One of the key storylines heading into WrestleMania 34 was who would be Braun Strowman’s tag team partner for his RAW Tag Team Title opportunity against The Bar (Sheamus and Cesaro).

Speculation ran rampant from fans as to who the partner could be; with predictions such as The Big Show, Rey Mysterio, Bobby Lashley, Hulk Hogan, and many more being tossed around by fans.

When it came down to it, however, Braun Strowman’s partner was none other than – Nicholas. Strowman selected the 10-year-old elementary school student from the crowd, who just so happened to be WWE referee John Cone’s son.

The decision received a mixed review from fans – with some being happy for the child for getting to participate in such an amazing moment, and others being angered by the call as it devalues the RAW Tag Team Titles and both Sheamus and Cesaro as well.

On a recent edition of the Triple Threat Podcast, “The Franchise” Shane Douglas weighed in on WWE’s decision to have Strowman win the titles with Nicholas. He explained why it was a worse call than having David Arquette win the WCW World Heavyweight Title back in 2000:

“My understanding and from the guys in my entourage (that attended WrestleMania) were saying that the audience kind of died after that match and you could kind of felt the energy leave the room. But we’ve heard for eighteen years that Vince Russo is the worst thing ever to wrestling because he put the belt on David Arquette. As much as I disagree with that decision that was better than putting a belt on a ten year old kid. My thought as soon as I heard this was what about Cesaro and Sheamus?

“They’ve got to go out and do a job to one guy that has a ten year old kid as his sidekick. The only way that could have worked and this may sound terrible but if you think it through it is the only way that could have worked and that is if they had a kid that was a Make-A-Wish kid or a kid that had been sick or something and you bring him in and do something to pop the crowd. It would have still been up-roared by wrestling purists but you would have seen some kind of some light at the end of the tunnel with it.

Braun Strowman (Photo: Instagram @WWE)

“Vince Russo has been vilified for eighteen years over the David Arquette thing and now we have this. But to be fair and let’s throw some stuff in there from WrestleMania weekend. There was a show that shall go unnamed (but you can find it I’m sure if you looked) where they had The Invisible Man come out and win a battle royal. I go back to Bill Watts and I tell Bill Watts specifically about that and his mouth dropped open when I said it. To me, it reeks of and it seems that nobody has respect for the industry or their own work in the industry anymore.

“If everything is a spoof and everything is a Saturday Night Live skit where does it end? You mentioned in your lead in that Vince Russo has been vilified in this industry to this day and look at the feedback you guys got off of the interview you had with David Arquette. To me, that is so much more plausible as implausible and that was so much more plausible than having a ten year old kid come out of the audience and win the World Tag Team Titles.

“It speaks to all of what is wrong with our business today and this is what everybody hears me say in any interview and that this is the difference of sports entertainment to professional wrestling. There is a very stark difference. Nothing against the kid and I am happy that he lived a dream that he will have the rest of his life and remember forever but that is not what WrestleMania is supposed to be about and that is not what the product is supposed to be about.

“It just underscores to me just how far off the track our industry has gone. After eighteen years of vilification of Vince Russo of that (David Arquette) decision we now get this. In light of and at the same time we get The Invisible Man winning battle royals, we get freeze-frames, we get pretend hand grenades and all of this crazy stuff that has nothing to do with wrestling.”

Former WCW World Heavyweight Champion David Arquette has challenged independent performer Mat Fitchett to a match. The controversial actor jumped the barricade during ‘Pancakes and Piledrivers,’ a co-branded AAW, Wrestling Revolver and Fight Club: Pro event that took place in New Orleans earlier today.

After defeating Aussie Open in the main event of the show Fitchett and his tag team partner called out Arquette who proceeded to jump the barricade and make his way into the ring. The former WCW Champion went on to mention his accolades in wrestling, including bouts with Jeff Jarrett, DDP and Eric Bischoff. He also went on to mention that WWE killed the WCW brand and that he had never been pinned in a wrestling ring…he ended his promo by saying “let’s set a date.”

You can check out the full promo below:

Footage from the @TheDirtyRook calling out @DavidArquette #PancakesAndPiledrivers @AAWPro @PWRevolver @Fightclubpro pic.twitter.com/Z5kJX6givt

— AAW Wrestling (@AAWPro) April 7, 2018

Cody Promises Change To Bullet Club Logo

Cody has quickly become a polarizing heel in wrestling. From turning on Kenny Omega, to tearing the Bullet Club apart, Cody has garnered some serious heat. His recent announcement has created some more buzz and even hatred.

The former Ring of Honor World champion recently took to Twitter to claim he is changing the Bullet Club logo next week. The logo has become iconic even outside of the wrestling world. In it, fans have even been seen wearing the faction’s shirts at WWE events. We’re not talking just one or two people, either.

Here is Cody’s tweet:

THE CLASSIC BULLET CLUB LOGO IS BEING RETIRED…

I will be unveiling the new logo next week! pic.twitter.com/U4Z1F3nriT

— Cody Rhodes (@CodyRhodes) March 30, 2018

Is David Arquette “All In?”

The All In event may be getting a former WCW World champion, although it’s not one who many are expecting. Actor David Arquette is still a huge fan of wrestling. In fact, on an episode of Monday Night Raw back in 2010, he teamed with Alex Riley to take on Randy Orton. It didn’t go so well for Arquette, as he was powerbombed through a table.

Arquette recently went on Twitter to show support for Matt Hardy’s new shirt on WWE Shop by saying, “I’m in.” Nick Jackson of The Young Bucks asked Arquette if he was “All In.” Arquette replied with the following:

https://twitter.com/DavidArquette/status/979922901821399040

WWE wishes David Arquette Happy Birthday

WWE wished actor and former WCW World Champion David Arquette happy birthday today. Arquette turned 46 years old today. Arquette won the WCW World Championship on the April 26th, 2000 edition of WCW Thunder.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYyit2AgSib/

Happy Birthday to the man who SHOCKED the world by becoming #WCW World Champion in 2000… @DavidArquette! https://t.co/YJsiWRkUHQ

— WWE (@WWE) September 8, 2017

Nikki Bella talks Dancing with the Stars

Nikki Bella posted her first vlog for Dancing with the Stars. In the video, Nikki discussed how busy her schedule is going to be going forward as she prepares for the show.

7 things you didn’t know about the World Heavyweight Championship

WWE uploaded a new video today discussing the history of the World Heavyweight Championship. In the video, Edge holding the title 7 times, Vickie Guerrero stripping him of the championship because he used the Spear and more is discussed. You can check it out below.

Actor David Arquette was recently interviewed by Boomstick Comics to promote his film, Orion. The former WCW World Champion spoke about his experience in the business, noting that he only follows wrestling casually these days.

Arquette revealed that he recently reached out to Lucha Underground and pitched an angle that would have involved him coming in as a manager. The character that he wanted to portray was named El Borracho, a masked drunk who would carry a liquor bottle to the ring and use it as a weapon to help his clients win their matches. He would eventually be unmasked, with the Temple learning his true identity.

For more information regarding Arquette’s movie Orion, visit ShorelineEntertainment.com.

David Arquette is a former WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Being a World Champion normally means you’re a big star. Vince Russo was a former World Champion. The Great Khali is a former World Heavyweight Champion. Just so we understand each other, these guys, in my opinion, are not among the biggest stars in the history of pro wrestling.

Do we understand the formula?

Today, we are going to look at five legends of the ring who were without a doubt top stars in their prime. At one point or another, each person on this list could be considered “the guy” in the business. All were top stars who reached Championship-level success at one time or another, however they all shared one key factor in common — they pretty much sucked in the ring.

A lot of people have different ideas of what a “good worker” really is. Generally speaking, if you’re in the business, a good worker is someone who can take the live crowd on an emotional journey. Most of the people on this list were able to do that, however if you’re a die-hard fan of the sport, you have a different opinion of what a “good worker” is. To those people, a good worker is someone who took the time to perfect the craft, the art and skill of what goes on inside the squared circle. Guys who have matches that are considered “match of the year” candidates. Guys who could have what die-hard fans call “five-star matches.”

That is who we are looking at today. Guys who by die-hard fan standards would be considered god-awful workers. Guys who couldn’t have a classic, five-star match to save their life, even if they’re able — usually due to star power and enthusiasm — to pop a crowd during a match.

With all of thr explanation out of the way, let’s take a look at who made the list of the top five biggest stars who weren’t good workers.

#5. Hulk Hogan

The guy knows how to have a classic match. His WrestleMania VI clash with Ultimate Warrior, who we’ll be talking about later, surprised many. Still, if you examine the match with your “worker” glasses on you’ll notice that it wasn’t exactly a catch-as-catch-can classic by any means.

It was a great match though in the sense that the crowd was totally invested. A lot of that had to do with the promotional build-up to the match and the characters involved. The same can be said for Hogan vs. The Rock at WrestleMania X8.

A Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat classic it was not.

But the response from the fans was about as passionate as things get. Hogan can have great matches when everything falls into place, but you can’t put just anybody in the ring with him and expect a great match. As far as his star-power is concerned, Hogan is one of — if not the biggest — stars in the history of the sport.

Hulk Hogan comes in at number five.

#4. Andre the Giant

Andre The Giant is one of the biggest and most recognizable stars in professional wrestling history. In his prime as a young wrestler he would come off of the top-rope, he could throw a pretty impressive dropkick and was a lot more agile than he became later in his career.

Most will remember the run Andre The Giant had in WWE in the 1980s, but prior to that he was actually a pretty solid in-ring worker. His most famous years, however, saw a number of rest-holds killing the majority of the time in his matches. It was almost a sure thing that there would be a few bear-hugs, nerve-grip holds and the ever-popular butt-smash in the corner spot.

So again, Andre wasn’t the best in-ring technician, but he was a huge star — literally — and could elicit a great reaction from the crowd from bell-to-bell when matched with the right guy.

Regardless, Andre comes in at number four.

#3. Kevin Nash

Outside of a few matches with Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, Kevin Nash, better known to WWE-exclusive fans as “Diesel,” rarely had a match above a two-star rating. He was one of the first workers to be labeled as a guy with “five moves of doom,” long before that torch was passed to John Cena.

However, Nash was a big ingredient in the pro wrestling explosion of the late 1990s. His move to WCW, which led to the formation of the nWo, was arguably the jumping-off point of the Monday Night Wars, which ultimately led to WWE’s “Attitude Era.” WWE was forced to switch gears and change the way they do business, and Nash, along with Scott Hall, were two key players at the root of all of these changes.

Despite his importance level in the business, his work level earns him the bronze medal as one of the biggest stars who wasn’t a “good worker.”

Continued on page two …

The following are highlights of a new WGD Weekly interview with Diamond Dallas Page:

Working with David Arquette in WCW and the reaction of the fans to his becoming WCW Champion: “…David Arquette is his own animal. As much heat as he ever took, for him, …all the money he made for that pay per view when he busted me over the head with the guitar and Jarrett took the World Title, the money he made, he gave to Melanie Pillman…When he pinned Bischoff, not me, and I will go on record as saying that was the biggest cluster fu*k ever! and it never should’ve happened, but it did. That being said, that was the booking committee, it was not David Arquette, and every fan that has ever roasted him should dip their own ass in boiling oil, because everyone of you that has buried David Arquette if put in the same position, you would’ve jumped through a hoop of burning oil to do the same sh*t. That’s why when everybody busts balls on that, I just want to smack someone. I’m like really, you, ‘marko mark?’ You would’ve died for that…”

A conversation he had in his early days wrestling in WCW backstage with Hulk Hogan: “…I walked through the curtain after my match and Hulk pulls me over and he says, ‘how are you getting so much better?’ I said, ‘wow, Hulk, thanks, how do you even know?’ He goes, ‘I’ve been watching your match the last couple nights.’ I’m thinking, your watching my matches? So, he says, this is what they are doing, I don’t hardly ever see you on TV, just once in a while. He says, this is what they are doing with you, they’re letting you learn your craft on the road here…I said, I go to the Power Plant, he said, what is the Power Plant…I told Hulk, I figured out that the more that I train people down there…and if you only work when they book you, then you never really get any good, because you’re not wrestling enough…I go down there every day I’m not wrestling and what I figured out is the more I train people, the more I learn and the more I learn! the better I got. Hulk really didn’t understand it because he came from a different generation where you went from one territory to another, but he said, well, whatever it is your doing you need to keep doing it because it might not be this year, or next year, or even the year after, but if you keep doing what you’re doing, somewhere down the line, you and I can draw huge money together, and then he walked away…”

A great reaction from Paul Orndorff backstage before the spot on Nitro with him and Randy Savage, where he was disguised as LaParka: “…when I did LaParka against Savage, it was one if my favorite moments in wrestling. Nobody knew that was coming. There has never been a moment that was like that in professional wrestling…you had no fu$#*ng idea…Bischoff pulled me aside in a room, with Sullivan…he goes okay, here is the deal, we are going to dress you up as LaParka and keep you guys in here the whole time, no one is going to know…so, you’re going over with a Diamond Cutter, I said, ‘Oh my god,’ he says, and then you rip off the mask and the place is going to go bat sh*t, and it did. So, I’m in the back with LaParka, and he can barely talk English, so I’m mimicking him, how do I do your walk, how do you play the guitar, what do you do with the chair? He is showing me his sh*t, so then to get to Mr.Wonderful, he is an agent at the time. He is walking around giving finishes. He gets to the door and knocks on it. I open the door in full LaParka gimmick. Now LaParka is about six foot! but I’m six four, legit, so, Orndorff is a good six one, he knows he is taller than LaParka. He is looking down his glasses at the sheet and he looks up and he goes, ‘You’re going over?” Then he looks back up at me and he sees my blue eyes, and it LaParka, but he goes, ‘ You’re not LaParker.” Then he could just see my eyes light up and they just went, ‘ding,’ and he realized it’s me, and he just says, ‘ I love it,’ then I do the thing and he says, ‘mums the word,’ then he walks away…”

A life lesson he learned from agreeing to do the “stalker” angle in WWE against the Undertaker: “…I’ve already learned, walk away from the table. I learned that in WWE. If I walk away from Vince and I don’t do the stalker angle, and I go, ‘wow, good stuff, but not for me.’ If I walk out and say call me when you want to do people’s champion versus people’s champion, I wouldn’t have made it to the elevator. All I had to do was walk away from the table, but I just thought, they know what they are doing…what I learned out of that was never be afraid to walk away from the table. After that, I have never signed a contract the first time, I don’t care what it is. I don’t agree to anything the first time, let me think about it…”

Thoughts on the comments from fans he reads across the internet: “You know, I read a lot if what people write on YouTube, as obviously I have my DDP TV videos, which is hundreds of them…and people write a lot of comments. I also read when there is something I said in an interview…now I don’t remember the article, but you know, you get these jerk offs that go online and they think they know the business…I don’t know who they are, but there are certain people who just don’t like me no matter what I do, for whatever reason…I get that, not everybody is going to like you, but when they just write stupid sh*t, I can’t help but laugh…No matter how rude some of the comments can be, I find it entertaining…”

Check out the complete interview above.