WWE Hall of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts believes that Bray Wyatt is a “very unique” talent on the WWE roster. In a recent interview with Ring Rust Radio, Roberts was asked about who on the current WWE roster he thinks is excelling both in the ring and on the mic.

“Bray Wyatt; he definitely gets it done,” Roberts answered. “I think they’re holding him down. I think he could do a lot more, and I would like to see them turn him loose, but I don’t think they’re going to. He would be something hard for WWE to ram something down his chute because his character is so strong. So they keep him beaten down and I think it’s a shame because he is very unique.”

While he believes Wyatt is capable of more, he doesn’t believe he’s capable of being a top heel. Roberts compared Wyatt to his own old character facing Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage, saying it would be too hard for him to get booed by everyone.

“He will never be a top heel because people are infatuated by him. Just like the way they were with me,” Roberts said. “Whenever I wrestled Hogan they cheered me, with Savage it was split. People are funny man. When you’re doing your job really well, and you’re different and unique and you have this edge, that’s very special. People dig that, they respect that and they want to be with that. If they are scared of your character like they were of me and Bray, they want to be on the winning team, so they will want to cheer for you regardless.”

The WWE Hall of Famer also spoke on the recently retired Daniel Bryan, a talent he says WWE needs desperately. Roberts discussed his own experience with concussions, saying he believes they are to blame for spots on his brain that “don’t look good.”

“As far as Bryan goes, that’s a huge loss and I hate to hear that. WWE needs him desperately,” Roberts said. “I’m very proud of him that he is smart enough to get out after being injured. Most of us weren’t. As far as concussions for myself, I went and did all the tests because I am having issues. We did all the tests and stuff and it did not come out good. It come out there’s some spots on my brain that don’t look good and shouldn’t be there. It came down to how many concussions do I think I had, and I thought I had maybe two or three year. It’s a very low number when really I think it was more like eight or ten. So let’s say two or three, but I wrestled for 40 years, that’s 120 now. So I am going to have problems, and I’m already having problems.”

You can listen to the full interview here.

– If you’ve paying close attention to your TV, you may have noticed a fresh cut on Ric Flair’s forehead recently. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Flair demonstrated the process of “blading” for his upcoming ESPN 30 For 30 documentary on his life and career. There’s no word yet on when the special will air.

– The Wrestling Observer Newsletter also reports that Germany is a strong new market for the WWE Network. The Network launched in Germany this past January and is considered a success in the region. WWE is working on German commentary for all their pay-per-views on the WWE Network this year.

– Vince McMahon recently Tweeted about WrestleMania 32’s ticket sales at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. WrestleMania 32 takes place this Sunday, April 3rd, and we’ll have live coverage right here on SEScoops.com.

Old Record: 93,173 at Pontiac Silverdome.

New Record: This Sunday at @ATTStadium?#WrestleMania pic.twitter.com/6qt0BSxfDT

— Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) March 30, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9ZZKYBTEV8

This week’s episode of TNA’s Impact Wrestling on Pop TV averaged 312,000 viewers for what was billed as a historic World Heavyweight Title match between Jeff Hardy and Drew Galloway. This is down from last week’s 331,000 viewers, but up from the 307,000 viewers their semi-live show drew two weeks ago.

The episode was ranked #113 in the Cable Top 150 chart, rising from last week’s #127 ranking.

Diamond Dallas Page was recently a guest on The Steve Austin Show, where Stone Cold Steve Austin asked DDP about The Fabulous Freebirds being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on Saturday. Page made his WCW debut in 1991 as The Freedbirds’ manager.

“When I think of the Birds, because when I came in to WCW, you remember, bro, I got to manage the latest Freebirds, it was always Michael P.S. Hayes and Jimmy ‘Jam’ Garvin, so I was really happy to see Jimmy go in the [WWE] Hall Of Fame too because he was one hell of a talent. And those guys together, they were so much fun. They taught me so much on the road,” DDP said

“Hayes [and] those guys could drink,” the former WCW World Heavyweight Champion continued, “like, you know I come from the nightclub business, and I drank my fair share of a lot of booze, but when you hung out with those guys, it went to a different level.”

Austin and Page also looked back at what may have been DDP’s biggest feud in WCW with the late ‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage. Page revealed how his ex-wife Kimberly’s nude modelling lead to Page getting a push from WCW creative into a storyline with Savage on TV.

“At the time, Kimberly had done that Celebrity Nudes. She was the first Playboy chick [from the world of professional wrestling]. What they did was they shot this spread with her and they asked me to be in it! Now, I’m bottom of the middle of the card at the time. You know me, bro. If I get the opportunity to do something that’s going to shock some people, I’m going to go with it, so I went and I shot this thing with her where I’m putting on my boots [and] she’s slipping into something,” Page explained, “and they loved the photoshoot so much they asked us to come back and shoot again because they were going to give her a six-page spread. So I tell [Eric] Bischoff right before this goes down and he’s like, ‘are you crazy? You’ve got a morality clause in your contract. They can fire you!’ I go, ‘well, then, they fire me! Maybe Vince will do something with it!’ And then, it sort of just went away and that came back as the angle that Randy Savage brought out the Playboy with Liz spray painted over Kim’s nipples and butt and then she came out all spray painted nWo! And then, boom, that starts her angle with Savage.”

You can listen to the full podcast here.

• Photos: WWE’s hot new announcer Cathy Kelley

Linda McMahon, who worked in high-ranking positions in WWE from 1980 to 2009, says she could “never say never” regarding Hulk Hogan returning to the company. In an interview with Katie Couric for Yahoo News, McMahon also revealed that she did follow the Hulk Hogan vs. Gawker trial and was on Hogan’s side.

“I followed it some because he’s been a part of WWE for quite some time. I don’t think anyone had the right to take that private tape and put it out. I thought Gawker was wrong in doing that. He said some deplorable things, and it cost him his job in WWE,” said McMahon.

McMahon, who left WWE in 2009 to pursue a career in politics, was also asked about Donald Trump’s presidential campaign. Donald Trump has made several appearances for WWE over the years and is in their Hall of Fame. She stopped short of endorsing Trump, but spoke highly of him and claimed that his persona resonates with WWE fans.

“The persona of Donald Trump has resonated with [WWE fans.] Maybe their business isn’t growing, maybe they have kids who are graduating who can’t get jobs. All of those things that you hear I think resonate not only with some WWE fans, but across really the specter,” Linda said.

“He was a great partner, a wonderful promoter,” she said of her time working with Trump in WWE. “He really greased the wheels. We got to know him personally. He’s very loyal, he’s a patriot, he hires smart people around him. He did exactly what he said he would do.”

You can watch Linda’s entire interview on Yahoo.com.

• Hulk Hogan On The View: Sex Tape Trial, Racial Slurs & His Family’s Reaction (Video)

WWE taped the following matches and segments for SmackDown this week in Brooklyn, NY at the Barclays Center. WWE will additionally be airing footage from the WrestleMania Axxess fan events on Thursday’s episode, which is the go-home show before WrestleMania 32 on Sunday.

– AJ Styles def. Heath Slater: The Social Outcasts cut a promo to open up the show. Slater had Curtis Axel, Bo Dallas and Adam Rose at ringside for the match. Styles got the pinfall after hitting Slater with his Springboard Forearm.

– D-Von Dudley def. Jey Uso: Bubba Ray Dudley was in D-Von’s corner and Jimmy Uso was in Jey’s corner. D-Von got the victory after hitting Jey with a spinebuster.

– Dean Ambrose def. Erick Rowan: Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman came out with Rowan during this one, but were sent to the back. Ambrose got the win after hitting Rowan with his Dirty Deeds finisher.

• Final Card For Sunday’s WWE WrestleMania 32

The March 28, 2016 edition of WWE RAW averaged 3,771,000 viewers on the USA Network for a 2.66 cable rating. This is up from last week’s 3,399,000 viewer average, for a 2.44 rating.

The first hour of the show averaged 3,823,000 viewers, the second hour increased to 3,852,000 viewers, and the final hour decreased to 3,638,000 viewers.

• Photos: WWE’s new TV host Cathy Kelley

– WWE is reportedly not happy with the crowd’s reaction to Eva Marie at Monday’s RAW in Brooklyn, NY. On Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer reported that Eva was meant to be a returning babyface and WWE management was not expecting her to get booed out of the building.

– WWE has officially hired 27 year old TV host Cathy Kelley, and she’ll be starting with videos on WWE’s social media pages the rest of WrestleMania week. Wrestling fans may recognize her from Afterbuzz TV’s WWE recap shows. We first reported back in February that she would be signing with the company.
https://twitter.com/catherinekelley/status/714961785158115328

• Photos: WWE’s new announcer Cathy Kelley

– Tickets for WWE SummerSlam 2016 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY will go on sale this Saturday, April 2nd. SummerSlam takes place on August 21st. The Ticketmaster pre-sale code is WWESUMMERSLAM.

– WWE Network’s Hall of Fame red carpet special on Saturday night will be hosted by Byron Saxton and Maria Menounos. Menounos hosted last year’s special with Michael Cole.

– Mojo Rawley vs. Christopher Girard has been added to Thursday night’s WrestleMania 32 Axxess session. Several NXT matches will reportedly be filmed during WrestleMania week at Axxess events. Speaking of NXT, below is a new promo video for Friday’s NXT Takeover: Dallas, airing on the WWE Network at 10 PM ET.

WWE returned to Brooklyn, New York to kick off WrestleMania 32 week. The March 28, 2016 episode of WWE RAW was the last RAW before WrestleMania on Sunday and features Shane McMahon, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar and others.

– The Undertaker makes his way to the ring to open up the show as Michael Cole tells us there’s over 16,000 in attendance tonight at the Barclays Center. ‘Taker cuts a promo about how this WrestleMania will not be his last, and gets interrupted by Shane McMahon. Shane assures that he will win and gain control of Monday Night RAW, and Undertaker tells him to watch his mouth. Shane tells Undertaker that Brock Lesnar already ended his legacy, Undertaker tells Shane he’s always been his dad’s bitch, and they start brawling all over the ring. ‘Taker gets the upper hand and beats down Shane at ringside. Shane escapes an attempted Last Ride through the announce table. He lays out Undertaker on that same table with a TV to the head, then puts ‘Taker through it with an elbow drop off the top rope to the outside. The Undertaker sits straight up before the commercial break as Shane looks on from the ramp.

TOP ROPE ELBOW from @ShaneMcMahon!!! #ThisIsAwesome #YouStillGotIt #RAW pic.twitter.com/K3dAnFFRAH

— WWE (@WWE) March 29, 2016

– Zach Ryder def. Chris Jericho: Before the match, AJ Styles comes out and says he’s not leaving until Jericho agrees to a match with him at WrestleMania. Ryder starts getting the upper hand after a couple minutes with a missile dropkick off the top and a running forearm in the corner. Jericho comes back and goes for the Walls of Jericho but AJ gets on the mic from ringside and distracts him. Ryder is able to quickly roll up Jericho for a 3 count. After the bell, Jericho lays out Ryder with a Code Breaker and beats him down.

– After the match, Jericho tells AJ he’s a “stupid ass” and a “rookie,” and that he accepts his challenge for WrestleMania.

– Charlotte def. Becky: Sasha Banks is at ringside watching. Ric Flair grabs Becky’s leg at one point in the match, and Charlotte capitalizes with a big boot and the Natural Selection for the win.

– Backstage, Vince talks about how Shane McMahon will do anything it takes to win and isn’t afraid of the Undertaker. Vince says all Shane has done tonight is anger the Undertaker. Shane walks in and cuts a promo on Vince, saying he’s going to let loose 40 years of pent up anger at WrestleMania.

– Big Show & Kane def. Curtis Axel & Bo Dallas via DQ: The Social Outcasts try to cut a promo before the match bit The Big Show’e entrance music interrupts. In the opening minutes of the match, the other members of the Outcasts run in and the match is a DQ. They all brawl in the ring, which brings out other members of the roster who are in the Andre The Giant memorial battle royal at WrestleMania. They fight all over the ring until eventually Kane and Big Show lay everyone out and are the last two men standing. They hit chokeslams on Mark Henry and all of the Social Outcasts.

– Triple H and Stephanie McMahon are out next to cut a promo about what The Game is going to do to Roman Reigns at WrestleMania and how important the WWE World Heavyweight Championship is. Triple H talks about how he’s had a stranglehold on the championship and the WWE for the last 20 years, and that it’s Roman Reigns’ fault that he’s once again obsessed with being the World Heavyweight Champion. Roman Reigns interrupts and receives audible boos from the crowd in Brooklyn. Reigns beats down Triple H and The Game & Stephanie eventually retreat.

It looks like @WWERomanReigns has heard ENOUGH from @TripleH and @StephMcMahon! #RAW #WrestleMania https://t.co/A04Fw0EKm3

— WWE (@WWE) March 29, 2016

– Kofi Kingston def. Alberto Del Rio: The New Day cuts a promo on The League of Nations before the match. Del Rio controls most of the match. He goes for the cross arm breaker on Kofi, but Kofi rolls him up quickly for the 1-2-3. After the match, Jonathan Coachman meets The New Day on the stage and dances with them.

– Roman Reigns is in the back to do an interview when Bubba Ray Dudley interrupts him and calls him out. Reigns takes the bait, and The Dudley Boyz and Triple H all beat down Reigns. The Dudleys leave and The Game beats down Reigns some more by himself before walking away.

"You will NEVER get this. You understand me?!" – @WWE World Heavyweight Champion @TripleH to @WWERomanReigns #RAW https://t.co/7yk66Fhdsz

— WWE (@WWE) March 29, 2016

– Kalisto def. Konnor: Konnor controls the opening moments of the match. Kalisto comes back with some high-flying offense and kicks, and hits the Salida Del Sol for the win. Ryback comes out after the match and gets in Kalisto’s face and yells “feed me more.” Kalisto shakes his head and Ryback walks off.

– Paul Heyman is in the back getting Brock Lesnar ready to come out next.

– Lesnar and Heyman come out to the ring and Heyman cuts a promo about what The Beast is going to do to Dean Ambrose on Sunday. Heyman says Lesnar is going to perform a public colonoscopy on Ambrose at WrestleMania. Ambrose interrupts and he has a red wagon with him. He grabs weapons from under the ring and puts them in the wagon, then brings his wagon to the back.

– Emma def. Paige: Emma hits a dropkick and controls the match early on. Paige comes back with a flying knee in the corner and a fall away slam for a 2 count. Tamina distracts Paige and Emma rolls her up for the 3 count. All the members of the 5-on-5 Divas match at WrestleMania come out and brawl in the ring. Eva Marie comes out and joins Team Total Divas as the final competitor in the 10-woman WrestleMania match.

– R-Truth and Goldust have an emotional exchange in the back, that ends in R-Truth blowing his nose in a shirt and handing it to Goldust.

– Sami Zayn, Dolph Ziggler and Sin Cara def. Stardust, The Miz and Kevin Owens: Zayn and Miz go back and forth to start things off. Owens gets tagged in, but he immediately tags Stardust in and leaves the ring, wanting no part of Sami Zayn. Owens continues refusing to compete throughout the match, as The Miz and Dolph Ziggler spend the majority of the time as the legal men for their teams. Sami Zayn hits a cross body off the top onto both The Miz and Stardust, then a suicide dive onto Owens at ringside. Back in the ring, several men hit their finishers on each other and Sin Cara hits a springboard moonsault on Stardust to the outside. Kevin Owens sees everyone laid out and tags himself in to face Sami Zayn, and when he goes to tag out, his partners walk away. Owens yells at them as they walk up the ramp, and turns around into a tornado DDT from Zayn. Zayn hits a big boot in the corner for the 3-count.

– Triple H and Stephanie McMahon come out to the ring. Stephanie talks about what her and Triple H have accomplished, and says the fans “live their lives like Roman Reigns.” Reigns interrupts and Triple H meets him on the ramp. They brawl around ringside and Stephanie calls for backup, which brings out The League of Nations, The Miz and the Dudley Boyz. They hold back Riegns and Triple H beats him down. The New Day, Mark Henry and Dolph Ziggler come out to even the odds and pull apart Reigns and Triple H. Reigns hits a suicide dive out of the ring onto all of the heels at ringside. Triple H and Stephanie head up to the stage and stare down at Reigns in the ring to end the show.

How do you get to @WrestleMania? You FLY!!! @WWERomanReigns #RAW pic.twitter.com/6A6M03x8zX

— WWE (@WWE) March 29, 2016

Discuss your thoughts in the comments below.

AJ Styles is all for the idea of Bobby Roode and Eric Young heading to WWE after his two former colleagues quit TNA earlier this month. In an interview with Digital Spy to promote Sunday’s WrestleMania 32, AJ Styles talked about who he would like to see join the WWE roster.

“There’s some guys who used to wrestle for the other company in the US that are not working there any more… Bobby Roode and Eric Young,” AJ said, “I would want to see those guys make their way on over.”

The former TNA World Champion was also asked about Chris Jericho kicking out of The Styles Clash, which has seldomly been seen executed on WWE TV since Styles’ WWE debut.

“It is what it is. I’ve had people kick out of the Styles Clash before – it’s not something that hasn’t happened before,” AJ answered. “It’s just one of those things. It was part of the match and it was a very good one! The finish came shortly after that with the Calf Crusher. It was still a great match.

“I hope to have more than one main weapon. I have the Phenomenal Forearm as we’re calling it now, the Calf Crusher – the Styles Clash is still available. I like to have a lot of alternative moves to hit people with and whatever seems to work is what I’ll go with.

• Backstage News On Why AJ Styles Is Using The Calf Crusher Instead Of The Styles Clash

The WWE Network has confirmed that rapper Snoop Dogg will be inducted into the Celebrity Wing of the WWE Hall of Fame this year. On Monday, the Network sent out an email that contained a graphic advertising Snoop for the ceremony. There will likely be an official announcement from WWE soon.

The WWE Hall of Fame ceremony takes place Saturday night in Dallas and will also feature the inductions of Sting and The Fabulous Freebirds.

• Video: Sasha Banks talks about what it’s like being Snoop Dogg’s cousin

– On Sunday night WWE announced that their Battleground 2016 pay-per-view would take place at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC on July 24th. The pre-sale is underway at Ticketmaster with password: VERIZONCENTER.

– Alberto Del Rio has only wrestled three matches since late February, and was pulled from this weekend’s house shows for the second weekend in a row. The Wrestling Observer newsletter reports that he has been dealing with back issues, which is why he keeps getting pulled off the road and kept out of the ring. He’s currently scheduled to be part of the League of Nations vs. New Day match at WrestleMania 32 on April 3rd.

Back on the road, nothing can stop me from kicking people's traseros #WWEBrooklyn see you soon amigos #sisisi pic.twitter.com/jdU531mnp9

— Alberto El Patron (@PrideOfMexico) March 27, 2016

Kane is currently doing promotional work for WrestleMania 32, which takes place on April 3rd. In an interview with The Nottingham Post, Kane opened up about appearing at seventeen different WrestleMania events over the course of his career.

“I have been around a long time and shared some very elite company,” Kane said. “This will be my 17th Wrestlemania. I have done this by trying to be the best that I can be. I have always taken everything as it comes and tried to stay in good shape. I also have done my best to minimize the risk involved in what I do in the ring. I still think I have a lot to offer and I am pleased with the level of my performance in the ring.”

The former WWE World Heavyweight Champion was also asked about Daniel Bryan, who recently retired. Kane says he was sad about the news of Bryan’s retirement, but that he made the right decision.

“He was a great performer and it is such a loss. We had a lot of good times together (as Team Hell No) and I have often gone on record in saying that my time with Daniel Bryan was the most fun I had during my time in the WWE,” KAne said. “While it is sad he has had to retire, it was the right decision for him in terms of his health. He is still an amazing talent.”

You can check out the entire interview here.

– The Undertaker has been training hard for his match against Shane McMahon at WrestleMania 32 on April 3rd. Undertaker was spotted visiting the WWE Performance Center in Orlando on Friday to train for his Hell In A Cell match.

– PWInsider.com reports that WWE is planning to announce a third match for their WrestleMania 32 kickoff show. The two matches confirmed for the kickoff show already are The Usos vs. The Dudley Boyz, and the Andre The Giant Memorial Battle Royal.

WrestleMania 32 takes place on Sunday, April 3, 2016, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, with live coverage & discussion on SEScoops.com all night.

• The Undertaker Lifts 500 LBS, Shows Off 40-Inch Vertical Jump (Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CQyN0VPi0A

Roman Reigns says despite the boos we hear on TV, he has a lot of supporters too. In an interview with The Kingston Whig-Standard to promote WrestleMania 32, Reigns was asked about the WWE fans’ love-hate relationship with him heading into the biggest event of the year.

“It’s a tough one because there is no one answer. There is no one reason why someone would want to boo me. Maybe they don’t like what I wear, how I sound, maybe I did something to offend them, but for me, it’s hard because I’m under the microscope and I’m dealing with a lot of different things and there’s a lot of things flying my way,” Reigns answered. “For me, I can only continue to stay within myself and worry about the things I can control and the things I can control are, Am I healthy?; Am I showing up to where I need to be on time?; Am I here to perform and do my job? If I do that, then our fans, they can cheer me, they can boo me, as long as we all show up to the arena, everything will be fine. We’ll be able to create that awesome experience, create that energy.”

“As for the reasons why these things happen, I don’t know. I do know I have a lot of supporters. These people have my back. There’s nothing that anybody can say negatively to me that will make me believe you are correct. It’s just your opinions,” he added.

Reigns is scheduled to face Triple H for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 32 on April 3rd.

• Roman Reigns Fires Back At Trash-Talking Fan

The March 28th episode of WWE RAW is the go-home show before WrestleMania 32 on April 3rd. The show will air live on the USA Network from The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. WWE will also reportedly be taping matches for Thursday’s SmackDown this Monday.

Names scheduled for RAW include Shane McMahon, Vince McMahon, The Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, Triple H and Roman Reigns. This will be WWE’s last episode of RAW to promote WrestleMania on. Here’s what WWE.com has to say about Monday’s show:

After his kendo stick assault on Brock Lesnar on SmackDown ended in an F-5, Dean Ambrose will have retribution on his restless mind when he enters the Barclays Center for Raw. Will The Beast Incarnate be waiting in Brooklyn, N.Y., six nights before their No Holds Barred Street Fight at WrestleMania? Plus, how will Shane McMahon and The Undertaker respond to Mr. McMahon’s announcement that, if The Deadman does not defeat WWE’s prodigal son inside Hell in a Cell, this will be his last appearance on The Grandest Stage of Them All?

Join us on Monday night for live results from RAW, then on Sunday, April 3rd for live play-by-play results and backstage news from WrestleMania 32.

The March 24, 2016 episode of WWE SmackDown averaged 2,501,000 viewers on the USA Network. This is up from the previous week’s 2,260,000. The episode marked Brock Lesnar’s first SmackDown appearance since 2004.

SmackDown was ranked #4 in the Top 150 shows in cable for the night, which is up from last week’s #7 ranking.

• Video: Watch Brock Lesnar’s 2006 match with Shinsuke Nakamura

– WWE will be bringing back Funaki to do commentary and translations on the WWE Network in Japan for WrestleMania weekend. He’ll be doing NXT Takeover: Dallas, the Hall of Fame ceremony, and WrestleMania 32.

– According to Enuhito, WWE had interest in purchasing the Bullet Club name and logo from New Japan Pro Wrestling. The deal apparently never happened.

– Luke Harper has been pulled from this weekend’s WWE live events. Harper suffered an apparent leg injury in the dark main event after Monday’s RAW in Philadelphia, but there’s no official word on his status yet.

WWE will be holding their 7th annual Money in the Bank pay-per-view event on June 19th. The event will take place at the new T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. At the event, the winner of the Money in the Bank ladder match receives a shot at the WWE World Heavyweight Championship to “cash in” at a time of their choosing within the next 12 months.

Last year’s event took place in Columbus, OH and saw Seth Rollins defeat Dean Ambrose in the main event.

WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross recently appeared on the Pro Wrestling Illustrated podcast to promote NJPW on AXS TV. During the interview, PWI senior writer Al Castle asked J.R. about Shane McMahon being chosen as The Undertaker’s opponent for WrestleMania this year.

Ross says he personally has no issues with Shane coming out of the woodwork for the semi-main event match, and that the storyline has people talking. “I believe . . . knowing the two participants as well as I do, and I know both of them very well, that they will do everything within their power to have an extraordinary match based on both their individual skill sets and their strengths and their weaknesses. So I have no issues with Shane McMahon coming out of the woodwork,” Ross said.

He added that people have been stopping him left and right asking about Shane McMahon’s return, so it’s certainly gotten the attention of casual fans. “So a lot of people are talking about it. And obviously when you have a lot of people talking about something they’re not all going to like it. I get it and I don’t have a problem with people expressing themselves and their opinions. But when people are so adamant that they know without a shadow of a doubt that this is bad booking, I sometimes am embarrassed for them.”

Ross was asked if WWE talent would be justified in feeling resentful that the owner’s son was chosen to take such a prestigious spot at their biggest event of the year. The Hall of Famer says he’s familiar with wrestling complaining about things like that, but that it’s usually not justified.

“It’s not the first time and it’s not the last time that people are getting passed over. I found out this: wrestlers that have complained regularly, loudly–discreetly loud–about their spot being taken by a non-regular normally didn’t work hard enough or smart enough during the year to keep their spot. I heard that same thing.”

“What do you think would happen in Bill Watts’ territory when he would bring in Andre the Giant to work the Super Dome or Dusty Rhodes or Tommy Rich or the NWA champion? You’d get the same thing: the guys in the locker room b—hing and moaning that somebody was coming in and taking their pay off.”

It might not be the ideal scenario for the full time performers, but the special attractions coming in raises the water level for everybody and today’s stars should be working to establish themselves as the special attractions of tomorrow.

• 15 Incredible Photos Of André The Giant That Truly Show His Freakish Size

Jerry “The King” Lawler recently joined Chris Jericho’s Talk In Jericho podcast to discuss his lengthy career. Lawler says he recognized that The Rock would be a star right away, but didn’t have such high expectations for Hulk Hogan. He shared a story about Hulk breaking into the wrestling business, revealing that even back then Hogan would try to get jobs for his friends. Lawler also touched base on something that came up in Hogan’s trial: A car that Jerry Jarrett had supposedly bought him.

“Hulk Hogan, he came right there and started with us. He had been playing bass guitar in a band down in Florida. Jerry Jarrett and I co-signed for his first car that he ever had when he was right there,” Lawler recalled. “He was nowhere near a polished worker yet and the thing that really held him back, I think the reason we kind of had to let him go, was because he was bound and determined for us to use this kid that he brought with him. He called him Dizzy Hogan, which I think may have turned out to be, I don’t know if it was Brutus Beefcake. And he was horrible! But that was the deal. If we used Hulk, we had to use this other kid, his best friend.”

Lawler was also there to see Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson break into the business. He said they could see his star potential right off the bat.

“The Rock, Flex Kavana, yeah, that was his name. He had a haircut [and] it looked like a pineapple. It was crazy. But, yeah, we knew that he had tremendous potential, simply because he was the son of Rocky Johnson and we had Rocky here. Rocky was a huge star in our territory down here in Memphis. But the funny thing was we didn’t play on that. We didn’t play that up. He was Flex Kavana. We didn’t even mention that he was Rocky Johnson’s son at that time. They didn’t do that until he got into WWE.”

You can listen to Jericho’s entire podcast featuring “The King” here.

WWE announced on Thursday’s episode of SmackDown that The Usos vs. The Dudley Boyz match, originally scheduled for WrestleMania 32, will take place on the kickoff show on WWE Network. Below is the current card for WrestleMania 32, which takes place on April 3rd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

WrestleMania 32
WWE World Heavyweight Title Match
Triple H (c) vs. Roman Reigns

Hell In a Cell for Control of WWE
Shane McMahon vs. The Undertaker

No Holds Barred Street Fight
Dean Ambrose vs. Brock Lesnar

Triple Threat for the Divas Championship
Charlotte (c) vs. Sasha Banks vs. Becky Lynch

Handicap Match for the WWE Tag Team Titles
The New Day vs. The League of Nations

United States Title Match
Kalisto (c) vs. Ryback

Ladder Match for the Intercontinental Title
Kevin Owens © vs. The Miz vs. Dolph Ziggler vs. Sami Zayn vs. Zack Ryder vs. Sin Cara vs. Stardust.

WWE Network Kickoff Show
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Adam Rose vs. Curtis Axel vs. Heath Slater vs. Bo Dallas vs. Kane vs. The Big Show vs. Tyler Breeze

Tag Team Match
The Usos vs. The Dudley Boyz

• Update On Cena’s Return, Big Names Scheduled For WrestleMania

Last week TMZ reported that Sting would be retiring due to his neck injury from September, but the former WCW World Champion says his dream isn’t dead yet. In an interview with IGN to promote WrestleMania 32, Sting hinted that he is still hopeful of getting a match against The Undertaker.

“Uh, yeah. I’ve been very outspoken about that,” Sting said when asked if he still wants to face Undertaker. “Still a dream of mine.”

Sting suffered significant injuries during his match against Seth Rollins back at Night of Champions, but maintains that his dream to face The Undertaker lives on.

“[Retiring] is one of those rumors floating around, yes,” Sting continued, “TMZ put something out and, again, I still have a dream inside of me. And it’s not dead yet.”

Sting will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 2nd, the day before WrestleMania 32.

– While it seems likely that John Cena will appear at WrestleMania 32 in some capacity, the 15-time WWE World Heavyweight champion is not expected back in the ring any time soon. After undergoing shoulder surgery back in January, the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that Cena isn’t expected to be medically cleared to wrestle until July. Cena recently hit the 350-hour mark in his physical rehabilitation. WWE Battleground takes place on July 24th, so he could be back by then in order to be part of SummerSlam the following month. 

– WWE has not yet revealed what The Rock, Shawn Michaels & Steve Austin’s roles will be at WrestleMania, but all three are locked in for the show. There hasn’t been any mention of their WrestleMania appearances on WWE TV since January, other than a 30-second video package. It was originally believed they would need names lke Austin and Michaels to sell tickets for the April 3rd event, but they’re already almost sold out.

– WWE has informed pay-per-view providers that WrestleMania 32 could run until as late at 11:20 PM ET. The usual cut off time from the PPV providers is 11:00 PM.

• John Cena Burger & Taco: Mexico’s Unauthorized WWE-Themed Restaurant (Photos)