birthday. Wilder’s response was somewhat telling:

“Please don’t wish being Raw tag team champs on them. For their sake.”

Despite having claimed the RAW tag team championships, the duo would go on to suffer a string of loses, stymying any momentum they may have been hoping to build for themselves and the RAW tag team division.

Dana Brooke recently had the opportunity to share screen time with RAW Women’s Champion, Ronda Rousey. Having not been featured on WWE programming for some time, this provided a great chance for Dana to attempt to elevate her stock within the company. She would not only have promo time but a follow-up match against Rousey.

This almost didn’t happen, however, as Dana Brooke recently revealed she was actually close to quitting WWE.

“This Place Does Not Define Me”

Speaking with Lilian Garcia on Garcia’s podcast, Chasing Glory, Brooke admitted that her scheduled matchup with Natalya being pulled caused her a great deal of frustration and reflection. This would lead her to contemplate leaving the company completely.

Clearly disappointed, she admitted that “I don’t know what more I can do at this point in time. This is not me. I am a strong competitor, inside the ring, outside the ring.”

“When I was told that ‘your match [with Natalya] isn’t happening,’ at that point in time I was just like ‘No. This place does not define me. I am stronger than this. I wanna go and prove to the world that you can’t keep me down.”

Brooke admitted she went backstage, put her head down and thought long and hard before saying to herself that “[…] if I quit now, what kind of example am I gonna be for everyone that’s followed me, who’s supported me, who’s been my backbone through the hardest times. I cannot give up now. I can’t.”

Although she was able to get face time with the champion herself, it’s still too early to determine whether Dana Brooke will be able to levy that into more TV time or a storyline opportunity. Given that her matchup with Rousey saw her leave injured, it may be while longer before Dana gets another shot.

Not so long ago, Rey Mysterio and Andrade were embroiled in an escalating feud. The two SmackDown Superstars would steal the show with each passing Tuesday. Many assumed it would lead to a major payoff, with fans and WWE Superstars giving their bouts praise.

Turns out, the feud between the two was meant to lead to “The Grandest Stage Of Them All,” WrestleMania.

According to Dave Meltzer of F4WOnline.com, “Rey and Andrade were booked for WrestleMania, and why that changed I have no idea.”

He explained that Rey being choked out by Samoa Joe at WWE’s last event, Fastlane, is apparent evidence that Mysterio vs Joe at WrestleMania wasn’t on the table. At least at that time.

“To show you how short-sighted or how far this booking went, Joe choked Rey out at the last pay-per-view to win when you had R-Truth who could have lost or Andrade who could have lost that are going nowhere,” Meltzer said. “So that tells you on the day of the last pay-per-view there’s no way that this match was planned.”

Mysterio is now slated to wrestle Samoa Joe for the US Championship at WrestleMania 35. There is no word on whether the feud between himself and Andrade will reignite. There were, however, rumors at one point that the two would form a latino stablealong with Sin Cara.

Kofi Kingston was recently screwed out of an opportunity to face Daniel Bryan for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35. This led the team to briefly discuss the idea of quitting — an idea that Kofi quickly nixed.

Big E, however, chose to vent his frustrations. In a video uploaded to Twitter, he sadly states that “people like us will only get so far. […] You can climb the mountain. They’ll let you climb the mountain, but as far as getting to the peak and staying at the peak – it’s not a thing that people like us, historically and moving forward clearly, can only get so far.”

Now Xavier Woods has provided his thoughts on their current situation.

“Its Definitely Showed Me Which Direction I Need To Go In”

Speaking from the Game Developers Conference (GDC), Woods addresses the unfair actions of Vince McMahon from Tuesday night. He also highlights that, like Big E, he needs to do what’s best for him and his family. He’s just not sure WWE fits into that anymore.

“I’m sure you guys saw what happened this past Tuesday to Kofi. You probably watched the video that [Big] E did and he, kind of, said it best, so I’m just gonna echo those sentiments,” he said.

“We have other things that we enjoy doing. We have other skills. Me? I love video games. I’m a part of this community and I love this community with all of my heart, and this community loves me back. That’s a relationship I’m willing to be in.”

“Constantly being treated in the way that we, New Day, has been treated and will most likely be treated from here on out…I just want to say that I appreciate what you did Vince, thank you very much. Because its definitely showed me which direction I need to go in to take care of myself and to take care of my family.”

With the New Day teasing quitting, and both Xavier Woods and Big E uploading videos to their personal accounts to address the unfair situation, this blending of reality and fiction adds a new dynamic to the story as people continue to clamour for Kofi-Mania on April 7th.

The WWE Universe is still reacting to Kurt Angle’s announcement on Monday Night RAW. During this week’s episode, Angle would reveal his WrestleMania 35 opponent to be Baron Corbin.

This news was met with a wave of negative reactions from across WWE’s fans. At the time of writing, their YouTube video of the promo currently sits at 14k dislikes. Current and former WWE Superstars including Matt Riddle and Gail Kim have also voiced their thoughts — which seem to align with the majority of the audience.

Now, the man who was speculated to be the one to face him, John Cena, has addressed Angle’s retirement match.

Cena is known to utilize his social media in a cryptic manner. Many posts allude to or hint at news rather than outright addressing rumors. As an example, a recent post on his Instagram was a picture of a young Kurt Angle. This was uploaded on March 12th in an obvious tease that he would be back at ‘Mania to wrestle Kurt one last time.

This post, however, is more on the nose. It features a fan in a Carmella cap holding up a sign that reads “Baron Corbin Is A Dumpster Fire.”

Cena didn’t accompany the post with any thoughts or insight, allowing the image to speak for itself and, in theory, represent his feelings on the matter.

Daniel Bryan proved to be too much of an obstacle for Kofi Kingston this past Tuesday on SmackDown Live. After having endured a gruelling gauntlet match against five of SmackDown’s top Superstars, Vince McMahon would then insert “The Planet’s Champion” as a surprise sixth entrant.

It was just too much for an exhausted Kofi who, in losing the gauntlet match, has now lost his opportunity to face Bryan for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35.

The New Day regrouped backstage on Tuesday night, with Big E and Xavier Woods discussing quitting WWE — an idea that Kofi shot down.

Big E recently took to his Twitter account to upload a video of his thoughts on the situation. The video covers a lot of ground, with Big E lambasting WWE as he says that The New Day finally “understand the game.”

“If This Is All We Will Ever Be? I Don’t Know If It’s Worth It”

Big E believes that it doesn’t matter how good you are, how much your hone your craft and “jump through all the right hoops,” or how respectful you are as a professional and individual — to him the idea that if “You do everything, you check all the boxes, you show up in shape—you do everything that’s asked of you in this business —that if you do all those things you have a good chance of making it to the top” is a lie.

He goes on to say that “people like us will only get so far. […] You can climb the mountain. They’ll let you climb the mountain, but as far as getting to the peak and staying at the peak – it’s not a thing that people like us, historically and moving forward clearly, can only get so far.”

Clearly deflated from all these challenges being placed in front of his friend’s dreams, Big E would tease the idea of leaving WWE, contemplating whether all this hard work and being away from family for “250 days plus a year is worth it.” He ends the video by stating, |[…] obviously proud of Kofi, proud of us as a trio, proud of what we’ve done, but if this is all we ever be? I don’t know if it’s worth it.”

Kofi Kingston is on a trajectory similar to that of Daniel Bryan’s journey leading into WrestleMania 30. With authority figures doing everything to stop Kofi getting his opportunity, it will be interesting to see how they eventually make Kofi vs Bryan official. One thing is for sure, however: the WWE Universe want Kofi-Mania.

New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual New Japan Cup tournament is underway.

The winner of this year’s single-elimination tournament will earn the chance to face “Switchblade” Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. This matchup will take place at their upcoming show, co-promoted with Ring Of Honor (ROH), G1 Supercard. The event takes place on April 6th and emanates from the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York.

This event took place on 3/20 from Shizuoka, Japan.

New Japan Cup Results (3/20)

Yuya Uemura, Manabu Nakanishi, and Yuji Nagata defeated Yota Tsuji, Satoshi Kojima, and Hiroyoshi Tenzan via submission.

Nagata’s Nagata Lock II onto Tsuju secured the tap out victory.

Ryusuke Taguchi, Mikey Nicholls, and Juice Robinson defeated Hikuleo, Chase Owens, and Bad Luck Fale via pinfall.

Mikey Nicholls manages to execute the Mikey Bomb on the hulking Hikuleo for the win.

Davey Boy Smith Jr., Lance Archer, Taichi, and Minoru Suzuki defeated Tomoaki Honma, Michael Elgin, Toru Yano, and Togi Makabe via pinfall.

Taichi would manage to see Suzuki-Gun to victory with a Gedo clutch pinning combination.

Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, and Tetsuya Naito defeated Ren Narita, Hirooki Goto, and Kota Ibushi via pinfall.

Narita would get blasted by Takagi’s Pumping Bomber lariat, allowing LIJ the win.

EVIL and SANADA defeated Toa Henare and Colt Cabana via pinfall.

Henare eats another loss following a Magic Killer finisher.

TAKA Michinoku and Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Shota Umino and Hiroshi Tanahashi via submission.

Zabre Jr. does what he does best and stretches Umino into submission.

Tournament Results

Tomohiro Ishii defeated YOSHI-HASHI via pinfall.

A good showing for YOSHI-HASHI, but the “Stone Pitbull” would progress within the tournament after a Vertical Drop Brainbuster put his CHAOS stablemate away.

Kazuchika Okada defeated Will Ospreay via pinfall.

A close match with Okada once again showcasing that no one has a better 2.9 kick out than he does. He would emerge victorious over Ospreay following a Rainmaker.

This quarterfinal night was filled with CHAOS teammates battling one another. This trend will continue at the semi-finals when Ishii and Okada will meet.

The current WWE Champion, “The New” Daniel Bryan has been dominant on SmackDown Live ever since turning heel late last year. He would win the championship from AJ Styles, resorting to dirty tactics in order to do so. This strategy, however, has seen him hold onto the belt since November 13th, as he continues to berate the WWE Universe for their fickle nature and wasteful attitudes.

Nikki Bella, Daniel Bryan’s sister-in-law, had some thoughts on his recent attitude change. Speaking with Jim Alexander from Reel Talker, she would open up on Daniel Bryan’s heel turn and current run, commenting on how he’s taken aspects from his real-life personality and infused them seamlessly into his current WWE persona.

“I love it because there is so much truth to it. When your character has that foundation of truth of who you are, there’s so much passion and you feel the passion, so then you get invested and you’re connected to it. And that’s the thing, ‘cause everything Bryan is saying is how he truly feels. […] You invest. You naturally invest. Him changing the title, like what a heel thing to do. It’s hilarious. It’s him, I love it.”

Kofi-Mania

Daniel Bryan, who is now also known as “The Planet’s Champion” successfully defeated Kofi Kingston last night during SmackDown’s Gauntlet match. If he had been successful, Kofi would have faced Bryan for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 35.

With fans desperate to see Kofi-Mania finally take place in April, it will be interesting to see how Kofi and The New Day respond to yet another obstacle thrown in the path of this Superstar and his championship aspirations.

Kurt Angle’s announcement on Monday Night RAW is still being met with negative backlash. He announced that his retirement match this April 7th at WrestleMania 35 would be against Baron Corbin.

At the time of writing, WWE’s YouTube clip of the reveal is sitting at 14k dislikes and 5.7k likes.

It’s safe to say that the WWE Universe is decidedly underwhelmed by this revelation, especially given Angle’s calibre, status, and history.

PWInsider.com has reported that Angle’s opponent reveal isn’t “a swerve to lead to something else.” They added that the plan backstage prior to RAW was committed to “100% Angle vs. Corbin at WrestleMania.”

Whether this changes due to their fanbases’ negative reaction is yet to be seen. The power of the WWE Universe has helped affect change in the past, such as Daniel Bryan’s journey to WrestleMania 30 and the current Kofi-Mania we are experiencing in the run-up to WrestleMania 35.

“I Realize It’s Not The Most Popular Decision”

Angle actually took his Instagram account to address the reaction to Monday’s announcement.

“My farewell match will be against Baron Corbin at Wrestlemania. I realize it’s not the most popular decision from a fan’s perspective… BUT I will make Corbin tap out on the biggest stage of them all…. and I Hope you can share this moment/accomplishment with me on April 7th. Baron is a legit tough guy. It won’t be easy but it never is. #itstrue #wrestlemania35 #wwe #wrestling”

With so many potential opponents available to him, and speculation circulating that he may have faced off against John Cena in what would have been a beautiful piece of narrative closure, it’s hard to debate the fan reaction. Given this is Angle’s retirement match, it becomes all the more understandable.

WrestleMania 35 will take place on April 7th from the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. It is speculated to become the longest event in WrestleMania history.

A few days ago, EC3 celebrated his birthday — a fact that WWE wanted to acknowledge. The WWE Universe Twitter account posted their birthday wishes to “The Top One Percent” but probably weren’t expecting a response from the birthday boy himself, let alone the one they got.

In a succinct response, EC3 would write back:

“Thanks. Catering was delicious.”

Thanks. Catering was delicious.

— ecIII (@therealec3) March 18, 2019

“My Number Was Called”

EC3 has recently expressed that he felt he could have done more during his time in WWE NXT, the company’s supposed development brand, prior to being called up to their main roster.

He joined Lacey Evans, Heavy Machinery, Nikki Cross and a yet-to-debut Lars Sullivan in their move up. This shake up was heavily promoted through video vignettes during the last part of 2018 and was intended to freshen up WWE’s main rosters.

It is fair to say that WWE has yet to truly capitalize and utilize any of these former NXT Superstars accordingly, hence EC3’s obvious frustration and current opinion on WWE’s catering services.

Although he states he has no regrets, he does believe that there was “so much more that could’ve been done” but admits “at the same time, my number was called.”

In recent months rumors have circulated The Revival as well as Mike and Maria Kanellis’ unhappiness with their position in the company. Hideo Itami and Tye Dillinger requested their releases from the company, making it apparent EC3 isn’t alone with his frustrations.

So where does EC3 go from here? Does he still have a place on the main roster, or would he be better served by returning to NXT?