AJ Styles is now the longest reigning WWE Champion in Smackdown history. He passed JBL’s record recently to earn the honors. JBL himself commented on Styles’ achievement.

My record has been broken and I Could not be more proud of ⁦@AJStylesOrg⁩ -a world class individual and athlete, looking forward to watching this incredible performer Sunday at @WWE Summerslam. pic.twitter.com/VjT33wKsVj

— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) August 15, 2018

John Bradshaw Layfield won the WWE Championship on June 27th, 2004 from Eddie Guerrero. He would hold the title until WrestleMania 21 when he lost the title to John Cena. At that point, the title was drafted from Smackdown to Raw.

In 2016, the second brand extension era began and the WWE Championship once again became the property of Smackdown. AJ Styles won the title from Jinder Mahal on November 7th, 2017 in Manchester and has held for 281 straight days since.

AJ Styles WWE Champion – Longest Reigning WWE Champion in Smackdown History

Styles currently ranks #13 all-time in combined days spent with the WWE Championship. In a little over 40 days, Styles will pass CM Punk for the 12th spot on that list.

Combined Days Spent as WWE Champion:

1. Bruno Sammartino – 4,040 days
2. Hulk Hogan – 2,185 days
3. Bob Backlund – 2,138 days
4. John Cena – 1, 257 days
5. Pedro Morales – 1027 days
6. Randy Orton – 658 days
7. Bret Hart – 654 days
8. Triple H – 609 days
9. Brock Lesnar – 579 days
10. Stone Cold Steve Austin – 529
11. “Macho Man” Randy Savage – 520 days
12. CM Punk – 562
13. AJ Styles – 421

Styles will take on Samoa Joe for the WWE Championship Sunday at SummerSlam. Joe has yet to win a title belt on the main roster.

Tommaso Ciampa Pokes Fun

Tommaso Ciampa decided to take to his official Twitter account to mock NXT Champion Aleister Black before tonight’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network.

WWE taped this week’s edition of NXT on Thursday, June 21, 2018, from Winter Park, FL at the Full Sail University. Ciampa posted the following:

https://twitter.com/ProjectCiampa/status/1011969026778714115

JBL Remembers Late WWE Hall Of Famer

Former WWE Champion John Bradshaw Layfield took some time to remember the late great WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero on Twitter.

14 years ago today, Bradshaw defeated Guerrero in a Texas Bullrope Match at the 2004 Great American Bash pay-per-view event to win the WWE Title. He wrote the following:

A thank you to mi amigo Eddie Guerrero! Here’s to you esse! 14 years ago today became the @WWE Champion in a match with the greatest friend/opponent anyone could hope for! #vivaLaRaza love your Eddie. pic.twitter.com/43rDguDYSl

— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) June 27, 2018

Would you care to see a feud between Black and Ciampa? Sound off in the comment section.

Former WWE creative team member Jason Allen, who served as a writing assistant on Monday Night RAW, was recently a guest on The Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast to talk about his time with the company.

During the interview, Allen discussed his first ever interaction with The Boss’ Daughter, Stephanie McMahon. Here’s what he had to say:

“I went in to meet Stephanie because she wasn’t there when I first started, or when I came up with the interview. Stephanie is 7-8 months pregnant at this point with her first child and she comes up to me and she’s just so sweet and so nice and she’s like, ‘Oh hi, it’s so nice to meet you.

“Look, I swear I’m not a diva and I’m not like this; but, I need a blueberry muffin right now.’ So that was my first official task, was to run myself to the donut shop and get Stephanie a blueberry muffin.”

Allen also talked about his first time meeting former WWE Champion JBL, and the hilarious thing the future Hall Of Famer did when he first saw Allen:

“My first day at TV, JBL takes out his cell phone and takes a picture of me. He’s like, ‘You know why I’m doing that?’ I said, ‘No I don’t.’ He said, ‘It’s so I could remember your face when you’re gone next month.’ You could tell it was quite the revolving door.”

You can listen to The Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast by clicking this link here.

H/T WrestleZone for the transcriptions

JBL Defends Road Dogg Against Twitter Troll

Yesterday morning former WWE Champion JBL Tweeted out a gif of himself clotheslining Billy Gunn, joking that he hurt his arm because Gunn ran so hard into him. SmackDown Live writer Road Dogg responded and said he himself ran into JBL’s clothesline hard twice in one match once.

JBL responded by telling Road Dogg that he and Gunn should’ve learned to work better. Road Dogg jokingly responded by saying he still hears that same complaint today, only people now spell “work” as “w.r.i.t.e.” A podcast’s Twitter account attempted to troll Road Dogg with a response, but JBL was quick to jump to his old friend’s aid:

Billy @RealBillyGunn ran so hard into me it hurt my arm. Was tough on me……. https://t.co/12EDu7WSne

— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) May 10, 2018

I noticed a lot of people ran really hard into your arm on this move. 1 time I did it twice in one match so hard that It knocked me out each time. Do you remember that? I don’t!!

— Brian G. James (@BrianRDJames) May 10, 2018

My arm still hurts from you and billy, you guys should have learned how to work better! https://t.co/4qDKKQsnNq

— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) May 11, 2018

I still hear that same complaint today only now they spell “work”…… w.r.i.t.e.

— Brian G. James (@BrianRDJames) May 11, 2018

Ironically enough that tweet is the most well written piece you’ve produced in years… pic.twitter.com/uIJ06GsgUY

— The Alleged Wrestling Podcast (@TheAWPod) May 11, 2018

Actually @WWERoadDogg is one of most creative minds I have ever come across and I do have just a little experience in the business, I believe he does an awesome job. Writing a global tv show 52 weeks per year is incredibly tough, bashing it on a podcast is not. https://t.co/iUQeWmmPqY

— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) May 11, 2018

Coming up with fresh ways to bash it 52 weeks per year can be tough too! All joking aside, we prefer not to bash; we hype what we enjoy, and also criticize what we didn't enjoy, but in a constructive way (most of the time). It's essentially a discussion about the sport we love

— The Alleged Wrestling Podcast (@TheAWPod) May 11, 2018

Carmella Responds To Meltzer’s One Star Rating

Many of you may know that F4WOnline’s Dave Meltzer has a famous five star rating system in which he grades professional wrestling matches. Recently, Meltzer rated Carmella’s SmackDown Live Women’s Title match against Charlotte Flair at Backlash with one star.

A fan asked Carmella how she felt about Meltzer’s rating, and she responded by acting like she didn’t know who he is:

https://twitter.com/willbeckywinNo/status/994953828788310016

Who? ? https://t.co/YgRT8lcSYK

— Mella Is Money ? (@CarmellaWWE) May 11, 2018

– The Miz joined fellow celebrities such as Adam Devine and Iliza Shlesinger in the Middle East during Christmas for a four-day USO tour. The former WWE Intercontinental Champion did various activities such as getting boomeranged off the USS Theodore Roosevelt in a military plane. Here’s what Miz had to say about the experience via TMZ Sports:

“I’ve been on all kinds of rollercoasters and nothing beats this,” The Miz said. “I literally tell (Devine), ‘My balls are in my throat.’”

– Former WWE Champion JBL recently did an interview with The Guardian to talk about his charity work with Beyond Rugby Bermuda. Here’s what he had to say about the program:

“I had seen the ethos of rugby and I was very much an admirer,” JBL said. “For us it’s a beautiful sport, what I guess what Pele called soccer in Brazil. It’s so simple, it’s easy to understand, you can play five on five or 15 on 15. I would be so much better coaching American football, but you need 22 on each side and all the equipment and everything. With rugby you just need a mouthpiece and grass.

“We have issues with gangs and with drugs in Bermuda but we want to attract the most hardcore kids. We want the gang leaders, because they’re going to be leaders either in a gang or on the rugby pitch. And we’ve had a lot of success. We have super-tough kids who grew up in super-tough environments and they enjoy getting out there and knocking each other around and having a piece of pizza and going home.”

– As we’ve previously noted, WWE did an article on WWE Superstars who have won every active title in the company today. The list featured names such as Daniel Bryan, Chris Jericho, and Roman Reigns who captured the Intercontinental Championship from The Miz on RAW this past Monday.

JBL took to Twitter to react to being left out of the mix, however, it should be noted that the World Tag Team Championship that he won was retired in August of 2010. Therefore, he technically hasn’t won every title currently active in the company today:

I win US Title, Intercontinental Title, Tag Titles and WWE Title-Grand Slam Champion, and @WWE puts out a list and omits me? Come on man!

— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) November 25, 2017

– In regards to Roman Reigns’ Intercontinental Title run it was noted that he is expected to hold open challenges for the title. 205 Live star Cedrick Alexander teased accepting one of those challenges:

https://twitter.com/CedricAlexander/status/934510892477243392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Former WWE Champion JBL recently spoke with Riju Dasgupta of Sportskeeda while in Mumbai, India to work with a charity that helps underprivileged children, Magic Bus.

Visit MagicBus.org for information about how you can support this great cause.

Here are some highlights of what JBL said about:

Departing SmackDown’s Broadcast team:

“I’m still part of the WWE family which I’m thrilled about. I’ve been there for twenty-one years. I’ll still be going back for WrestleMania and Tribute to the Troops.

I had no chance to come to places like India and visit Magic Bus, and do some things that I really wanted to do, as long as I was doing commentary every week. So, I got a chance to back off and do a few big events every year which I love doing. Love seeing Ron Simmons from the APA. He comes to all the big events too. But I love being able to come out here and visit with the kids and learning what people are doing, which to me is the most important work in the world.”

A story from the infamous “Wrestler’s Court” backstage:

“A funny Wrestler’s Court story? I’m not sure I can tell any of those to the media. There are so many. I had so many with Big Show in Iraq. Big Show was…we had a lot of fun. He didn’t fit in the latrines, he was so big. So, I had to figure out a different way for him to go to the bathroom. At that time, he was 500 something lbs. He’s a true giant. Had a lot of fun with Big Show. One time we were playing golf and he had the old man putter. So he sneaks the putter into the hole and sucks the ball out. I’m like ‘What are you doing?.’

He’s like my hand’s too big to fit in the hole. And it was. His hand was too big to fit in the golf hole.”

If WrestleMania 33 was The Undertaker’s last match and what the atmosphere backstage was like:

“I don’t know if it was his last match. I met with him beforehand. He was the groomsman at my wedding. We are good friends. I wrestled him probably more than anybody else in my career. Probably more than anybody else in his career, as well. So, I know him very well.

Such a great character. I don’t know if it was his last match, and if it was, it was an amazing way to go out.”

Head over to Sportskeeda to read the full interview.

As we’ve previously reported, former WWE Champion John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) has decided to step down from his regular position as commentator for SmackDown Live on Tuesday nights. JBL noted that his decision was due to his desire to focus more of his time on helping at-risk youth and communities in Bermuda.

Per a report from Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrated, JBL had these plans even before the bullying allegations against former SmackDown Live commentator Mauro Ranallo came to light. The decision was reportedly made about 11 months ago after his contract with the promotion expired this past October. It was then that he put in his notice. Following allegations of bullying Ranallo, Vince McMahon was under a ton of pressure from WWE Board Of Directors to fire JBL, to which he refused.

Another key reason JBL decided to walk away was WWE’s exhausting travel schedule. WWE wanted to bring him in the Sunday prior to SmackDown Live, however, JBL would arrive the day of the show, making it just hours before showtime. He was able to get away with this for two months before being confronted about it by WWE officials. JBL was said to be burned out and his decision to leave was completely his.

Following the departure of JBL from the SmackDown LIVE announce team, WWE announced this afternoon that Corey Graves will take over for him beginning tomorrow night.

Graves joins Tom Phillips and Byron Saxton on SmackDown LIVE. WWE also noted that Graves will remain as a color commentator on Raw.

With the change, Graves is leaving 205 Live and WWE Main Event. Nigel McGuinness, who serves as a color commentator on WWE NXT broadcasts, is replacing Graves on both series.

JBL announced on Friday that he’s stepping away from his weekly broadcasting role on SmackDown LIVE to dedicate more time to at-risk youth and communities in Bermuda. He will continue his relationship with WWE by appearing on marquee events, such as Tribute to the Troops and WrestleMania.

• Facts on Lars Sullivan you need to know

JBL announced tonight via Twitter that he’s stepping away from his weekly broadcasting role on SmackDown LIVE to dedicate more time to at-risk youth and communities in Bermuda. He will continue his relationship with WWE by appearing on marquee events, such as Tribute to the Troops and WrestleMania.

Here is JBL’s statement:

“After much consideration, I will be stepping back my weekly role as Smackdown Announcer to dedicate more continuous time on the work I have done since 2010 with at risk kids and communities. My new schedule will allow me to continue to be a part of the WWE family and also continue my work that I feel is the most important thing in my life. I will continue my 20+ year relationship with WWE and will appear on such marquee shows as Tribute to the Troops, WrestleMania, amongst others.

“With the help of Beyond Sport, I founded Beyond Rugby Bermuda in 2010–which has been recognized as one of the world’s best charities for work with at risk, gang focused, youth intervention. Beyond Rugby Bermuda won the 2014 NACRA Fair Play Award out of 7,000 programs and 17 countries for its work with at risk kids. I was named as a Beyond Sport Global Ambassador–an organization backed by all major sports leagues in the U.S.

“I’m proud to say that in addition to being Smackdown’s longest reigning WWE Champion, I inspired WWE’s Tribute to the Troops over 10 years ago. WWE has been my partner in all my philanthropic works and this new deal with WWE ensures that will continue. WWE has made my dreams come true and helped me become a global name. And now, WWE is helping me use that name to make a difference.”

• Facts on Lars Sullivan you need to know

After much consideration, I will be stepping back my weekly role as Smackdown Announcer to dedicate more (cont) https://t.co/An7zuYRFmV

— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) September 1, 2017

Daniel Bryan praises Zack Sabre Jr. 

Wrestling News World tweeted at Daniel Bryan that Zack Sabre Jr. may have passed him as the greatest submission based wrestler of this generation. SmackDown GM Daniel Bryan agreed and stated that he probably passed him a long time ago.

https://twitter.com/WWEDanielBryan/status/896724728831811586

JBL Clotheslines rugby player off a plank

JBL posted a video on Twitter this morning. In the video, JBL delivers a Clothesline from Hell on professional rugby player Alex Goode. JBL wrote that he has still got it in the caption.

I still got it! Clothesline from hell on @Alex_goode0 LOVE this guy! @Saracens pic.twitter.com/Gmk9LQylAF

— John Layfield (@JCLayfield) August 12, 2017

William Regal dances at NXT Live Event

NXT General Manager William Regal had some fun last night at an NXT Live Event. No Way Jose came down to the ring and started dancing. Regal then joined in and the referee and ring announcer eventually joined in as well.

His lordship @RealKingRegal, gets a surprise visit by @WWENoWayJose in #NXTSacramento! #HesStillGotIt #NeverLostIt pic.twitter.com/dZiP1t9Fe9

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) August 13, 2017

JBL on why WWE shouldn’t do a Shield reunion

On Monday’s episode of Bring it to the Table, JBL, Corey Graves and Peter Rosenberg discussed the possibility of a Shield reunion with Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose and Seth Rollins. Rosenberg asked whether a Shield reunion would benefit Reigns, Ambrose or Rollins and JBL didn’t think it would. Here is JBL’s response:

“No, absolutely not. Roman Reigns is a guy that I think we want him to carry the company. We want him to sell tickets. Roman Reigns with the Shield did not sell tickets. Roman Reigns as the guy that everybody comes to boo, sells tickets and sells merchandise.”

Corey Graves chimed in with the following:

“I love the potential for Rollins and Ambrose. I’m very curious that if you did do a full-blown three member Shield reunion, would the WWE Universe react differently to Roman Reigns? That is what made him a star to begin with.”

JBL responded to Grave’s comments by simply stated that Reigns didn’t sell tickets while being a member of the Shield.

Could @WWERollins, @TheDeanAmbrose and @WWERomanReigns benefit from a #Shield reunion? The #BringItToTheTable panel has some doubts… pic.twitter.com/kJptLDqhrg

— WWE (@WWE) August 1, 2017

Karen Jarrett discusses bar incident with Braun Strowman

Karen Jarrett had a conference call with the media today and discussed the incident with Braun Strowman that took place at a Nashville bar a few weeks ago. Here is what Jarrett said about the incident:

“Oh my goodness, I can clear the air. It was a silly incident where you have two people in the wrestling business playing their characters, being silly and it got blown way out of proportion. And the fact that the two of us are still in the news and it’s still being talked about, that’s a question that you took the time to ask I think is hysterical, to be honest with you. It’s silliness. It’s the wrestling business, we had fun with it and somebody took it and turned it into something more than it was.”

On last night’s episode of Bring it to the Table on the WWE Network, Corey Graves and JBL discussed Enzo Amore. As recently reported, Enzo was allegedly kicked off a WWE tour bus by Roman Reigns and wasn’t allowed to dress in the WWE locker room. Corey Graves stated that Enzo Amore doesn’t have an “off switch” and that he rubs people the wrong way.

 Graves when asked if he likes Enzo Amore:

“No. No I don’t like Enzo. He is a fine guy, but the guy you see on Monday nights is that guy 24 hours a day. There is no off switch and it rubs people the wrong way. If you are on a European tour 12 days deep and he is going on and on about how he partied with The Weeknd in Los Angeles, you are going to get tired of hearing about it. There is a limit and when you are on the road that much, it will wear on your nerves.”

JBL on wrestler’s court and Enzo’s backstage antics:

“It’s called wrestler’s court, it’s to mediate conflicts. Undertaker was the judge, I was the prosecuting attorney, either Godfather or Kane was the bailiff. Sometimes you circumvented the court and just threw them out of the locker room or off of buses. The Miz was one of those, which by the way was not me, I was given credit for it because of storyline reasons. But we’ve also had ring announcers, commentators and talent thrown out of locker rooms in the past.

Here is what is bad about it. Most of those guys, except for The Miz, never made it. Once the locker room turned against these guys, they were sprayed with human repellent or whatever. They never made it. So the odds are completely against Enzo. I think he is very talented. I’ve had a good working relationship with him, but there are apparently a lot of problems with him and the rest of the world.”

Both JBL and Corey Graves also stated on last night’s Bring it to the Table that Enzo should join the Cruiserweight Division and 205 Live.

WWE Monday Night RAW and SmackDown Live announcers Corey Graves and JBL once again took to the WWE Network Exclusive show Bring It To The Table to give their opinions on a variety of professional wrestling topics, and as always, they didn’t hold back. You can check out the highlights from the show here:

JBL on Jinder Mahal’s career not being made by winning the WWE Championship:

“You’re not going to be made just because you get a championship, okay? It can jumpstart you, obviously. Look at David Arquette [who] got the WCW [World Heavyweight] Championship. It certainly didn’t make him. Jinder Mahal is a guy who got jumpstarted because of that world championship. And I think when he walks out, he looks like a world champion. When you see him with that title, you think, ‘that’s what a world champion should look like.'”

Graves admits his initial doubt about Mahal’s title reign: 

“Last time we did this show, I wasn’t sure [about Mahal’s world title reign], I wasn’t sold, but to John’s point, you see him come out with the championship, and The Singh Brothers, and the suit, he looks legitimate. And, it’s great, Jinder looks like a big deal, like a big time champion.”

Graves says there was nothing memorable about Dean Ambrose’s run as Intercontinental Champ:

“No offense to Dean Ambrose, but I don’t really know anything memorable that Dean accomplished while as Intercontinental Champion other than losing to Miz.” Graves added, “I’m being honest. I’d say it to his face.”

Graves on the Universal Title being on an upswing after initially being “snakebitten”:

“On the RAW side of things, you’ve got Brock Lesnar who has the Universal Championship. And, for the first time maybe since its inception, the Universal Championship actually means something. It has kind of been snakebitten. You had Finn [Bálor] win it for the first time go down with an injury, they played hot potato with Kevin Owens and the Goldberg scenario.

“Finally, as we head towards Great Balls Of Fire, you have Samoa Joe, a legitimate number one contender and you have Brock Lesnar who is a legitimate threat no matter what championship he holds and that for the first time is a really big, big time, big fight feel, and I can’t wait for it.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

WWE Commentators JBL and Corey Graves recently sat down on the WWE Network’s Bring It To The Table to discuss a number of professional wrestling topics, including the current struggle former WWE RAW Women’s Champion Bayley is going through on the main roster. Here’s what they had to say:

Graves saying Bayley is not the same person that she was in NXT:

“Having been there, and witnessed, and commentated on most of the rise of Bayley, I was there firsthand and watched her growth from when she arrived in FCW at the time to what she evolved into and all these different character transitions. And once the Bayley character caught fire, man, I don’t think there was a person in this company that didn’t see it as a license to print money.

“Little girls were showing up to the buildings with the headbands, and the merchandise, and Bayley was it. And this is also the same Bayley that a few months ago at WrestleMania retained the RAW Women’s Championship at WrestleMania, on top of the world. For some reason, I don’t know what the disconnect is, but this isn’t the same Bayley that got her to the dance.”

JBL stating that it’s possible that Bayley might not make it on the main roster:

“I think with Bayley though, it hadn’t transcended to the audience. Look, just because you make it some place doesn’t mean you’re going to make it in another. Look at Johnny B. Badd. He was one of the first, if not the first guaranteed contract WWE gave out during the Monday Night Wars. He came over as Marc Mero and he failed so miserably that at the end of his contract, they just let him sit home and paid him.

“They weren’t even bringing him in to get him beat by somebody.” JBL continued, “I think Bayley has a chance of not making it. But remember Isaac Yankem came in and wasn’t working, and fake Diesel, and became a Superstar that’s going to go into the [WWE] Hall Of Fame. ‘Stone Cold’ came in with a monster push as ‘The Ringmaster’ with Ted DiBiase. That didn’t work out.”

H/T Wrestling Inc. for the transcriptions

Corey Graves had some interesting comments regarding the …dive controversy on the latest episode of WWE Network exclusive ‘Bring It To The Table’.

Graves (alongside JBL and Peter Rosenberg) spoke at length about Randy Orton’s original tweet, his back and forth with Bully Ray/Bubba Ray Dudley and the Independent scene. Unsurprisingly both JBL and Graves were outspoken about the subject with JBL lambasting some independent performers as working “stupid.”

Graves disagreed with JBL and cited Will Ospreay vs Ricochet from last year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament as an example of well planned and well executed high flying wrestling. Ospreay has since taken to Twitter to show his appreciation for Graves’ comments:

Ah man what a cool guy thank you @WWEGraves https://t.co/3lUPc4ft1X

— Will Ospreay • ????????? (@WillOspreay) June 14, 2017

A few weeks ago on Monday Night RAW, RAW Women’s Champ Alexa Bliss hosted a “This Is Your Life” segment for her Extreme Rules opponent, Bayley. The segment was truly awful and was very poorly received by professional wrestling fans. On a recent edition of the WWE Network exclusive program Bring It To The Table, WWE commentators Corey Graves and JBL laid into the segment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8_d4lQUsjU

JBL:

“If it was better it would of sucked. It would have to improve to be horrible, that was how bad it sucked. Remember the first ‘This is Your Life’ with The Rock and Mick Foley, that was terrible, but you just had two incredible superstars so that was fantastic and they drew a heck of a rating, but I think it fails in comparison to the Harvey Wippleman and Howard Finkel Tuxedo Match. I think that was one of the worst of all-time. What was worse was probably the JR and Michael Cole Rap Battle where JR forgot all of his lines.”

Corey Graves:

“We are talking specifically about the worst Raw segments ever, thank God we are not talking about WCW and Viagra on a Pole and Judy Bagwell on a Forklift Match, that Russo guy, he was a treat, right? JR brought in Razor Ramon and Diesel, of course not Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, Razor Ramon and Diesel. Fake Razor, classic moment, nobody could tell the difference, right? There’s Diesel—he looks familiar.”

JBL:

“If you watch ‘Legends’ with JBL that the WWE Network cancelled, I’m furious about that—but that segment got the real Razor and the real Diesel huge pay raises because WCW actually thought they were going to go back to WWE on Monday Night Raw. The worst segment in the history of television, not just Monday Night Raw, but television. It was in Philadelphia of all places, sports capital of the freaking world. It was me, Trish Stratus and JBL against Jackie Gayda & Christopher Nowinski. Trish actually mentioned this in her Hall of Fame speech and she looked at me and laughed. That was the worst segment in the history of television.”

H/T WrestleZone for the transcriptions

Wrestling and college football legend Ron Simmons was a recent guest on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling. Simmons discussed a wide variety of topics, from his days at Florida State University to his rise up the ladder in WCW and his long run in the WWE as a member of the APA along with JBL. You can listen to the full episode at Podomatic.com. Here are some highlights:

Approaching the 25th anniversary of his historic WCW Title win and becoming first African American World Champion:

During a recent episode of Bring It To The Table on the WWE Network, WWE commentators JBL and Corey Graves spoke on a variety of topics in today’s WWE product. One topic of discussion was the rivalry between Roman Reigns and “The Monster Among Men” Braun Strowman.

When asked if Reigns has been carrying Strowman throughout their matches, Graves said that Reigns bringing the fight to Strowman has forced him to perform on another level (quotes via Wrestling Inc.):

“Listen, I think absolutely it takes two to tango. Roman Reigns definitely helped and forced Braun Strowman to step up his game and what they created was magic. This is one of my favorite rivalries going right now in some time.”

JBL praised “The Guy’s” work inside the ring and went on to say that Reigns is the future of the WWE:

“Roman Reigns has good match, after good match, after good match. I mean, the guy is the future of this company. And people who want to hate him, please continue to do it. It certainly is your right, but you’re hating him for the wrong reason. This guy goes out and puts out quality after quality [match] every single night.”

On another subject, JBL offered his thoughts on Titus O’Neil beginning to switch over to a manager role with Apollo Crews. While Graves likes the move for O’Neil, JBL isn’t fond of it as he believes a manager shouldn’t tower over their talent:

“Look, the guy looks like a million freaking dollars. He looks like a hall of fame athlete, which he is a world class athlete, but who in the world is he going to manage that he’s not going to dwarf?” JBL said, “Titus O’Neil is too big to be a manager because he dwarfs everybody because when you look at Titus O’Neil, you go, ‘wait a minute! I don’t want to see that guy! I want to see the guy who looks like a million freaking dollars in a suit! That’s who I want to see.'”

Former WCW World Champion Ron Simmons was the latest guest on The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling Podcast to discuss his historic WCW title win, working with JBL and the success of the APA. You can check out the highlights below (quotes via WrestleZone):

Being the first African American World Champion in WCW 25 years later:

“First, I like to phrase it like this. I have no ill-respect for the country or nation of Africa but I label myself as the first Black American Heavyweight Champion. As far as I’m concerned my ancestry is here in this country and that is the way I look at it and of course that holds a special meaning and interest in my heart and I can’t tell you that I don’t relive it every day of the month. Anybody that has been in this business whether it be male or female strive to get to the pinnacle in their career and that is becoming World Champion.

“It will always hold a special place in my heart and who better than to be in the ring with like somebody like Vader where you know it is going to be a brawl and it was. It continues to this day to resonate with me like it happened last week and not only because it holds a special place and meaning and even more than just becoming World Champion is to have others come up to me now and say; “Hey Ron, thank you for inspiring me not only to get into this business but inspiring me to go on to do things that I had reservations about doing.” You cannot ask for a better compliment than that.”

The Baltimore crowd’s overwhelming reaction:

“People often ask me about that. That came across like it was a real moment in professional wrestling history. People think that it was a pre-planned thing well it wasn’t. Ron Simmons had no knowledge that was going to take place until he got to the arena and I think it did come across like that. I had no knowledge of it, Vader had no knowledge of it and obviously the crowd had no knowledge of it. It was special and no only special for me and I hope for Vader as well but it was special for the people and that is why you saw such a positive reaction of people crying and the adulation that came across when that match was over. It was I believe was one of the best moments in professional wrestling history and certainly for myself.”

The reason for APA’s success and what JBL is like off-camera:

“I can’t even express it into words what it was like to be tagged up with someone like Bradshaw. It was just like a natural and like a hand to glove. It had no other way than to go than to be a success. He and I were like two peas in a pod, we shared the same things out of the ring and since we came from similar background since he was football player and an athlete with a college scholarship and all of these things plus all of the out of the ring antics were similar to each other and we had a natural feel for each other as well in the ring and our personalities.

“There didn’t have to be a lot of verbal conversations between us and it is that way sometimes with tag teams when you get a mixture of people together sometimes it doesn’t come across on the screen if they don’t work together and there was a natural flow with us. We absolutely loved and cared for one another and I think that what resonated the most when people would watch us on the screen.”

His thoughts on today’s WWE vs. The Attitude Era:

“I am a little prejudice towards that era back then. I believed about the in the ring wrestling over spending times with out of the ring shenanigans and talking and all of these things. Our stuff was settled in the ring and I think people want to see more of that if you ask me. But times change and I am just prejudice towards that era because guys got in the ring and actually wrestled and that is what the people liked to see.”

The APA’s physical style:

“You have to make what you are doing as believable as possible and I’ll tell you right now that was our intentions in doing exactly what we did. We have come across and like I said we are both football players so obviously contact was no big deal to us and professional wrestling is all contact since you are using your body. I always prided myself on being the best at whatever I had done (football or professional wrestling) if you are gonna do stuff, do it to the best of your ability and that is what myself and Bradshaw had intentions of doing for the people since that is what they wanted to see. That is exactly what I like to think we did and that is why I think it continues to give me something that works in my favor when I continue to get praised today and it is the highest compliment to be removed from your business and still have people say thank you for all the memorable moments. You can’t get any better compliment than that.”

Former SmackDown announcer Mauro Ranallo and WWE have officially parted ways. Ranallo informed Newsweek that he is no longer with the company via email.

“WWE and I have mutually agreed to part ways. It has nothing to do with JBL.”

Ranallo has been rumored to have issues with SmackDown announcer JBL during his time with WWE. Ranallo tweeted out the results of him winning “Wrestling Observer Announcer of the Year” award for 2016. JBL then made fun of Ranallo for it during an episode of Bring It To The Table in March. Ranallo went on to miss SmackDown on March 14th and was replaced by Tom Phillips. Ranallo hasn’t been on WWE TV since then and is now officially done with WWE once his contract is up on August 12th, 2017.

WWE issued the following statement to Newsweek about the accusations towards JBL:

“As part of our commitment to creating an inclusive environment, in April 2011, WWE launched our anti-bullying campaign, Be a STAR, which encourages young people to treat each other with tolerance and respect.

“As a publicly traded company, that mantra carries forward in our corporate culture. As such, we fully investigate any allegations of inappropriate behavior including the recent alleged situation with John Layfield (aka JBL), despite no formal complaint having been submitted.”

JBL also issued a statement to Newsweek:

“Admittedly, I took part in locker room pranks that existed within the industry years ago,” Layfield told Newsweek in a statement. “WWE addressed my behavior and I responded accordingly, yet my past is being brought up because of recent unfounded rumors. I apologize if anything I said playing ‘the bad guy’ on a TV show was misconstrued.”

The Young Bucks & Kenny Omega are currently touring the UK with a number of high profile appearances over the Easter weekend for Rev Pro, OTT and Fight Club: Pro.

The Bucks have always had their ear to the ground when it comes to social media and they have just released a short video mocking JBL (see below).

JBL has been the talk of the internet recently with his alleged involvement over Mauro Ranallo’s exit from WWE, mainstream news outlets such as ESPN and Yahoo! have picked up on the story and it appears as though it will not be going away anytime soon.

– CM Punk surprised his wife AJ Lee at the latest book signing for Crazy Is My Superpower (Amazon.com).

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSzOowuh8OC/

– The New York Post is the latest mainstream media outlet to pick up the story of JBL allegedly bullying Mauro Ranallo out of WWE. The article questions how long WWE can ignore the scandal before taking disciplinary action against JBL.

WWE legend Kevin Nash gave his thoughts on the JBL situation on Thursday morning. Nash defends JBL as ‘thoughtful’ and ‘intelligent’ while curiously saying, “Don’t be a bitch.”

@JCLayfield Saw a few stories about JBL being a bully . One of the most intelligent performers just is man that expects the men to be men

— Kevin Nash (@RealKevinNash) April 13, 2017

JBL broke in in an era of 300 pound bad ass men. So his psychological thoughts are very real. Everyone could go. He's shifted to our new era

— Kevin Nash (@RealKevinNash) April 13, 2017

JBL is one of the most thoughtful on air personalities WWE has. He's a mans man. But looking to always advance talent. #dont' be a bitch

— Kevin Nash (@RealKevinNash) April 13, 2017

I'm being asked to step into others shoes? He's an incredibly intelligent man. I can only go on my relationship. Haven't seen the bully.

— Kevin Nash (@RealKevinNash) April 13, 2017

As a long time respected MMA commentator, Mauro Ranallo has plenty of friends who just so happened to be elite level mixed martial artists. Two of his friends are pioneers in the sport and UFC Hall of Famers: Bas Rutten and Pat Militech. Both fighters have commented on the ongoing JBL bullying accusations, and have stuck up for Mauro.

UFC Hall of Famer Pat Miletich recently responded to a JBL tweet by basically calling him out.

I have a bone to pick with you regarding strong arming my boy, Mauro Ranallo. Let's have a man to man discussion, Johnny.

— patmiletich (@patmiletich) April 12, 2017

Damn right we want Mauro!!! https://t.co/fdOvRrGXxj

— patmiletich (@patmiletich) April 12, 2017

He also re-tweeted this response from a fan:

https://twitter.com/pxntojx/status/851985642422763520

Bas Rutten vs. JBL

Another UFC Hall of Famer, Bas Rutten, hosts a podcast with Mauro that unfortunately has been on hiatus since he left Smackdown. Not long after the situation began Rutten let fans know on his Twitter that JBL was responsible.

he's the best, what are you talking about? THE BEST! Meaning, nobody is better! JBL? Haha, would love to meet him

— Bas Rutten (@BasRuttenMMA) March 18, 2017

in person, and than we talk "Mauro" wow, what a douche. Please attack me for that comment JBL, PLEASE!

— Bas Rutten (@BasRuttenMMA) March 18, 2017

I'm not! I'm flaming those Ahole(s)(JBL, whatever is his name)! Not you my friend!

— Bas Rutten (@BasRuttenMMA) March 18, 2017

No word on Bart Gunn’s thoughts on the situation:

https://twitter.com/mauroranallo/status/851526393699590144

On the latest episode of his Dinner With The King podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler commented on the controversy surrounding JBL and the allegations that he’s a bully behind the scenes.

Lawler came to JBL’s defense, saying,  “I’m a JBL fan. Here’s the thing about JBL; you have to know the guy. And if you don’t get an opportunity to really know JBL, you can be offended. JBL is a funny guy. He’s a big guy. He’s boisterous. He comes across as, sometimes, crude and loud. But you gotta know him. That’s just JBL. He’s the same guy on commentary as he is in catering.”

He added that he doesn’t think JBL will get fired over the bullying issue. “I don’t think he will, not over something like this.”

– Paige posted a photo with Alberto El Patron on Twitter to showing off the book AJ Lee sent to her. Several fans noticed a Donald Trump poster in the background and gave her crap for supporting the controversial President of the United States.

https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/851976112683044864

After getting so many negative replies to the tweet for being a Trump supporter, she followed up with another look at the calendar and revealed it actually mocks the President and counts down the days until he’s out of office.

https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/851978046081040384