WWE Hall of Famer Edge could be back on TV sooner than fans had first expected if a popular theory about the Rated-R Superstar is to be believed.
Edge hasn’t appeared since the September 12, Monday Night Raw, where he faced Dominik Mysterio.
During the match, all four members of the Judgment Day attacked Edge, taking him out of action.
The Injury
After the attack on Edge, it was reported on WWE’s The Bump that he had suffered a Grade-2 MCL sprain, though it is believed this is a kayfabe injury.
If it is legitimate, then Edge would not be expected to miss much in-ring time, as a Grade-2 MCL sprain typically takes two to four weeks to fully heal.
The Return
According to a popular theory, Edge’s return may come in time for WWE’s next Premium Live Event: Extreme Rules
Many fans have pointed out that on the poster for the event, Edge is featured, alongside other Superstars including Matt Riddle and Seth Rollins.
Typically, WWE avoids using any Superstars on a poster if they are not scheduled to appear, to avoid allegations of false advertising.
Edge is also the only Superstar on the poster without a match confirmed or expected for Extreme Rules at this time.
Extreme Rules 2022 will take place on October 8, at the Wells Fargo Center, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Another Return?
Edge may be back on WWE TV in time for Extreme Rules 2022, but he’s not the only possible return.
In an image promoting Matt Riddle and Seth Rollins’ Fight Pit, a lantern and fireflies can be seen, both synonymous with Bray Wyatt.
Seth Rollins vs Riddle Extreme Rules graphic contains hidden fireflies and lanterns ? pic.twitter.com/aziaYMFBwU
Solo Sikoa had to relinquish the North American Championship on tonight’s episode of NXT.
The newest Bloodline member captured the title from Carmelo Hayes but was forced to vacate the title tonight at the beginning of NXT. Shawn Michaels, Carmelo Hayes, and Solo Sikoa opened the show backstage.
Hayes was supposed to defend the title against Wes Lee but couldn’t compete following an attack from Trick Williams and Carmelo. Solo stepped in as a replacement for Wes Lee and won the title.
Shawn Michaels said that Sikoa had to vacate the title because he wasn’t sanctioned to compete in the match last week. It should be noted that Sikoa successfully defended the NXT North American Championship last Friday on SmackDown as well. Shawn Michaels announced that there will be a ladder match in six weeks at Halloween Havoc to crown the new champion.
The Bloodline React To Solo Sikoa Being Stripped Of The NXT North American Championship
Shortly after he relinquished the title, Solo hopped on Twitter and claimed that he is already looking for more gold. He also took a shot at Carmelo Hayes and said “I beat you. You never beat me. That’s all that matters. See you at SmackDown, if you make it there.
Honorary Uce Sami Zayn vented his frustration about Solo being stripped of the title and clarified that his jovial profile picture had nothing to do with what happened on tonight’s NXT.
“I’ve just been informed about Solo Sikoa relinquishing the NXT North American Title. The jovial expression in my delightful #NewProfilePic has nothing to do with this news, it’s simply bad timing. Just got off the phone with my dawg & he’s doing well. Bigger, better things ahead!”
I’ve just been informed about Solo Sikoa relinquishing the NXT North American Title. The jovial expression in my delightful #NewProfilePic has nothing to do with this news, it’s simply bad timing. Just got off the phone with my dawg & he’s doing well. Bigger, better things ahead! https://t.co/Lt1BBcMtYT
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is the biggest movie star on the planet, a future WWE Hall of Famer, and most importantly now has a penguin named after him.
The Rock is set to portray DC Comics character Black Adam in the film set for release on October 21st. His last appearance in WWE was on the October 4, 2019 edition of SmackDown. The Great One and Becky Lynch mocked Corbin and got the crowd to chant “STD!” at him. The Rock connected with the People’s Elbow at the end of the segment.
The Cincinnati Zoo has named one of their penguins after The Great One due to his ability to hop from rock to rock.
Meet Dwayne @TheRock hopper penguin! The rockhopper penguin is named for its ability to hop from rock to rock!
The Rock reacted to the news and asked for a video of this “spectacular feat of penguin bad assery”. You can check out Dwayne “The Rock Hopper” Penguin below.
“We need video of this spectacular feat of penguin bad assery”
Roman Reigns On Rumored Match Against The Rock At WrestleMania 39
The Tribal Chief recently appeared on Logan Paul’s “Impaulsive” podcast recently and discussed the rumored match against The Rock next year at WrestleMania 39. The show will air from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on April 1-2 next year.
Roman stated that he doesn’t book the show but claimed that he will be ready for the match if it happens.
“They keep trying. Everybody keeps trying on this one. I don’t book the show, bro. I’m up for anybody. If it works out, then I’m ready. “It seems like it’s been that way. All the big names, all the big stars, whether they’re from our business, the movies, to the internet now, I’ve been in a really cool groove where these things have kinda just come to me, so I hope they’ll just continue to do that.”
After Roman Reigns appeared on Logan’s podcast, WWE announced Roman would defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Logan at Crown Jewel on November 5th. Logan appeared during last week’s edition of SmackDown for a promo with Paul Heyman and The Bloodline. Logan wound up leveling Honorary Uce Sami Zayn with a right hand to end the segment. Roman and Logan held a press conference in Las Vegas over the weekend moderated by Triple H to make the match official.
WWE will crown a new NXT North American Champion at Halloween Havoc as Solo Sikoa is no longer the champion.
In the opening segment of this week’s NXT episode on the USA Network, Carmelo Hayes, Sikoa, and Shawn Michaels were seen in a room. Sikoa was notified by Michaels that his last week’s match with Carmelo was not one in which he was authorized to participate.
Solo Sikoa is No Longer The Champ
Due to a fan vote, Wes Lee was to face Hayes in the championship defense. However, after Hayes and Trick Williams ambushed Lee, Solo stepped in and won the match.
He told Sikoa that his title victory was inadmissible and wished him luck in his main roster career with The Bloodline (Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns and Tag Team Champions The Usos) on SmackDown.
When Michaels told Hayes that they would be competing for the title in a ladder match at Halloween Havoc, Hayes thought he would be getting the belt back.
On the SmackDown edition of September 16 versus Madcap Moss, Sikoa successfully defended the title one time.
Kurt Angle recently revealed that he hasn’t been able to get in contact with former WWE CEO Vince McMahon.
Vince resigned from the company on July 22nd after alleged “hush money” payments to former female employees were discovered by the company’s board of directors. He made a couple of appearances before retiring.
Mr. McMahon introduced John Cena for his 20th Anniversary Celebration on the June 20th edition of RAW and retired from the company less than a month later. The 77-year-old announced his retirement on Twitter. He made his first public appearance to celebrate his birthday recently. John Cena, Pat McAfee, and other WWE talent attended the event in NYC.
Vince McMahon celebrated his 77th birthday yesterday with John Cena in New York City. pic.twitter.com/hR8rqtmNo8
Kurt Angle On Trying To Get In Contact With Vince McMahon
WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle was interviewed by AJ Singh on “The Wrassingh Show” and spoke about Vince McMahon. Kurt revealed that WWE had taken away the 77-year-old’s company phone and he has no way of getting in contact with him.
Angle added that he spoke to Stephane McMahon a couple of weeks ago and she told him that Vince would get in touch with him but that hasn’t happened yet.
“I just talked to Stephanie (McMahon) a couple of weeks ago because I couldn’t get a hold of Vince anymore. I’d imagine that he had to turn in his company phone and that was the only way I could get a hold of him. I had his number and I would call him here and there. I’d talk to him and see how he was doing and I texted him a couple of times after he left and he never responded.
I found out that they did take the company phone from him, so I don’t have any way of getting a hold of him. But Stephanie told me she would talk to Vince and he would reach out to me. I’m still waiting though.”
Kurt Angle on trying to get in contact with Vince McMahon
WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle has shared his thoughts about WarGames returning to the main roster at Survivor Series. The WarGames match have been a staple in NXT since 2017. The matches feature two teams battling in two rings surrounded by cages. All Elite Wrestling has introduced their own version of the match called Blood & Guts.
Triple H made the announcement this week that there will be a men’s and women’s WarGames match at the Premium Live Event at the TD Garden in Boston on November 26th.
Survivor Series used to have RAW versus SmackDown in traditional elimination matches. Speaking with AJ Singh on “The Wrassingh Show“, the Olympic Gold Medalist revealed that he wasn’t a fan of the Survivor Series elimination matches and is
“Well, you know, it’s going to be different. It is not going to be the same structure but I believe it will be very effective. It’s new and new is always good. I think bringing anything into the company that revives it and is invigorating, I think it’s a great idea. I never was crazy about the Survivor Series elimination match.
I don’t think it did a lot for any of the wrestlers. The only one that it did a lot for is the one who won. Nobody else really got over in that match. So, I think that this might be a little bit better.
Kurt Angle on WarGames returning at WWE Survivor Series
The 53-year-old appeared recently on RAW from his hometown of Pittsburgh. He was ringside for a tag team match between The Street Profits and Alpha Academy. Montez Ford picked up the victory for The Street Profits after hitting Chad Gable with a Frog Splash.
After the match, Montez and Angelo tried to share a drink with Angle but he spit the beverage out. Kurt and The Street Profits then recreated one of Angle’s most iconic moments in his career and chugged some milk as the crowd cheered.
Ric Flair has given his take on Ricky Steamboat’s return to wrestling.
It was announced last week that the pro wrestling legend would be stepping back into the ring on November 27 for Big Time Wrestling, although his opponent has yet to be confirmed.
Steamboat turned down the offer to compete in Ric Flair’s final match at Starrcast V in July. Flair teamed with son-in-law Andrade instead against Jeff Jarrett and Jay Lethal.
“He’s going to be in a match soon. I’m happy for him. It’s great. Steve Perkins is a great promoter. I wish them all well, whoever is involved. I don’t know the situation, but it’s great. It’s one of those deals where nobody is ever going to be Ricky Steamboat so they might as well watch them while they can and enjoy the opportunity. There will never be another Ricky Steamboat. At any level, he’s better than 50% of the guys in the business today. He wouldn’t get in the ring if he wasn’t. He holds himself to a very high standard. I imagine he’ll probably look better than the guys he is in the ring with. He’s always in great shape,” he said.
The last time Steamboat competed in professional wrestling was in a tag team bout in 2010 against Caylen Croft and Trent Barreta of The Dudebusters.
At WrestleMania 25 in 2009, Steamboat made his first appearance in the ring in 15 years. He competed against Chris Jericho in a three-on-one handicap elimination match with Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka. Later that month, he also worked a singles bout against Jericho at the Backlash pay-per-view. Due to a back problem, Steamboat had already retired in 1994.
For the last few weeks the company has been playing Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit” at house shows and during commercial breaks of television tapings. This has prompted fans to turn on their cell-phone flashlights similar to how they use to for former WWE superstar Bray Wyatt, with many believing that the song is signaling the Eater of Worlds inevitable return. A recent fan theory added more fuel to this speculation, but now a bigger tease has been released online, one that may indicate what is to come.
Artist Kyle A. Scarborough, who has had his work showcased in WWE, AEW, NJPW, IMPACT, NOAH, and non-wrestling related markets, took to his personal Twitter today and shared an original image of what appears to be…a White Rabbit. Hidden under Scarborough’s code reads the words “Feed Your Head,” which is the final line in the Jefferson Airplane song. WWE Fans in particular remember Scarborough as he designed the mask for Wyatt’s alter ego, The Fiend.
Wyatt was released by WWE back in July of 2021, one of the more shocking cuts the company made considering Wyatt’s popularity and ability to move merchandise. He had been paired with Alexa Bliss at that time, who herself, dropped a White Rabbit hint on Monday’s edition of Raw. You can read about that here.
WWE is facing a new mystery, and it’s not even appeared on TV yet.
For the past week, a mysterious tease for what’s been dubbed ‘the White Rabbit’ has been part of WWE Live events and now as part of the TV programming.
Wrestling is no stranger to mysteries, and now one amateur sleuth may have the answer.
The White Rabbit
WWE has been playing the song White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane and has provided no explanation for the track.
At a WWE Live event and during a commercial break on last Friday’s SmackDown, the promotion also used ominous red lighting, with fans believing that this could mark the end of Bray Wyatt.
At the two events, fans also held up their camera phone lights, referencing the ‘fireflies’ from Wyatt’s tenure with the company.
During this week’s Raw, a QR code could be spotted that took fans to an eerie video, teasing that more will be revealed during this Friday’s SmackDown.
Mystery Solved?
WWE has kept quiet about this White Rabbit mystery, but a fan on Reddit may have found the answer. The Reddit user noted how on July 4, this year, Wyatt shared a tweet, asking if anyone knows about ‘The Devil’s Hole’ in Self, Arkansas.
After our intrepid Reddit user did some Googling, they found that Self, Arkansas isn’t even a town but instead an “unincorporated community.”
Looking up The Devil’s Hole in Self, Arkansas took the Reddit user to a 2004 forum about the area and creepy things that have happened. The Reddit user noted how the moderator of the forum had the interesting name – White Rabbit.
Using an 18-year-old non-WWE forum may seem like long-term storytelling too long for the promotion, but its hardly the first time Wyatt has waited. In 2019, Wyatt revealed that he had used eight backstage promos from 2015 to make a secret message which nobody found.
Fun game time!
Bet you didn’t know that in 2015 I did 8 consecutive (backstage) promos where one sentence didn’t belong in each of them. But together they make up a secret message, no one ever found it. ?
Triple H should be keeping his eye on Nick Aldis, according to WWE Hall of Famer Diamond Dallas Page.
In July, the former WWE World Champion was appointed WWE’s Head of Talent Relations replacing John Laurinaitis.
Since his appointment, The Game has brought back several released Superstars, including Karrion Kross, Dexter Lumis, Hit Row, Johnny Gargano and others.
On the Radar
WWE is bringing back several names from their past, with Bray Wyatt also rumored to return, but Nick Aldis has never worked for the promotion before.
That should change according to DDP, who during the latest Snake Pit podcast, praised the former two-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion (via eWrestlingNews.)
“He’s got the friggin’ look, he’s got the work, he’s got the promo. I mean, all this time, he is a hidden, he is a hidden diamond. He isn’t a diamond in the rough, he’s a diamond. Like, he’s ready to go.”
When asked if WWE is aware of Aldis and are considering bringing him in, Page remained coy.
“I would think [so]. And if not right now, at some point later. He [Triple H] has got enough to do right now.”
Diamnd Dallas Page on whether Nick Aldis is on Triple H’s radar.
Nick Aldis
Beginning his wrestling career in 2003, Aldis rose to prominence in TNA/Impact Wrestling, working under the name Magnus.
A former TNA World Heavyweight Champion, Aldis remained with the company 2015, and had a brief return in 2017.
That same year Aldis joined the National Wrestling Alliance, where he is a two-time World Champion.
Scotty 2 Hotty took a lot of moves throughout his WWE career, but there’s one that he only took once, thanks to Linda McMahon.
Scotty, real-name Scott Garland, signed with WWE in 1997 and was with the company until resigning as a trainer in 2021.
The Move
Appearing this week on the Wrestling with Johnners podcast, Scotty was asked about his match with Dean Malenko at the Backlash 2000 Pay Per View.
The match for the Light Heavyweight Championship ended with Malenko countering Scotty’s attempted Superplex from the top-rope into a Cradle-DDT that spiked Scotty’s head into the mat.
The finish earned a loud response from fans, but it wasn’t Scotty’s idea, as he explained on the podcast (via Wrestling Inc.)
“It was Dean’s idea. He told me had done it with (Chris) Jericho; I recently just saw it with Jericho taking it a month ago for the first time and I was like ‘oh, that’s what I was supposed to do.’
“I was supposed to jump out further so I would land more on my stomach and I didn’t jump out. I just kind of spiked myself right into the mat from the top-rope.”
Scotty went on to say that it was “very dangerous” and he could have easily broken his neck.
Linda McMahon
The move, if done incorrectly, could have resulted in severe neck problems for Scotty, with the match taking place less than a year after Darren Drosdov had been paralysed during a match.
Speaking about the reaction backstage, Scotty recalled being confronted by then-WWE CEO Linda McMahon.
“don’t ever do that again!”
Linda McMahon’s words of warning to Scotty 2 Hotty
Scotty told Linda that she didn’t need to worry about him taking the move again, as he wasn’t planning on it.
A QR showed up on the screen during tonight’s episode of WWE RAW and has provided some more clues about the ‘White Rabbit’ mystery.
The code appeared during Austin Theory’s entrance for his match against Kevin Owens tonight on RAW. When the code is scanned, it sends fans to a WWE website that reveals more clues.
A game of Hang Man appears and the question is “Who killed the world?” and the answer is revealed as “YOU DID”. A white rabbit then hops around an alarm clock that reads 9:23. There is also an hour glass icon/logo spinning at the bottom right of the screen, which has led some fans to believe this is related to Karrion Kross.
Other wrestling fans have pointed out that the font resembles some of Bray Wyatt’s old merchandise. It appears that we will find out what this all means this Friday on the September 23rd edition of WWE SmackDown. You can check out the enitre video below.
WWE has been playing ‘White Rabbit’ recently during live events and at last Friday’s edition of SmackDown during a commercial break. The song played with red lights on at house shows in Bakersfield and Oakland over the weekend, and once again tonight during a commercial break.
Former WWE star Velveteen Dream, real name Patrick Clark, is no longer facing a case regarding battery charges and trespassing on a property filed against him.
After being arrested on August 20th, he was supposed to have a hearing on September 28th. However, court records show the case has been closed, and the scheduled hearing is canceled, according to PWinsider.com.
The court records indicate that prosecutors believed they did not have enough to go forward with a case against Clark and get a conviction, so it was deemed “not suitable for prosecution.”
Velveteen Dream’s Legal Problems
It was previously reported that Clark and an employee of a fitness gym in Orlando got into an altercation when the former WWE star was asked to exit an area of the gym that was about to be cleaned. It was alleged that Clark became “irate and argumentative” towards the employee and was ordered to leave the facility.
Clark threatened to kill the employee, which sparked a physical fight, which saw Clark allegedly bite the man. Authorities found teeth marks on the men’s “left chest near the left armpit.” Clark pleaded not guilty and was released on a $1,200 bond.
This arrest led to a violation of an existing Clark probation stemming from a November 2021 arrest when he was charged with possession of cocaine, use or possession of drug paraphernalia, destroying/altering/concealing physical evidence, and having no lamps/illuminating devices in his vehicle.
Clark was arrested for that violation and was jailed for 25 days in Seminole County, Florida, before being released on September 13th.
With Triple H now at the helm of WWE creative, many are wondering if intentional bleeding will be brought back to WWE.
With “The Game” now calling the shots, some predict WWE could begin reverting back to an old-school way of doing things, including intentionally having talents bleed during matches. However, Triple H has been quick to shoot those rumors down.
Speaking in a recent interview with The Ringer, Triple H noted that, given the current world we live in, especially with the recent COVID-19 pandemic, WWE has evolved from blading, and it would be irresponsible to revert back.
“The world has changed. The world has evolved. I don’t think it’s necessary. If we have talent that gets [cut open], usually you’ll see them roll out and they’ll get looked at to make sure that there’s nothing dangerous.
“I’m just of the opinion right now, given the state of the world and the pandemic, and at the end of the day, what we do is dangerous enough without intentionally making it more dangerous.
“Yes, we did [feature bleeding] for a long period of time, but we’ve changed that practice. And it’s irresponsible to go back.”
For the past several weeks, Triple H has been at the helm of WWE creative since the sudden retirement of Vince McMahon.
Many agree that, since the change in regime, the on-screen product from WWE has been much better.
Given the regime change is still very much in its infancy, it will be interesting to see how much perspective changes in the coming months.
Shawn Michaels may have worked with Vince McMahon for decades, but the relationship between the two wasn’t always friendly.
During the mid and late 1990s, Michaels, by his own admission, was battling personal demons, which would be a factor in his four-year retirement from wrestling.
Although Michaels would eventually return to WWE after finding God, the Heart Break Kid’s reputation as difficult to work is still remembered years later.
Traveling
During the New Generation era, the WWF tried to maintain ‘kayfabe’ by keeping heels and baby faces apart at all times, in case fans spotted them outside of an event.
For many wrestlers, that meant keeping away from their closest friends, which Shawn Michaels was not ready to do.
Speaking on the ‘Kliq THIS’ podcast, Kevin Nash recalled Michaels exploding on then WWF head Vince McMahon, who quickly backed down.
“They told Shawn[Michaels] that Scott [Hall] couldn’t ride with us, because they were working the matches together. And Shawn, I mean just zero to one hundred went to ‘Mother f***er! You got me on the road 300 days a year and you’re going to tell me who I can spend my time with?!’
“And Vince just went like [raises hands] ‘Woah. I didn’t realize it was that. Okay. If it’s that much of a deal to you three, jeez. Do what you want to do.’”
When asked why McMahon, traditionally someone who had things done his way, was so quick to back down, Nash said that the quality of the Michaels-Hall feud gave them leverage.
“The match was so good. What are they going to do?”
Kevin Nash on Vince McMahon not punishing Shawn Michaels and Scott Hall.
To the Club
It wasn’t just travel arrangements that McMahon tried to have control over, as Nash also had his share of demands from the then-Chairman of the company.
Speaking about his own experiences with Vince, Nash recalled he and The Undertaker being told to keep out of strip clubs as they were babyfaces, and McMahon believed that a face wouldn’t visit such an establishment.
“Me and ‘Taker got called into the office. Principal McMahon told me and ‘Taker that he didn’t want to see us or hear of us being in any strip clubs. He said it wasn’t a good image for Mark [Calaway] and I because we were both babyfaces at the time.”
Despite the strong warning by McMahon, both men defied the order and had a reunion at a club.
“I look straight across from me in the room, I see this long flicking hair, I see a bandana. I look over and I f**king just see ‘Taker. We’re not gonna sit with each other, we’re just like, ‘Oh, so you didn’t listen either.’ It was just acknowledged, like, ‘F**k that, right, man?’”
Kayfabe
With wrestlers appearing regularly out of character on social media, many have argued that ‘kayfabe’ is dead in the modern day.
Addressing the idea, Nash recalled finding out that wrestling isn’t as legitimate as it is portrayed on TV, and whether kayfabe can still exist.
“I knew this sh*t was a work when I was ten. Don’t have a boom mic when you’re doing the shot. I say ‘oh! Boom mic. I’m watching a movie. Oh, he hit him 45 times in the face, and there’s no blood.’
“You’re selling the disbelief that these two guys are going out there and trying to beat each other’s ass. You can tell when you have the people. When you have a hot angle and you have the people and you work stiff.
“You can say what you want about Bill Goldberg but when he was on his streak… people sat up.”
The former WWF Champion also claimed that Edge Vs. Dominik Mysterio on last week’s Raw was able to “hook me in” with how aggressive Edge was following the latter’s heel turn at Clash at the Castle.
For use of any quotes from this article please give a h/t to SEScoops.
Stone Cold Steve Austin has chosen who he thinks was the best on the microphone during the Attitude Era, and believe it or not, it isn’t himself.
The WWE Hall of Famer named his longtime rival turned Hollywood juggernaut Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as the top talker during the height of pro-wrestling in popular culture. Austin, who is well-known for his skills on the mic, throws praise to the Great One during his recent appearance on the “First We Feast” program on Youtube, but does acknowledge that Rocky didn’t start out as a fan-favorite.
“You cannot overlook The Rock. When he first arrived on the scene, he was this good-looking, third-generation babyface and people just didn’t take to him. They’d say, ‘Die Rocky Die! Die Rocky Die!”
The Rattlesnake later discusses the work The Rock did to improve his character, which started with his decision to join the Nation of Domination. From there, he took his persona to the next level.
“He started wearing the silk shirts and he started referring to himself in third person and working that eyebrow. And he electrified and captivated crowds with his catchphrases, his cadence and his delivery, and his message and calling everybody ‘jabroni. He commanded the audience’s respect, attention and elicited the response that he was looking for from them.”
Who Else Does Austin Revere As A Great Talker?
The Rock wasn’t the only WWE legend Austin decided to call attention to. He also highlighted current AEW star and fellow WWE Hall of Famer Jake “The Snake” Roberts as a talent who captivated audiences by sometimes saying nothing at all.
“Once Jake got in the ring, he commanded your respect. He had this presence about him, and he’s one of the most economic, efficient workers out there, where he didn’t do a whole lot, but everything he did meant something, and he was always working for that DDT.”
Austin may hold these talents in high regards, but few would argue that he doesn’t belong at the top of the list as it is well documented that his run in the late 90s was considered one of the greatest of all time, and catapulted the Rattlesnake to monumental levels.
Malakai Black is an interesting star to follow now that he has confirmed that fans haven’t seen the last of him competing inside of the squared circle.
As previously reported, Black received a conditional release from AEW despite having years left on his deal, which indicates that he has no plans to work for AEW President Tony khan again.
Malakai Black Returning to WWE?
Malakai Black
During today’s Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer discussed Black’s situation and how he wanted to return to WWE now that Triple H is in charge of creative.
“He wrestled last night, which is interesting,” Meltzer said. “Then he put out a statement today and he wanted out from AEW. I guess we’ll see what happened. Obviously, he wanted to go back to WWE and he had a lot of time left on his deal. I think 4 and a half years left on the deal. It’s an interesting thing because it’s really difficult to keep someone who is unhappy under contract for that length of time. He did sign for that length of time. The reason you sign people to contracts is so that they can’t it they get unhappy or somebody makes an offer somewhere else, they can’t just go the next day. The whole reason he was signed to a 5-year big money contract was so if something happened in WWE and they wanted him back and they changed his mind, that they had him and they could book him for all those years. So it becomes an interesting situation and the same goes in the other direction too.”
It has yet to be confirmed that Black was offered a deal to return to WWE, but there have been multiple reports noting WWE has allegedly reached out to contracted AEW talent about coming back or joining the promotion.
Meltzer brought up how Black wasn’t used much by AEW because he has been dealing with an injury.
“I guess we have to wait for it to play out and see what the situation is. Basically, it’s what type of a deal he and Tony Khan came up with. Tony Khan wouldn’t talk about it. He talked a lot but didn’t say any specifics as to what the deal is. The story going around was that it was a conditional release and what that meant, I don’t really know. The assumption of a conditional release is that it’s probably something where he can’t just go right to WWE. Maybe there’s a timeframe or something like that. I don’t think he would agree to it if the timeframe was four and a half years.”
Kurt Angle seems to be feeling the affects of the concussions he’s suffered over the course of his professional wrestling career.
Angle recently took to his podcast, “The Kurt Angle Show,” and discussed suffering a few major concussions throughout his time in the ring. Angle noted that he’s now feeling the affects of those concussions, as he has begun to have memory issues.
“I would say I probably had four concussions that I know of. major. One was a slight concussion that wasn’t too bad. The other three were pretty bad.
“But, you know, even to this day, I’m starting to not remember things, you know, and I’m only in my early 50s. But, I’ve gotten a little damage to my brain, there’s no doubt about it.
“You know, my memory is not that great anymore. I really have to think hard about remembering the past.”
(via WWE)
The former Olympic gold medalist joined WWE back in 1998, quickly rising to main event status. After legendary feuds with the likes of Triple H, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and so many more, Angle has become one of the most decorated stars in WWE history.
He’s a six-time World Champion, as well as a former United States, Intercontinental, Tag Team, and European Champion in WWE.
Angle was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2017, and has since made sporadic appearances on WWE TV, including a stint as WWE RAW General Manager.
Dave Meltzer confirmed initial rumblings that have been going around about WWE planning something special for McMahon during WrestleMania next year. The story was first reported by The US Sun this past weekend.
The report suggests that current WWE co-CEO/Chairwoman Stephanie McMahon is in the midst of those discussions. It also notes that Vince may not be fully done with the company yet, as WWE is looking at ways to pay tribute to him.
While the report did admit WWE knows there could be some backlash, it’s said that what he’s down for the industry can not be underestimated. There have also reportedly been talks of McMahon being honored at the WWE Hall Of Fame.
This would certainly be interesting, as Vince McMahon never likes to appear on-camera at the WWE Hall Of Fame ceremonies, but only made the exception to induct The Undertaker.
There aren’t any plans set in stone at the moment, but the discussions do seem to be ongoing. Meltzer noted he has heard rumblings of something like this for weeks but has not received official confirmation.
He did add in himself that it makes sense and would be something that he’s expecting.
As we’ve noted, Roman Reigns vs. Logan Paul for the Undisputed WWE Championship will headline the Crown Jewel pay-per-view (PPV) on November 5. It’s a matchup that has a lot of professional wrestling fans scratching their heads booking-wise.
While Paul has been impressive in his short time inside the squared circle thus far, a matchup for the most prestigious title in the history of professional wrestling, against, arguably, the industry’s biggest star, is quite a jump up for his third-ever match.
However, it appears WWE has a specific reason for booking the matchup. Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio reports that Logan Paul is actually a big deal in Saudi Arabia, especially to the prince, and that’s all that matters in that regard.
Ticket sales for the Saudi shows don’t really mean anything, neither do TV ratings in regards to the shows out of Saudi Arabia. Paul bringing in younger views would, of course, be seen as a bonus.
However, the Saudi prince wants to build the name of celebrity fights in Saudi Arabia, and believes Logan Paul will help generate more press than a Kevin Owens or Seth Rollins.
The Saudi shows are essentially used to give the prince the shows he wants and that he thinks will generate the best press for Saudi Arabia, and Logan Paul vs. Roman Reigns fits that criteria perfectly.
WWE has announced major changes to the format of this year’s Survivor Series premium live event. For the first time in history, the November classic will feature not just one, but two WarGames matches. There will be a Men’s WarGames match and a Women’s WarGames match.
Also of note, Survivor Series will no longer feature a Raw vs. SmackDown theme. According to Triple H, the show will be more storyline-driven instead of being about brand supremacy.
Triple H spoke with The Ringer about the big shakeup coming to Survivor Series.
“The tradition of the Survivor Series has ebbed and flowed and changed slightly over time, but this will be similar to that,” he Triple H. “This will not be Raw versus SmackDown. It will be much more story-line driven. I still look at it as a traditional component to Survivor Series in there because it’s large teams of people competing. We just upped the ante a little bit with WarGames and made it evolve.”
No ‘Blood and Guts’ in WWE WarGames
WarGames has historically been one of the most violent matches in all of professional wrestling. Triple H doesn’t think WarGames needs to feature ‘blood and guts’ because the world is very different these days. He feels the world has evolved and blood is not necessary for a compelling WarGames match.
“I’m just of the opinion right now, given the state of the world and the pandemic, and at the end of the day, what we do is dangerous enough without intentionally making it more dangerous. Yes, we did [feature bleeding] for a long period of time, but we’ve changed that practice. And it’s irresponsible to go back.”
Visit The Ringer to check out their lengthy feature on the return of WarGames, featuring more quotes from Triple H.
WWE Survivor Series takes place November 26th from Boston, MA at the TD Garden arena. The event will stream live on Peacock int he United States and on the WWE Network internationally.
WWE Hall of Famer Trish Stratus says she has “3 new scars and one less organ” after undergoing appendectomy surgery over the weekend.
Stratus was experiencing bad cramping in her abdomen over the past several days. She feels that she has a high tolerance for pain, but things got so bad that she took herself to the hospital. It turns out that was a very smart decision, because doctors determined her appendix had to be removed immediately.
“Turns out my appendix was getting ready to burst – which can be really bad if it happens and like cause death and stuff so I’m really glad I went to check it out, you know to avoid the whole dying thing.”
– Trish Stratus
In a message she posted on Instagram, Stratus urges her fans to listen to their bodies and get checked out if something doesn’t feel right.
“Some takeaways – listen to your body. Dr. Google told me appendicitis was pain in the lower right abdomen, so that’s why it took me a while to think it was that because at first the pain was all across my belly. But after getting another Dr. Google’s opinion (reading another article) I found out it will start as pain across your stomach (also was tender to touch) but as the appendix gets more inflamed the pain will migrate to the right side and continue to to get worse. And boy did it. Turns out it’s an organ that serves no function so good riddance old pal.
Got 3 new scars to add to my body badges and one less organ … recovery hasn’t been too bad so far, definitely manageable. Just wanted to check in!”
WWE Superstar Ricochet is excited for the future of NXT after the changes teased for the show on the latest episode.
This week’s NXT 2.0 marked the one-year anniversary of the show’s relaunch in September 2021, which was met with a hostile response by fans at the time. The latest episode ended with the NXT 2.0 fading into a black and gold design, which many have seen as the return of the original NXT.
Ricochet knows all about NXT, having joined the brand in early 2018 before his call-up the following year. Speaking to SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports, Ricochet shared his views on the revamp, and is excited for the future.
“NXT 2.0 was trying something new, trying something different. I think it was just so sudden, so quick, that people didn’t get a chance to really adjust. That was the biggest aspect whatever you thought of it.
“But now I think it changing again, not back to what it was, but to something different, something that I feel like will be better… and it really might start be something bigger. Who knows? But I think it’s so cool to be thinking about the future.”
Making History
Ricochet has been with WWE for under five years, but has already made it into the proverbial ‘history books.’
Earlier this year, the high-flyer captured the Intercontinental Championship, making him the first (and only person) to hold that title, the United States Title, and the NXT North American Championship.
Ricochet explained how he wasn’t even aware of the accolade until it was pointed out.
“That was something that I was really unaware of until on Twitter, I found out. Someone posted it and I was like “Oh wow! I guess so!” But that’s awesome. Especially being organic and natural, not being something we planned, make it even better.”
Making it into WWE’s history books is extra special for the ‘One and Only,’ who opened up about thinking he’d never make it to WWE.
“Somebody, who didn’t even get into wrestling because they didn’t think they’d ever be in the WWE because they’re so small. So to now be in the history of books as far as that goes, and I feel like I have a couple more things that can go into the history book as well.”
Presentation
Ricochet’s Intercontinental Championship lasted under 100 days before he was dethroned by Gunther, and the One and Only missed out on competing at WrestleMania.
At the time, fans criticized WWE’s treatment of both the IC and U.S. Titles, which have both been featured more prominently in recent weeks.
Speaking about the WWE main roster mid-card titles, Ricochet spoke about the post-Vince McMahon era and the importance of presentation.
“I think just presentation of the championships has always been important to me. Around ’92 ’93 ’94 ’95 ’96 ’97 ’98 ’99 like it was all about the champion.
“I think there will probably be you know more light on those which I think will help viewers watch it a little better and understand okay they’re going after that. So I think it’s all going to be perceived it’s going to be a great product.”
Ricochet added that “everyone” is thinking up new ideas as part of the new creative direction for the promotion.
Please credit Steve Fall with a link to SEScoops if you use any of the quotes from this article.
Heath Slater was part of many different storylines in his WWE career. One such run that people still remember to this day is 3MB. While the group was never given a real chance by WWE, the trio of Slater, Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal still managed to have some fun with it. According to Heath, it’s because they were friends in real life.
The One Man Band recently spoke to News18.com. Talking about 3MB, the former WWE star revealed how the three of them reacted when the group was first put together:
“3MB was so much fun man. We had fun. Of course, it was one of those gimmicks that we were like, ‘Man what in the world are we doing,’” said Heath Slater, “but the good thing about us is that we were friends outside of the business.
We would hang out when we were not wrestling and stuff. So when they put us all together, it was just like, ‘Well, at least we’re with our buddies, we can trust these guys.’ So it was a good thing. We did our best with that.”
3MB were formed back in September 2012 when Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal interfered in Heath Slater’s match against Brodus Clay. The group had a 2-year run before being disbanded in June 2014. This came after both McIntyre and Mahal were released from their contracts.
Ronda Rousey has been an active part of WWE’s roster since her return to programming this year, but she won’t be doing an entire overseas tour for the company.
Rousey returned after a nearly three-year absence from WWE programming at this year’s Royal Rumble, winning the 30-Woman match.
European Tour
Unlike several high-profile stars such as Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns, Rousey makes regular in-ring appearances for WWE at Premium Live Events and TV.
While her tenure on TV shows no signs of ending, a full European tour is out of the question.
“I can’t do those (European) tours anymore now that I have P? [Rousey’s daughter] which sucks because it was really fun… I can’t really do a whole tour. I had to do like one arena or whatever, because London, O2 Arena, or something was a big deal.
“If they’re in a big venue or something, I’m like the emergency button. We’re having trouble selling out this venue. Quick, hit the “Ronda” button kind of a thing.”
Ronda Rousey the Mother
Becoming a mother was always something that the former UFC fighter turned WWE Superstar wanted to do.
After her first WWE loss at WrestleMania 35, Rousey took an indefinite leave from the company to start a family.
After years of trying, Rousey and her husband Travis Browne welcomed their first daughter La’akea Makalapuaokalanipo Browne.
