This week’s ROH Final Battle will mark Billie Starkz’s second consecutive challenge against Athena, following her narrow defeat in last year’s main event. In an interview with SEScoops‘ Ella Jay, Starkz reflected on her growth since her previous encounter with the Forever Champion.
“Genuinely just being able to be in the AEW environment. Being around all these women and learning over the last year, I feel like I’ve grown as a competitor. I’m 10 times the monster that I was at the last Final Battle.”
Before their rivalry intensified, Athena served as a mentor to Starkz during their time in ROH. However, the champion’s mistreatment of her “minion” ultimately ended their partnership. While Starkz is determined to dethrone Athena this week, she acknowledged the champion’s influence on her career.
“She’s a great mentor. She’s one of the smartest brains in wrestling and she’s been doing this for over a decade. I feel like Athena is willing to help out women’s wrestling but in the most narcissistic way.”
Athena’s self-assuredness is not without merit. Since capturing the ROH Women’s World Title in December 2022, she has defended it 25 times against competitors such as Starkz, Marina Shafir, and Willow Nightingale. Athena not only holds the record for the longest reign as ROH Women’s Champion but also the longest reign of any ROH Champion in history, regardless of sex.
ROH Final Battle 2024 will take place on December 20, from the legendary Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest from the show, and whether Starkz can do what no woman has been able to when stepping in the ring with Athena.
Magnum TA feels it’s been a long time coming for his stepdaughter, Tessa Blanchard to make her return to a premier American wrestling product like TNA.
On the upcoming episode of “Straight Talk With The Boss: Magnum TA & Greg Gagne” I asked Magnum what he thinks of Tessa’s return to American wrestling, something she’s been unofficially blacklisted from following allegations made against her regarding an altercation between her and La Rosa Negra. Negra and her have long since mended fences and Magnum talks about that in addition to her return.
“To be on a program and have an impact when you get that chance is a very special thing for us in the wrestling industry and Tessa had an opportunity and I mean not only hit a home run, but She hit a grand slam. Perfect interview after, the whole deal, set the tone.
So many people have been running their mouths for so many years now and ignorance is a motivator for a lot people to say a lot of things when they don’t know the whole story.”
TA commented how Tessa trail-blazed the wrestling industry in TNA by becoming the first woman to ever win a men’s World Championship.
“She’s there to take no prisoners. It’s gonna be good.”
Magnum added that the ratings have been impressive for TNA and it should put NXT and AEW on notice. A great credit to that is the Knockouts division. Magnum noted how big of an influence Gail Kim, Tommy Dreamer and Anthem overall has been in making the product grow.
The new episode will drop at 6:05 PM ET on Four Horsemen Network and wherever you get your podcasts by searching “Four Horsemen Network” which includes new episodes of Arn Anderson.
Two years ago Lee Moriarty set a goal to have his own art exhibition. The dream becomes a reality as the Ring of Honor Pure Champion prepares to have his first public showcase during Miami Art Week. Moriarty, 30, will be at the NADA (New Art Dealers Alliance) booth, part of the wrestling publication Orange Crush’s presentation
For the emerging talent, art was a way to express himself out of the ring. His parents encouraged him to continue pursuing a creative outlet. He’d draw off Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon cards, as well as Dragon Ball Z VHS tapes and issues of Game Informer Magazine. Although he took graphic design at the community college, Moriarty was largely self-taught.
“I’ve been an artist longer than I was a wrestler,” Moriarty said. “One of my goals was to have an art exhibition. I didn’t have in mind what this series was going to be at first. The more I painted, it became about professional wrestling life outside the ring. A lot of people associate professional wrestling with just violence and combat. People don’t realize the serene peaceful life a lot of us live, especially me.
“I’m a person who is closed in and keeps calm and relaxed. I like walking my dog, going out in the nature world, painting, and playing tennis, which is one of the paintings. This was a big opportunity that came to me by Adam Abdulla to have the exhibition at NADA. From December 3 through the 7th, my art will be on display for the first time. Nobody has ever seen my art outside of photos and things. To see this in person, I’m excited about it.”
Moriarty has combined two of his passions through the exhibition. A collection that presents an endearing and vibrant display of wrestlers in repose. The paintings are a tribute to the sport he loves, capturing the duality of wrestling.
“Originally when I was painting luchadors, one of my favorite aesthetics is luchadors with suits and tuxedos,” Moriarty said. “Back in the day El Santo, Blue Demon, all these guys would have really nice suits combined with the masks, which I think is so unique when it comes to professional wrestling that you won’t see anywhere else.
“I wanted to capture that with my artwork. I wanted to paint beyond just luchadors in suits. Then it became walking the dog, grilling and barbecuing, and things like that and I decided to keep the Lucha Libre wrestlers in the mask aesthetic. That is the universal imagery when it comes to professional wrestling, even if you don’t watch professional wrestling. You see a mask, and you know this guy is a pro wrestler.”
Moriarty works hard to fit art into his busy schedule as a traveling entertainer. When the traveler flies somewhere or in hotel rooms before a show, he’d get out his tablet and draw and brainstorm. The star would then put those ideas on canvas.
“I also use my tablet for graphic design,” Moriarty said. “I’ve designed all of my shirts. I’ve designed the logo you’ll see on my trunks sometimes. The tiger was a design I had before I debuted for AEW or Ring of Honor. I’m always drawing and painting. I have a camera. I’ve done photography. I like making my own scenes. I just like expressing myself creatively and building this world outside of my head.”
Moriarty appreciates the support he felt from the locker room and company. “[AEW] is very supportive of outside ventures that help the person grow as individuals and as brands. I’ve had nothing but support from the first day I posted a painting. Among those colleagues is stablemate Shane Taylor, who he’d watch on his first or second independent show. Taylor’s opponent just happened to be a future trainer in Brandon K. “I knew who [Shane] was and his story and work ethic and have a lot of respect for him,” he said.
The exciting athlete is proud of the progress he made over the past three years. Moriarty feels he got more comfortable with promos and in the ring on television. He has also put on some muscle weight, going from 175 to approaching 200. The student of the game is always looking to grow and improve.
“There was a period I was learning from Jon Moxley for a while,” he said. “There was a period I was learning from Claudio when we were donig the Texas shows. For three straight weeks, I was getting advice from him. Orange Cassidy is someone I would go to a lot. Serpentico, Jon Cruz, those guys I learned from a lot. So many people.
“I trained at Malakai Black’s school for a point. I’m very grateful and can’t express how much it meant. Even when Nigel McGuinness came back to the ring, I was in the ring training with him. I can’t express the appreciation I have that these guys are giving me the time to learn from them.”
Moriarty welcomes the latest signings in AEW with The Hurt Syndicate’s MVP, Bobby Lashley, and Shelton Benjamin arriving on the scene. Three who he sees as an example of how to build a career.
“I think they are three of the most valuable talents in the world,” he said. “They have the total package. The presentation, athleticism confidence. They inspire me to do what I’m doing in professional wrestling and my art. It’s to not settle and not just be comfortable in the spot I’m in but continue to grow as a business and brand.”
Much like pro wrestling, he has hopes for his artistic aspirations. Moriarty looks to step into more product designs from bottles to shoes. “I know AEW believes in me and hopes to help AEW expand with my art talents, I don’t have an end game when it comes to my art. It has been wherever it takes me ….I’m going to keep going and see how far I can get.” For more information or two purchase tickets for NADA Miami 2024, visit https://nada.artsvp.com/73ace8?link=website.
Bret Hart may go by ‘The Excellence of Execution’ but ‘Hitman’ himself may give that designation to the late great Leo Burke.
Burke, a pro wrestling legend out of Canada, sadly passed away on July 24, 2024 and Hart shared a beautiful tribute on his social media, noting of the legacy Leo left on the industry and on himself.
Less than a week ago, I got to speak with Bret Hart in detail about Burke’s influence on not just him, but other wrestlers who have left an impact on the business
How Bret Hart Learned From Leo Burke
Burke made a pro wrestling name for himself wrestling for the likes of Stu Hart, The Funks, Jim Crockett and so many other names across the globe. Hart was familiar with Burke when Leo first got his start in 1966. Bret was just a kid at the time, but remembered Burke came into Calgary with a ‘Batman’ gimmick, and while the memory stuck with Bret, the gimmick didn’t for Burke, who became a big star for Stu Hart and a good in-ring rival for Bret while in Stampede. Bret noted what a master of ring psychology Burke was. He credited both Leo and the late Dynamite Kid for helping him become in-ring legend he is today.
“Like I learned so much from both Dynamite and Leo, that when I think of like my style and my career, and how I maybe blossomed as a wrestler in WWF, it was all because of both those guys.”
“”I picked up the ring bell and I’ m gonna take it over the apron and take it in the ring and I’m gonna brain Steve Austin with the bell, and I walk over and I set it on the apron and then I change my mind and then I go over and get a chair, I pick up one chair and I go, ‘Ah this one’s not good enough, it’s got padding on it,’ or something. I pick up a metal chair and go, ‘This is perfect,’ and I forget all about the bell, slide under the bottom rope and I’m going to the ring and I’ m working Steve over with a chair.
“I mean everyone forgets about the the bell then, and the bell is the key right sitting on the apron for the whole thing … that’ s a real Burke type of [move]. You know he would tell you, ‘They’ll forget all about the bell.’
“those are the kind of things that Leo taught me like to think ahead and how to think, imagine things. He WAS SUCH A MASTER CLASS.”
The ‘Master Class’ Of Leo Burke With Adam Copeland
Bret mentioned how historic names like Harley Race and Terry Funk would revere Burke’s talent in god-like fashion and Burke eventually got to instill that knowledge into major names of the late 1990s. Adam Copeland, Christian Cage, Ken Shamrock and Mark Henry all learned under Leo Burke up in Calgary while Bret worked in WWE.
“Leo would train them, and Leo got paid the same every day, he got a certain check every week, and he would just have classes. He would tell everyone what time to come, and Test was another one that was there.
“He was one of those guys I met him in Toronto; he was a bouncer at a club, and I remember the next day he was sitting in my living room.
“And Leo was training all these guys, and I remember I would come home from being on the road, and then Leo would say, ‘ Could you just work with one guy?'”
That one guy was Copeland.
“I did it with Edge, I remember wrestling Edge, I did it with a couple of guys, I remember, it might have been Mark Henry, and I remember, I’ m like, ‘I am so beat up.’
“I’ ve been on the road for six weeks or something, and I come home and Leo’ s like, ‘Can you just come in for a couple of weeks? Just a couple.’ I didn’ t even care, you know? I was the one that would do it, I’ d be so sore I’ d spend the afternoon in there taking arm drags and stuff, like that, working stuff out.”
Hart commented on how much he garnered from working with and being around Leo, who had a great sense of humor and was a big factor at making life on the road fun, pulling light-hearted, yet memorable ribs on his brothers and other workers. However, if there was one thing Hitman would want wrestlers today to take note of by studying Burke, it would be the best thing he was known for.
“I would you think if there’s a big aspect you want them to take away from him, I would say Leo was most famous for his psychology.”
Brock Anderson remains dedicated to professional wrestling and continuing the legacy his dad Arn made within the industry. He has gained valuable experience teaming with veteran CW Anderson as the duo already found success as the AML World Tag Team Champions. They look to add more gold working for MLW.
The old school meets new school duo faces Bomaye Fight Club at Fightland on September 14. Anderson has only heard good things about MLW.
“A couple of guys came through and managed to turn it around for themselves,” he said of the platform the promotion provides. “Parlay that into something pretty good for themselves…I think I fell into a perfect scenario. I’m tagging with someone who has been in the business for 30 years.
“He can tell me things that my old man can’t because you can be a father or a coach. Sometimes he tips around some areas. I usually know when there is something he wants to say because of that father-son bond. CW is one who can tell me this sucked, that was good, do this, do that. That experience I’m experiencing through osmosis, I’m glad it panned out the way it did. I told him, ‘You know you’re the Ole in this. You’ve turned into Ole Anderson.’ I think he has embraced it, to be honest with you.”
Anderson gained valuable experience in AEW. However, he reached a crossroads.
“After I left AEW I didn’t know where my path was going to be,” he said.”…AEW was great. I have nothing but great things to say about the people who worked there. Tony [Khan] was great to a whole industry when nobody else was working. He kept people working. It was a trying time in the business and around the world. I appreciated the experience.
“I just didn’t think I could get better there because I didn’t know if they had plans for me. There weren’t enough reps. It came down to getting reps. So, they sent something, which was a similar deal I was on. I just said, ‘I think I’ll take my chances.’ When I go out and travel, I know I’m going to wrestle and get better. That was kind of my approach to the thing. Every time I leave the house, I know I’m going to have a match.”
The 27-year-old decided to bet on himself. A difficult decision, but one that fuels his motivation. Anderson is excited to cross another legendary venue off the bucket list in Center Stage thanks to MLW. Anderson’s dad Arn retired when he was six months old. By 1997, those Center Stage days for WCW were largely in the rearview. Though the next generation talent has since caught up on Arn’s body of work and went to WWE shows while he was a producer.
“I popped in these grainy VHS tapes and there is your dad 20 years younger wrestling,” he said. “It was kind of a trip. I started to watch more of those and realized he was pretty good at this. Then I saw how the boys in the back treated him. Things started to click.”
Anderson can trace when he knew he wanted to follow in his dad’s footsteps. A milestone showdown between two Hall of Famers in Houston.
“It was WrestleMania25,” Anderson recalled. “WWE would always have their employees have their families. It was like a vacation treat for the year. We’re in the box. It was when the cards got to about six or seven hours. There was a lot of preshow and all that. It was a long night and I was already tired.
“Then all of a sudden you see the smoke come, all this white light and a guy descends from teh ceiling, white robe, white hat. You can’t see his face and all of a sudden HBK’s music hits. He was wrestling Undertaker. It was HBK and Undertaker 1. They went 40 minutes. Two legends going at it. They had the crowd in the palm of their hands with what they did. There was no wasted movement. Everything clicked. I thought, ‘This is what I want to do.’”
When Anderson told Arn about his career aspirations, the response wasn’t a flat no. Just an, “Ask your mom.” Then it was a hard no at the time. The parents wanted him to go to college and have a backup plan. He graduated on December 19, 2019, and started on the pro wrestling journey in January 2020. Then came the AEW opportunity.
“I want to be where is best for me,” Anderson answered when asked if his ultimate goal was a WWE run. “Personally, professionally, all that. I don’t have to pigeonhole it to one company. Wherever I feel is best for me.”
And right now that place is venturing through the independent scene and seeing what happens with MLW. The question is will we see Arn walk that aisle with his son, possibly at Fightland?
“He could show up at any time. But always keep it in the back of your head he might wonder into the building somehow or sneak down,” he said. “There is always that possibility. We always have that card up our sleeve.”
Watch MLW Fightland at 9 p.m. ET on September 14 on YouTube.
Mandy Rose hints at a pro wrestling comeback, reflects on her WWE release and its positive outcomes.
She’s open to a WWE return and wants to make a bigger impact on the main roster, but emphasizes WWE is not the only path to success in wrestling.
Whether it’s fitness competitions or WWE Tough Enough, Mandy Sacs (Mandy Rose) is no stranger to healthy competition. A background that made her perfect for the Wrestler’s Combine happening on September 4. The event is run in collaboration with Black Label Pro Wrestling and its card of matches as part of the Crowning Glory event in Chicago.
Fellow former WWE superstar Mojo will co-host the festivities along with “Tough Enough” winner Maven and Emmy-winning interviewer Chris Van Vliet. The show is actually streaming on Vilet’s YouTube channel. Others competing include Moose, Jordynne Grace, Parker Boudreaux, Ash by Elegance, Xia Li (Zhao Xia), Riddick Moss (Mike Rallis), and Jake Hager.
“I love competitions,” Sacs said. “I thought this one specifically was cool and unique. I think it’s cool that nobody has ever thought of a Wrestler’s Combine before. Immediately, I was like, ‘Why not? This sounds like fun.’”
“…I think the competition is pretty stacked, I must say. When I found out Jordynne Grace was going to be in it, I was like oh sh*t. I’m not afraid of everyone though. I think my confidence is top-tier. We have a lot of great competition. A good variety of women, and men of course. Xia Li, I used to work with her in WWE, as well as Ashe by Elegance. We used to be a tag team in WWE. We definitely have some history with her. I think it’s going to be really interesting. I think we all bring something different to the table.”
There are four women and four men competing in the combine itself. The participants will be put through four events.
This includes who can run the ropes the fastest, arm wrestling, a wrestler’s twist on tug-of-war, and a shoot collar and elbow tie-up. For Sacs, running the ropes is something she hasn’t done for the last year-and-a-half.
“That’s going to be interesting. I feel like once I get back in there it’s like I never left,” she said. “I have so much confidence in that, I’ll be just fine.”
When it comes to physical condition, Sacs stays ready. In fact she just got off a 12-week bodybuilding prep and will be leaner than normal when fans see her in the Wrestler’s Combine. The bombshell being back in the pro wrestling space certainly begs the question if it’s the start of a comeback.
“For sure. I think this event specifically will kind of light up a spark,” Sacs said. “I’ve done a lot of appearances, autograph signings, and stuff like that, but I haven’t done in-ring appearances. I’m not going to say exactly how all this will go down because we’re going to keep some stuff a surprise. I’m definitely excited for this in-ring appearance. It has definitely created some buzz out there. I think a lot of people are wanting a Mandy Rose comeback. So we shall see what I feel like after this Wrestler’s Combine.”
Looking Back on WWE Release & What Has Happened Since
Sacs was in the biggest run of her career on NXT before WWE blindsided her with a release at the end of 2022. The record-breaking NXT Champion ended up banking big bucks to the tune of seven figures thanks to a FanTime account. Looking back, the popular performer has no hard feelings because of how things turned out since then.
“Time has flown by. I’ve been blessed with a lot of amazing opportunities during this time. A lot of things have happened in my life,” she said. “Triumph and tragedy, there have been a lot of lows and highs. I think that’s with everyone, but through it all, I think I’ve learned a lot and evolved a lot as a woman, and am proud and blessed. I practice gratitude every day. I think that’s really important. When one door closes, another opens. I think everything is meant to be. I think if there is a wrestling comeback for me in the future, we shall see.”
The 34-year-old appreciates helping to push the point that a WWE release doesn’t have to be the end. It can also be a beginning.
“You’re not going to be in WWE forever or wrestling forever,” Sacs said. “I think it’s such a great place for wrestling as a whole because there is so much opportunity out there. You see people like Ashe by Elegance and other women, even Mercedes Mone. Different people have expanded and gone to other federations and are successful.
“…I have nothing but positive things to say about WWE. I’m grateful for the platform they presented me with. I just think there are other opportunities out there as well where you can flourish. It doesn’t have to be there. I think what other women are doing is awesome. I think I am a good example to show you have a brand and you can do a lot of different things with that brand. You don’t have to be subject to just that one company per se.”
Mandy’s Assessing Pro Wrestling Future
Sacs has been admittedly torn about her pro wrestling future. She is very family-oriented, and happy spending quality time with them. You may even find her at the Arthur Avenue Deli in New York these days lending a hand. The consummate businesswoman has even putting the finishing touches on an energy drink with fiancé Tino Sabbatelli.
“It is kind of like a relationship. In the last year and a half, I have been able to do a lot of different things,” she said. “…The years and holidays I’ve missed. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t regret it. It is the grind. We’re here for a reason. I got to do great things. This lifestyle is great, and I am able to make money and enjoy the beautiful things in life. It’s one of those things where do I want to leave the lifestyle I’m in right now? Then there are certain days I miss the adrenaline rush and the camaraderie. It is a hard thing to balance.”
Looking Back on ‘Tough Enough’
It’s hard to believe next year will mark a decade since she started her pro wrestling journey through Tough Enough. Despite not winning, Sacs took the opportunity and the rest is history. The alum would welcome the show’s return given the life-changer it was for her and others.
“It’s crazy to reflect that was 10 years ago. I had no idea what I was doing stepping on a Skype interview for the Tough Enough interview,” she said. “I gave it my all and said what I knew. I didn’t know much. I didn’t come from a wrestling background. I wasn’t a huge fan. I wasn’t a huge fan. Something just clicked. I fell in love with the business. I fell in love with the world of wrestling. The stars aligned.”
Thoughts on The Fatal Influence
Sacs remains booked and busy these days. She doesn’t watch the pro wrestling shows religiously, but stays updated on her good friends. Seeing the impact her group Toxic Attraction made brings a smile to her face. Since then, other girl groups have come into the fold including a new one featuring Sacs’ former tag partner Jacy Jayne called The Fatal Influence.
“I love to see Jacy work in a new dynamic. It’s cool,” she said. “Those groups are always fun to watch. It’s cool to see the different talents get together and different personalities. With Jacy, Gigi [Dolin], and myself, it was like three very different women getting together. We didn’t know what we were getting out of this. It ended up just working. It’s cool to see that. I’m excited to see where it all goes.”
Goals For In-Ring Return
If she does return the ring, Sacs has some goals. Even if it were in WWE. She wants to leave an even bigger mark.
“Making that statement whether it was on Monday Night Raw or Friday night SmackDown because I did make such a big statement on NXT,” Sacs explained. “I felt it was my time to then get to Monday or Friday and do it on the big screen. NXT is great and it’s so amazing what they’ve built, but obviously, the end goal is to be in front of thousands of people and big crowds and be on TV every week. I was with NXT but in a smaller situation. I think that would be the ultimate goal if I wanted to get back. Whether it’s with a group or by myself, that new Mandy Rose mentality of not really giving a damn and going out there and kicking butt. That would be cool.”
Dean Muhtadi, better known to fans as Mojo, knows a thing or two about pro sports given his NFL and WWE background. He is putting all that experience to use as the company he helped co-found, Paragon Talent Agency, in partnership with DraftKings, are hosting a Wrestler’s Combine on September 4. The event is run in collaboration with Black Label Pro Wrestling.
The athletic competition coincides with the card of matches, part of the Crowning Glory event in Chicago. Mojo will co-host the festivities along with “Tough Enough” winner Maven and Emmy-winning interviewer Chris Van Vliet. The show is actually streaming on Vilet’s YouTube channel.
This unique happening has an impressive list of famous faces including Moose, Jordynne Grace, Parker Boudreaux, Ash by Elegance, Xia Li (Zhao Xia), Mandy Sacs, Riddick Moss (Mike Rallis), and Jake Hager. For Mojo, the Wrestler’s Combine has been in the works for a while.
“The concept itself is pretty cool. Pro wrestling is a completely different business than the NFL, but the NFL has some cool things they do that we don’t have in the wrestling world.
One of them is the NFL Combine where they bring in all the talent and find out who is the fastest and who is the strongest as a recruiting tool to see who is going to be picked up in the NFL Draft. Pro wrestling, we don’t have anything liek that. The idea was to bring that to the wrestling world.”
– Mojo Rawley
There are four women and four men competing in the combine itself. The participants will be put through four events. This includes who can run the ropes the fastest, arm wrestling, a wrestler’s twist on tug-of-war, and a shoot collar and elbow tie-up. Mojo stresses it’s all a legit competition. There are bragging rights and reputations on the line.
Agents and the Lack of Unionions in Pro Wrestling
The big names attached to the event have connections to Mojo’s agency. Something he wanted to do for a while with the idea that players in the NFL had all this fancy representation like any other major sports. So, why couldn’t pro wrestlers have access to these services as well?
“You go to wrestling, there is no union. There are barely representatives of any kind,” Mojo explained. “There are no full-circle 360 representatives out there for people. The idea was to start the first one for pro wrestling. COVID started the company sooner than I meant for it to because COVID ended my career with WWE abruptly. I had to find a way to pivot.
I’ve always been a guy who thought out Plan B should things go wrong. I started Paragon the first day I was a free man after I called one of my best friends Steve Kaye, who has a legitimate business background as well. I told him what I wanted to do and it took him 15 seconds to hear about this thing and jumped in.
– Mojo Rawley
Mojo and Kaye put their MBAs, acumen for the biz and contacts into their new venture. It took off with Mojo saying they’ve done paid deals for 350 talent. “That tells you right there how much of a need there was for something like this,” he added. “…One is to help out the talent, but two, reintroduce the outside world to what pro wrestlers are capable of.”
WWE NIL
The landscape is a lot different place than when Mojo started his pro wrestling journey from the gridiron more than a decade ago. He is impressed with WWE’s NIL and recruitment approach, which has given them a wealth of emerging talent in recent years.
“They put a lot of weight and money behind it. Way more than they were doing before. I felt like before they were subscribing to the approach that you throw as much against the wall as you can and see what sticks.
It’s not a terrible strategy. I know that sounds like I’m downplaying the legitimacy of a strategy like that. But when you have a revolving door, you sink or swim, get in and get out. That way works for a lot of people. I think now they are doing their due diligence a lot more.
They are going out and finding these college athletes and seeing what they are about, signing them and locking them in early before they potentially blow up in their careers and go another route. It is a smart thing to do. You see college programs offering children scholarships sometimes. I had a buddy who played for the Arizona Cardinals. He was born as the biggest baby in Louisiana. I think LSU offered him a scholarship the day he was born. Guess what? He went to the school later on, so these things actually can work out for you.”
– Mojo Rawley
By the same token, Mojo thinks recruiting off the indies is also a lot more streamlined. He makes the point that we’re seeing some of the current signed WWE talent go and wrestle or do autograph signings and appearances at independent promotions. He states that was never a thing before and the “floodgates are open.” He credits this in part to the existence of AEW.
NFL Players Doing Wrestling
Before his WWE release, Mojo looked to be cooking something big with his buddy Rob Gronkowski. The Super Bowl champ ended up going back for one last, ditching his pro wrestling aspirations. However, Mojo doesn’t rule out a return for “Gronk” one day. He also assesses if we’ll see Patrick Mahomes, or Travis and Jason Kelce in the ring as well.
“‘Gronk’ is the only one that is retired. From a logistics standpoint, you have to think it’s him [first]. He loves pro wrestling. We certainly planned on doing a lot more together, but life takes you to different places and everyone goes on to the next thing,” Mojo said. “The Kelces have been to WWE shows. They’ve done well. They have the personality for it. Mohomes is probably last on the list of who you will see do stuff.”
– Mojo Rawley
For Mojo, it comes to passion and a deep-rooted desire to do it. Mostly because they surely don’t need the money.
“Honestly, with a lot of those guys, you’ll probably only see a one-off or pay-per-view with the buildup for a couple of months,” Mojo added. “It’s very hard to take somebody who is making $10 to $50 million a year and pay them a fraction of that but ask them to get their ass kicked more and train for something brand new after they already made it to the tippy top of NFL or pro sports.
“…Honestly, the person who has come close to that has been Moose. Moose was a seven-year starter in the NFL and he left football to come to wrestling and came to wrestling. He didn’t come to WWE and get offered a fat contract. He just left football because he liked wrestling better…That doesn’t happen. I give him all the credit in the world for that. AJ Francis is another example of that. He was a starter as well in the NFL. He and I were college teammates. I remember back when we were playing ball together. Even when he was in the NFL, he would say he was just biding my time until I got a shot at WWE. I would leave the NFL in two seconds to go do that. I love that more. Then he actually did…He started over to make nothing at NXT.”
– Mojo Rawley
Coming Out of Retirement
As for if we’ll ever see Mojo in the ring again, that’s another story. It’s a return four years and counting in the making.
“I’m absolutely going to wrestle again at some point,” he stated. “I don’t know when it’s going to be or where it’s going to be. I thought it would have been by now, but I’ve been so busy with Paragon, which I guess is a good problem to have. I feel like my contributions to the pro wrestling business through Paragon had been way better, way bigger, and way more important than anything I could have possibly done in-ring. With all these booking wrestlers for gigs, it just gets you reminiscent in your field a little bit. I’m going to have to do something at some point.”
Hugh Jackman believes Matt Cardona’s Zack Ryder is greater than Wolverine, but what about PCO?
Fans will find out on August 30 as Cardona will step foot into the ring with the inhuman PCO at TNA Emergence. He’ll be fighting for the rights to SDL, Stephanie De Lander, whom Cardona called his property. While speaking with Dominic DeAngelo of One True Sport Cardona made clear that he was a little miffed when Steph, his longtime ally, didn’t invite him to the wedding between her and PCO. “That’s why I had to crash it,” he said.
However, if there’s anything Cardona could pull from his past to give him extra reassurance against the French Canadian Frankenstein, it could be from him once crossing paths with the “Canadian Mutant” in Wolverine, aka Hugh Jackman.
Cardona & Hugh: The Original Deadpool & Wolverine
It’s been over ten years since Jackman became the guest host of the September 19 episode of WWE RAW in 2011, but the movie star came to the aid of Matt by slugging Nic Nemeth and helping him get a victory that night.
“He was so cool, man. Hugh Jackman was incredible.”
– Matt Cardona on working with ‘Wolverine’ Hugh Jackman
Cardona said this was just around the time where WWE finally began acknowledging the popularity of his YouTube channel. Jackman pulled all stops out to help Cardona get Ryder over that night and to this day ‘The Indy God’ thank Hugh for digging his claws into the pro wrestling ring.
“I think it took it to a whole another level and he was such a great guy about itHe like wore my headband. Like he didn’t have to wear my headband out there, right?
I was telling him backstage about the YouTube show he asked if he could be on it. He filmed an open for me and the best part, he held up a sign in early in the night, I don’t think he really read the sign, but it said ‘Ryder is greater than Wolverine.’”
It’s a come full circle moment for Paul London as he returns to Major League Wrestling for the first time in 21 years at Summer of the Beasts ‘24. The live event streaming worldwide on the company’s YouTube will see the revolutionary veteran square off with emerging talent BRG. London remembers stepping foot in an MLW ring at a similar career stage as his upcoming opponent in 2003.
“I remember that I was really excited about working with Jerry Lynn like I always am,” London reminisced. “I’m always happy to see him. He is probably the most lovable person in wrestling or one of them at least. I know [Christopher] Daniels was there as well. I think I was most excited about the caliber of talent that Court [Bauer] amassed. I was freshly 22 or 23. It was pretty cool.”
The now-44-year-old calls the experience of returning to the promotion after so much time surreal. “The fact it has been more than 20 years,” London added. “I really am old.”
London had one hell of a run since his first appearance in MLW. He went on to Ring of Honor followed by multiple years in WWE before his release in 2008. From there, he continued entertaining crowds around the world and made a stop back on regular television in the form of Lucha Underground. London is excited about facing BRG.
“It’s an exciting opportunity, especially for him. I got to see what he is all about. He has a lot of talent but a big mouth,” London concluded. “He has long hair. I’m sure it’s his natural hair color. I’m curious which Ryan Gosling is actually his favorite. I’m a curious guy. I also think about other famous people Mark Paul Gosselaar. Maybe he and I will have something in common after I give him a wrestling lesson.”
After all this time London has enjoyed the journey. He remains grateful that people still responding to him after all this time.
“I don’t want people to respond for some nostalgia nonsense though,” he said. “I want them to respond because they didn’t have a choice. That’s always the challenge for me is how can I either not become stale and give the audience something else. It’s intimidating. New York City is a place I’ve always had a lot of good matches there. The one-year anniversary of Ring of Honor we had there. I had a lot of good moments and friends there… have a lot on my plate and none of it is soft food.”
Returning to Wrestling Full-Time
Working in various places throughout the year is something London has always enjoyed. However, he doesn’t rule out signing a contract with another major company.
“I think about it every now and then,” he said. “Sure, if the money is right, but there are other things to consider. I think at this stage of where I’m at so much has to do with if I like this. Am I into this? Is this creative? Am I in a position where I feel I’m going to look stupid or this is bad? It’s very similar to acting where if you get handed a terrible script. What is the point? Then it doesn’t matter what the movie is. I have to like what I’m doing.
“There are projects that don’t pan out. That’s fine. I’m not saying I haven’t taken jobs because of a payday either. It can be a crippling decision-maker if that’s what you base your value on. To me, to sign a contract with a wrestling company would be a matter of who is on the roster, who is in the office, what kind of responsibilities they are looking for in me, and traveling. Will I go to a place where I’ll get devoured by mosquitos? Those kinds of things.”
Giving Back
London enjoys guiding the next generation along. It’s something he aims to do in this current aspect of his career.
“If I can help someone preserve their body or avoid mistakes I made,” he said. “If I can help someone avoid that stuff, I’m happy to do that. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing the lightbulb go off. I like to help those who do want this for the right reasons.”
His Former Partner Brian Kendrick
In this world of reunions, one we shouldn’t expect any time soon is London to get back into a tag team with Brian Kendrick. The dynamic duo of high flyers turned heads with a strong run in WWE, evening winning the tag team titles.
“No. We don’t talk,” London answered on the potential of a reunion. “He is doing his own thing and I’m doing mine. It has been mentioned in the past, but I’m just not interested at all. I’m not saying it will never happen. If some money mark wants to come in and say, I’ll give you $50,000 for this one match.” I’m interested now. That’s not going to happen. Who knows? As of now, there is no interest in my book. I wish him well though. I hope he is a happy man.”
The State of Pro Wrestling
Given how ahead of their time the popular team was, Kendrick and London certainly would have made waves together in 2024. However, London doesn’t live in this line of thinking.
“Anyone can be a wrestler now. The standards and integrity have been lost in the wrestling business. That really bothers me,” London said. “I like seeing what creative people do with wrestling now. The athleticism is there and better than it has ever been. It’s outstanding and spectacular, but I don’t buy in the way I used to. I don’t feel the way I used to. We’re all marks at the end of the day. There are varying degrees of mark-ism. We all want to be led along a great story. I want to believe. Wrestling is overly planned, choreographed, and overly produced. It takes a lot of the soul out of the wrestlers.
“I don’t know. Trust your talent and see what happens. There is something thrilling and exciting about not knowing what will happen. That’s as real as it gets. I do love wrestling. I really love it. Thank god for YouTube because I get to watch all these things.”
Despite his hot takes, London still genuinely enjoys what he does for a living. He even has some favorites that happen to be under the MLW umbrella.
“I’m a big Matt Riddle fan. I met him in Germany years ago before he went up to Stamford,” London recalled. “We got along. He is a real dude and I really like the guy. Then I watch his work and i reminds me a lot of Kevin Von Erich. It’s not because of being barefoot. He has a really organic way of how he moves. He was a fighter so he gets it. I’m excited to see his match with Matthew Justice, who I know is a wild one.
There are so many guys I think highly of. TJP is another one. He is an encyclopedia of wrestling holds and moves and combinations. There are so many that impress me.”
There is another London that also admires and will be in action at the big show – and he happens to wear a mask.
“Buying generic toys meant to be The Rock or someone has been fun for me,” London explained. “I recently bought this crapy little ring with luchadors in it and I think it was like $3. One of the figures is Mistico. I was like, ‘Should I bring that? Should I have him take a picture with it?’ I know it’s weird, but I’m such a fan. I love wrestling.”
MLW Summer of the Beasts ‘24 airs live at 7:30 p.m. ET on YouTube.
Bron Breakker has made a very interesting proposition for John Cena’s retirement tour after winning the Intercontinental Championship from Sami Zayn at SummerSlam.
SEScoops correspondent MuscleManMalcolm caught up with the former NXT Champion at the WWE SummerSlam media day. They discussed things such as Breakker’s time in the NFL, his unique way of hyping himself, and more.
When asked about challenging Sami Zayn for the Intercontinental Championship at the PLE tonight, Bron mentioned his Money In The Bank loss against Zayn. The WWE superstar claimed that Sami caught him unprepared the first time, but now he is ready for everything:
“You know what, I’m prepared for everything. Anything and everything this weekend. Because, you know, I think we gotta give credit where credit’s due. Sami Zayn caught me sleeping per say at Money In The Bank, but I’m locked and loaded man. Focused like shit. Effort, attitude, toughness, gonna be on full display this weekend. I’m taking it to him. So I’m ready for everything.”
Bron Breakker also put forward a very interesting proposition when asked who he would like to defend the Championship against. The 26-year-old mentioned how John Cena has never held the IC title in his career, and challenged the 16-time world champion to come take the belt from him:
“John Cena. He has never won the Intercontinental Championship before. So I say come take it from me. Come take the Championship from me. Grow some balls, come take the Championship from me. Let’s go. Let’s do it.”
The Cenation Leader has confirmed that he will be active throughout 2025 and he is planning to make around 25-30 appearances for the company.
The Hollywood star chasing the IC title to become a Grand Slam Champion before his official retirement would certainly make for a very interesting story in his final year.
Jade Cargill tells SEScoops that her tag team with longtime friend Bianca Belair was like peanut butter and jelly, but at the end of the day, they’re both elite athletes and even they are competitive with one another.
Cargill has quickly found success in WWE after making her debut at the Royal Rumble on January 27. After a dominant run in All Elite Wrestling as a singles talent, wrestling fans believed she would immediately follow the same career path in WWE. However, WWE Chief Content Officier Paul “Triple H” Levesque decided to pair her with Bianca Belair, which has led to the two powerhouse superstars becoming a fan-favorite tag team and great friends.
Cargill and Belair became the Women’s Tag Team Champions by defeating The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka & Kairi Sane) at Backlash on May 4. Although their reign didn’t last long, the “Babyface” duo have continued to be featured prominently on TV. In addition to their successful partnership, they developed a strong bond outside the ring.
In an interview with SEScoops correspondent Ella Jay over SummerSlam 2024 weekend, Cargill discussed her friendship with the “EST” and how their chemistry came together.
“It’s just natural. I mean, I feel like we’ve known each other for a long time. It’s like peanut butter and jelly,” said Cargill.
“…It’s like we have similar experiences in different ways. The chemistry just came off naturally. It wasn’t anything that was forced.”
While they have become great friends on and offscreen, Cargill and Belair have also engaged in friendly competition in the ring. Fans have seen both superstars showcase their athleticism in matches over the last few months. In the interview, Cargill commented on their competitiveness and how they push each other in the ring.
“At the core, we’re athletes, so we always want to one-up one another, right?”
“That’s what makes our tag team one of one, and while we’re out there and doing things that we’re doing and doing nothing but wanting to elevate the women’s division.”
WWE’s decision to pair them has worked in Cargill’s favor, as she continues to show growth in the ring and has silenced some of her critics. The experience of working as a tag team could lead to the former AEW superstar standing out more on her own in the future. For now, Cargill and Belair are focused on reclaiming the tag titles from The Unholy Union (Alba Fyre & Isla Dawn)and dominating the women’s division.
Ahead of tonight’s WWE SummerSlam PLE, SEScoops correspondent Ella Jay spoke with Gunther, who will challenge Damian Priest for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. During the interview, ‘The Ring General’ discussed his past jobs, rivalries, possible matches in the future, and more.
Gunther did very odd jobs in the past. One of them was a meatpacking job. It’s quite ironic now because ‘big meaty men slap’ and meet on Monday Night Raw every single week. When asked who is the ‘meatiest man” in the locker room, other than himself, Gunther replied:
“I don’t know, Sheamus, I guess.”
‘The Ring General’ also revealed what jobs he did before he decided to lace up his boots. He said:
“Call Center, obviously. Unloading containers with Sunflower seeds… store them..jobs like that. They’re a bunch of more. Yeah, it’s hard work. It’s good to do that and have appreciation for it because a lot of people do it every day and it’s unseen.”
Winning King of The Ring against Randy Orton
‘The Ring General’ earned a World Heavyweight Title shot after winning this year’s King Of The Ring Tournament by defeating Randy Orton. It was a dream match for a lot of people and WWE Chief Content Officer Triple H said they might once again share the ring in the future. When asked if he has an interest in facing Randy Orton in the future, Gunther said: “Yeah, for sure.”
He added:
“That’s how I enjoy professional wrestling most, if that makes sense. Randy is obviously one of the best to ever do it. And I think the setting was very nice too. Saudis are always very welcoming to us and the crowd over there really good. Yeah, felt like a great moment and that will forever remember.”
Possibly rekindling feud with Ilja Dragunov
Fans have been expecting Gunther and Ilja Dragunov to reignite their iconic rivalry and he was asked how far his relationship knowing Ilja goes back. He said:
“To 2011, 2012 something around that time, I think he started and he got booked by WXW a lot when I was always there. So since then, we know each other basically.”
Sami Zayn also had a match with Gunther back in WXW. Gunther recalled those matches with Zayn when he worked under El Generico moniker:
“Oh, yeah, I remember that. I have wrestled him more often before. But that’s the wrestling business itself. Sometimes. I mean, sometimes you see someone very intensively for a while and then that is disappear for years and then it all comes back around so”
Gunther praises Sami Zayn’s Intercontinental run
Gunther’s record-breaking WWE Intercontinental title reign of 666 days came to an end when Sami Zayn dethroned him at WrestleMania XL. ‘The Ring General’ praised Sami Zayn’s run as the Intercontinental Champion as he said:
“Oh, quite objectively has stepped up obviously. Big time. I think he’s done a very good job and I think yeah, he has a lot going on anyway with the whole Judgment Day thing as well. And yeah, I think he’s done really good but yeah, till tomorrow.”
Favorite rivalry
Gunther has faced a plethora of talents since joining WWE and has been involved in memorable rivalries. When asked what has been his favorite rivalry, he named The Miz.
“I think the one that would with The Miz. That was a very, very important one for me. And yeah, I really enjoyed that. And it was so important program I had in my career.”
WWE SummerSlam: Cleveland is stacked with some exciting matches. While Gunther is focussed on his own title match, he said that he is looking forward to the match between CM Punk and Drew McIntyre with Seth Rollins as the Special Guest Referee. He said:
“I gotta be honest, I haven’t thought about any other match yet. I know which ones are there but maybe Drew and Punk.”
On June 27th, 2024, Donovan Dijak, known simply then at DIJAK to the WWE Universe, announced his upcoming departure from the company he had called home for nearly eight years.
The star’s approach to his impending free agency starkly contrasted the countless others that had come before him. Rather than simply allowing his WWE contract to expire, which it would the following day, Dijak released a raw, honest, and detailed letter regarding his ongoing negotiations – or lack thereof – with the promotion. Claiming that WWE had made no effort to contact him regarding a new deal following his call-up to Monday Night RAW and had ultimately decided not to renew his contract at the “eleventh hour.”
The news came as a complete shock to wrestling fans everywhere. Dijak had just concluded a widely praised and objectively entertaining second run in NXT, where had the chance to expand his character, both on WWE TV and on social media. Becoming the King of the Ratios of X. Overall, Dijak’s WWE career seemed to be finally heading in the right direction, following the debacle of the RETRIBUTION faction. A group that Dijak has previously noted significantly set him back character-wise in the eyes of the WWE Universe.
Despite this, Dijak remained a loyal soldier for the company, always putting on high-quality bouts inside the squared circle. Because of this reputation, WWE fans assumed his call-up to Monday Night RAW in late April as part of the WWE Draft was due to the company finally deciding to give the star the proper push he had always deserved. Unfortunately, those hopes never came to fruition.
While others may allow a departure from the most globally recognized wrestling promotion to crush them, Dijak sees his release from the company as an exciting opportunity. In an exclusive sit-down interview with SEScoops, he noted that he’s finding no shortage of work on the independent circuit, especially in promotions where he made his bones before joining WWE.
Life After His Now-Famous ‘Letter’ on social media:
“I’m excited, Things are going well, my calendars booking up very solidly. I’ve made a few appearances as you alluded to, and they’ve gone well, they’ve gone really well the reception has been great. I mean, these are these are kind of places where I made my mark before I was in WWE, so they were obviously excited to have me back I was excited to be back. It’s been really positive. For the most part…”
While incredibly proud of how the first few weeks of his free agency have gone, he does say he’s been surprised at the reaction from a certain portion of the professional wrestling fan base—specifically, those who equate Dijak’s words and actions as a direct affront to WWE. While the 37-year-old star said he was prepared for some level of toxicity from those within the internet wrestling community, it seemed to be taken aback by the sheer volume of it.
“There tends to be this trend amongst groups of fans, and not a small group, right? There’s, there’s a large congruent conglomerate of whichever thing that you prefer, whatever your your, your preference of professional wrestling is, you tend to gravitate towards that. And you want to love that and defend it, right? It’s difficult to watch it happen because you can mentally prepare yourself for it. But the reality of the situation is there’s some people out there, there’s a good number of people out there, who are now like the, we’ll call it the honeymoon period, is has worn off, and now they’re actively looking for reasons why to dislike me or “side with the WWE.”
Dijak would go further:
“I’ve supported all my coworkers, I’ve been thankful to the people who gave me those spots…If it were up to me, I’d still be WWE, right? Like I want, I want to actively negotiate and they did not. So. So these divisive moments happen. And it creates this split. amongst some, this chunk of fans, were very vocal there just actively looking for reasons to long story, you know, there’s a lot of pieces to it, but basically, they’re looking to affirm WWE, because that makes them feel good, right?…”
His Non-Existent Heat With CM Punk, Despite What Some Fans Think:
He would continue saying that some fans hold onto topics or issues that are already settled. As an example pointed out by Dijak, some fans of CM Punk are under the impression that the former NXT star has some underlying problems with the Second City Saint. This all stems from when Punk, while still technically signed to AEW, visited backstage of Monday Night RAW, sparking a massive reaction from the WWE Universe on social media. Fans began to speculate that the rumors of Punk’s desire to depart AEW for his old home of WWE were, in fact, true.
While surveying the scene, Dijak had no gripe with CM Punk, but he grew frustrated that fans were more focused on people from outside the company than those inside the company who could not get significant TV time. This led to him sending out what some could see as a passive-aggressive tweet, leading some to accuse Dijak of having a case of sour grapes and real-life heat with the former world champion. However, Dijak makes it abundantly clear that this couldn’t be further from the truth.
“CM Punk, I wouldn’t say we’re friends. But like, if we’re in the same room, we go into, we talk to each other, we have a conversation because we both enjoy each other’s presence…It’s not like it’s like we’re best friends, and I’m going to his birthday party, but if I walk into a locker room, and he’s in there, we’ll have a conversation. It’s a nice, pleasant light hearted conversation. That being said, before I met him, I had two of my actual best friends. These are guys who I will go to their birthday party, and I know their children had been to there. And that’s MXM, the former Maximum Male Models, Mason and Mansor..they’re flown out to TV and they don’t have anything that week. So I hear through the grapevine that that CM Punk is backstage and everybody’s blowing up…And in my mind, I’m thinking ‘my best friends are also backstage at RAW and nobody cares.’ Nobody. There’s not one mention of it. There’s not one tweet, there’s not one. And I understand why. Right? I understand that. CM Punk is this huge… That being said, I’m not just going to sit back well, my friends are being ignored, and are going to get released and all these negative things are going to happen that people that I love, and I want to see succeed. So I’m going to use what’s happening to benefit them.
So I posted something, and again, probably not the probably not the best or smartest thing I’ve ever done or it was honest. It’s honestly how I felt at the time…I wanted to shift the narrative as much as I could To get focused on the people that I love and respect at that time, well, CM Punk fans did not see it that way. And they destroyed me. They eviscerated me. They hate my guts. To this day there’ll be a lot of times where I’ll see like hate comments pop up, and I’m like, why is this guy hate me? And [after clicking on their profile” it’d be like, “CM Punk number one fan” and I’m like, Oh, well, they never got over it. Right? Usually, there’s a pretty obvious reason, when someone’s just spewing hate at me…I met CM Punk, and we have a great relationship.”
WWE Contracts and The Realities of Being “Stuck In Catateoring”:
As he’s touched upon and discussed in previous interviews, Dijak’s made it a point to try to explain to fans both the problematic ways WWE’s contracts are structured and why “sitting in catering” is a particularly anxiety-ridden existence.
“We tried to keep our minds focused on that, right. I’m getting paid a good amount of money to basically do nothing. I need to keep I need to keep that in my mind that there are a lot of people out There are struggling to make ends meet. And I need to, you know, be thankful and gracious. Here’s the reality of the situation. We don’t know when that’s going to end and it could end any second. And when it does, you’re in trouble, right? Because you’ve been sitting in catering, you’re not gaining any momentum, this can end in a second.”
“…I love the the platform and the compensation, but I hate the fact that they do not need to have a reason [to release a Superstar] and it kind of defeats the purpose of the word ‘contract’. They don’t have to hold up their end of the three-year bargain, right? Again, this is written in there, and we read it and we know it, but just feels like that part of the contract should be more solid to me…
“If Just you’re sitting in the back, that’s a really good reason for you to get released. If you’re just not doing anything, they don’t have any creative. So it’s difficult, it’s a dark place to be in because you’re trying to do these things you’re trying to get on TV, you’re trying to show them how much value you’re worth. And that’s that’s a hard thing to comprehend for someone who’s saying, you’re just getting this huge deposit in your account every week. Yes, correct. Still difficult mentally, because the future is uncertain. We’re professional wrestlers, we can’t do this our entire lives, our bodies will break down when we’re 45 years old. So we need to have enough money to retire by that age. Or we’re going to be limping around a ring trying to do because a lot of us don’t have a backup skill set, right? You can’t just go ‘oh, well, I’ll be a lawyer’. The only thing I can do is lock up and grant a headlock. So I need a backup plan for when I turn 45 I don’t have enough money to live for the next 40 years of my life, God willing, and to support my children send them through college, you know, I need all that money saved up by X amount of days. So if I get released at this point, and these are all the dots that are connecting in our heads is we’re sitting in catering, staring at the wall, praying that someone reads our pitch…”
The “War” Between WWE and AEW and his visit to AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2024:
In 2019, the professional wrestling world was turned upside down when All Elite Wrestling broke onto the scene, providing fans with a true large-scale alternative to WWE for the first time in nearly two decades. Since then, a section of the audience has become increasingly tribalistic, mimicking the battle cries of the Monday Night Wars of the Attitude Era.
On one hand, the landscape of professional wrestling has never been stronger, with more opportunities for wrestlers to find work and for fans to be given many options. On the other hand, according to Dijak, the desire for “war” between the companies may exist more in the echo chamber of social media than in each locker room.
“Nobody wants the fans to like ‘pick a side’ that doesn’t exist from our point of view…Most of us have all the same friends. And we’re all we’re all working towards the same goal, which is let’s make this the most entertaining, profitable, pro wrestling landscape possible for all of us. So the fans can enjoy it as much as possible, and the wrestlers can make as much money as we possibly can. I mean, that’s the goal.”
However, the former WWE talent clarifies that healthy competition among wrestlers for rival promotions is natural. Citing that he himself is very “team-oriented,” going back as far as his days as a young athlete. When asked if his former employer perpetuated the drums of war with their talent, he detailed the only time ever such a significant conversation about AEW took place, when it was announced that Tony Khan’s flagship program Dynamite would directly compete with WWE’s developmental brand NXT, which had just been announced to debut on the USA Network.
” So basically…let’s keep it vague and say “the office” is like, hyping us up like ‘hey, that. That’s our time slot. They’re coming for our time slot’… That was true; WWE NXT was on historically on Wednesday nights at 8pm or whatever it happened to be, and then They took that. I don’t know if they took that personally, but they took that as a attack on business which it was right? It’s trying to divide a market share of fans and make them choose between one product to the other. It’s a business decision, right? It’s a business decision at the end of the day. And but they, a lot of the office was trying to let us know…”We’re going head to head, and we need to show them what we’re all about. We need to show the world what we’re all about…”
As fate would have it, WWE NXT and AEW Dynamite would eventually find themselves on separate nights. NXT moved to Tuesday nights, where it has found strong results. At the same time, Dynamite continues to reign supreme on Wednesday nights for TNT.
AEW has become one of the top landing places speculated by fans since Dijak’s. On June 30th, AEW hosted its annual Forbidden Door pay-per-view at the UBS Arena in Long Island. Dijak later teased showing up to the event, which he did, but only as a visitor and not a performer. Dijak told SEScoops during his visit to Forbidden Door he never entered the locker room, noting that he doesn’t believe in entering locker rooms of promotions he doesn’t work for.
Dijak states that his overall experience visiting AEW was pleasant but very limited.
“I think people were surprised to see me there. But since it was so fresh, and it was so kind of out of left field. But you know, quite frankly, I was surprised to be there. You know, if you told me. You told me two weeks before, you know, I was I was in the web locker room on speed on web speed wrestling Xavier Woods, like three weeks ago or four whatever the time, right? …It was nice, it was nice to see my friends. And it was nice to catch up with people. Other than that I didn’t get like ‘the full experience'”
Dijak made it clear that he never got to visit “gorilla”, and never spoke to Tony Khan at the event. He would praise the company’s production quality, noting it had “all the bells and whistles you could want” for a “full scale operation”.
Comparing His 2 Runs with NXT
Like Dijak’s on-screen character in WWE, the company’s NXT brand itself has gone through some major redesigns in its history. Dijak is one of only a few stars in WWE history to have extensive runs in both the original “Black & Gold” version of NXT, which was run almost exclusively by Triple H, and the current “White & Gold” version.
When asked to compare both runs, and even reveal if he preferred one over the other, Dijak remarked that he looks back on both runs fondly, each for different reasons. However, he especially enjoyed his most recent NXT run. As he feels it provided him with an opportunity to expand his character and be a bit more outside the box than he traditionally had been.
” I think they were both incredibly strong in terms of a product presentation… for me, on a personal level, the second run means a lot more to me, because I got a lot more of what I wanted to do in terms of presentation. I had a lot more matches, I was on TV a lot more. I was on premium live events a lot more. So On a personal level, it was much more fulfilling for me. It seems that the fans sentiment, for the most part, is split. If you look at like ratings and stuff and things like that, I think YouTube views and maybe social media stuff was probably higher for black and gold…”
“For me, I prefer what was happening more recently, because it had more elements of of character integration and storytelling in that aspect. And I prefer a little bit more than that, rather than just the sole focus on in ring product, which isn’t to say that’s what NXT black and gold was. But it was, it was more in that direction. Right?…Like yes, we’ll do some vignettes, backstage or whatever. But for the most part, it’s like ‘hey, we’re wrestlers. And we’re wrestling and here’s why we’re wrestling and we’re trying to win championships’, whereas the newer version of NXT seemed like it had more like, ‘Oh, I’m a vigilante renegade cop, and I’m investigating this guy. And this is and this guy’s in the mob, and he’s taking guys and throwing them off a bridge’, That it had more of that stuff, which I can sink my teeth into a little bit. That being said, it still had the presentation. Of course, I’m an in ring guy.”
Donovan Dijak’s Longterm and Shorterm Goals
As he enters free agency for the first time since 2017, the world of independent wrestling has significantly changed since Dijak last participated. Something Dijak is excited to take advantage of.
He expressed a similar sentiment when asked about his goals for the near and distant future. Overall, Dijak’s objective is to improve and refine his standing in the eyes of wrestling fans. He plans to achieve this by winning titles and getting the chance to compete overseas.
“…The things that have been kind of evading me the most [through my career], are championships, right? You think about how many championships I’ve had, beetween WWE and Ring of Honor, the answer is zero…Even outside of WWE, before I was in Ring of Honor, I didn’t have a lot of championships, and that’s just a fact, I just didn’t have a lot of them…outside of Chaotic Wrestling, I had one championship in my entire life. That doesn’t sit well with me…
Number two is wrestling in Japan. I never had the opportunity to wrestle in Japan. For whatever reason, I wrestled for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship before, but I never wrestled for it in Japan. I obviously didn’t win… I feel like I’ve wrestled for every championship, but I just lost all of them (laughs). So I feel like I want to change that narrative. I want to work in a place that’s a prestigious and hotbed of professional wrestling.”
In terms of long-term goals, Dijak’s mission is to return to a larger platform where he can perform in front of fans who know him and those who have never seen him before.
“You asked about longterm as well. That’s getting back to a platform where I can do those things that I’m talking about in terms of my brand and representing myself, and then also continuing to have those outstanding, excellent matches in front of the biggest audience possible, right? Because now we’re talking about getting in front of people who aren’t aware of a new audience who’s not familiar with me.”
The sky is truly the limit for Donovan Dijak. Promotions and fans are highly familiar with the quality of his in-ring abilities and on-screen character. Any promotion would be instantly better by having him on their roster.
Matt Cardona made independent pro wrestling his kingdom. “The Indy God” was in the middle of the most successful run of his career until he was sidelined with a torn peck a few months ago. He had surgery, underwent stem cell therapy, and began the rigorous road back to the ring.
While many have sat on the sidelines until they were cleared to perform again, that is not Cardona. The veteran is still making towns, currently serving as the general manager for Game Changer Wrestling. He recently returned to the gym, leaving the question of what’s the latest on when we may see him compete again.
What’s Next for Matt Cardona?
“I’m kind of keeping that close to the vest. I want it to be a surprise or at least the announcement to be a surprise. I know in my head when I’m coming back. But I don’t want the rest of the world to know until it’s time.”
How to Stay Relevant
Cardona is fueled by the motivation to fulfill all the goals he sets for himself. He is constantly moving the goalpost. And if anyone knows the importance of staying in the mix, even without wrestling, it’s the former Zack Ryder.
“In this business, it’s what have you done for me lately,” Cardona said. “You have to chase that buzz and stay relevant, especially on the independents. I knew when I got hurt I had to pivot and readjust. I contacted all the promoters I was working for and told them the deal and my situation and rescheduled the ones who didn’t just want me to trash talk. Luckily, for me, I’m able to come to a lot of these places and just trash talk and sell merchandise…
I’m proud that I’m able to make these towns and provide value to these promoters and these fans with much more than just wrestling inside those ropes. At the same time, trust me, I” ‘m rushing to come back. It’s very important. You can’t let the momentum die.”
Z! True Long Island Story
Cardona knows how to make the most of every situation and the tools available to him. A shining example of this is when he launched the Z! True Long Island Story in 2011. The used the YouTube show as a vehicle to build a connection with the audience. In a lot of ways, what the creator helped blaze a new trail for pro wrestlers. He continues to do that in all facets of the business whether it’s marketing himself, branding, podcast, and business ventures including the successful action figure lines.
“I think what made Zack Ryder successful was the time,” Cardona explained. “If I were to do it now, I feel like I would be anyone else…Writing [the show] the show myself, funding it myself, editing myself. You go back and watch some of those episodes, the editing was atrocious. It’s just me in my iMovie.
That was the charm of the show. That’s what the fans could relate to. Including fans on the journey, ‘Broski of the Week’ videos or ‘Sign of the Week,’ encouraging fans to bring signs and sending out trading cards for people that buy my shirt. This wasn’t done back then. If it happened now, it wouldn’t be as special or important. Anybody can do stuff like that now.”
Chelsea Green
Being on the shelf has also allowed Cardona time to really appreciate the success of his wife Chelsea Green in WWE. The couple shares similar traits when it comes to drive and determination. It’s what has gotten Green respect among peers and fans alike. With GCW doing a show nearby the night before, Cardona was able to witness one of Green’s biggest matches at Money in the Bank firsthand. The alum likes to keep to himself when he goes to WWE shows as to not make it seem like he is angling for a job and to keep the focus on supporting Green.
“Even when she was my girlfriend, I couldn’t believe when she was doing the ‘Hot Mess’ stuff on Impact that WWE didn’t want to hire her. Then I couldn’t believe they fired her. Then I couldn’t believe that in-between at NXT they weren’t using her. I’m glad she now getting the recognition she deserves…
Obviously, super proud of everything, not only what she did in that match, but even if it’s a pretape on SmackDown or falling off a ladder through tables. It’s nice to see the wrestling world giving her the flowers finally I think it’s a matter of time before she gets what she deserves. I hate saying deserves because she would have earned it.”
GCW
Cardona is proud to be part of GCW. He believes the company also deserves proverbial flowers with what the promotion created. Cardona named as one to watch with a bright future.
“GCW is a company I feel I put on the map with that death match with Nick Gage,” he said. “At the same time, they put me on the map with that death match with Nick Gage. The relationship has been mutually beneficial. That match changed my life and career. I owe so much to GCW.
I don’t think GCW gets the credit it deserves. This company is truly an independent company run all over the world and every weekend. I think it’s WWE and GCW. I don’t think any other company runs as much or as consistently here as GCW runs. With WWE, I wouldn’t be surprised if they do stuff with GCW. They already kind of are with the Bloodsport.”
The lifelong pro wrestling fan can even picture a GCW invasion likened to what ECW did on Raw. Laying out the hypothetical booking, “Imagine if Matt Cardona comes down the ramp at Raw and, Joey Janela, Effy, Nick Gage, Steph De Lander, and Mance Warner. Brett Lauderdale could be the new Heyman on commentary. I’m getting goosebumps. Talk about a perfect way for Matt Cardona to make his debut in GCW. You want to talk about moments. That’s a moment.”
John Cena Retiring
Another thing he wants is a match against John Cena, who announced he’ll be retiring in 2025. The two were close for many years with Cena a big advocate for the Long Island broski. This would involve Cardona returning to WWE, but how would all that work?
“He is just a pro’s pro. What a way to go out. What a smart way to go out. A whole year plus because he is hyping it up in July. I’m thinking about the merch. John is such a great guy. Someone who helped me in my career. Those posts I make on social media are not BS. I would love to wrestle John Cena one last time.
I think with the way things with WWE are now, I think it could happen where I could just walk in one day or make a return. I think John Cena versus Zack Ryder was fine. They were what they were. John Cena versus Matt Cardona. That’s where the story is. I could say, ‘John Cena, you’re the reason why my WWE career didn’t take off.’ So many things that we can play into. I know that if I walked through the doors of WWE, surprise or not, I could get a reaction…I’m happy he gets to go out on his own terms.”
Hanging Up His “Indy God” Crown
When Cardona does come back to wrestle, he plans to hang up “The Indy God” hat. He is looking for another change in presentation after feeling he has done it all. The true freelancer will weigh his options, believing he can fit into any wrestling landscape. Alwayz ready isn’t just a catchphrase, but a life mantra. He doesn’t just want to work for peanuts. Cardona is looking for the whole jar.
““There are so many guys in AEW I would love to wrestle,” Cardona said. “There are ones I would love to wrestle for the first time like Kenny Omega. I would love to wrestle MJF. Long Island versus Long Island. Then WWE. WWE is on fire right now. Cody Rhodes, WWE champion. All I’m saying is when he left WWE, he left because Zack Ryder beat Stardust. It sent him out of the company. There are so many potential matchups.
… At the same time, I won’t sacrifice everything I built. If it doesn’t make sense for me to go to WWE or AEW, I will reinvent myself and reinvent the whole god damn independent scene. That’s what I will do. I’m grateful for my time WWE, highs and lows, but I’m not finished left. I have so much left in the tank, body-wise, and creatively. That’s why being injured sucks so bad. It’s also good for me to kind of rethink some things and plan some things out. I’m very excited for the next couple of months to see what happens for me… 2025 will be a fun year for Matt Cardona. We’ll see.”
Deonna Purrazzo spent the better part of the last four years with a chip on her shoulder. The WWE release was the spark that lit a fire under “The Virtuosa,,” She knew her worth and what she was capable of. It was just about finding the right place that would give her the opportunity to show it. Enter TNA. The company provided the technical marvel to shine in the biggest of spotlights within their environment, even headlining shows.
After achieving all the milestones in TNA, Purrazzo felt the time was right to spread her wings further. The free agent was a hot commodity given the body of work she amassed and the reputation she earned. All Elite Wrestling became the landing spot at the start of 2024.
“Walking into any locker room new to you or in a new environment is scary because you’re not comfortable,” she said. “I was in TNA Impact Wrestling for three-and-a-half years, so that was my home. My husband was there. Some of my best friends were there. I got to know everyone on such a personal and intimate level working with them for that long.”
Making the leap was not easy for Purrazzo given the bonds she formed in TNA. However, in the last six months, she has been happy to establish a new relationship with the ladies of the AEW roster, many of whom she has never met or wrestled before.
“I think it has been super positive,” Purrazzo said. “I’ve put my best foot forward with this new company and working with brand new people and telling new stories. I was scared but equally excited.”
The new digs mean adjusting to a new schedule, which isn’t easy when your husband Steve Maclin works for a different company. For Purrazz, the couple has been finding their footing slowly but surely.
“It has been about adjusting when we get to see each other and making those moments special, allowing time for date night or his birthday is this weekend, so celebrating his birthday,” Purrazzo added. “Making those moments special because right now they are far and few between.”
The young veteran finds similarities between the TNA and AEW locker room. One thing that has helped the transition is having the support of real-life best friends like Madison Rayne. Someone who has been in Purrazzo’s shoes. One backstage reunion she looks forward to is Britt Baker.
“It has been interesting because I think in our mind we always envisioned us being there at the same time and doing it together,” she said. “That has not been the case for the last six months, so I’m very excited for whenever Brit comes back and I get to work with her on this kind of level because we never have before. Also, I want to see how she can reinvent herself and what she can do because she is one of the OG girls and has been there since Day 1 as the first woman signed.
“To hear her thoughts and take on the way the division has grown and the potential she sees for the future is interesting. It’s some of the same things I want for our division. It will be fun to work together and achieve that.”
Purrazzo looks back to meeting Baker and another good friend Chelsea Green for the first time at age 19 or 20. To see their journeys and how far they’ve come brings a smile to her face.
“I think at the end of the day we were so fortunate because we got what we wanted out of this. There is still so much we want and left to achieve,” Purrazzo said. “We were 20-year-old girls with these big dreams to take over this industry and change this industry and be world champions and we’ve done that. And somehow through the BS of this industry stayed best friends and positive. If there is anything I want for Chelsea Green and Britt Baker is to be equally or more successful for me. Or Karen Q or Tasha Steelz.
“I’ve been able to cultivate this really tight-knit group of girls who have been there at the beginning of my career and that I consider my family. I don’t have a sister, but if I did it would be Chelsea Green. That is what our relationship is like. To watch her on Monday nights or Friday nights and thrive and do what Chelsea does best is more fulfilling than anything I can do for myself. I know the work she has put into this and what it means to her. I thrive when my friends thrive. To see them do that the last five or six years has been really fulfilling for me.”
For Purrazzo, the AEW women’s division is thriving and finding newfound attention. This could be attributed to herself and the major signing of Mercedes Mone. At the time of the interview, Purrazzo was excited to be part of her first Double or Nothing weekend with Mone battling Willow Nightingale for the AEW TBS championship, as well as “Timeless” Toni Storm defending against Serena Deeb. The fact that there are two big matches on the card is not lost on her. Between those matches and other stories being told including what she is doing with Thunder Rosa, Purrazzo can see the momentum building. Rosa and Purrazzo were just announced to face off at the Double or Nothing Zero Hour.
“I think for myself when a woman comes in and says, ‘This is what I want. These are my terms.’ And then gets it, and then does great business for other women to come thereafter. To watch her thrive in the way she is,” Purrazzo said of Mone. “She is about to get in the ring and I know so many people have been looking forward to watching her wrestle again, I’m one of those people.”
Purrazzo has high hopes for Forbidden Door to come thereafter. She is even dreaming of booking a rematch against Stardom’s Mayu Iwatani. At the same time, the star can see a wealth of possibilities for opponents and the future of the women’s division. With that in mind, Purrazzo would love to see a tag division if rolled out the proper way. When those stars align, there is even a partner in mind.
“I think the most logical answer is Britt. I don’t know if we can have a different rendition of VXT in AEW or what that looks like,” she said. “Coming from a division that has or still has a world tag team championship, it is interesting because I think more opportunities for women is amazing. I don’t think it is something you can introduce and say, “Here is the women’s tag team championship because you wanted it and gave it to you. I think there is a long process of developing real teams and having people have partnerships that are meaningful and long-lasting, especially for women. I think it’s easy to throw girls in there and say you’re a tag team. That hinders women’s tag team division a whole bunch.
“It takes time to build chemistry. A relationship that then you can feel through the screen. I think if there was going to be AEW women’s tag team championship, I would like to see it far out and see our tag division really cultivated and the relationship truly formed. Then maybe there is a tournament to solidify who would wrestle for the titles or who would become champion. Something more with long-term storytelling and a large format instead of just, ‘You asked for it, here it is.'”
If you’re a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, you could argue Purrazzo as the example. Losing her job at WWE was eye-opening not just the pro wrestling side but life in general.
“It was a scary realization of not having anything else and no backup plan. That’s why I chose to go to school. One, if I’m not going to wrestle anymore I need a college degree to get a job. Two, if I do continue to wrestle I need an outlet that isn’t related to wrestling at all. When I was doing my school work I got a bachelor’s in history. My capstone was 25 pages. I don’t have time to pick up the phone to scroll through Twitter and look at what is happening in the wrestling world right now.
“I had to dive into it one hundred percent if I wanted to accomplish it. It was just another roulette for me not to have my heart and soul into wrestling because I felt that destroyed m
e at one point. And if I was going to learn from my mistakes and be better this time around like at Impact when I was able to let wrestling go a little bit and have it not control me 24/7. For me, that outlet was school.”
Check out AEW Double or Nothing on May 26 at 8 p.m. on TrillerTV.
Mike Santana has garnered a lot of inspiration from the legendary Bret Hart. The former AEW star and current House of Glory Champion has been one of the top names in the company after returning to his old stomping grounds back at TNA Rebellion. Santana made an immediate impact by defeating former World Champion Steve Maclin and did sign a deal with the promotion.
I recently spoke with Santana for SEScoops about his wrestling career, including where he’s been, where he is now and where he’s going. We got talking about what inspired him to lace up a pair of boots in the first place. The reigning House of Glory World Champion said it all comes down to the pink and black.
“I’ve always made it known Bret Hart is like an icon to me. He’s the reason why I got into wrestling.”
Santana said he was never into the big, over-the-top cartoon characters and in a time where there was a lot of big personas in WWE, Bret was an understated talent.
“Bret stood out to me because he was real, he was honest, he was himself, you know? What you saw is what you got. He spoke about his family, his values, where he came from and what he’s here to do so that always stood out to me.
I’ve always said that’s the kind of performer I want to be, you know? Just pretty much put myself out there and put a lot of my own personality into what I do.”
The ‘Excellence of Execution’ is widely considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. Some have won more championships and some have drawn more money, but few have inspired more people to get into wrestling than Bret Hart.
Santana did cross paths with Bret Hart years back when both were at an event in New York City. Hart’s agent knew Santana was a big fan and took him to meet The Hitman. Bret had a big line in front of him, but the WWE Hall of Famer made sure to make time for Mike Santana.
“He literally stopped the line and sat there with me for it felt like forever and we just talked. The fact that he knew who I was, it was awesome. It was a humbling experience. I felt like a kid. It was great.”
Mike Santana recalls meeting wrestling legend Bret Hart
Hart knew that Santana was apart of LAX at the time and made mention that it was Konnan, LAX’s manager, who actually taught him how to execute The Sharpshooter. Santana said growing up in New York, he never got star struck, but getting to meet his childhood hero in the squared circle hit a different tone for him. Patterning his mentality after Hart is something that is paying off for Santana behind the microphone and inside the ring.
“I always say that Mike Santana is an extension of myself. It is myself, but just turned up. That intensity and that level of violence that I bring sometimes, it’s just I attribute it to what I used to be when I was younger. Like I still have that dude trapped inside and wrestling allows me to bring them out and not get arrested or not get into trouble or anything.”
With Santana planting his flag into TNA soil, one would think he’s going to play a big factor when the promotion has Slammiversary this forthcoming July.
Check out my other recent interview with fellow TNA star Hammerstone:
It’s been almost a decade since Jesús Rodríguez (Ricardo Rodriguez) was released from WWE. Since then, he has gone on a soul-searching journey that has led him to Major League Wrestling.
A company Rodriguez was grateful to find at this stage of his career, taking all he has learned and experienced to put forth the best version of himself. I recently spoke with the talented performer about his experience wrestling for WWE and what he’s enjoying in Major League Wrestling (MLW).
His WWE Exit
“It’s honestly amazing thinking back 10 years ago,’ Rodriguez said. “The story is, I called the [WWE] office and told them, ‘Hey I’m done. I’m not happy. I’m still at home. I didn’t get on the plane.’ When they just said, ‘Well stay home and we’ll talk and figure it out.’ They called me back a few days later and said, ‘Yeah, we’ll grant you your release.’ I was like thank you.”
At the time he was in his late 20s. He likened it to your first big breakup in high school. A time when you think your life is over and that you’ll never find love again. The ring announcer and pro wrestler learned that the only thing he could control was how he reacted to things.
“Life is going to happen on life’s terms. I didn’t react the proper way,” Rodriguez recalled. “I was very angry and bitter. I just hated life and wrestling and anybody that was, in my mind, opposing me in what I wanted to accomplish. It took a while to control how I reacted. I had to learn that aspect.
It’s no secret because I am very open about it, my addiction issue. Getting sober and clean was a huge step forward and realizing all that. I am grateful in hindsight that I went through all that to appreciate what I have now. Opportunities I was given when I learned to appreciate things and being more mindful. Now I’m in a situation now with an amazing company that we are leading into.”
Rather than leave the business, Rodriguez found a renewed motivation. He worked with The Great Khali to open the market up in India. This wasn’t the only stop on his international travel with stops in Europe, Australia, and of course, Mexico. Rodriguez, who had a great run with Alberto Del Rio, took his knowledge to helping run schools including a year in Cairo, even maneuvering through the uncertainty of COVID.
MLW
Looking back, Rodriguez is happy to go through the lows in order to truly appreciate the highs, many of which the veteran is getting in MLW as a member of Salina de La Renta’s Promociones Dorado. Rodriguez, who also helps as a producer and behind the scenes like de La Renta, can’t be happier to watch her success onscreen and offscreen working with the women’s division.
“It’s amazing because I’ve known her for her entire career,” Rodriguez said. “The same for Janai Kai, who I’ve know since the very first day she walked into a wrestling school. It’s rewarding to see their growth and development now…and the presence they have. It’s so admirable if you look at it and the presence they carry with them. I feel like this is portrayed on camera which is very hard to teach.”
MLW in Chicago at Cicero Stadium
Rodriguez, who helps the next generation through Three Legacies Wrestling, takes pride in seeing so much representation across the board in regards to the Latin American community. So much MLW has built a brand and show Azteca Lucha on May 11 when the company returns to a sold-out Chicago’s Cicero Stadium. Rodriguez will team with Atlantis, and Guerrero Maya Jr. to face El Felino, Virus, and Villano III Jr. as the war with Cesar Duran continues.
“It’s amazing to me as a lucha libre fan because I grew up on lucha libre. To be in a trios match with partners like this is amazing to me. The very first wrestling hero I had was Atlantis. To be partnered up with him is a dream come true…I did spend a lot of time with a top heel in the industry so I may have a trick or two to secure that victory.
“We have Azteca Lucha and sold out. We’re building this relationship with CMLL which is very important. We’re able to provider great luchadors from Mexico, the United States, and internationally. Who is to say there isn’t going to be an MLW takeover in Mexico and Arena México? It would be huge. We have a lot of amazing events coming up.”
MLW Azteca Lucha airs airs at 10 p.m. ET, May 11 on Triller TV+
Hammerstone was already the face of one wrestling promotion and the former MLW World Heavyweight Champion looks to continue that trend in TNA.
The recent TNA signee first made his TNA debut without any deal by facing Josh Alexander at Hard To Kill, the company’s first PPV since their jump back to the old TNA letters. Hammerstone came up short in that exchange but got his revenge as TNA Sacrifice as he defeated ‘The Walking Weapon’ and took Alexander’s signature headgear as a “scalp” to pin on his wall. Now the rubber match takes place Saturday at TNA Rebellion. This time, it’s a Last Man Standing match.
I spoke with Hammerstone this week about Rebellion, his goal to be the new face of TNA and so much more.
Hammerstone says there was no better way to show up in TNA than being thrown right into the deep end. Even in a promo before joining the company, He made clear that he’s a shark that’s on the hunt and was ready to take on all comers as a free agent. The big man didn’t have to wait for long as TNA did end up signing him. When asked if he looks forward to the notion that he could potentially be the face of another wrestling company, Hammer was more than willing to oblige.
“Listen, there’s no time in wrestling where I’ve ever shown up and just wanted to get paid and have a match and go home. Every place I go I want to get to the top. I want to conquer. That’s my goal. That’s my mission statement from day one.”
Hammerstone notes that it will be a tough hill to climb on the TNA roster and that there are a lot of names who have been there longer than he has. However, that won’t deter him from keeping his eyes on the top of that hill.
“I’m not intimidated. You know, I have a feeling if we have this same conversation this time next year, we’ll be talking about myself being the face of TNA.”
Hammerstone had a bit of a warm-up match on the go-home episode of TNA Impact as he took on Little Guido who recently just unveiled a new version of the FBI. Unfortunately for Guido, Hammerstone manhandled the maybe mafiasio.”
Nic Nemeth has shown to be quite the rebel so it’s only fitting that ‘The Most Wanted Man’ is challenging for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Rebellion. Nemeth with go mono-a-mono with Moose, allowing Nic to potentially achieve his first World Championship outside of WWE.
Nemeth has been a busy man since his WWE exit as he’s competed in high-profile independent matches, but also have already achieved big notoriety in New Japan Pro-Wrestling.
In a SEScoops exclusive, Nemeth gave some details as to how his TNA deal came to be. Nemeth noted what exactly allured him to the company were several components: the talent, the long-term booking plan, the rebrand back to TNA and the company plan all intrigued him. Nemeth felt like he’d just been through the ringer for nearly two decades with WWE and the former World Champ wanted some time to explore his newfound freedom.
“I go, ‘Man, I don’t want to be tied down.’ I want to be like a hired gun that bounced around because I just got out of a long term relationship. 19 years, most abusive relationship of my life. I just got out of it.’ So I said, ‘I don’t want to like, put down it like, for the next three years I’m stuck in this deal. Whether I hate you or you hate me or it all works out,’
“I go, ‘Let me just do the dates. I’m not going to screw you guys over. I’m rooting for you and I want to help. So I did a certain amount of dates and then re-up for double dates.’ I go, ‘I believe in this product. Let’s go.’”
Ready For Rebellion
Nic Nemeth may have a great deal of notoriety, but he knows he’s not the big man under the TNA umbrella. Both literally and figuratively, Moose is that man, but Nemeth knows he’s ready to square up against the former NFL star.
“He has that break speed like a linebacker and I’m trying to think I go, What the hell do I have that he doesn’t?’ I’m shorter and maybe I’m faster, but here’s the best part: this jaw right here – I can take a punch. So he’s not ready for someone like me to be able to take a punch or a headbutt or a kick or a driver onto the floor because I never stop coming back up.”
Tiffany Stratton is one of WWE’s fastest rising stars. Following an impressive showing in the 2024 Women’s Royal Rumble, the former NXT Women’s champion joined the SmackDown brand and has earned victories over Liv Morgan, Naomi, and Zelina Vega.
Stratton spoke with SEScoops earlier this month during the WWE Media Day in Philadelphia over WrestleMania 40 weekend about wanting to wrestle Charlotte Flair at WrestleMania 41 and more.
A Thunderous Pop In Perth
Ahead of the 2024 Elimination Chamber event, WWE held a special press event before the members of the WWE Universe, as well as the media, in Perth, Australia.
In an effort to hype the Women’s Elimination Chamber match, the likes of Bianca Belair, Becky Lynch, and Tiffany Stratton were brought out onto the stage. Naturally, Belair and Lynch were greeted by their usual round of cheers, but in a surprise turn of events, a heel Tiffany Stratton was as well. She tells SEScoops correspondent MuscleManMalcolm:
“I remember being backstage at the press conference, and I remember Triple H said my name and they popped like crazy. It was like the loudest pop, and then they were chanting ‘Tiffy Time’ before I even came out there. It was just so amazing! It was such a good experience for my first PLE.”
Chants for “Tiffy Time” later extended to the Elimination Chamber event itself, as the people of Perth proudly shouted Stratton’s catchphrase not only during the Women’s Elimination Chamber match, but also during the men’s.
High School Musical Hot Take
The former WWE NXT Women’s Champion has previously credited the character of Sharpay Evans of the “High School Musical” film series as one of the inspirations behind her wrestling persona. As such, Stratton was asked to identify which of the three “High School Musical” films was her favorite.
While she thoroughly enjoys the second iteration, Stratton admits to having a particular affinity for the series’ finale, “High School Musical 3.”
“I’m going to go with two and three, but kind of leaning more to three,” Stratton said. “I just feel like the characters were more grown up and I feel like the the cameras were better quality.”
Last year, Rey Mysterio was honored as one of the inductees in the 2023 WWE Hall of Fame class, while also battling his son, Dominik Mysterio on the grand stage of WrestleMania 40. This year, Mysterio found himself facing Dominik once again only this time in tag team action.
SEScoops correspondent MuscleManMalcolm caught up with Mysterio at the WWE media day in Philadelphia ahead of WrestleMania, Mysterio revealed that his daughter recently reunited and reconciled with CM Punk after the two worked together on WWE television over a decade ago.
Rey Mysterio’s Daughter Aalyah Reunites With CM Punk
Back In 2010, Rey Mysterio was immersed in a storyline with the leader of Straight Edge Society, CM Punk. It was a memorable storyline that’s still talked about today, due to its personal nature. On one occasion, Punk confronted Rey in the ring, daring him to fight him in front of his family. He also mockingly sang “Happy Birthday” to Rey Mysterio’s daughter, Aalyah Gutierrez.
We asked Rey Mysterio about this angle and he revealed that Aalyah and CM Punk reconnected in person earlier this year backstage at a WWE live event. Despite their rocky past, Mysterio says they “got along great” and it’s awesome that they get along now.
“Believe it or not, she went to the show in San Diego for New Year’s, January 1st, and she knew that CM Punk was there. She goes, ‘Dad, can I take a picture with Punk?’
I said, ‘Let me tell him,’ and he was very ecstatic that she wanted to take a picture with him. They took a picture together. They got along great. So it was awesome. They get along now.”
A long time has passed since 2010, but Punk never forgot about Aalyah Mysterio (or her birthday). Last summer, when Mysterio wished her a Happy Birthday on Instagram. Punk trolled them both with a special message.
Rey Mysterio has held many championships throughout his storied career, including the coveted WWE Championship, which had been vacated in July 2011. He won a tournament to crown a new champion on the 7/25/11 episode of WWE Raw. He wouldn’t have much time to celebrate, as John Cena dethroned him by the end of the night.
His reign with the industry’s top prize lasted a matter of hours, but he’s still proud to be amongst greats like Bruno Sammartino and Hulk Hogan.
“It was such a cool moment,” Mysterio said. “Moments that definitely stand out for the rest of your life. Just to be able to say I had it, whether it was like you said, for that moment being, it’s just such a cool experience. You are now attached onto the legacy books.”
Hold onto your hats and expect 2024 to be the year of the Venus! STARDOM’s Mina Shirakawa electrifies & entertains every audience she performs in front of. After a remarkable 2023 that included a run with the Wonder of STARDOM Championship and leading her own international faction, Shirakawa has made it known that this year she plans to take the entire wrestling world by storm.
On the night of AEW’s Big Business, Shirakawa made a surprise appearance at Ring of Honor tapings to face Anna Jay. Coincidentally she was joined by new STARDOM President, Taro Okada as a new AEW/STARDOM working relationship seemingly became official.
One-third of the current Artist of STARDOM Champions, Mina Shirakawa has a busy next two weeks lined up in America with confirmed appearances at STARDOM American Dream & ROH Supercard of Honor on April 5, Spark Joshi Puro Trailblaze on April 7, and NJPW Windy City Riot on April 12 so far.
I caught up with Mina to chat about her upcoming bookings in America, recent leadership changes in STARDOM, forming Empress Nexus Venus with World of STARDOM champion Maika, and more. Here’s the recap:
Q: You recently made your Ring of Honor debut in Boston facing AEW’s Anna Jay. What was that experience like for you? You seemed to take a liking to Anna Jay. Do you see a potential future where we could see Anna Jay in STARDOM and maybe even EXV?
A: It was a great experience! The moment my entrance music came on and I appeared, the crowd went wild. I heard the [audience yelling] ooo!
It was the best moment. I felt that my name had reached the world. The audience was also excited over my various signature leg attack moves. I was happy to feel that I had not made a mistake in my wrestling.
Anna Jay was tall, glamorous, and beautiful. I tried my best to make myself look big, so I wouldn’t be overpowered by her in the ring. I’m glad I won. It’s also very interesting that her special move is the sleeper hold. It looks like we could do some classical wrestling. EXV is an international unit, and honestly, I wish Anna Jay could join us!
Q: Currently, you’ve been announced for a U.S tour that includes STARDOM American Dream on April 4, Spark Joshi Puro Trailblaze on April 7, and NJPW Windy City Riot on April 12. With the recent partnership between STARDOM and AEW/ROH becoming official, are there any women on the AEW/ROH roster that you’d like to face while you’re in the United States? Would a Rose Gold reunion with your former tag team partner, Mariah May be something you’re interested in?
A: I would love to wrestle Mercedes Moné. We have known each other for 5 years and – believe it or not – we go out to eat and hang out. But… I have never wrestled her. It didn’t happen in a STARDOM ring. So, it’s my dream to wrestle her.
I also want to wrestle SARAYA, Athena, and [Willow] Nightingale! And I’d love to tag team with Mariah again because we were tag team champions together in Japan. I love Mariah… So, I think I need to wrestle Toni Storm, [to learn who] loves Mariah more.
Q: Recently there have been a lot of management and roster changes in STARDOM amidst the exits of Rossy Ogawa and top stars like Utami Hayashishita & Giulia. As the company enters a new era, what are your goals in STARDOM as a leader & as a performer?
A: My goal is to become IWGP Women’s Champion. The name of “IWGP” is very world famous. I want to be a bridge between Japanese rings and international rings. That is why I need this belt. EXV becomes the central unit of STARDOM! We are the best.
Q: At the end of 2023, you and World of STARDOM champion Maika came together to form the superpower faction Empress Nexus Venus (EXV). Going from Club Venus to EXV, what has the transition been like and what do you enjoy most about leading with Maika?
A: By last summer, I had heard many rumors. So I knew that a major change would take place in STARDOM. I really didn’t want to finish Club Venus, but I also had to make a big decision.
DDM was gone, and Maika was alone. I was very lonely then too – it was difficult to obtain more visas for our foreign members of Club Venus,…When I thought about what I should do in the coming turbulent times at STARDOM, I decided that the best thing to do was to start a new unit with Maika from zero.
Q: On social media, you’ve been regularly posting the hashtag #WeWantMina which seems to be a nod towards the international world tour you’ve been embarking on in 2024 and winning the hearts of fans everywhere you go. From Japan to the United States to Thailand to beyond, what type of impact are you looking to make on wrestling worldwide this year?
A: For me, Japanese and overseas fans are equally important. I want my overseas fans to enjoy my social media, so I try to post in English. This year, I would like to visit various states in the United States. It’s also my goal to do microphone performance in the US squared circle.
Q: Years ago, you appeared at a NJPW press conference as a valet for Yujiro Takahashi and fast forward to February 2024, you competed for the IWGP Womens Championship on the main card of NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo. What has the journey been like for you to become one of the best women’s wrestlers in the world today despite being underestimated for so long?
A: Amazing! You know it well! Before becoming a pro-wrestler, I was a gravure idol (like a bikini model). I was a big fan of pro-wrestling, so I was happy to have a job where I could help promote the pro-wrestling world. That’s why I participated in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling press conference with Yujiro-san.
A few years later I became a pro-wrestler. At first, no one expected me to do well. I had no particular sports experience, and because of my background as a gravure idol, they made fun of me. I was very frustrated by my doubters, and told myself that I would definitely keep receipts, and use that to fuel my fire. I thought about wrestling more than anyone else and devoted all my time to it. Depending on your willpower, you can become anything, or change your future.
Q: During your time in STARDOM you have held the Future of STARDOM, Artist of STARDOM, Wonder of STARDOM, and Goddess of STARDOM Championships. Are there any championships inside and outside of STARDOM that you have your eye on this year?
A: I held the BBW women’s title in Best Body Japan Pro-Wrestling (where I debuted as a pro wrestler). This year, my goal is to become more famous worldwide, and to become IWGP champion.
Follow Mina Shirakawa on social media at @MinaShirakawa.
There are many ways the “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes’ memory is kept alive. We see it in those who he helped guide before his passing in 2015. It’s also seen through the career of his sons. A future Hall of Famer Dustin Rhodes and his son Cody Rhodes, who is gearing up to headline two nights of WrestleMania 40.
Outside the ring, a lasting legacy continues to be forged through the Dusty Rhodes Foundation. The nonprofit organization was formed by the family in 2022. Their mission is to assist community organizations geared toward youth sports and initiatives across the country. One of the driving forces behind the endeavor is Rhodes’ daughter Teil Rhodes.
“We saw a need,” she said. “There is such a big gap now for kids are getting priced out of sports. Kids from rural areas, and underserved communities…There is a gap there for a lot of kids as things get more and more expensive. We thought it would be an amazing way to honor my dad because it was something he did privately for years. Buy equipment, help pay travel fees to help kids pay for sports. He was an athlete himself and really believed in the skillset kids learn from playing sports.”
Since its inception, more than $50,000 has been given away to the cause. Funds have been generated through appearances, autograph signings, sales from Pro Wrestling Tees and generous donations. With the Foundation having very little overhead, they can put most of what is raised back into their efforts. Teil says they are looking for corporate sponsors to make a bigger impact.
“It has been a label of love,” she said of the time. “We’ve done everything from giving equipment to the Lahainaluna High School baseball team Maui that lost everything in the fire to wrestling equipment for a team in South Carolina. We’ve had people reach out to us and we’ve reached out to them.”
Through the experience of helping others, the Rhodes family has benefited in strengthening their bond. Lending a hand to someone else can be a powerful conduit.
“My siblings and I and for my mom, it was kind of a healing thing too,” Teil said. “We would ask, ‘How can we make a difference? How can we honor our dad in a way separate from wrestling and the things you see on TV?’ It speaks more to the man he was than the character on TV. Everybody has been involved.
Fans in Downtown Philadelphia at Wrestlecon can contribute to the Foundation in several ways. Dustin Rhodes will be signing on April 5 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. with Ricky Starks appearing April 6 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at the convention held at the Sheraton Hotel. Proceeds from the signings go toward the Foundation. They’ll also be raffling off a Cody Rhodes weight belt each day and providing a unique opportunity to take a picture with the “American Nightmare” robe he wore for SummerSlam. You’ll also have a chance to receive Dusty Rhodes Foundation bracelets, the perfect accessory to rock at WrestleMania.
Their ultimate goal is to raise $20,000 for the Foundation’s local recipient Beat the Streets Philadelphia. The sports-based nonprofit helps at-risk kids through amateur wrestling and mentor programming. These programs are so important with schools in the area being some of the most underfunded in the country. To the point where certain high schools don’t have weight rooms.
Teil has been touched by how the pro wrestling community mobilizes for important causes. Even with all the talk of fan tribalism.
“I’ve always had a friendly relationship with Tony Khan,” she said. “He has been generous enough to let us use his talent. Yes, Dustin is a board member of the Foundation, but he didn’t have to let us use Ricky or another talent who has signed for us in the past. That’s never been a problem I’ve encountered [with AEW]…When the wrestling community comes together, it’s so powerful. Pro wrestling I feel is the most loyal of all fandoms.”
As one can surmise from her social media, Teil is also a fan. Ironically enough, now more than ever. She attributes this to the changing landscape of the business with old fans even coming back who haven’t watched in years.
“I feel like that is where I was for a while,” Teil said. “I had a younger family then too, so I wasn’t watching too much TV. You’re seeing amazing matches and storylines across pro wrestling. It’s that feeling you don’t want to miss out. You want to tune in every week. It had been a while for me since I felt like I wanted to watch live.”
I’m sure it helps watching brother Cody Rhodes’ journey to finishing his story while headlining his second WrestleMania. Thanks to the Rhodes to the Top reality show, Teil is more of a public figure. That has her build an even stronger connection with fans.
“I felt a strong connection with a lot of wrestling fans after my dad passed,” Teil said. “They wanted to share things with me. Wrestling Twitter for so long. It boosted me at a time when I felt so low…For me, [being on social media] has been much more positive than I’ve seen negative, even now. That’s why I still enjoy interacting that way.
“I think being more public was born out of all the things Cody did and created and getting things going. I had a hand in the back when we were doing All In. I’ve carried that through working with the Foundation. That has been fulfilling with me.”
Teil has also had a blast with her involvement with Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling, which has undergone a revival. They just had their first event with a pilot for their show to be watched through the Nightmare Family YouTube page.
“We had a great first event,” Teil, the executive vice president, said. “Right now, we are building out the studio at the Nightmare Factory so we can run Turnbuckle hopefully once a month. We’re still looking at distributing and the best way for fans to view the shows. That’s been exciting. It wasn’t anything I thought I would really do. Indie wrestling is so different now. It’s exciting to have a place where the Nightmare students can hone their craft, but we can also bring in the great indie talent and hopefully a TCW legend from the past for a match each show It’s a family show. Our shows are family-friendly, That is what it was before, so I’m trying to continue that. It’s new but exciting.”
The Rhodes family has not only been at the forefront of the story between Cody Rhodes and The Bloodline. The Rock even made things even more personal by including mom Michelle Rubio in the smack talk.
“I think it’s always assumed the Rhodes family is just an extension of Cody because he talks about us so much. That we are required to participate. With my mom, it’s funny because she is really a private person and shy. Yet she gets drawn into this great storytelling in wrestling,” Teil said. “Cody is so much like her. I think of course we are so proud Dusty was our dad, but we’re really proud Michelle Rubio is our mom.
“Her heart for helping others and the things she has done to build people up in the business, I don’t think people will ever know about. Sometimes I feel bad for her. She is just watching Raw or SmackDown, and here comes The Rock talking about my sweet little mom. It’s a wild time for the Rhodes family.”
Teil also has the family trait of having no fear. Not to mention being someone you don’t want on your bad side. She is also open to being included in the story if necessary going as far as to say, “I’m always there if they need me. I can certainly get ready to go.”
Another Rhodes who fans would fantasy book and hope to appear alongside Cody is Dustin, currently contracted to AEW. Will we see him show up?
Teil answered with an, “I don’t know,” Adding that, “Dustin was there in the suite last year…Of course, your brother is main eventing two nights of the
biggest WrestleMania in history. I think Dustin will be there. Will we see Dustin though? That I don’t know.”
WWE Superstar Valhalla (Sarah Rowe) can now officially add the title of ‘published author’ to her impressive resume. Her new children’s book, From the Farm to Our Table, officially hits the bookshelves on April 2. This story, which focuses on basic sustainable living practices, follows a pair of twin siblings as they gather ingredients across their family farm to make a shepherd’s pie.
SEScoops correspondent Ella Jay recently sat down with Rowe to discuss what inspired her to write a children’s book and what that process was like.
The Vision
As it turns out, Rowe’s own son, Raymond Cash, was one of the story’s major motivators.
“Cash, my son, was the inspiration behind this, shockingly,” Rowe said. “I was really trying to find a book that was a children’s book that was written in a way he could understand of how we farm, our regenerative practices, us growing our own food and why we grow our own food, and that we cook and we eat with this food. And because I couldn’t find it, I just wrote one myself”
“I worked with Gnome Road Publishing, and really helped me bring this to life. The illustrator, Amanda Marrow, I couldn’t have asked for a cuter illustration of what I had in my brain. It all came across so well. It’s been like two years in the making of this book and getting it out. It’s crazy that the finish line is here.”
Sarah, alongside her son and husband Raymond Rowe Sr (WWE’s Erik), currently lives on a small farm in Ohio surrounded by chickens, cows, and their dog.
Writing Aspirations
Beyond the release of “From the Farm to Our Table,” Sarah Rowe is aiming to have her name published in even more literary works in the future. Currently, Rowe is in the beginning stages of writing a fantasy piece.
“Just how I became a wrestler because I’m a huge fan, I’m a huge fan of books, and I love reading so much,” Rowe said. “I’m like, ‘I would love to put my spin on this.’ So this is kind of my gateway into the world of being an author. I would like to this not be the only thing that I publish. I would like to continue to do the things. I was just going to write like a short story and it’s turned into this whole vast world that I’m kind of overwhelmed with. But yeah, I’m hoping that this is not the last book that I publish.”
As she continues to journal every day, Rowe noted that she also tries to simutelaously devour a fiction and nonfiction book. From a reading standpoint, Rowe particularly enjoys the works of C.S. Lewis, who many fans may recognize for his popular Chronicles of Narnia series.
From the Farm to Our Table is now available for pre-order and will be released at major retailers on April 2.
Following her return at the 2024 Royal Rumble, Liv Morgan indicated that her sights were firmly set on WWE Women’s World Champion Rhea Ripley, who previously took her out of action (in kayfabe) last July. Along the Road to WrestleMania, Morgan’s attention claimed two additional targets — Becky Lynch and Nia Jax, both of whom have also been circling Rhea Ripley.
In a recent interview with SEScoops correspondent Ella Jay, Valhalla (fka Sarah Logan) shared her thoughts on the current storyline surrounding her former stablemate, Liv Morgan.
Squirrely and Determined
While Jax, Lynch, and Ripley may carry bigger presences in WWE, Valhalla believes Morgan is more than deserving of being in the same spotlight as them.
“Liv is a badass,” Valhalla said. “I don’t know if anyone’s caught it, but she’s legit knocked a couple girls out with an open-hand slap. In one of the [Elimination] Chambers, she knocked Sonya Deville out just slapping her in the face. So she is not someone you’d want to fight, in my opinion.
She’s squirrelly and she is determined. This girl has been on a tear and she has transcended the Riott Squad in a way that I don’t think anyone knew she had in her. It’s nice, as one of her best friends and someone who loves her so much, to see her in the same conversation as Rhea Ripley, Nia Jax, and Becky Lynch.”
“I love seeing her in that conversation. I love seeing her in those spots because she’s good enough, she looks good enough, she’s violent enough. There’s a reason that so many people love her, and there’s a reason that she has the following she does. It’s because she’s the real deal. I don’t even know where this storyline is going, and I’m excited to see where it does go.”
Potential WrestleMania Shakeup
As of this writing, Becky Lynch is slated to challenge Rhea Ripley in a one-on-one match for the WWE Women’s World Championship at WrestleMania 40. Given Morgan’s recent involvement with both of them, though, Valhalla thinks there is a possibility for this WrestleMania title match to be upgraded.
“It’s looking like [Becky and Rhea] are going to wrestle at WrestleMania, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Liv was in that mix too,” Valhalla said. “To be completely honest, no one knows what’s happening backstage. None of the wrestlers know. So as someone who’s a fan of Liv Morgan, I would love to see like her, Becky, and Rhea in a triple-threat match. Or maybe Becky’s walking to the ring and Liv hurts her so much that she gets the match. Something like that I think [would be really cool].”
This year’s two-night WrestleMania event will emanate from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
