https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5znPVsUNwzg

Drew Galloway is scheduled to defend his TNA World Heavyweight Title against Bobby Lashley at Sunday’s Slammiversary pay-per-view, and recently spoke to Total Wrestling Magazine about comparisons between his opponent and Brock Lesnar. Galloway says he feels that Lashley and Lesnar, both decorated amateur wrestlers, are “different kinds of athletes” from most pro wrestlers.

“[Lashley] is like a Brock Lesnar kind of athlete where they can do, literally, absolutely anything. They’re just genetically insane, they train insane, and when they put their mind to something, they’re going to do it,” Galloway said. “He’s the first ever guy to do MMA and pro wrestling at the same time.”

Galloway, who was released by WWE in June 2014, revealed that he and Lashley have wrestled on the mat for real before, and he didn’t have much luck against the former collegiate amateur wrestler.

“I legit have tried him a couple of times, and I’ve legit lost a couple of times where we’ve rolled around the ring together,” Galloway said of Lashley. “I’m willing to do that. I won’t stop.”

You can read his entire interview here. Slammiversary takes place this Sunday, June 12 at the Impact Zone in Orlando, FL.

Eric Escobar says he had some interesting encounters with Sheamus back in their developmental days. The former FCW Heavyweight Champion and SmackDown star was on the Pancakes & Powerslams Show, and was asked about the rumors of Sheamus being difficult to deal with in the ring.

“He always wanted to be the dominant big guy. If I stand next to you, we’re basically the same size, so there’s no big guy/little guy situation going on here. When he got in the mindset that he was big guy and I was little guy, he got a little bit more hesitant about a few things in the match,” Escobar said of Sheamus in FCW.

Escobar revealed that several other wrestlers had approached him and said Sheamus was being too stiff with them, and would approach Escobar for guidance on the situation due to his tenure in FCW. He said some newer wrestlers were afraid to stiff Sheamus back because they didn’t want to ruffle any feathers. Escobar recalled a match where he felt Sheamus was too stiff with him, so he says he simply hit him back and that the Irish superstar seemed to get the point.

“I always give the guys a ‘three strike rule.’ So he pops me one, and I go, okay – one. He pops me twice – two. He pops he three times – okay, my turn,” said Escobar. “So, after I popped him back, I left my [hand print] stamped on his back for like a week. I think after that, we had no more problems. He wasn’t stiff or anything.”

You can listen to the full podcast here.

TNA wrestler Jeff Hardy says he wants to end his career back in WWE. In an interview with Sports Illustrated to promote Sunday’s Slammiversary PPV, Hardy explained that his in-ring days are winding down and he would like to finish his career in his old stomping grounds for a WrestleMania.

“I know I’m getting close to the end. I can feel my body telling me something,” Hardy said of his wrestling career. “I don’t know how much longer I’ve got, and naturally I would love to end with a WrestleMania, and I would love to have a Hell in a Cell. That’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and I’ve always wanted to headline ‘Mania.”

The former TNA and WWE World Heavyweight Champion revealed that he was inspired by Shane McMahon’s big dive off the cage at WrestleMania 32, and he’s planning to top it “in his own way” as soon as this Sunday.

“Watching Shane, I knew I could top that. Every time I watched Shane, I was inspired to do something better,” he said. “I’m planning something big for Sunday. I’ll take my own path and do it my own way.”

TNA’s twelfth annual Slammiversary pay-per-view takes place this Sunday, June 12 at the Impact Zone in Orlando, FL.

Former WWE tag team wrestler JTG recently shared some insight into what it’s like working with Vince McMahon. On episode 120 of The Ross Report podcast, JTG discussed his relationship with the infamous WWE Chairman, saying he was always approachable.

“If I had an issue, I would just knock on his door. Or if I saw him on his phone, I would ask ‘hey, how are you doing, boss? Can we chat for a sec?’ It was that type of relationship,” JTG explained, “but it was always business.”

The Cryme Tyme member also revealed one thing that Vince likes in an employee: What Mr. McMahon would call “grapefruits.”

“One thing I do realize with Vince, is that he respects balls and he respects confidence,” said the former WWE Superstar.

JTG says he always felt “very comfortable” around The McMahon family when he worked for WWE. You can listen to the entire podcast here.

Another layer has been added the reports of TNA’s financial turmoil and possible corporate takeover. The PWTorch Newsletter recently reported that Aroluxe Marketing has officially taken ownership of the name “TNA.” Dixie Carter’s company still owns the names “Impact Ventures,” “TNA Entertainment,” and “TNA Wrestling.”

Despite Aroluxe now doing business under the name “TNA,” Mike Johnson of PWInsider.com reports that as of Saturday morning Dixie Carter is still the majority owner of the wrestling promotion.

Aroluxe Marketing, and mainly their employees Ron & Don Harris, have been handling TNA’s production and the company has fronted money to TNA to fund their TV tapings. Aroluxe has also been assigned TNA’s payroll duties, and will continue working on the production for Impact Wrestling.

When the news broke of Aroluxe’s possible takeover back in April, fans began tweeting Pop TV executives with photos of the Harris brothers sporting Nazi-themed tattoos and t-shirts. This could lead to major public relations problems for TNA, as once photos like that hit the internet they never disappear.

• TNA Reportedly Out Of Money, Fans Tweeting Photos Of Harris Brothers With Nazi Tattoos & Shirts

It looks like Gawker publisher Nick Denton is down for the count in his legal battle against Hulk Hogan. Today a Florida judge issued a $140 million final judgement in favor of Hogan, and Gawker Media has officially filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. There’s a 4.77% interest rate per year on the $140 million that Gawker now owes Hogan.

Gawker was trying to get a judge to postpone the $140 million awarded to Hogan but had no luck. Hogan began his lawsuit against the company in 2012 after they published portions of a sex tape that was recorded without his knowledge. Gawker argued that they were protected under the 1st Ammendment because they felt the video was newsworthy.

According to a report by Recode.net, Gawker is trying to sell the company to publishing company Ziff Davis. Ziff Davis owns IGN, AskMen, PC Mag and others.

Hogan has indicated that he’s trying to get his WWE job back after the lawsuit cleared his name of filming and distributing the tape.

What a beautiful day,and the good doesn't prevent the better! In the present I AM always grateful,only good happens to me. HH

— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) June 10, 2016

Bret Hart isn’t taking back his comments about Seth Rollins being an unsafe worker. The WWE Hall of Famer doubled down on his latest podcast on the topic of Rollins injuring both John Cena and himself. Rollins came out earlier this month saying Hart’s comments hurt him, but The Hitman says the former Shield member should be thanking him instead of being mad at him.

“You shouldn’t be mad at me. You should thank me for being so honest and you should reflect on it and make it a point throughout the rest of your career that you’re never going to injure anyone else like that again. Period.” Hart said. “I’m a really big fan of Seth’s, and I think that’s why I gave him such a strong criticism. It’s meant to make him think. It’s not a personal attack. It’s a professional criticism of his work.”

Hart says Cena was not at fault for the injury he suffered during a match with Rollins last summer. After watching the footage, Hart feels that Rollins kneed Cena as hard as he could in the face.

“If you watch it it’s not John Cena leaning in,” Hart explained, “it’s Seth Rollins pulling [Cena’s] head down and kneeing him as hard as he can in the face. It’s bullshit. Everything I said is true. And if he’s got hurt feelings, it’s better to have hurt feelings than a broken, shattered face.”

Hart recalled the kick from Goldberg that ended his career, saying Goldberg didn’t know what he was doing. The Hitman compared the incident to Rollins & Cena’s incident, saying Rollins made a “huge error” and he’s lucky he didn’t do more damage to Cena than he did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzeXuS2ET7M

WWE Superstar Brock Lesnar appeared on Highly Questionable on Thursday to talk about his upcoming MMA return at UFC 200. Brock shared some stories about real-life fights he had been in, including one where someone in a bar smashed a drink over his head, and things ended “very quickly” for his attacker after that.

Lesnar was asked about his battles with addiction, having admitted in the past to drinking a bottle of vodka a day with Vicodin. He puts some blame for those problems on injuries from pro wrestling even though it’s “fake,” in addition to him being “young and naive” at the time. Lesnar says life on the road as a wrestler is not as glamorous as some people think, and he’s thankful that he’s now able to work part-time for WWE instead of full-time.

The former UFC Heavyweight Champion was also asked about his 2002 scuffle with the late Curt Hennig. Lesnar says he was on booze and Vicodin, and after being stuck on an airplane for 7 hours, him and Hennig got into trouble. Lesnar calls what him and Hennig did “whiskey wrestling,” and he barely remembers the incident aside from being reprimanded by management after the fact.

TNA is reportedly in the process of locking in several of their biggest stars to new contracts. According to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newseletter, TNA is currently negotiating new deals with Matt and Jeff Hardy, Bobby Lashley, and Drew Galloway.

The company, which is reportedly in financial peril and possibly on the verge of new ownership, wants to lock those names in to exclusive deals that would allow them to control the talents’ outside bookings and earn commissions from them.

Back in May it was reported that TNA wanted to sign stars to exclusive deals in order to raise the company’s value in the event of a sale. Caleb Konley, Sienna, Crazzy Steve, Robbie E and Jessie Godderz all re-signed with the company early last month.

Meltzer previously reported that TNA was months behind on paying some of their behind-the-scenes staff, and was in negotiations with three possible buyers. Company president Dixie Carter reacted to the reports in an interview, saying “There’s so much incorrect information out there about the financial situation of TNA.”

Former NXT announcer Rich Brennan says he’s on a sabbatical from wrestling following his release from WWE in April.

Brennan spoke to Brian Fritz of The Sporting News about his release from the company, and says he’s still a wrestling fan at heart despite taking a break from viewing. Brennan revealed that he hasn’t watched much wrestling at all since his release, but that he still enjoys the art form “when it’s done well.”

He says he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of still working in the wrestling business and he has one potential company in his sights.

“If Ring of Honor called me tomorrow and said, “Do you want to come call a show?” Done. I’m there,” Brennan said. “I like Ring of Honor.”

Brennan also says getting to call SmackDown was a highlight of his career, although he felt more at home working on NXT. You can read his full interview here.

Former TNA World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries says he doesn’t know if he’ll appear at next year’s WrestleMania 33, but it is a goal of his. Aries spoke at-length about his career to Brian Fritz for Sporting News, and revealed that even after his in-ring days are over, he hopes to fill a behind-the-scenes role in WWE.

“I’m going to work toward it,” Aries said of possibly appearing at WrestleMania 33. “I’m going to do the best I can with everything they put in front of me. 33 is one of my favorite numbers and it’d be pretty fitting if WrestleMania 33 right here in Florida was the one that I broke through at. I still have enough left in the tank so if I don’t make it to next year’s, there’s the year after and the year after that and I don’t plan on going anywhere for a long time in the wrestling industry.”

Aries arrived in WWE about 15 years after he started his career, and the landscape of the wrestling world has changed greatly since his early days. He recalls several of his contemporaries from his training camp landing high-paying jobs with the now-defunct WCW and other companies, and says his goal was simply to have a job in the wrestling business. Aries says he was okay with the possibility of never arriving in WWE as an active wrestler because of his numerous accomplishments outside of the company, but that he always wanted to test himself on the biggest stage in wrestling.

“When I started back in 2000, there were more entities than just WWE. A lot of guys who were coming out of my camp at that time like Lenny Lane were working for WCW making very good money,” he recalled. “There were a few different places where you could go and make a living. When I started my journey, my goal at the beginning was I want to do this for my job. When people ask me what I do for a living, I want to say I’m a professional wrestler. Beyond that, I didn’t have any parameters of what I could or I couldn’t do. Everything is timing, everything is the right fit at the right time. To WWE and myself, it just never quite gelled for one reason or another but I continued to ply my trade and get to do a lot of great things at a lot of different places.

Aries says he’s very grateful for the opportunity to work for WWE now, and also promoted his match against Shinsuke Nakamura on tonight’s NXT Takeover. You can read his entire interview here.

This week’s episode of WWE SmackDown was taped on Tuesday night at the Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, KS.

Taped for WWE Superstars:

– Goldust & R-Truth def. The Dudley Boyz: Dolph Ziggler was on commentary for the Superstars taping.

– Sheamus def. Zack Ryder

– Titus O’Neil def. Viktor

– Rusev def. Sin Cara

Taped for WWE SmackDown:

– AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson come out first to open up SmackDown. They cut a promo on Cena and winning at Money In The Bank, until they’re interrupted by Enzo Amore and Big Cass. Gallows made fun of Enzo for being a former manager at Hooters, and we have a match.

– Gallows & Anderson vs. Enzo & Cass: The New Day were on commentary for this one. The match was ruled a no contest when The New Day and The Vaudevillains both got involved. All four teams brawled to end the segment.

@Smackdown #TheClub pic.twitter.com/X9DdxCw123

— Pip (@PipFromWichita) June 8, 2016

– Rusev cuts a promo in the back saying he’s greater than Muhammad Ali. Titus O’Neil interrupts and challenges Rusev to a match at Money In The Bank.

– Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio def. Cesaro and Sami Zayn: Zayn and Owens fought to the backstage area for part of the match. When Owens came back to the ring, he attacked his partner and pinned Cesaro for the win.

– Becky Lynch def. Dana Brooke: Becky won by submission with the Dis-arm-her.

– In the latest Make Darren Young Great Again segment, Bob Backlund tells Darren to save his money by only wearing one set of clothes and underwear.

– Baron Corbin def. Kalisto: Corbin got the win with the End of Days. Dolph Ziggler was on commentary again for this match.

– Backstage, Sheamus picks on Apollo Crews so Crews lays him out and sends him flying into some production equipment.

– Chris Jericho def. Dean Ambrose: Jericho got the win in this week’s main event with the Codebreaker. After the match, Ambrose beats down Jericho with a ladder to end the show.

The June 6th episode of WWE RAW takes place tonight at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, OK.

– All of the participants for this year’s Money In The Bank ladder match are in the ring sitting on ladders. They all sit on top of their own ladders and talk about how they will win the match. Ambrose eventually punches Jericho off of his ladder, and everyone starts brawling at ringside. Teddy Long comes out and interrupts the violence. Jericho calls him a stupid idiot. Teddy Long starts talking about what he would do if he was in charge, and is interrupted by Stephanie McMahon. Stephanie tells him she isn’t going to decide on a SmackDown GM tonight, and says Shane is on vacation. Stephanie sets up matches between all six men, and Cesaro vs. Jericho is up now.

Former #SmackDown GM Teddy Long!! And he's looking to be SmacKDown's new GM when it goes LIVE July 19! #RAW pic.twitter.com/llsgpV0ebv

— WWE (@WWE) June 7, 2016

– Cesaro def. Chris Jericho: They go back and forth until Cesaro comes flying off the top rope right into a dropkick from Jericho. Cesaro comes back with some uppercuts, but Jericho drops him and sends him rolling to the outside with a Codebreaker. Cesar gets out of the Walls and swings Jericho before putting him in the Sharpshooter. Jericho taps out.

– We get a video highlighting the history between Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins, from Rollins’ perspective.

– Rusev def. Jack Swagger via count out: Titus O’Neil is on commentary for this one. Rusev controls the majority of the match until Swaggers hits a powerslam and the ankle lock. Rusev gets out and rolls to the outside. They lay each other out with a double clothesline at ringside, then Rusev pushes Swagger into Titus and rolls back int the ring before the 10 count. Rusev wins via count out. After the match, Titus runs in and lays out the US Champ with a big boot.

– John Cena is out next to address AJ Styles. AJ, Gallows and Anderson come out to the stage to interrupt. Cena asks AJ why he took the easy way out, and AJ says he has a plan. Styles says even on his best day, Cena can’t beat him. Cena criticizes AJ for bringing The Club with him to fights, but AJ says they are his insurance policy, and Cena has no idea who he’s dealing with. AJ and The Club hit the ring, big The New Day comes out for the save.

Looks like @AJStylesOrg took @JohnCena's words VERY personally!! #Raw https://t.co/FOw0ldhKKS

— WWE (@WWE) June 7, 2016

– The Vaudevillains def. Enzo & Cass via DQ: The Vaudevillains control the match until Big Cass gets the hot tag. Enzo gets thrown to the outside and sells that he’s hurt, which sets off Big Cass who beats down both Vaudevillains and gets his team disqualified.

– Alberto Del Rio cuts a promo on Sami Zayn in the back about how he’ll never be a champion.

– Backstage, Stephanie gets the suggestion from Teddy Long to book The New Day vs. Gallows and Anderson vs. Enzo and Big Cass vs. The Vaudevillains in a four-way tag match.

– Sami Zayn vs. Alberto Del Rio: Del Rio controls the match until Sami hits a flying cross-body off the top. Zayn hits a flying headscissor takedown, but is unable to capitalize on it as Del Rio stomps Zayn in the corner for the win.

It's @iLikeSamiZayn vs. @VivaDelRio LIVE NOW on @WWE #RAW on @USA_Network. #MITB pic.twitter.com/2pQThWbyqN

— WWE (@WWE) June 7, 2016

– Kevin Owens and Dena Ambrose exchange some words in the back about their match tonight.

– Dean Ambrose def. Kevin Owens: Ambrose takes things to the outside early on and beats Owens down at ringside. Back in the ring, Owens comes back with a senton bomb for a 2 count. Owens hits a German suplex but Ambrose comes back with a clothesline and both men are down. Owens goes for a pop-up powerbomb but Ambrose counters with a hurricanrana. Ambrose goes flying onto Owens at ringside, but Owens catches him and slams him into the ring apron. Owens follows up with a frogsplash from the apron onto Ambrose on the floor. Owens whips Ambrose into the ropes, but Ambrose comes back with the Dirty Deeds out of nowhere for the win.

Reversal into #DirtyDEEDS!! @TheDeanAmbrose knocks off @FightOwensFight on #RAW!! pic.twitter.com/k5xTsm9CJm

— WWE (@WWE) June 7, 2016

– After the match, Ambrose climbs a ladder and reaches for the Money In The Bank briefcase, but Owens pushes him off.

– Charlotte and Dana Brooke come out to cut a promo on Natlaya, and talks about her father Ric Flair. They get interrupted by Natalya and Becky, who hit the ring. Dana teases turning on Charlotte, but the segment ends with Dana and Charlotte beating down Natalya and Becky.

What will @DanaBrookeWWE do? … She'll side with the CHAMP!! #RAW pic.twitter.com/YgTGUT7ODk

— WWE (@WWE) June 7, 2016

– R-Truth vs. Tyler Breeze: Goldust and Fandango are at ringside for this one, and they brawl on the floor during the match. The ringside chaos leads to Goldust throwing Breeze into the ring and the match being stopped. Teddy Long comes out says he wants to restart the match, but security comes and kicks him out. Stephanie tells Teddy in the back to get the hell out of her building.

– AJ Styles, Luke Gallows & Carl Anderson def. The New Day: All six men brawl in the ring to start things off. Anderson slows things down with a big boot on Xavier that leads to Styles giving him a Styles Clash on the floor at ringside, all before the opening bell. Xavier is taken to the back and The New Day is outnumbered for this one. The bell rings and the Tag Team Champs go to work on Anderson. Big E hits a splash on Anderson on the apron, but AJ runs around and hits him with the Pele kick while the referee isn’t looking. Gallows gets the tag and goes to work on Big E. Kofi and AJ get the tags, AJ goes for the Styles Clash but Kofi gets out and hits the SOS for 2. AJ comes back with a Phenomenal Forearm on Kofi for the win while Anderson and Gallows beat down Kofi at ringside. Cena comes out for the save. AJ lays out Cena, but Kofi and Big E come back in and clear the ring. Cena hits the Attitude Adjustment on Gallows and the babyfaces stand tall in the ring while The Club retreats to the back.

#StylesCLASH on the FLOOR!!! #RAW @AJStylesOrg @XavierWoodsPhd pic.twitter.com/JOjNvMq5EW

— WWE (@WWE) June 7, 2016

• Report: WWE To Use Top UFC Fighters For Angle At SummerSlam PPV?

WWE posted a behind-the-scenes video from Goldberg’s WWE 2k17 commercial today. In the video, Goldberg credits WWE and 2K for “finally giving people what they want” by putting him in the game. 2K Sports’ Executive Creative Director Pete Harvey says that Goldberg’s ring entrance is iconic, and they wanted to bring that feel to life in their “Hatch” commercial.

“So where should he be? He should be locked up in some cave far away from anyone,” Harvey said of the creative process behind the commercial. “[The police] are traipsing through to forest to find this big set of metal doors that need to be blown open, and of course he’s been waiting there, perched, excited to get back in the ring.”

“He’s escorted back down to the motorcade and they take off, and where they’re going is left to be seen in the rest of the campaign,” Harvey said, indicating that more spots will follow this one.

The former World Heavyweight Champion said that he was excited and feeling nostalgic about filming the spot, and that he hopes to make some kids happy with his work. Goldberg said 2K Sports is a prestigious group of people, and the whole production left him speechless.

After some confusion at Ticketmaster caused concern for the future of the event, NXT Takeover: Brooklyn is now officially confirmed for SummerSlam weekend. Triple H & the official NXT account both Tweeted that the event will take place on Saturday, August 20th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

Tickets go on sale this Sunday at noon.

#NXTTakeOver heads BACK to #Brooklyn on Sat. Aug. 20th

Pre-sale starts Wed. at 10am
On-sale Sat. at noon. #WeAreNXT pic.twitter.com/cyYFHvqtLo

— Triple H (@TripleH) June 6, 2016

Find out when you can get YOUR #NXTTakeOver: Brooklyn tickets, as announced by @tripleh! https://t.co/MY93YkWntu pic.twitter.com/G9wpTBSOWH

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) June 6, 2016

Back in May, Ticketmaster removed the event listing from the website. According to F4WOnline.com, this had caused concern among the NXT roster about the company’s plans for them this summer.

https://gfycat.com/BlankNearArawana

On the most recent edition of Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast, Seth Rollins addressed some comments that Bret Hart made about him back in November. Hart told Sports Illustrated that he felt Seth Rollins was “unprofessional” and “reckless” in the ring after he injured John Cena with a knee to the face. Hart compared Rollins to Shawn Michaels, who he says was a “really safe worker.”

Rollins says everyone in the wrestling world was supportive and positive during his recent rehab and injury recovery, except for Bret Hart. Rollins says he respects the WWE Hall of Famer, and Hart’s comments hurt his feelings. Rollins thought it “sucked” that The Hitman made the negative comments about him in Sports Illustrated, and says he feels really bad about the injury he gave Cena. Rollins said Cena will likely need additional surgeries down the line as a result of his knee to the face.

Jericho said he thinks Rollins is a safe performer and told him not to take Bret’s comments too seriously. “Bret was put out of wrestling by a superkick from Goldberg. That’d be like saying, ‘Hey Bret you shouldn’t have gotten that concussion,'” Jericho added.

Here’s what Hart had to say about Rollins back in November:

“Shawn was always really safe. He was always a really safe worker, but I don’t know about Seth Rollins. That knee in the face that he gave to John Cena was unprofessional, at best. It’s really strange that a guy like Rollins, who I have a lot of respect for, would be that reckless with that knee in the face. If someone kneed me in the face like that, I would have met him in the back dressing room with a baseball bat. There’s just no excuse for it.”

“You can’t hurt somebody like that under any circumstances. It’s totally reckless. It can’t happen. The other thing is, when you’re the champion, you have a responsibility to not get hurt. You have to be spot on. I love that Rollins kept going on and finished the match, and that shows a lot of courage. Nobody can hurt you and you can’t hurt yourself. It’s not allowed. I was champion, off and on, for quite a few years, and I never missed one title match from an injury. I got hurt lots of times, but the reality is you’ve got so much pinned on you and so much tied onto you, the company and your peers can’t afford for you to get hurt. When you do get injured, it throws a wrench into everything. I do feel bad–Seth Rollins is a young guy and he’s obviously very talented, and I hope he comes back from his surgery and learns from all these things. I hope they give him another chance and his opportunity has not been squandered from an injury, regardless of whose fault it was.”

Former World Heavyweight Champion Sheamus was recently interviewed by The 42 to promote the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and revealed some details about his first encounter with WWE chairman Vince McMahon.

Sheamus, who first signed his WWE developmental deal back in 2006, talked about his tryout match for the company and meeting Vince for the first time. Sheamus admitted that meeting his soon-to-be boss was “very intimidating.” Sheamus shared a story about him giving Vince a weak handshake, and Vince calling him out on it.

“Is that a handshake?,” Sheamus recalls McMahon saying, as he pulled his hand away. “Give me a proper handshake!” Sheamus have him a more sturdy handshake, and the WWE chairman replied, “that’s better” and walked off.

Sheamus will be at the Wizard World Comic Con Philadelphia this afternoon from 3:15 PM to 6:30 PM.

This week’s episode of Impact Wrestling on Pop TV averaged 346,000 viewers. This is slightly down from last week’s 359,000 viewers, which is the highest viewership TNA has garnered on Pop TV. The two weeks prior averaged 311,000 viewers and 280,000 viewers.

This week’s show, which featured the latest in the Matt vs. Jeff Hardy feud, was ranked #83 on the Cable Top 150. Last week’s show was ranked #85.

Former referee and RAW general manager Brad Maddox recently talked about the backstage environment in WWE on the Pancakes and Powerslams Podcast. He says that outbursts from the wrestlers, whether in public or in private, often come due to their frustration with the system within the company.

“It does get very frustrating. Communication gets very muddy, and I think a lot of guys feel a little trapped,” he said about working as an on-air talent in WWE. “Almost like they can’t defend themselves within the constructs of the company.

Maddox also indicated that former World Heavyweight Champion Randy Orton is known to “threaten” other wrestlers backstage. “Randy would get angry at something in a match,” he explained, “and I remember a few instances when I was a referee, so I was in the Gorilla Position a lot of the time.

“A few times he would say things or threaten other guys, like right there in Gorilla, and I would be standing there with my eyes wide open, not believing that he is saying this in front of all the producers and in the same room with Vince. I was kind of amazed by that.”

Maddox was released by WWE in 2015 and currently wrestles on the independent circuit as Mad Braddox.

Some new details are coming out about Bill Goldberg’s deal with 2K Sports for the upcoming WWE 2K17 video game. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that they first tried to sign Goldberg for previous games, but it was none other than WWE Chairman Vince McMahon who put a stop to that.

Goldberg didn’t leave WWE on good terms back in 2004. Meltzer reports that the split left McMahon so negative on the former World Heavyweight Champion that when WWE was in talks to sign UFC’s Mike Goldberg as an announcer, McMahon wanted him to change his name for that reason. The original plan for Goldberg’s arrival in WWE was for him to work a series of three matches against The Rock, but those plans changed to what we ended up seeing on WWE TV when Rock’s movie career took off.

As previously noted, WWE’s Goldberg DVD garnered better sales than the company expected, which could have lead to Vince McMahon signing off on him being included in 2K17.

– Former WWE World Heavyweight Champion Dave Bautista is featured in the new film Marauders, which also stars Bruce Willis, Christopher Meloni and Adrian Grenier. Lionsgate Movies released the official trailer this week for the film, which will hit theaters and On Demand on July 1st. You can watch the trailer here:

– Dean Ambrose recently sat down with Tom Philips for a WWE.com exclusive interview to promote their annual Money In The Bank pay-per-view. During the interview, Ambrose also touches on SmackDown going live this Summer and says that he likes knowing anything can happen at any time and so does the WWE Universe. Ambrose says he was “screwed” out of the Money In The Bank briefcase and the World Heavyweight Title before, but he’s still confident going into the PPV. “What’s a piece of metal to represent who the champion is, I still feel like I’m the king of this place,” Ambrose said.

Money In The Bank 2016 takes place on June 19th at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The show airs live on the WWE Network with live play-by-play coverage and discussion on SEScoops.com.

WWE tapes this week’s episode of SmackDown at the BMO Harris Bank Center in Rockford, IL tonight.

– WWE Tag Team Champs the New Day kick off this week’s SmackDown. They are quickly interrupted by The Club, and AJ Styles vs. Kofi Kingston gets set up for later.

– Becky Lynch def. Charlotte via DQ: This was a non-title match and the finish came when Dana Brooke interfered and got Charlotte disqualified. Natalya comes out for the save and the two babyfaces beat down Charlotte and Dana.

– The Dudley Boyz def. Goldust and R-Truth: Tyler Breeze and Fandango came out and caused a distraction that lead to the finish.

– Dean Ambrose and Sami Zayn def. Kevin Owens and Alberto Del Rio: After the match, Owens sets a ladder up in the ring and climbs it to grab the Money In the Bank briefcase.

– Rusev def. Jack Swagger: Rusev beat down Swagger after the match until Titus O’Neil came out to make the save.

– AJ Styles def. Kofi Kingston: Styles hit the Styles Clash to win this main event bout. During the finish, Gallows & Anderson brawled against Big E and Xavier at ringside.

What will The Club have to say on #Smackdown this Thursday? pic.twitter.com/s1QcvcCUGs

— I’m……. That Guy. (@BrockLesnarGuy) June 1, 2016

A pair to draw to. #Smackdown #WWERockford @DanaBrookeWWE @MsCharlotteWWE pic.twitter.com/pVTGcsEyHO

— I’m……. That Guy. (@BrockLesnarGuy) June 1, 2016

Keep refreshing this page for live updates & discuss your thoughts in the comments below.

• 15 Incredible Photos Of André The Giant That Truly Put His Freakish Size In Perspective

Despite reports that Sasha Banks is expected to compete for the Women’s Championship at SummerSlam this year, it sounds like Vince McMahon isn’t her biggest fan. Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Banks is getting a reputation with WWE management for being injury-prone. Meltzer says that Vince has told officials on numerous occasions that he believes she only knows one speed in the ring: all out.

Months ago, Vince was reportedly comparing Banks and Daniel Bryan to company management. Bryan’s career was cut short at the age of 34 due to numerous concussions.

Banks returned to in-ring action over the weekend at WWE live events after reportedly suffering a concussion at the May 15th house show in Charlottesville, VA. Meltzer sticks by his original report that her injury was a “significant” concussion, which happened after a freak accident where referee Darrick Moore accidentally hit Sasha with a knee to the head.

Last year, Banks reblogged a fan’s comment on her Tumblr that read:

All the marks and smarks will look up and shout “We want Sasha!”… and Vince will look down and whisper “No.”

The Miami Herald ran an interview with The Big Show today where he speaks on the new era of talent in WWE, and seems to hint that he’s contemplating retiring from in-ring action.

“I came in as the youngest in the locker-room by 10 years in 1995, and now I’m one of the old ones still out there,” said the former World Heavyweight Champion. “We’ve got a lot of young, new, great talent deserving of TV time; they’re building their brand. New storylines for them. It’s a changing of the guard.”

When asked about his role and future with WWE, Show commented that “all great things come to an end.” He indicated that he’s looking for projects outside of the the company, but that his “heart is with WWE.”

“I love helping the younger talent. I love representing WWE like with Make-A-Wish, Be a STAR, Special Olympics. I think I’ll always have a home in WWE,” he said. “I’ve had a great career and had a lot of fun. So whatever happens in the future, I’m gonna take it. If I get a phone call tomorrow, and Vince [McMahon] says, ‘Thank you very much. I appreciate everything you’ve done.’ Well, that said, I can hold my head high and go on and do other things.”

Big Show concluded by saying he’s thankful for still having his health, and being able to step into the ring every now and then to do what he loves. You can read his entire interview here.

After discontinuing his previous “Wooooo! Nation” series on Play.it earlier this year, Ric Flair will be getting back into the podcast game.

Flair terminated his contract with Play.it in order to go on the road with WWE, and has been on hiatus from podcasting since his WrestleMania Weekend special. Flair’s co-host Conrad Thompson tweeted on Monday night that he and Flair will be podcasting once again, but now under a different name and with a different company.

Coming back with a new name and home https://t.co/LFvsuAgKRB

— Conrad the Mortgage Guy (@HeyHeyItsConrad) May 30, 2016

First episode will be out in June https://t.co/8pbxuYiwPf

— Conrad the Mortgage Guy (@HeyHeyItsConrad) May 31, 2016

Flair was written off WWE television on last week’s RAW, but is still under a performer’s contract.