– Although former WWE Diva AJ Lee recently made an appearance at a Comic Con event, those close to her claim she is simply not interested in taking any bookings these days. Other people looking to book the longest reigning WWE Divas Champion in history are reporting that they were informed that her daily fee is $15,000, plus business class travel and hotel accommodations.
– The following matches were taped on Tuesday night in Tulsa, Oklahoma for tonight’s edition of WWE SmackDown.
* Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro
* Los Matadores and Lucha Dragons vs. The New Day and The Ascension
* Rusev vs. Jack Swagger
* Stardust vs. R-Truth
* Kevin Owens and Seth Rollins vs. Cesaro and a partner
For complete WWE SmackDown spoilers for tonight, click here.
WWE Divas Champion Nikki Bella recently spoke with The Straits Times about approaching a record setting WWE Divas Championship reign, her future goals and more. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.
On being the second longest reigning WWE Divas Champion and her future goals: “My number one goal right now is to be the longest reigning Divas champion. I know it’s going to be tough to beat AJ Lee’s record of 295 days which means I have to keep it till after Night Of Champions (a WWE per-per-view on September 21). It’s going to be really tough.
Another goal is make this championship mean something. I want to leave a legacy, to make the Divas division amazing. I hope I get more opportunities to do this and that the people upstairs, the bosses continue to listen, because there’s so much I would love to do with this championship.”
On if she prefers to be a heel or babyface: “The bad girl is so much more fun. You can have so much more personality and get really creative. When I see the kids out there, the Bella army, they make me want to play the good girl. But overall, being bad is so much more fun.”
– Former WWE Diva AJ Lee and current WWE Diva Paige reunited while in Los Angeles, California on Thursday. The hashtag “FreaksAndGeeks” trended worldwide for several hours today after Paige posted a photo of the two together, which you can view below.
As noted earlier, The Bella Twins made a special appearance at this year’s Wizard World Comic Con and spoke about a number of topics.
In the video shown above the pair discuss a number of storylines and angles featured throughout their career in WWE and in particular Nikki talks her match with AJ Lee at Survivor Series in 2014 and why it was so short.
The WWE Divas Champion explained that they were originally given 15 minutes to work however when they were standing in Gorilla they were asked how they can make the match end in just 30 seconds, then Brie came up with the idea of the infamous kiss.
Brie confessed that she had nothing but high hopes for the whole angle, with The Authority thrown out of office and her last day as CinderBella. She was prepared to get her revenge on Stephanie and then they told her they were coming to an end with the story.
You can see their comments in the video shown above.
– Bray Wyatt vs. Ryback and Roman Reigns vs. Kane are two new matches WWE has booked for upcoming live events in May. As noted recently, WWE is planning on having Ryback be the “mystery Superstar” that Wyatt has been referring to in his recent “cryptic promos.”
– Former WWE Diva AJ Lee recently made the following post on Twitter, thanking her fans for their support.
So you guys got #ThankYouAJ and #AJTaughtMe trending for days??? I have the most badass fans on earth.
April 15th in Hamburg, Germany drew 9,500 fans (John Cena tour)
April 16th in Toulouse, France drew 4000 fans (without John Cena and Rusev)
April 16th in Budapest, Hungary drew 8,500 fans (Roman Reigns tour with Cena and Rusev)
April 17th in Antwerp, Belgium drew 4,000 fans (Cena and Rusev back on the tour)
April 17th in Dortmund, Germany drew 8,000 fans (Roman Reigns tour)
April 18th in Zurich, Switzerland drew 4,000 fans (John Cena tour)
April 18th in Nurnberg, Germany drew a sellout of 7,000 fans (Roman Reigns tour)
April 18th in Jacksonville, FL for NXT drew 150 fans
April 20th in Albany, NY for RAW drew 6,800 fans
Former WWE Diva Kaitlyn recently spoke with the official WWE website to promote her new clothing company, talk about her friend AJ Lee retiring from WWE and more. Below ae some highlights from the interview.
On AJ Lee’s WWE retirement: “AJ has this weird ability to accomplish anything that she visualizes. So when she worked her way up to the top, she stayed up there. No one has been like her, and no one will ever be like her. She really just felt like she had given everything that she needed to give to this sport in general, and taught people — especially the Divas — as much as she could. She had four amazing WrestleManias, and she made such an impact that she felt like she could walk away and be content with that. I 100 percent support that. She knew the time was right, and knew that she could walk away. She left big shoes to fill, but she helped everyone around her get better. I’m proud of everything that she did.”
On what the future holds for her: “PJ and I just did a photo shoot for “Iron Man” Magazine, and we’re actually going to be on the cover of the May issue, with a huge spread on the inside about how we’ve gotten to where we are and how everything was built, and also our relationship. It’s awesome, because I’ve been in WWE Magazine, which was a huge honor, but I’ve never been on the cover of anything. And my husband has been in countless fitness magazines, but he’s never been on a cover either. So for us to be on a cover together, about our life, our style and our companies together, I’m so thrilled. For me right now, because Celestial Bodiez is still in its infancy, I’m completely focused on it. I just want to expand as much as possible and have new concepts still based all around the Booty Scrunch, but just to build that brand. I want everyone to know that brand, know the logo and know what Booty Scrunch is; that is my goal.”
It turns out there was a legitimate reason for Naomi turning heel at this past Monday’s edition of WWE RAW.
Naomi, who attacked Paige after Paige won the number one Divas contender battle royal at the RAW show taped in London, England on Monday afternoon, was actually filling the role that was originally set up for AJ Lee.
Prior to announcing her retirement, AJ Lee was scheduled to turn heel on Paige in the very near future on WWE television.
It’s worth noting that despite the coincidental circumstance, Naomi was actually scheduled to turn heel at one point in the WWE storylines as well. When Jimmy Uso and The Miz were feuding a few weeks back, Naomi was originally scheduled to turn heel on her real-life husband Uso, and align herself with The Miz and Damien Mizdow act. For whatever reason, however, WWE ultimately nixed those plans.
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley has posted a new blog on Facebook talking about the state of women’s wrestling in WWE. In light of AJ Lee’s departure, Foley says the company has a unique opportunity to revamp the Divas division and has an interesting idea for which WWE Hall of Famer should be the Divas GM.
AJ Lee’s departure from WWE was related to the fallout from WWE’s Dr. Chris Amann filing a lawsuit against her husband, former WWE Superstar CM Punk.
Despite CM Punk’s fallout with WWE last year and the explosive Art Of Wrestling podcast with Colt Cabana that dropped during Thanksgiving weekend, it appeared that AJ Lee and WWE would be able to keep the matter separate and not have it affect her own relationship with the company. When WWE’s head doctor filed a million dollar lawsuit against Punk (and subsequently AJ Lee), the dynamics of her relationship with the company understandably changed.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter notes that AJ likely called her departure a ‘retirement’ to get out of the remainder of her WWE contract. By retiring from WWE, she’ll be unable to perform elsewhere in pro wrestling until her deal expires.
– Chris Jericho posted the following on Instagram about his live interview with John Cena last night on the WWE Network after RAW (Full Recap):
“It’s official…the #CenaVsJericho episode of #LiveWithChrisJericho was a HIT!! The Great conversation between two friends on the #WWENetwork is a MUST SEE! And for those of you complaining that I didn’t ask the “Hard Questions”, what were you expecting? “So why did u bury so and so John?” “Ever murder someone Cena?”…It’s a talk show for Pete’s sake! I’m all about fun stories and having a few laughs and my show will always reflect that. Don’t wanna laugh? Then Don’t watch the next one…and there will be a next one! @johncena @wwe”
John Cena also commented:
From Johnny Fabulous to Wacky Roll Up Guy and everything in between, thank you @IAmJericho! @WWENetwork
– The Bella Twins give their thoughts on AJ Lee’s WWE departure, the state of the Divas division and next week’s Divas Battle Royal to determine the next #1 contender to Nikki’s title:
Tonight’s episode of Raw was held in Austin, Texas, and featured the fallout from last week’s epic post-WrestleMania show. Fans saw a new number one contender crowned, John Cena issue another open challenge, and Sheamus solidify himself as a heel. Without further ado, here are the pros and cons from this week’s Raw.
Pros
The Authority opening segment is something we’ve all seen a million times before, but it actually worked out well this time around. Rollins gloated about his win at WrestleMania, while Big Show put over the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion. Randy Orton quickly interrupted the segment, declaring his RKO at WrestleMania to be the “most spectacular RKO of my career.” Damn straight, it was. This also set up the first meaningful main event on Raw in what feels like ages, as it was announced that Orton, Ryback, and Reigns would compete in a triple threat match to determine the number one contender at Extreme Rules. (Although wasn’t it already announced that Orton and Rollins would compete in the main event this past week?)
Seth Rollins was scheduled to face an unnamed opponent. As soon as Neville’s music hit, this was pretty much guaranteed to be match of the night. This was fought at a frantic pace for the most part, with both superstars gaining the upper hand at times. Neville utilized a number of aerial maneuvers during the match, including an awesome dive to the floor that saw him land on his feet. Rollins was equally impressive and showed why he’s the champ, as he worked over the NXT newcomer while hitting all of his signature moves. It was funny to hear JBL slip up and say Adrian Neville before quickly correctly himself. (Sorry JBL, they don’t do first names in the WWE anymore.) This had a few amazing sequences near the end including a rollup from Neville and Rollins countering into a powerbomb into the corner in a match that made both guys look good.
There was nobody in the company in more need of a face/heel change than Sheamus. He was as stale as a year-old loaf of bread as a face and cheesy af. His promo tonight was good and he was definitely over with the crowd. He was talking smack and listing off his measurements (he almost made it to his shoe size) before being interrupted by the World’s Strongest Man. The contest itself was pretty entertaining – with Henry tossing Sheamus around to the delight of his hometown crowd during the opening moments of the match. Sheamus countered the World’s Strongest Slam into a stiff Brogue Kick to end an entertaining segment.
The Prime Time Players were humorous during their Ascension parody promo.
This week’s main event was a triple threat match featuring Orton, Reigns, and Ryback. All three superstars were victorious earlier in the night and the winner of the main event would have a chance to challenge Seth Rollins at Extreme Rules. Orton was the star of the show early, hitting powerslams on both Ryback and Reigns. Ryback then took over for a little while and nailed Reigns with a Meat Hook before countering an RKO into a spinebuster. His momentum was brought to a screeching halt after taking a spear from Reigns, however. The Authority approached the ring and Reigns leapt over the top rope to take everyone out. Big Show would make him pay for his actions by hitting him with the knockout punch. The Authority then focused their efforts on taking out the Viper, and Ryback would get rid of J&J before taking an RKO from outta nowhere and losing the match. Orton wouldn’t have any time to celebrate though, as Rollins quickly delivered a Curb Stomp and stood over Orton to end the show. Even if the outcome was never really in doubt, it was nice to see a main event that had some kind of implications on the storyline, and it did something to further the feud between Orton and Rollins, so this has to be considered a positive.
Finally, say what you will about John Cena, but I think putting the United States Championship around his waist was a great idea. We got a quality match with Dean Ambrose last week, and this week was no different with Stardust rolling out to answer the open challenge. These two went together like beer and peanuts and put on an entertaining match. Cena dominated the match for the most part, but Stardust had his moments, such as when he countered an Alabama Slam into a sunset flip early in the contest. Cena showed his strength on multiple occasions by countering Cross Rhodes into a big power slam. In the end, Cena retained by hitting the springboard stunner he’s been using lately and following it up with an AA. Overall, it was a good match and it’s nice to seeing the title being defended on a weekly basis.
– Brad Maddox and Tamina Snuka are currently backstage at the site of tonight’s RAW, according to PWInsider.com. Maddox has been off TV since being ‘fired’ by The Authority and recently returned to the ring at a WWE live event. Tamina has been cleared to return to action after missing several months.
– WWE star Alex Riley tweeted the following in response to AJ Lee retiring from WWE:
Of course, this is a reference to the “6/16/13” that AJ had tattooed on the back of her neck to commemorate the day she captured the WWE Divas Championship for the first time. Riley is getting a lot of negative responses to his tweet.
WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley posted a blog on Facebook about AJ Lee’s decision to retire from WWE. Foley calls AJ a pioneer and the blueprint for what it takes to be a top Diva in today’s WWE. Here’s what Foley wrote:
“AJ Lee has retired from WWE – and somehow that just doesn’t seem right. I have been talking for a while about a revolution in women’s wrestling – and I really do believe we are on the verge of a new dawn for women’s wrestling. When that new dawn arrives, it would seem only fitting that AJ be allowed to bask in the warmth of the rays she helped make possible.
?#?AJLee? was a pioneer – fighting her way up against all odds in the WWE developmental system, proving that unique talent, heart, and determination were just as important (if not more so) as the physical attributes that were generally accepted as necessary to find a spot near the top of the women’s roster.
The success of AJ Lee, as both a wrestler, and a character were eye-opening for both fans and WWE front office personnel. She proved that big things come in small packages and that both role models and romantic images need not adhere to a one-size-fits-all policy. Surely, she helped pave the way for an anti-diva like Paige – WWE to succeed, and when/if this women’s wrestling revolution materializes, I hope the contributions of the tiny girl from New Jersey with the big dreams and bigger heart will not be forgotten.
Thank you AJ. May health and happiness (and CM Punk) be your partners on whatever new trail you choose to blaze in life.”
WWE announced on Friday afternoon that 3-time Divas Champion AJ Lee has officially retired from active competition. Last week, AJ announced that she’s working on a book with the New York-based Leshne Agency.
On Sunday, she tweeted this ‘Thank You’ message to her supporters, offering some inspirational advice:
Break the rules. Be a fighter. Any dream is possible if you are brave enough to do it YOUR way. Thank you all. pic.twitter.com/qu7bBOMFdu
Former WWE Diva AJ Lee revealed on Twitter a few days ago that she has a book coming out in the near future. It appears she’s working with working with New York City literary agent and publishing consultant Lisa Leshne of The Leshne Agency.
Thank you @LeshneAgency. I hope our book inspires girls to become strong women & underdogs to make their dreams a reality.
As we reported earlier, the WWE announced today that AJ Lee has retired from in-ring competition. Since the announcement, WWE employees (both past and present), as well as thousands of fans have commented on the situation. Here is a sampling of tweets that have been sent out since the announcement.
Former WWE Divas Champion AJ Lee (April Brooks) has retired from in-ring competition with WWE. The news was reported by WWE’s Twitter account on Friday afternoon:
BREAKING: AJ Lee (April Mendez) has decided to retire from in-ring competition with WWE. We wish AJ the very best.
AJ signed with WWE back in 2009 and made her main roster debut in May 2011. She is a 3-time WWE Divas Champion and received the Diva of the Year Slammy twice, in 2012 and 2014.
She has yet to release an official statement, but we’ll post an update here as soon as is it becomes available.
Posted April 3rd, 2015 in News, WWE. Tagged: AJ Lee.
WrestleMania is right around the corner. Although the build has been a little subpar, it’s still WrestleMania so it should be entertaining. Here’s how yours truly expects it all to play out.
Tyson Kidd & Cesaro (Tag Team Champions) vs. The New Day vs. Los Matadores vs. The Usos
Kidd and Cesaro really deserve better than the pre-show treatment, but hey, what can you do? This is clearly between the Usos and the champs, as the other two teams are simply jobbers eating up space. Expect a few entertaining spots between the two, with Naomi and Natalya ultimately playing a role in the outcome. In the end, the champs will retain after Cesaro pins one of the Usos.
Winners: Kidd & Cesaro by pinfall
Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal
Remember a few weeks back when Stephanie McMahon was on Raw promoting this battle royal as the most important thing since Hogan/Andre at WrestleMania III? So much for that, as it’s now on the pre-show. Hideo Itami has been added to the match after winning a tournament at Axxess over the weekend. I think they will use this as an attempt to put over NXT and increase viewership by having Itami pick up the win after hitting the GTS. Expect Mizdow to eliminate Miz during this one as well to set up a match between the two next month at Extreme Rules.
Winner: Hideo Itami
Randy Orton vs. Seth Rollins
This could easily be one of the most entertaining matches of the night, as Orton and Rollins are two of the best workers in the business. It will be filled with multiple near-falls, and J&J will undoubtedly try to help Rollins pick up the win. It’s hard to say what the hell they’re doing with this one, especially considering they blew the payoff for Orton weeks ago. I still think Orton wins and it will be a rough night for Mr. Money in the Bank (more on that later).
The following matches were taped on Monday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California for tonight’s WrestleMania 31 “go-home” edition of WWE SmackDown.
– Cesaro vs. Jimmy Uso vs. Big E vs. Fernando in a four-way match
– AJ Lee promo
– Roman Reigns, John Cena, Daniel Bryan, and Mark Henry vs. Bray Wyatt, Big Show, Kane, and Seth Rollins in an eight-man tag match
WWE taped a segment with The Bella Twins, AJ Lee and Paige for this week’s SmackDown after RAW last night, and the segment has some people talking.
The segment was described as one of the better Diva promo segments in quite a while. One line in particular that had a lot of people talking was when Nikki Bella told AJ Lee that Brock Lesnar defended the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on more shows than AJ did when she was the WWE Divas Champion.
It’s said that if the line makes it to the show this week, then it was a scripted line, however it’s also considered possible that Bella went off-script with the comment, something she and AJ have both done recently. If that’s the case, it likely won’t be on television this week.
Speaking of the verbal jab Bella took at AJ, there is said to be some backstage heat on AJ for how much time she took off from the company.
For complete WWE SmackDown spoilers for this week, click here.
This week’s Raw was held in Los Angeles and was the last stop on the Road to WrestleMania. Sting once again made an appearance, Lesnar and Reigns finally came face-to-face, and the company did everything in its power to hype the biggest wrestling event of the year. With WrestleMania less than a week away, here are the pros and cons from this week’s episode of Raw.
Pros
Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler with Dean Ambrose as the special referee? Count me in any time, any day. When you get two ring generals together, expect a technical affair and that’s exactly what fans were treated to. The two tested each other’s strength at the beginning, with Bryan coming out on top after focusing on Ziggler’s elbow. The Show Off quickly turned the tables, however, dropping a big elbow onto Bryan’s chest for a one-count as the Intercontinental Championship hanged over the ring. This resembled a puroresu match with slaps to the face, stiff moves, and fast-paced action. The show went to commercial after both men toppled into the timekeeper’s area. After the break, Ziggler had Bryan locked into a sleeper before Bryan drove him into the corner to break the hold. Bryan nearly picked up the victory with an awesome German suplex pin before heading to the top rope – a decision that quickly backfired after Dolph hit the ropes but failed to connect with a superplex. He’d quickly recover and drive Bryan’s face into the mat from the top rope for another two-count. In the end, Bryan hit his signature dropkick into the corner and went for a second before Ziggler countered with one of the stiffest superkicks you’ll ever see and followed it up with the Zig-Zag for the win in a superb match. The Lunatic Fringe didn’t let him celebrate his victory for long though, hitting Ziggler with Dirty Deeds before pulling out a ladder and attempting to retrieve the title from above the ring before all of the competitors entered the ring to brawl. This match was the highlight of the night, and the ladder match on Sunday will probably be the highlight of WrestleMania.
They really needed to ditch the boring opening segments featuring The Authority, and thankfully they did so tonight by having Sting open the show. The Franchise discussed all of the ways Triple H snaked his way to the top of the company, but conveniently left out sleeping with the boss’s daughter. He made it clear that he wasn’t “fighting for WCW,” but simply to “take Triple H down.” Stephanie McMahon confronted Sting and the two went back and forth, hurling insults at one another in an entertaining segment. After Sting blocked Steph’s attempted slap, The Game came to the ring to confront his opponent on Sunday, with Sting warding off the sledgehammer-wielding Triple H with his signature black bat. Overall, it was a great way to open the show, hype the match for Sunday, and it was nice to see them finally cut Sting loose on the mic.
Snoop D-O-Double-Gizzle doing his best Godfather impersonation before being interrupted by #Axelmania. The man himself finally made a completely unexpected appearance to confront his imitator. It was an awesome, hilarious segment. #Hulkamania
The Intercontinental Championship match was once again prominently featured, as four of the participants in Sunday’s ladder match competed in the first match of the night. Ambrose and R-Truth teamed together to face Luke Harper and Stardust with Bad News Barrett on commentary. Harper and Ambrose worked very well together to start the match, with Ambrose hitting a nice bulldog before clearing the ring with the help of his partner. After the break, Stardust worked over Ambrose and hit an Alabama Slam before once again ceding control to his partner. The commentary team was surprisingly entertaining during this one with Barrett and Booker T trading barbs. After taking a beating and kicking out of multiple near-falls, Ambrose came back with a tornado DDT and hit up R-Truth with the hot tag. The faces dominated from there and R-Truth picked up the victory via pinfall after hitting his leaping reverse STO finisher. Ambrose and Truth danced together after the contest to conclude an entertaining opening half hour of the show.
Finally, Nikki Bella offered a Divas Championship match to either Paige or AJ Lee in an attempt to create a divide between her opponents on Sunday. After much debate, Paige decided she would take the title shot. The Divas have been putting on some decent matches over the past few weeks, and they continued their streak of quality matches this week. This one featured a few believable near-falls, they were given a lot of time (by Divas standards), and the ending at least did something to create intrigue for the tag match on Sunday by having AJ cost Paige the title.
– Daniel Bryan reveals in an interview with Fighting Spirit Magazine that WWE’s creative department would prefer that fans forgot about his marriage to Brie Bella.
When asked whether WWE has plans for them to team up inside the ring, he said, “I would love that, but WWE has gotten away from doing the mixed tag team matches. Doing something with Brie would be a lot of fun, and I think the fans would really enjoy it, but our characters right now are at different places. I’ve heard that creative wants people to forget that we’re actually married.”
With Bryan’s marriage to Brie often showcased on Total Divas, he believes his recurring appearances on the E! reality program have helped his career.
“I know for a fact that Total Divas has helped me in a way that I get recognized more by people who would never recognize me before. Now, like, people will recognize me when I’m out to dinner or something. They’ll be like, “Hey, you’re Bryan!” And that’s how I know they recognize from Total Divas. People who watch Total Divas don’t necessarily watch WWE, but now they’re starting to. People get to see me for who I am. Some fans don’t like that, and will actually boo for how I appear on Total Divas!”
– Lilian Garcia appeared at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California last week for a Susan G. Komen event where she talked about the importance of breast cancer awareness in this video interview.
Meanwhile, Lilian Garcia has been promoting the release of her new single, “Stung,” which is available for free. Visit liliangarcia.fanbridge.com to sign up for Lilian’s e-mail list and as a thank you, she will send a link to download “Stung” for free. The e-mail list keeps you up to date on Lilian’s latest events, exclusive offers, giveaways and meet-and-greet opportunities.
– WWE.com issued this poll asking fans who they’d prefer as their “BFF”: AJ Lee or Paige. AJ is currently leading the poll by a small margin.
– Vince McMahon’s stolen Bentley coupe has been recovered by police in the Bronx, according to the New York Post. The charcoal-gray Bentley Continental Coupe was stolen in Connecticut a few months ago and is valued at $189,000. Police sources told the Post that McMahon’s Bentley has a $100,000 sound system.
– Paige and AJ Lee are looking for a tag team name as they prepare to face The Bella Twins at WrestleMania. They tweeted on Sunday night:
As reported recently, WWE has been planning on bringing AJ Lee back to television and setting up a tag-team match with she and Paige against The Bella Twins for WrestleMania 31 before AJ called out Stephanie McMahon on Twitter in late February.
The current word going around is that no creative changes were made as a result of AJ’s controversial tweets. WWE could always bring up AJ’s tweets on television and work them into her storyline, but due to The Authority being involved in the top programs heading into this year’s WrestleMania 31 event, it’s expected that they won’t get involved in any new storylines that are so low down on the card.
WWE Divas Champion Nikki Bella recently spoke with former WCW announcer Mark Madden on his 105.9 radio show out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Below are highlights from the interview.
On AJ Lee’s comments about Divas pay: “We’re all here because we’re living our dreams. Whether it’s two minutes or twenty minutes on TV, I’m beyond grateful for that, because there are millions of people that wish they could get two minutes in that ring, and they can’t, so I’m not going to be one to bitch about it. But do I think Divas should definitely get more time on TV? 100%. But do I think pay is different? No.”
On Divas not having the star power to make the money that guys like John Cena and Brock Lesnar make: “Let me put it this way: if a Diva was to headline a show, would those seats sell out like it does when John Cena’s headlining? Roman Reigns? Brock Lesnar? Absolutely not. We’re not there yet. We’re trying to get there, but we’re not there yet. As far as merch goes, we all get the same percentage, so I don’t know why anyone’s crying about it. We all make the exact same percentage, so it’s like, sell more merch if you wanna be like the guys. At the end of the day, we’re in a man’s world. People show up to watch men wrestle, and they look at us the ‘pretty things on the side’, but I think slowly, we’re changing people’s minds about that. It’s not gonna happen overnight, but eventually we’re gonna get there. We just need patience and time.”
On who came up with the 30-second RAW match that led to the “#GiveDivasAChance” campaign: “What’s funny about that is we were given about three minutes. Three to four minutes. And we – us four girls who were in the match – we put our heads together and said look: we can either give them a two minute match, or we can give them nothing and get Brie and I so much heat and tell a great story…We’re not gonna give people three minutes of BS, and it ended up being a big chance. It ended up turning into #GiveDivasAChance trending worldwide for two days. I mean, we could’ve gone out there, done a few moves and called it a day, but we were like, ‘How do we tell a great story?’ and at the end of the day, that’s what we did. Brie and I got good heat at the end of it, we got trended for two days straight, and it was like, ‘Whoa. We’re storytelling now.’ And that’s what puts the Divas on the next level. Instead of just going out there and doing moves, we storytell. ‘Cause that’s what the boys do, and that’s what we need to do”